Author Archives: Shelley
Six Months and Home…and Six Months at Home
On January 4, during our 18-hour layover in the Dubai airport, on our way home to Austin from the Okavango Delta in Botswana, I was deep into mourning the end of our trip. While John was sound asleep in the … Continue reading
The Best of Botswana
Rather than words, I think the best way to communicate our Botswana safari is through some of my favorite pictures that we took there. I’ve tried to narrow it down to just the highlights, but there were a lot of … Continue reading
Whale Watching and Swimming with Seals
After driving through the central and southern parts of New Zealand’s South Island, through lots of varied mountain and glacial landscapes, and then up the west coast to see the pancake rocks, we headed northeast to Kaikoura to round out … Continue reading
If Your Husband Jumped off a Bridge, Would You?
Long before we started planning our honeymoon, before we ever started talking about visiting New Zealand, I knew that if I ever made it there, I wanted to go bungy jumping. I guess I just took it for granted that … Continue reading
The Camper Van Experience
From Sydney, Australia, we flew to Christchurch, New Zealand, where we picked up our home for the next two weeks–a Wilderness camper van. Although it did smell a little bit like wet dog, the camper van was pretty nice and … Continue reading
Ocean and Wildlife Adventures in Victoria and Queensland
Before we arrived in Australia, when we were planning how we’d spend our three weeks there, we thought a good way to see a little more of such a huge country would be to rent a car and drive from … Continue reading
On the Mend in Melbourne
We got to Melbourne in a pretty miserable state. About a week into our two-week tour of India, I came down with a nasty cold that lingered for over two weeks. After five or six days of managing to ward … Continue reading
The Cave Temples at Ajanta and Ellora
Following a recommendation from our good friend Steve from Austin, we persuaded my dad and Anne that it was worth making the trek from northern India down to Aurangabad in the Mumbai region for a visit to the Ajanta and … Continue reading
Sunrise at the Taj Mahal
We rolled out of bed at 5am, threw on our clothes, and headed to the hotel lobby to meet up with my dad, my sister Anne, and our guide for a sunrise tour of the Taj Mahal. We waited in … Continue reading
Lazy Days in Luang Prabang
We spent five great days in Luang Prabang, Laos’s second city and definitely one of the most beautiful city stops on our trip. The whole place has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so buildings both new and old … Continue reading