About My Wanderlusty Life
One day I declared, “I think I’ll start a blog?” OK, not much of a declaration because it did indeed end with a question mark. I knew I wanted to write, but what about? “I know! I can write about all of the places I travel to! What a fantastic idea; I bet that’s never been done before!” I am so brilliant.
So yes, I started a travel blog. A travel blog based around the absolute dire need to travel the world and doing so when limited to a time budget.
Say what? What I mean is, when I started this blog I had a full-time job and only ten vacation days EACH YEAR. Pathetic, I know. But I liked my paycheck and my health insurance. I didn’t want to “sell everything I own and set off on a journey through Southeast Asia.” That’s not me. I want to travel the world, yes. But I enjoy coming home.
I didn’t have nearly as much time off as I would like but you know what? I made it work. In my first year of travel blogging alone I traveled to seven countries and 20 American states. I climbed mountains and scarred my friends for life in the Swiss Alps, rode a gondola in Venice’s Grand Canal, and chugged beer at Oktoberfest.
Traveling the world on a time budget? It can be done! My Wanderlusty Life is my attempt to inspire you to travel more and erase the notion of “too little time” from your mindset.
What I cover on My Wanderlusty Life
My Wanderlusty Life covers a wide range of topics from 27 countries on 4 continents. Such as:
- Day trips from major cities
- Quick trip itineraries (mostly 1, 2, 3 days with an odd 4 or 5 thrown in for good measure)
- Tips for quick trips
- Cultural experiences
- Local Festivals like Oktoberfest and Día de los Muertos
- Packing tips
- Unique attractions
- and so much more.
Popular posts
Since this blog began in 2014, there are a handful of posts that stand out among the rest.
Here are my 9 most popular blog posts of all time.
(newest to oldest)
About Ashley
In 2012 I quit my job with so-and-so big corporation, sold all my shit, and never looked back.
NOPE.
This is not one of those blogs. I work full time. I write freelanceingly. I own a house. And a canoe. I have cats and a memory foam mattress. A car and a husband. Traveling the world may be the train on my one track mind but I love coming home too. I have no desire to travel full time — how would I binge watch Netflix series? Or take couch naps with cats?
Hi, I’m Ashley.
I’m proud to be from Memphis, Tennessee where I’ve spent most of my life but now I live in Boston, Massachusetts–this weird, really cold foreign land up near the Arctic Circle. People here talk funnier than I do and driving on the shoulder is legal? What is this place!
I took my first international trip in 2007 (to Venezuela) and became immediately hooked on the idea of exploring foreign lands. HOOKED. I’ve traveled abroad every year since–to 30 countries overall.
Some of my favorite travel experiences have been:
- Taking a hot air balloon ride over Arizona
- Experiencing a Turkish hammam in Istanbul
- Experiencing Día de los Muertos in Mexico
- Visiting all 4 Disney World parks in 1 day
- Visiting D-Day sites in Normandy
- Touring the Harry Potter studios in London
- Experiencing a Prague Beer Spa
- Touring the ATM Cave in Belize
- Ice Canyoning in Québec City, Canada
- Attending the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City
- Hiking the via ferrata between Mürren and Gimmelwald, Switzerland
- Snorkeling with wild dolphins and whales in Hawaii
- Snorkeling with turtles, sharks and rays in Belize
- Attending Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany
Some of my least favorite travel experiences have been:
- All the times I’ve gotten sick while traveling abroad
- Dealing with crippling motion sickness
- Flying Spirit Airlines
- Getting robbed in Italy
- Touring the Spaten Brewery in Munich, Germany (totally my fault, that one)
I started My Wanderlusty Life in 2014 as a desperately needed creative outlet while working a mind-numbing desk job. (I once hid under my desk to avoid the guy who always wants a fist bump. True story.)
I started blogging full time in 2016 after a lifetime of jobs you wouldn’t even believe if I told you. Like that time I was a frog sperm researcher. And a Hooters girl. And those years I worked for the NBA. And that summer I worked as a squid de-beaker at a sea turtle rehabilitation facility. And then there was that time I worked at Big Cat Rescue, one of the places from Tiger King. And that’s just the start of it. We may need to have a longer conversation. About frog sperm.
And as of 2019 I’ve started a second travel blog born from a desire to encourage and help travelers to visit World War II sites around the world. If that’s something that interests you as much as it does me, go check it out at DestinationWWII.com.
Want to know more?
➤ Head to my Destinations page to see all of the places I’ve been.
➤ Head to my Travel Resources page to see how I planned all those trips.
➤ Head to my What to Pack page for all the things I never leave home without.
➤ Head to my How to Start a Blog page if you’re looking to start a blog of your own!
➤ Head to my Work With Me page if you’re looking to, well, work with me.
➤ Hit me up on social media or send me an email – let’s connect!
Thanks for stopping by!
Well, I hate to say it, but we are still going to SMA! Of course we’re used to all that sh*t since we’re from Santa Fe, NM which mainlines San Miguel with a direct flight. (And we’re definitely over 55.)
I don’t think I have laughed so much since my Mom read Andy Panda out loud to me!
Watch out, LG (luxury grrl, my pard) is going to the Writers Conf in SMA to polish her pearls of wisdom, but she’s fictional-uh-I mean a fiction writer not a travel writer.
New Mexico is the Land of Entrapment. Try it!.
See you around the globe!
Hi Ashley,
Discovered your blog while searching for the Harry Potter WB Studio tour; love that you keep it real! Thanks for the awesome posts and keep up the great work.
You are hilarious! I also have two cats, an amazing mattress (didn’t spring for memory foam, though) and currently drive to work. LET’S DO THIS!
Haha thanks! And awesome! Cat people are the best people. 🙂
Oh god, I lost it at “hussy”. This is literally the best thing ever hahah I’ve just read a few of your posts and had to cover my mouth laughing (I may or may not be at work) while reading each of them (esp. “I Didn’t Say Fudge”). Definitely looking forward to reading more from you!
Haha, yay! Glad you love it! Thanks for stopping by, you’ve made my day!
Best. About. Page. Ever.
Hahaha!! Thanks!! I’m glad people are taking to it. Writing about myself is too weird… I’ll just let my stories speak for themselves LOL
Ahhh! Ashley, I love the polaroids (as you saw on my blog haha.) Those exact frames almost graced every featured image on mine but I chose the non-grungy ones. But, I love what you did here to describe yourself, pretty rad, and you seem like such an awesome person. Hopefully we’ll bump into each other on the road sometime.
Thank you!! Yes and you never know!
HAHAHA definitely the best About Me page I have ever read! And I love the fact that “beer” is your most used tag — my kinda lady!
Haha! Thanks and thanks! Yesss beer factors QUITE high in my life/travels.
Very unique and clever About Page! But why “hussy” in Japan? 😉
Thanks!! Haha, I will have to write a post about that! Let’s just say Japan is more conservative/traditional in a lot of ways than Americans…
Maybe it’s similar to Seoul? It’s weird here, micro and miniskirts are okay, but if you bare a shoulder, people stare at you like you’re walking the street naked!
Haha, so weird! Yeah cultural norms are hard to figure out sometimes. Like America, take the way people dress and act here, but you can’t show a boob on TV or say the word “shit”…
Haha these pictures are funny! and a good idea 🙂
haha thanks!!
i didn’t think you were annoying in venice… what am i forgetting? lol