• About
  • Work With Me

Mobile Menu

  • Destinations
  • Categories
    • Europe Travel
    • Travel In the Americas
    • Food & Drink Travel
    • General Travel Tips
    • Oktoberfest
    • Packing & Gear
    • Travel at Home
    • Travel Health & Wellness
  • Time Budget Travel
    • How to Plan Quick Trips
    • Quick Trip Itineraries
  • Resources
    • Oktoberfest Trip Planning
    • Travel Resources
    • What to Pack
    • How to Start a Blog
    • Blogging Resources + Gear
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Search
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • pinterest
  • Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • About
  • Work With Me
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • pinterest

MY WANDERLUSTY LIFE

#TimeBudgetTravel

  • Destinations
  • Categories
    • Europe Travel
    • Travel In the Americas
    • Food & Drink Travel
    • General Travel Tips
    • Oktoberfest
    • Packing & Gear
    • Travel at Home
    • Travel Health & Wellness
  • Time Budget Travel
    • How to Plan Quick Trips
    • Quick Trip Itineraries
  • Resources
    • Oktoberfest Trip Planning
    • Travel Resources
    • What to Pack
    • How to Start a Blog
    • Blogging Resources + Gear
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Search

About My Wanderlusty Life

You are here: Home / About My Wanderlusty Life
FacebookPinterestTwitterEmailWhatsApp

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.

Ashley in Istanbul, Turkey

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)

ATM Cave | San Ignacio, Belize | Actun Tunichil Muknal | Cayo District | Maya Mayan archaeological site | ruins skeletons remains spiders | Do This, Not That | Travel tips | Dos and don'ts | cenote | what to wear | Central America

Touring the ATM Cave in Belize: Tips, Expectations, Fears, & Answers

Touring the ATM Cave in Belize: Tips, Expectations, Fears, & AnswersRead More

What to pack for Belize | Jungle + Caribbean islands | Beach gear | Jungle adventures: caving, tubing, ATM Cave | Maya ruins | Caye Caulker | San Ingacio | Black Rock Lodge | Belize packing list | What to bring on a trip to Belize #belize #whattopack #packinglist

What to Pack for Belize (and What I Can’t Belize I Brought)

What to Pack for Belize (and What I Can’t Belize I Brought)Read More

How to dress for Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany | What to wear for Oktoberfest | Oktoberfest packing list | Complete packing guide to Oktoberfest | Dirndls and trachten #oktoberfest #dirndl #munich #germany #beerfest

How to Dress for Oktoberfest: Complete & Honest Packing Guide for 2020

How to Dress for Oktoberfest: Complete & Honest Packing Guide for 2020Read More

How to dress for Day of the Dead // Día de los Muertos, How to dress like a catrina, etc. Tips for men and women when celebrating in Mexico and beyond. Facepaint, flower crowns, what to wear, etc. #dayofthedead #mexico #diadelosmuertos #catrina #makeup

How to Dress for Day of the Dead: A Complete Guide for Both Sexes

How to Dress for Day of the Dead: A Complete Guide for Both SexesRead More

9 Reasons a Long Weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio Should Be Your Next Trip | What to do in Cincinnati | Things to do in Cincinatti | How to spend a weekend in Cincinnati | What to see in Cincinnati, Ohio | Midwest | USA Road trip | 3 days in Cincinnati, Ohio

9 Reasons a Long Weekend in Cincinnati Should Be Your Next Trip

9 Reasons a Long Weekend in Cincinnati Should Be Your Next TripRead More

11 Ways to Spend a Day in Ybor City | Tampa, Florida | Cigar City | Cigar history, cuban sandwiches, Jose Marti Park, cider and mead, coppertail brewing co, ybor wild chickens and roosters

10 Ways to Spend a Day in Ybor City, Tampa

10 Ways to Spend a Day in Ybor City, TampaRead More

What to pack for London and Paris in the winter | London Packing list | Paris packing list | what to wear in paris | What to wear in london | winter packing list | how to dress for winter in Europe

What to Pack for London and Paris in the Winter (for real people)

What to Pack for London and Paris in the Winter (for real people)Read More

Do This, Not That // Visiting the Statue of Liberty | Dos and don'ts (and other helpful tips) for visiting the Statue of Liberty in New York City, USA.

Do This, Not That // Visiting the Statue of Liberty

Do This, Not That // Visiting the Statue of LibertyRead More

Do This, Not That at Iceland's Blue Lagoon | Dos and don'ts | Reykjavik, Icelandair stopover | nudity and hair issues | geothermal spa | face mud |

Do This, Not That // Iceland’s Need-To-Know Blue Lagoon Tips

Do This, Not That // Iceland’s Need-To-Know Blue Lagoon TipsRead More

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.

How to dress for Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany | What to wear for Oktoberfest | Oktoberfest packing list | Complete packing guide to Oktoberfest | Dirndls and trachten #oktoberfest #dirndl #munich #germany #beerfest

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!

FacebookPinterestTwitterEmailWhatsApp

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I’m Ashley!

My Wanderlusty Life travel blog by Ashley Smith - home of Time Budget Travel

Welcome to My Wanderlusty Life! I’ve made it my mission to help you travel the world on a Time Budget. I hope you like museums, hiking, beer and pretzels!

To learn more about this blog and the girl behind the blog, start here!

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • pinterest

Footer

Search This Site

Thanks for Visiting!

My Wanderlusty Life participates in several affiliate programs. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. See this site’s full Privacy Policy / Disclosure here.

All website content & images ©2014-2021 Ashley Smith unless otherwise stated. Please contact me before using any original photos or content.

Site Footer

  • Home
  • Contact

Copyright © 2021 My Wanderlusty Life - All Rights Reserved.