About Erika

Hello, I’m Erika!

I’m a travel-obsessed outdoor enthusiast, flight attendant, and mama to two wonderful little kids: Elio (3) and Selene (3 months).

Welcome my own little corner of the vast world wide web. I’m glad you’re here.

Whether you’re a first-time traveler, an expert adventurer, or an armchair traveler looking for a peek into destinations unknown, I hope this blog inspires you to seek new horizons.

 

My Travels

I was only six months old when I received my first passport. Since then, I have traveled extensively around my beloved Pacific Northwest and collected stamps from over one hundred countries on all seven continents. What began as yearly trips to visit family in Italy, slowly morphed into month-long voyages around Europe, Latin America and Asia with my parents.

And then, after leaving the nest and moving away for college, my relationship with travel changed. Travel was no longer something I did because my parents had a passion for seeing places. Instead, I started to realize that travel was something I couldn’t live without.

Over the past decade and a half, I’ve made travel something of my own.

I spent six months living in Jordan and a year in Namibia.

Then, realizing that travel was becoming a necessity in my life, I became a flight attendant for a major US airline.

Flying around the world on a whim was a dream come true. I loved (and still love!) the flexibility that my job allows. But that ticking biological clock got me thinking a lot about my future and how I envisioned my life would look as I aged. I absolutely saw children in my future, so after hitting my hundredth country (Cape Verde) and then traveling on a remarkable journey to Egypt and Sudan, Dan and I began to seriously talk about kids.

Then Covid hit. And with the world shut down, we decided to embark on the new adventure of parenthood.

In November of 2021, Elio was born.

Almost exactly three months later, we had our second child, Selene.

Travel looks a lot different now, with kids. It is slower, less adventurous. We have routines to work around and schedules to adhere to.

But we still love to get out in the world and be as spontaneous as we can. We are living proof that you don’t have to put your life on hold when having kids.

My travels have taught me a lot about different cultures, traditions and history. Most of all, however, they taught me about myself—about my passions, my priorities and the way I would like to live my life. They instilled in me a love for travel that is at times overwhelming. That love has not diminished in the wake of having kids.

I hope  that–by sharing this blog with you–I can take you along on my journeys!

 

About Erika’s Travels

Since its inception in 2011, Erika’s Travels has evolved from a study abroad journal to a full-fledged travel blog.

I initially started writing this blog in order to keep my friends and family updated on my whereabouts during a semester in Jordan.

I had set off to study in the Middle East during a time of great change, both positive and negative. It was a time of hope, when dictators fell and corrupt regimes collapsed. Yet, it was also a time of uncertainty and violence. Through this blog, I wanted to bring the events playing out in the region to life and share my experiences with others so that they could gain a glimpse of Jordanian culture through my eyes.

I had hoped that through my stories and anecdotes, I might even help people  dispel commonly held stereotypes and misperceptions.

In 2013—after my blog had been dormant for two years—I began writing again. This time, I chronicled my adventures in Namibia.

And in the years that followed, I continued to write about the places I visited.

This blog has been a passion project of mine over the course of the last 14 years. I’ve poured hours and hours of time and love into crafting each post.

I hope that you find it useful in planning your trips.

All opinions and observations on this blog are entirely my own.