Hi, I’m Liz.  This is what I’m doing.

2/20/19 Update: I’m currently about to embark on a two month backpacking trip through South America starting in Cartagena, Colombia.  Follow along for daily updates.

On the morning of January 1st, 2017, I left my job, home, and life in Chicago, Illinois, packed up two suitcases, and with a one-way plane ticket, I moved down to the U.S. Virgin Islands.  The date was more incidental than symbolic, but hey, it makes for a great beginning to this story, so let’s go with it.  

Over the next six months, I enjoyed all the Caribbean island life had to offer – plenty of sunshine, beaches, and outdoor activities (read: boats, hiking, kayaking, snorkeling, etc.).  With a job without a traditional work structure, I found myself jumping to take opportunities that would normally seem implausible or downright impossible – a weekend trip to Puerto Rico here, a boat trip to the British Virgin Islands there, a week-long trip to Costa Rica here (how and why I ended up in Costa Rica is, in itself, a great story).

While I think I intended for my move to the USVI to be more long-term, as the busy season died down and then a series of devasting hurricanes hit the Carribean, I found myself back in Chicago trying to figure out what would be my next move.

And that’s when it hit me: some of most exhiliterating fun I had had was when I showed up in a random city or country and tried to figure it all out.  I loved traveling to new places, meeting new people, and experiences different cultures. In short, the travel bug had bit, and I decided I wanted to see, do, learn, explore, and experience as much as I could.

​What followed were a series of three different trips spanning a combined total of eight months that took me through Southeast Asia, Europe, Mexico, and Northern Africa. I pack light with a single 55L backpack – if I can’t carry it, it’s not coming with.

​In everything I’ve done over the past few years, one question has repeatedly come up from friends and family alike: what are you doing?   Therein lies the namesake of this site, my attempt to both share and document my travels abroad.

Thanks for stopping by & hope you enjoy.

-Liz

P.S. I’ll try to keep the bad jokes to a minimum.