Swim with the Dolphins

Designed by Bree Morris

I went on a cruise almost two years ago. I invited two friends and then one of the friends invited a fourth person to come so that we could have a full cabin.

One of the friends and I wanted to do everything we possibly could on the cruise and were constantly on an "adventure." The other two wanted to lay around, which was fine, everyone is different. Well it came time to go on some shore excursions and my adventurous friend and I wanted to do different things than the other two. BUT the other two really wanted us to all do at least one excursion together, which is fair, and so we had to figure out what that would be. The problem was that the other two only wanted to pay for one excursion, again which is fair, and they REALLY wanted to do the dolphin excursion. Well, my adventurous friend and I really didn't have an interest in the dolphins but we decided to go with it.

When it came time to pay there were two packages: 1) Stand in the pool and let the dolphin come up to you and you could pet, hug and kiss it. OR for $10 more you could do all of that plus swim with the dolphins and hold on to its fin as it pulled you around and much more. To my shock the two girls did not want to pay they extra $10. TEN DOLLARS. We went with package number one. I guess I can at least say that I kissed a dolphin on my 25th birthday.

Ever since then I have taken on this personal motto of just, "Swim with the Dolphins," as a reminder that it is worth it to pay a little extra more or put in a little extra effort in order to have a much more amazing experieince. I mean, come on, we only live once. While I was in Peru last year, every time my friend and I would be trying to decide if it was worth it to spend a little more or walk a little farther I would just say, "Let's Swim with the Dolphins." It never failed us.

I teach a class to a student leadership group at an university and I taught them one day about going the extra mile in their lives whether it be in school, careers, personal life, etc. I told them about this experience and my motto and I even asked my sister-in-law to design me a logo so that I could give my students stickers that said, "Swim with the Dolphins." I taught them that in life they should strive to put in a little extra effort, a little more time or even a little more money to get a much better outcome or experience and that it is worth it. I now often hear them telling each other to "Swim with the Dolphins" as motivation (and sometimes peer pressure... oops).

So, go swim with the dolphins in whatever you are doing. AND Swim with the Dolphins when you travel. I'm all about being smart with money but don't cheat yourself from an incredible experience because it saves you a few dollars. That's the great thing about travel; getting out of your comfort zone, seeing things you will never get to see with your own eyes again, experience adventure, etc.

Swim with the Dolphins

Travel Words

I don't know about you, but just hearing any of these words or phrases from the list below get me excited for travel and the excitement increases with the use of more words from this list!

Explore

Wander

Discovery

Airport

Are You Packed?

Passport

Suitcase

Journey

Tourist

Are we there yet?

Sight Seeing

Bon Voyage

Out and About

Road Trip

Destination

Get Away

Escape

Around the World

Travel Buddy

Excursion

Where to Next?!

Going Places

Getting There is Half the Fun

Adventure

We Were Here

Detour

Freedom

Travel

Italy... Ready or Not! Here I come!

Yesterday I booked a a 9-day trip to Italy with some friends and I couldn't be more excited. Visiting this country has been at the top of my list for quite a few years now but I kind of came to the conclusion that I might save that trip for something to do with my future husband; Italy is such a romantic country. But when my friend last week asked me if I would like to buy a Groupon Getaway Deal to Italy this November with her and some other people, I said, "Forget you future husband! I'm going now!" Of course this doesn't mean I can't go again :)

I am so excited to start researching this country and learning about all the things to see and do. I already can tell that 9 days won't be enough but honestly, is it ever?! Obviously this trip isn't happening for 258 days (oh yeah... you better believe I have a countdown on my phone) so I won't be posting about it for awhile but I was excited to share the news and to share another place to look for travel deals: Groupon's Getaway Deals.

Sneak Peak: Peru!

I just got home from a 2 1/2 week backpacking trip in Peru with a friend of mine. I loved this trip and am so excited to share it with you!

Once I get caught up blogging about my other trips I will do a couple posts about Peru.

Postcards from Amy

I love to travel. Pictures of far off beautiful places send me off into day dreams. Going to the airport makes my heart skip a beat. Learning about people and cultures fascinates me. Taking a break from life and reality to explore is always needed. And the idea of an adventure, big or small, calm or exciting, makes my imagination soar.

I already have a blog, it's not fantastic, in fact I think I have 5 MAYBE 6 readers haha but that's ok. I created my blog to write  about random thoughts and experiences. After I finished college I did quite a bit of traveling before I started working and I had several people ask me to blog about each of these trips. I had a lot of fun writing about the trips; sharing pictures, experiences and itineraries but I didn't love having these travel posts on my blog as if they were invading the feeling of simplicity that I loved about my blog. (Yes, I know I'm weird) A big part of who I am however, is traveling and I would still love to share that with people. I thought this blog might be a great way to share that with people.

I wouldn't say I am an expert at traveling, oh no not at all. It is just something I love to do, a hobby. I want this blog to be a place where I post about my travels, travel articles, resources I have found that have helped me plan a trip, travel reviews, things I would do again or not do, etc.

So here goes nothing! Welcome to Postcards from Amy