Blog
Travel and Life Experiences of a Corporate American Runaway
I’m Sherry. I’ve been traveling around the world and writing about it on Ottsworld since 2006. Yes, that makes me one of the first travel bloggers! I started out as a novice middle-aged traveler and have transformed into a world explorer and travel industry expert! I share my adventures, tips, and advice on how to conquer your fear of traveling or traveling alone so that you, too, can have epic adventures to intriguing places!
Where I’ve traveled…
- Africa
- Egypt (7)
- Kenya (3)
- Morocco (9)
- South Africa (8)
- Tanzania (5)
- Antarctica
- Asia
- Australia-Oceania
- Australia (12)
- New Zealand (14)
- Papua New Guinea (1)
- Solomon Islands (1)
- Vanuatu (1)
- Central America
- Belize (8)
- Costa Rica (3)
- Panama (4)
- Europe
- Austria (8)
- Belgium (11)
- Croatia (3)
- Czech Republic (2)
- Denmark (2)
- Faroe Islands (3)
- France (8)
- Germany (41)
- Greenland (2)
- Iceland (3)
- Ireland (19)
- Italy (36)
- Malta (17)
- Montenegro (1)
- Netherlands (9)
- Norway (7)
- Romania (4)
- Russia (15)
- Spain (54)
- Sweden (4)
- Switzerland (2)
- Turkey (29)
- Ukraine (4)
- United Kingdom (7)
- Wrangel Island (10)
- Middle East
- North America
- America (81)
- Alaska (35)
- Arizona (9)
- California (13)
- Colorado (40)
- Connecticut (1)
- Florida (1)
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (34)
- Hawaii - Big Island (16)
- Hawaii - Kauai (4)
- Hawaii - Lanai (7)
- Hawaii - Maui (8)
- Hawaii - Molokai (6)
- Hawaii - Oahu (13)
- Illinois (2)
- Indiana (2)
- Kentucky (6)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (9)
- Massachusetts (6)
- Minnesota (4)
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska (2)
- Nevada (2)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (2)
- New York City (15)
- North Dakota (2)
- Ohio (2)
- Oregon (3)
- Pennsylvania (1)
- Rhode Island (2)
- South Dakota (7)
- Utah (6)
- Washington (3)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (5)
- Wyoming (1)
- Canada (25)
- Alberta (19)
- British Columbia (10)
- Manitoba (5)
- New Brunswick (11)
- Newfoundland and Labrador (2)
- Northwest Territories (4)
- Nova Scotia (15)
- Prince Edward Island (6)
- Quebec (4)
- Caribbean (3)
- Mexico (6)
- America (81)
- South America
10 Travel moments I’m most proud of
- Traveling with each of my 6 nieces as part of the Niece Project.
- Living in Vietnam for a year solo.
- Finishing the 9,000 mile Mongol Rally.
- Having no home and being nomadic for 11 years.
- Taking my Dad to Antarctica
- Completing the Camino de Santiago Solo.
- Driving a rickshaw 2,000 miles across India and raising money for Charity Water.
- Taking over my Father’s Capitol Quest and cycling from capitol to capitol in the US.
- Launching my first small group tours.
- Getting my first passport when I was 30.
The one thing these all have in common is overcoming fear and trusting in the world to take care of you.
Join My Community
Every month, I share exclusive travel tips, behind-the-scenes stories, travel news, gear discounts, and updates on upcoming small group tours and services.
Sign up for my newsletter and let’s keep your wanderlust alive!
Ottsworld Small Group Tours
Travel with me on these unique tours!
Travel Consulting
Get your travel questions answered!
All Blog Articles
How to Use an Asian Toilet
All the guidebooks mention the Asian toilet, a.k.a. Squatty Potty, but no one from Lonely Planet tells you how to use it. There is no…
Can you Spare a Square?
View ‘Food of Thailand’ Photography Throughout my adult life I have strived for change and trying different things. I hate doing the same thing twice…
The Night of the Rat – Chiang Mai Adventures
View Thailand Hill Tribe Photography I have arrived in Thailand – ready to kick off the new year with some new countries to discover. My…
Do you have a cow? Lombok, Indonesia
View Lombok Photography Happy New Year! My travels continue in 2007! Every year for the Christmas Holiday my sister and her family go somewhere in…
Turkey and Dolly Parton – Bizarro Sydney
Photo: The famous landmark of Sydney To view all of my Australia Photography – click here! Upon arriving in Sydney I realized that this was…
Kindness of Strangers Down Under
The mission in Melbourne was to eat, party, and shop…never mind that I have no money…I was willing to forget that for a few days….
Why is Australia Called Oz and Other Things I Learned in the Land Down Under
I followed the yellow brick road to OZ…and finally – I learned the answer to the burning questions, “Why is Australia called Oz?”. I was…
Best Way to Travel New Zealand is Hopping On and Off
Note: Updated in 2017 – Magic Bus no longer operates, however providers like Stray Bus and Kiwi Experience still do operation a hop on hop…
Milford Sound – waterfalls, snowfalls, treefalls, and television?
There are some great pics of New Zealand mountains, ferns, and rain forests! To view my New Zealand Photography – click here! I’m starting over…
Halloween – Jelloween
Photo: Bill, Ghost (Trent), and Jello…Happy Halloween! It was a long bus day today and a very full bus (I guess everyone wanted to get…
The Ice that Warmed my Heart
Let me take you all back to grade school when you learned about glaciers – but probably weren’t paying attention… A glacier is the remaining…
South Island New Zealand – Picton to Franz Josef Rainy Days
Photo: Welcome to the Gray West Coast To view Photography of New Zealand – click here! We crossed the famous Cook Straight from Wellington (North…