Green Travel: What You Need to Know Before Planning Your Next Getaway

Think outside the box

Get creative with alternative methods of transportation. Whether its renting bicycles for an adventure through the city, kayaking to pristine beaches or skiing through alpine terrain, try something new and discover the culture outside tourist hot spots.

Use local public transportation

When traveling, utilize the city’s trademark public transportation. In New York take the subway. San Francisco use the MUNI, street and cable cars. Seattle hop on a ferry to the San Juan Islands. Every large city has a public transportation system, take advantage of it during your travels.

Here is an interesting fact:

“20 percent: Carbon monoxide emissions saved if one in five Americans rode public transportation daily; the savings would be greater than the combined emissions from all chemical manufacturing and metal processing industries.”

Do your homework

Before you go, do some research on hotel locations, attractions and events near by. Finding accommodations near attractions, museums and restaurants will allow you to walk or take a short transit ride. Smart location is an essential part of reducing CO2 emissions and will save time and money too.

Discover the world on your feet

You never realize how beautiful and interesting a place is before you use your feet and start walking. Traveling the world in a car or plane allows you to miss the true character of the places you go. Our dependence on cars reduces the time spent exploring the world.

For example, living in Seattle, I used to mostly drive from place to place and never realize what was in between. Recently, I decided to put my car keys away and walk through my city. Downtown Seattle has so much to offer to pedestrians, from boutiques to unique coffee shops to wine bars. There are an endless supply of museums, shops, restaurants, theaters and bars within walking distance in Seattle.

Just last week I took the bus to see “South Pacific” at the Fifth Avenue Theater. From the theater was a short walk to shopping at H&M and dinner at Pike Place. After dinner I ventured a few blocks down to the Seattle Art Museum to see some amazing installation art. Discovering the true essence of Seattle was only possible for me by walking through the city. Every street has its own story to tell and unique character. Walking is the most valuable way to explore a location and truly enjoy your vacation.

What would you add to the list? Do you have examples from your travels?

My Life After College

I graduated from Western Washington University about a month ago with a degree in Economics and Environmental Studies. During my last quarter at college I completed a capstone project that really gave me the experience and confidence to head out into the real world after college. Graduation came and went without me even realizing that I had just been pushed out into the “real world” and that I had no idea what I wanted to do.

School meant everything to me. Looking back to even Kinder garden, I always loved school and since then I excelled at it. I probably liked it because I was good at it and vise versa.  I have been in school for my whole life if you count preschool. So I find myself asking the question, “Well Amne, now what are you going to excel at? How can you move past school and actually apply what you have learned all these years?”

After graduation came the big move where I packed up and moved everything that I had collected during my adulthood back into my parents house in Seattle. Yes, my parents house. The same house that I had lived in my whole life, the one I was thrilled to leave behind when I went to college and was an added perk in choosing a college exactly 84 miles away from home. Bellingham was far enough away that I had my own city to explore and just close enough that if I got homesick, was just a short hour and fifteen minute drive. So I wasn’t thrilled about moving back home but a week after the move my family, boyfriend and I left for five days, four nights in Cabo San Lucas. This was the first family trip we have been on in 10 years, but more on this later in another post. We celebrated my 23rd birthday in Mexico which made getting another year older more bearable and two days later we were back in rain in Seattle. Christmas was not the same since my parents did not really decorate their house, no Christmas tree or lights. We actually didn’t even open presents because my mom had decided earlier that Mexico was our Christmas present, and my graduation present, and my birthday present. So this Christmas was unlike any other I had ever had, I guess this is what growing up feels like.

Basically, its been one month and eight days since I graduated and so far I have no job and have no idea what career path to take. This is where this blog fits into the story. I’ve always wanted a blog, but never got around to it because I could never really find the time between working, school and a social life. So now is my chance to finally get to do this. I have no excuses and need to write some ideas and brainstorming down. I hope that this blog will help inspire me and allow me to discover my career path.