Travel Blogs from Rebel Road Creative

(By Elizabeth Tuico) Traveling is a big part of my story. For years, I hopped around, hitting the road and flying abroad. Suddenly, I stopped when adulting became my focus. (Think of saving for retirement and home renovations.) For a decade, I limited my travel to the Maryland/Delaware beaches, a three-hour drive from my home.

To say I was in a rut is an understatement. (Nothing against Rehoboth and Ocean City, but there is a big world out there I needed to see.)

What did I do? In 2015, I booked a walking safari vacation in South Africa. This trip included an 18-hour flight and seven nights glamping in Kruger National Park. Decades had passed since I last took a long-haul flight. I got on that plane and never looked back. Once again, travel is my back story. I look forward to discovering other cultures, talking to residents, experiencing a cacophony of new sounds, eating unusual foods, and trying new things. Essentially, getting out of my comfort zone. The promise of travel is why I work so hard.

In 2022, I began writing about my trips. Below are the latest installments of On the Road with Rebel Road Creative:

Coolfont Resort: A Vacation Gem in Berkeley Springs, W.V. | Coolfont Resort, a rustic vacation destination in Berkeley Springs, W.V., came close to never reopening after its founder sold the property in 2005. More than a decade later, the Omps family purchased 252 acres of land and what was left of Coolfont Resort’s deteriorating structures. After a carefully planned renovation, the storied Coolfont Resort is back in business, delighting guests who enjoy the beauty of nature. Read more about Coolfont Resort’s history and how this important vacation spot helps support the economy of Morgan County, W.V.

Intrepid Premium Canceled My Trip to Morocco | Intrepid Premium canceled my trip to Morocco hours after a devastating earthquake near Marrakech in September 2023. Unfortunately, my journey had already begun, and I entered the murky world of trip interruption.

All Aboard Amtrak’s Empire Builder | A two-day ride on the Empire Builder, one of Amtrak’s historic routes through the American West, was my standout trip of 2022. Traveling west from Chicago to Seattle, I saw magnificent views of the Mississippi River, the North Dakota plains and Montana’s Big Sky country.

Exploring the Ghost Fleet at Mallow’s Bay | Mallow’s Bay is the most varied collection of historic shipwrecks in the Western Hemisphere, spanning over three centuries of American shipbuilding. Known as the Ghost Fleet, most of the ships were built during World War I. The Wilson Administration created the Emergency Fleet Corporation to ramp up ship production in 1917. An ambitious plan was hastily enacted to construct steel, concrete and wooden ships to support the war effort.

Smith Island: Maryland’s Only Remaining Inhabited Offshore Island Group | Smith Island is Maryland’s only inhabited island with no bridge connection to the mainland. It’s an archipelago, with a population of about 180 spread across three tight-knit communities: Ewell, Rhodes Point and Tylerton.

Air Travel Tips | We all want to get away, but flying is miserable these days. Check out tips on how to make air travel more tolerable in these uncertain times.

April 8, 2024: Partial eclipse in Washington, D.C.

Despite my wanderlust, travel makes me appreciate my comfortable home even more. Humans crave routines, but it’s important to break the cycle or we will become numb. After a week away, I noticed the little things and embraced more gratitude for the rhythm of my regular day.

 Check out these famous travel quotes from Goodreads:

 “Not all those who wander are lost.”  ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

 “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” ― Lao Tzu

 “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” ― Marcel Proust

 “What is that feeling when you're driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? - it's the too-huge world vaulting us, and it's good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.” ― Jack Kerouac, On the Road

 “I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” ― Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer Abroad

 “To move, to breathe, to fly, to float,
To gain all while you give,
To roam the roads of lands remote,
To travel is to live.”
― Hans Christian Andersen, The Fairy Tale of My Life: An Autobiography

“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things: air, sleep, dreams, sea, the sky - all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” ― Cesare Pavese

“To travel is worth any cost or sacrifice.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

 Elizabeth Tuico owns Rebel Road Creative, a marketing and content consultancy based in Washington, D.C. An avid traveler, Elizabeth enjoys exploring near and far.