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This Way To Paradise

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  • About Me
  • Travel Tips
  • Escape Guides
    • Belize
      • Ambergris Caye
      • Caye Caulker
    • Cambodia, Koh Rong Samloem
    • Costa Rica
      • Arenal and La Fortuna
      • The Osa Peninsula, Corcovado National Park
      • Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
    • Dominican Republic
    • Guatemala
      • Lake Atitlan
    • Indonesia
      • Ambon, Maluku
      • Bali
      • Gili Islands
      • Kai Island, Maluku
      • Raja Ampat
      • Sumatra-Belitung Island
    • Mexico
      • Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo
      • La Paz
      • Patzcuaro
      • San Miguel De Allende
      • Todos Santos-The Antidote To Cabo!
      • Zipolite Beach: A Complete Travel Guide
    • Portugal
      • Beach Porn Alert: 7 Reasons Why You Need To Put Lagos, Portugal On Your Bucket List Now
      • The Top Portugal Beaches To Visit
    • Sri Lanka
      • Colombo, Sri Lanka
      • Ella
      • Mirissa Beach
      • Yala National Park
    • Thailand
      • Bangkok
      • Koh Lipe
      • Phi Phi
      • Phuket
      • Railay Beach-Krabi Town
      • Your Thailand Songkran Water Festival Guide
  • Places To Stay
  • Food
  • Contact Me
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Travel Tips
  • Escape Guides
    • Belize
      • Ambergris Caye
      • Caye Caulker
    • Cambodia, Koh Rong Samloem
    • Costa Rica
      • Arenal and La Fortuna
      • The Osa Peninsula, Corcovado National Park
      • Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
    • Dominican Republic
    • Guatemala
      • Lake Atitlan
    • Indonesia
      • Ambon, Maluku
      • Bali
      • Gili Islands
      • Kai Island, Maluku
      • Raja Ampat
      • Sumatra-Belitung Island
    • Mexico
      • Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo
      • La Paz
      • Patzcuaro
      • San Miguel De Allende
      • Todos Santos-The Antidote To Cabo!
      • Zipolite Beach: A Complete Travel Guide
    • Portugal
      • Beach Porn Alert: 7 Reasons Why You Need To Put Lagos, Portugal On Your Bucket List Now
      • The Top Portugal Beaches To Visit
    • Sri Lanka
      • Colombo, Sri Lanka
      • Ella
      • Mirissa Beach
      • Yala National Park
    • Thailand
      • Bangkok
      • Koh Lipe
      • Phi Phi
      • Phuket
      • Railay Beach-Krabi Town
      • Your Thailand Songkran Water Festival Guide
  • Places To Stay
  • Food
  • Contact Me

Recent Posts

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Travel Tips

San Pancho & Sayulita Travel Guide: Everything You Need to Know

I just got back from my travels to San Pancho and Sayulita in Mexico, and I had a wonderful time. These two beach towns are right next to each other,…

read more
November 28, 2025
Escape Guides

From Dolphins To Fish Tacos: The Best Things To Do In Loreto

I just returned from Loreto, Mexico, and while I can’t say it was my favorite place in Mexico, it still had its charms. Zipolite still gets my vote for being…

read more
August 5, 2025
Travel Tips

Unforgettable Things To Do in Portland, Oregon

I moved back to Portland, Oregon after living in Charleston, SC and St Pete, FL the past four years. Moving back has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever…

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April 1, 2025
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Some of the Best Florida Beaches
  • Deliverymen letting go trying to fit mattress up the stairs in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
    Travel Blog

    I’m Giving Up (And Why That’s A Good Thing!)

    October 14, 2013 / 19 Comments

    Giving Up I’ve only been in Mexico a month, and already, it is changing me.  I am giving up.  I am giving up a sense of control, the type A personality that I had let cover up my real type B personality of calm, of creativity, of letting things fall where they may.  Back in the US, I owned a house, had a full-time job, plus did side social media work, and somewhere fit in traveling and writing this blog. How did I do this?  By squeezing in as many activities as I could do in a day.  There were no free moments of sitting in the sun to let it…

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  • Imperfection Peeling paint building in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
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    Embracing Imperfection: 3 Magical Ways Mexico Is Causing Me To Love My Flaws

    October 7, 2013 / 27 Comments

    I have a confession to make. I am used to be a perfectionist. (OK, I’m working on it). I have come to realize that I am very hard on myself, and that definitely makes me enjoy life a lot less. I guess I started realizing that I needed to give up “perfect” before I even got here. As I was selling everything I owned, I realized just how much stuff I had. And why? Well, most of it was dishes. Why did I have so many plates, shot glasses, martini glasses, brandy snifters, shrimp forks, and salt cellars? Because I used to give “perfect” dinner parties. I wanted every dish…

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    June 1, 2018

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    Swimming With The Manta Rays-Just Another Day On Raja Ampat

    March 30, 2013
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    Slowing Down: How I’m Learning To Live The Good Life In Mexico

    September 30, 2013 / 25 Comments

    La Buena Vida-“The Good Life” That’s what they call it here, and you hear it a lot. But you don’t just hear it. You live it. I haven’t been here very long, but already I am learning to embrace the art of slowing down. I am embracing imperfection, and I am living fully in the moment in a way that I never have. Oh, yes, at first, I tried my old ways. Trying to do too much, scheduling too many activities in a day, but then something happened. That something that happened took me by the hand and called to my heart, and said, “Slow down.” “What are you hurrying…

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    SUNSET FOR ONE: THE GOOD AND BAD OF TRAVELING ALONE THROUGH THE REMOTE ISLANDS OF INDONESIA

    Sunset For One: The Good and Bad Of Traveling Alone Through The Remote Islands of Indonesia

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    odo-In Temple: The Place For Meditation In Honolulu

    Byodo-In Temple: The Place For Meditation In Honolulu

    November 6, 2017

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    March 11, 2026
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    Join Me For A Magical Walk Through San Miguel de Allende

    September 22, 2013 / 22 Comments

    Magic is the energy I feel each day when I awake in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.  Suspended in time is what I feel when I walk through San Miguel de Allende’s cobblestone streets.  The days seem to end before they even began. You have filled my senses to the brim during your sunlit days.  The sound of church bells fills my ears mixed with the crackle of thunder and fireworks being shot through your cannons. The smell of your chilies mingled with lavender and mint from your gardens stirs me. I am seduced with the beauty of your doorways.  Each doorway the hues of  paprika, mustard, and naranja, burning into…

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  • Journeying Home www.thiswaytoparadise.com
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    Where Is Home?

    September 13, 2013 / 21 Comments

    Don’t worry that your life is turning upside down.How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come? -Rumi Where is home?  This has been a question that I’ve asked myself over and over through the years. Growing up, we moved thirteen times before I even made it out of high school.  I learned early on that a home is not a house.  Growing up, my home was my family, the laughter we shared in each house we lived in, the work we did together to create a nice place to be.   Growing up, this was home.  No matter where we…

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About Me

I am always looking for the perfect escape, the perfect paradise, the kind of place that tosses your cares into the sea. Fortunately, I have discovered many! I created this site to show you where to go and how to get there. My goal is to show you that Paradise is only a plane ticket (or boat ride) away. I have inspired many others to travel and to create a better life. I am available for inspirational speaking, coaching, writing, travel planning, and photography.

©2026