‘Tis the season.  Merry merry. Happy happy. Fa La La La La…and all that.

Thanks to all my readers for coming along for the ride and giving my encouragement all year long.

Have a Cool Yule.

Peace.

“Remove your shoes and belts!”
“Take out your laptops!”

I arrived at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.  It was the first time I’d be going through security since the full-body scanners had been installed. I was happy to see that the scanners were barely being used and I whizzed through the line even during these holiday rush times.   Thankfully, no TSA guys would be getting a thrill looking at ‘nudie’ shots of me. But what I didn’t expect is that I’d be stopped because of my rollerboard suitcase.  I had dutifully put all my liquid items in a clear, plastic bag.  I’d slipped off my shoes.  I’d taken out my laptop.  I drank the rest of my water and kept my bottle to fill up on ‘the other side.’  I had a lot of gadgets and chargers and other assorted metal crap crammed in my bag and figured it was something in there that was showing up.  They’d spotted something ‘suspicious’ on their tiny monitors and called over a supervisor. They ran it through the scanner again. Then they took everything I’d packed so nicely out of it.  On the bottom of my suitcase, I’d managed to pack my empty daypack that I love using when I travel to carry my camera and other stuff I need during the day.  Can you see where this is going?

(more…)

For several years I celebrated Christmas very far from home.  Sometimes I was alone and sometimes I was with wonderful new friends. From a fabulous oyster lunch in Sydney, to a gastropub dinner in London pulling ‘crackers’, to a free Natalie Cole Christmas concert in Milan, it was always different and always more than I ever expected.  It was a little strange not being home for so long, but honestly, in many ways, it was more exciting and touching not to be.

Wherever you are home or abroad, with family or new friends…have a Merry Christmas from LL World Tour.

A couple Decembers ago, I ended up in London at Christmas time.  I didn’t know how long I would stay and had no onward ticket.  In fact I had practically just circumnavigated the globe.   I wasn’t in a hurry for my travels to be over and thanks to couchsurfing, London didn’t cost me much at all so I stuck around for a month.   I also knew I wanted to volunteer somewhere if I could during the holidays.   It was kismet or fate because my couchsurfing host, Rene, volunteered every year with Crisis UK, a big organization in London dedicated to helping the homeless.   I had an amazing week with Crisis and it was one of the best parts of my entire journey. I always think of London and Crisis now at Christmas time and would love to return one day.    If you can, give back this Christmas,  it will be the best gift you ever receive.

Black Cab by St. Paul’s Cathedral
London, England

I’ve met so many people online and in person over the last few years who envy what I’ve done and say “I’m lucky.”
But it all came down to a decision to change my life and do something I really wanted to do.
It may seem daunting to break out of your life mold and go off that ever-so-beaten path. But, I truly believe that no matter what your circumstances, it is possible. I mean isn’t everything?

I’ve been humbled by much of the feedback I receive each week and thankful for all the new friends I’ve made from and because of my travels and this very blog.   I am excited to truly help others do something like this IF IT MAKES THEM HAPPY.

You may recall, I hosted an event back in September called Meet, Plan, Go. It was the Chicago portion of a national chain of simultaneous travel events.

We had nearly 200 participants try to sign up (unfortunately, we didn’t have the room for everyone) to attend. So, I was personally encouraged at how many people out there want to go on extended travels and take some sort of career break.

For some, the obstacles still seem too big, so now my friends at Briefcase to Backpack are offering the Career Break Boot Camp.

Get ready to kick your travel ass into gear! Drop and give me 20 countries!

The Career Break Boot Camp is a one-of-a-kind online course and social learning platform chock full of inspiration, tips, tales, social networking with other travelers, community learning and more. For 8 weeks, travel experts will provide structure, resources, tools and motivation that will get you one step further to following your dreams.

Be a Leader or a Follower - Just Go Somewhere

“By the end of the course you will have a date circled in your calendar and will be ready to travel with a support structure behind you, pulling for you.  And these will probably be people you will keep in touch with while you travel cheering you on and providing you continued support,” says Sherry Ott, co-founder of Briefcase to Backpack  (and my friend currently sleeping on my futon–hi Sherry) .

Sign up here:

Registration for the Inaugural Course starts now and class begins on January 9, 2011. Because we believe so much in the community/ group-class aspect, spaces are limited.

***But wait, there’s more!!
The first 20 people who register will receive a $100 gift certificate towards the Unconventional Guides by Chris Guillebeau and every person who registers will receive a free copy of his book, The Art of Non-Conformity.