Roam Light

I was supposed to be flying home to Hawaii after visiting family in Australia. Instead, the Air Force pilot announced an unexpected overnight stop in Christchurch, New Zealand.

I had never been to New Zealand before. It was winter, I was traveling alone, and there was no dining facility available at the military base where we were staying.

So I walked outside the base looking for dinner.

I found a restaurant, met a friendly waitress, and discovered that understanding a Kiwi accent was going to be harder than I expected. Suddenly, ordering steak and mashed potatoes felt like taking an exam I hadn’t studied for!

In this episode of Roam Light, I’m sharing what happened during my first night in New Zealand, what it was like flying Space-A on military cargo aircraft, and what I learned about traveling alone, navigating unfamiliar places, and handling unexpected changes.

In this episode:

• Flying Space-A from Hawaii to Australia and back
• An unexpected overnight stop in Christchurch
• Walking alone to find dinner outside a military base
• My unexpected exam in Kiwi English
• Practical lessons about independent travel, flexibility, and packing light

Sometimes the most memorable travel stories happen when you weren’t planning to go anywhere at all.

Follow Roam Light for more personal travel stories, practical lessons, and experiences from a life of traveling light.

🎒 Roam Light: Travel Stories • Lessons • Adventures

Pack what you need. Leave room for the unexpected.

At 17, I attended Navy culinary school in San Diego, California. During weekends, I explored Southern California with a group of older shipmates.

We visited Disneyland, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, and the San Diego Zoo. Someone else rented the car, someone else drove, and I just went along. I was perfectly happy with that arrangement!

Recently, I started going through my old scrapbooks, and those photographs reminded me of the places we visited, the friends I made, and what life was like when I was learning to take care of myself.

In this episode of Roam Light, I'm sharing those memories, including my rather unusual description of a Navy sea bag, and how traveling with more experienced friends helped me become comfortable exploring unfamiliar places.

Travel takeaway: If you're hesitant about traveling independently, try starting with a day trip with people you trust. Pay attention to how they plan and navigate, then gradually try making arrangements yourself.

Follow Roam Light for personal travel stories, practical lessons, and adventures from someone who learned to carry less and experience more.

🎒 Roam Light: Travel Stories • Lessons • Adventures

Pack what you need. Leave room for the unexpected.

Italy, Hawaii, or California? At eighteen, I had a big decision to make. I chose Hawaii, packed one suitcase, and arrived expecting paradise. Instead, I discovered pineapple plantations, military barracks, and a new life I wasn't quite prepared for. Here's how my Hawaiian adventure began.

🎒 Roam Light: Travel Stories • Lessons • Adventures

Pack what you need. Leave room for the unexpected.

At 17 years old, I boarded a flight from California to Florida for Navy boot camp carrying almost nothing.

No suitcase. No checked luggage. No carry-on. Just jeans, a T-shirt, sneakers, my identification, and an envelope containing my military orders.

My recruiter had told me not to bring anything because everything I needed would be provided. I wasn't quite sure what that would look like until I arrived at Recruit Training Command in Orlando late at night and discovered that boot camp was already beginning.

In Episode 2 of Roam Light, I share the story of one of the strangest trips I've ever taken: flying across the country with no luggage, arriving at Navy boot camp, getting processed late into the night, and discovering that sometimes you really can travel with almost nothing.

🎒 Roam Light: Travel Stories • Lessons • Adventures

Pack what you need. Leave room for the unexpected.

My friends boarded our flight to Seoul. I didn’t.

While traveling from Japan to South Korea, I discovered at the airport in Fukuoka that I was missing documentation I needed to continue my trip. My friends had to leave without me, the paperwork couldn’t arrive until the next morning, and suddenly I was stranded alone in a city I’d never visited.

This was before smartphones and Google Maps could rescue me. With very little Japanese, I had to find a hotel, figure out the train system, navigate an unfamiliar neighborhood at night, and somehow make my way back to the airport the next morning.

Along the way, a complete stranger helped me when I was lost. And after everything that went wrong, the trip ended with one very unexpected surprise.

In Episode 5 of Roam Light, I’m sharing one of those travel disasters that was definitely stressful while it was happening, but became one of my favorite stories to tell afterward.

🎒 Roam Light: Travel Stories • Lessons • Adventures

Pack what you need. Leave room for the unexpected.

At 17 years old, I boarded an airplane for the very first time. I was traveling alone from the Philippines to California, carrying one big suitcase and moving to a country that would become my new home.

I was excited, nervous, and definitely figuring things out as I went.

In the first episode of Roam Light, I share the story of that first flight and what it taught me about doing something unfamiliar before you feel completely ready.

Sometimes the first step into a much bigger adventure looks surprising ordinary: one teenage, one suitcase, and a plane ticket.

🎒 Roam Light: Travel Stories • Lessons • Adventures

Pack what you need. Leave room for the unexpected.

What does a free flight to Australia actually cost?

While I was stationed in Hawaii with the military, I had the opportunity to travel to Australia using Space-Available military travel, better known as Space-A.

The airfare may have been free, but the experience came with a few catches: waiting for an available seat, giving up precious vacation time, flying aboard a military cargo plane, sitting on a bench surrounded by cargo, and discovering just how cold and uncomfortable a “free” flight could be.

In Episode 4 of Roam Light, I share one of my most unusual travel experiences, from waiting for a Space-A flight in Hawaii to finally making it to Australia, plus an unexpected stop in New Zealand on the journey home.

Sometimes the cheapest way to travel costs you in something other than money.

🎒 Roam Light: Travel Stories • Lessons • Adventures

Pack what you need. Leave room for the unexpected.

In 2003, I left Paris with a three-week European itinerary, a very heavy suitcase, and absolutely no idea how much I was going to regret that suitcase.

By the time my friend and I arrived in Barcelona, I was dragging it through the summer heat, trying to find our hostel without Google Maps, hauling it up three flights of stairs, and seriously questioning every single thing I had packed.

Then four Italian backpackers opened the door, invited us in, and somehow lunch with complete strangers became one of the memories I still remember the most.

In this episode of Roam Light, I share the Barcelona stop that taught me a simple travel lesson: when you have to carry something yourself, you start redefining what you really need. 

🎒 Roam Light: Travel Stories • Lessons • Adventures

Pack what you need. Leave room for the unexpected.