Hello from a slower pace

slow travel

Mar 6

Pale gray cloudy sky with two roughly round breaks showing bright blue. On the right side a bare tree points toward the breaks and at the end of the branch closest to the breaks in cloud is the dark lump of a hummingbird. — Cloud cover with two openings and a hummingbird

Dear Slow Traveler,

For the first two months of 2026, slow travel has shown up for me in quiet, winter ways. While slowing down and exploring with intention is not the easiest practice, I’ve noticed how spending more time in nature has helped me ground and connect with curiosity, delight, and astonishment.

Brown leaves on the ground. An upright branch is covered with white strands of hair ice that appear to cascade down the wood like a banana curl. — First up in astonishments: hair ice, which forms on decaying wood where there is no bark.

The end of a stick bursts with white hair ice that curves up and back like a pompadour. — A fungus decomposing the wood releases moisture through the wood pores, which flash freezes.

A pyramid of bubbles on the ground leaning against a wet tree. — Tree soap forms when a mixture of oils, dust, and rain water agitates during its slide to the ground.

A reflection of trees in water that look like neurons. In the center of the reflected tree crown is a large bubble ringed by tiny bubbles. Reflected in the big bubble is a person and view of the sky. — A bubble watching the watcher.

Also in this time, I’ve been gathering conversations and resources for shared reading that support slowing down, de-stressing, and refreshing.

Conversations

I had the opportunity to speak with two writers about how travel helped them reconnect with meaning in their lives. These conversations reminded me that slow travel happens when we allow ourselves to attune to life.

Pascale Landriault became a digital nomad in her 50s and follows the call of her soul around the world. Her book, She Travels, shows how travel transformed her and includes stories of ten other women who discover transformation through their own solo journeys.

Learn more about Pascale and her one-suitcase lifestyle in my interview with her.

Photo of She Travels book over greenery. The cover depicts a woman in white standing in an Egyptian doorway looking out over water with a mountain behind. The subtitle: real stories of women transformed through solo travel. — I reviewed *She Travels*.

Bali is one of the places Pascale returns and is the setting this year where she’ll lead an immersive retreat, Awaken Your Heart Consciousness from May 27 to June 3.

Michael Yang rediscovered his sense of joy and wonder while motorcycle touring. His book, Coming Alive on the Ride, explores the Korean concept, shinnage - whole body absorption in the moment and similar to child’s play – along with his immigrant experience, entrepreneurial endeavors in Silicon Valley, and the camaraderie of friends and strangers.

A Korean man in a ball cap and motorcycle jacket at a rest area picnic table smiling and holding a wad of ramen noodles with chopsticks. On the table is a camp pot of red soup and a package of nori snacks. — In my interview, I asked Michael about the experience of riding a motorcycle, how he balances adventures and family, and his book-writing journey.

Korean man standing in front of his parked motorcycle in front of a building that says Prudhoe Bay. The building is covered with stickers. The book's subtitle is A memoir of motorcycle travel, self-discovery, and Korean heritage.

A black and white image of a young boy - about 3years old - out by a wall in Korea. The boy is similing, has rosy cheeks, and wears a sweater jacket with four large white buttons down the front. He's wearing plaid pants. Very cute. — I reviewed *Coming Alive on the Ride*.

Resources for shared reading

To support readers and share the practice of slow travel, I responded to a reader request and created a book club kit for Heidi Across America. The kit includes two activities – slow travel and write a love letter or postcard – to encourage conversation, reflection, and community.

If you’re feeling pressed for time, that time is flying, or you’re wasting time, Four Thousand Weeks offers reflections on distraction, productivity, and making the most of being alive on Earth. I listened to Four Thousand Weeks on Libby, and I recommend a listen if you don’t have time to read (please join me in this irony).

Four Thousand Weeks - Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. The background is plain pale yellow with New York Times Bestseller highlighted blue. In the bottom corner is Atlas holding a clock on his shoulder the way he would hold the world. — I also bought the book so I can refer back to it and remind myself that we humans are human, and we have only this life.

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn. The cover is a block print style illustration with a couple on a coastal path, waves at the bottom with a dolphin, and swifts and a peregrine falcon in the sky. International Bestseller. — This slow travel memoir features a homeless couple who spend two summers hiking the South Coast Path in Wales and England. There's always time for tea.

This illustrated memoir is for science nerds and anyone who's curious about what it's like to be support staff at McMurdo Station. "Round cookies provide a bigger morale boost than bar cookies."

Tuning In

All these conversations and books model internal listening. Even productivity expert Oliver Burkeman realized the goal in life was not a zeroed out email inbox. A long walk by the sea helped Raynor Winn and her husband discover their next steps. Michelle Ott didn't know that working in a kitchen in Antarctica would lead to love, but she knew she had to go...more than once.

A carpet of purple crocuses, bright and vivid in sunlight.

As I’ve been practicing slowing down and tuning in, I’ve also been holding space for adventure filmmaker Whitney Washington, a collaborator who died two weeks ago from cancer at just 34. Whitney pedaled her bicycle solo across the U.S. in 2021 and across South Korea in 2024, pursuing the adventures she wanted despite the stories people told about her capabilities. Remembering her has been a reminder of how precious our time and attention are, and why tuning in to the present moment matters.