E2C_Travel

Not all travel is into the great unknown... some takes you 'home', to your people. I found my roots again after the pandemic with an aluminum love child named Bella and the 50 aunts and uncles who just can't seem to get enough of her. The Airstream community took me completely by surprise, but it's not the campers that create the connection -- it's the love of outdoors and nature, working hard to prepare an obscenely over-the-top family meal "just because", and genuine affinity for the stories that brought each of us here.

Any experience where you have an opportunity to learn the stories of others, try new foods, see how people live differently - each of those moments changes your life just a little. If you're lucky, your worldview becomes a patchwork of all those experiences. Mine has.

#mycuprunnethover

ABOUT ME

Hello Peeps.
This is my Why.

Part journal, part treasure map, part petri dish of thoughts about the future – this website is the synthesis of years of informal (and informed) study of the human condition… coupled with an unyielding need to explore every old tree trunk, breathe in as many back alley spice markets as I can find, admire the monarchs in every protected estuary along the coast, and climb the hillsides on gas-powered mules those few precious days the poppies raise their gorgeous orange faces to the sun. I'll do it all - every single mile - while my hands can still manage the camera.

The more time passes, the more I understand Thoreau's beloved Walden and his need to "live deep and suck out all the marrow of life." With Bella and an increasingly more amazing collection of people in my life... my physical footprint has been smaller these past few pandemic-impacted years, but my "heart-print" has never experienced more reach.  To those who are with me, you are everything to me.  To those who will join our treasure hunt, I promise we're going to see the world... and see it differently, #together.

   

E2C_Connection

So many amazing people come into my life and teach me unexpected things. They make my life fuller and more interesting in more ways than I imagined. These connections are what drive me - they’re my secret sauce, my signature strength. Every success in my life is, quite simply, based on my love of people and bringing people together to do wonderful things.

This summer I joined the Board of a publishing company that enables people to publish their personal stories online (here’s mine if you’re curious: Tonya's Cues & Views). Working with this commitment, I’m even more convinced of the importance of sharing our journey to connect with others. I see firsthand the difference connections make when people recognize how much we are alike… not different. With that as my goal, I look forward to sharing my journey and story - sharing my connections and creating new ones on the way. Exploring2Connect. Join me.

#onwardandupward

Tonya2

Last Day in Delhi

With Agra and Jaipur behind me, Monday the 22nd was to be my last day in India. I spent the day in Delhi – both New and Old – taking snaps of the various sites. We began the day heading…

Tonya2

Jaipur – The Pink City

I fly out tonight at midnight, so I won’t be posting again until I wrap this up when I’m back in Tennessee. Hope you have enjoyed..Oh, my goodness. After a terribly long drive back from Agra last night, I woke…

Tonya2

“I want to make big hug with you”

Best proposition I’ve had in a couple of years… 🙂 I continued my worldwide tour today from Jaipur, with this newfound “celebrity status” still intact. I took a picture of a 14-15 year old boy atop a camel. An hour…

Tonya2

Agra – Home of the Taj Mahal

Had to lead out with this. It may be one of my most interesting snaps yet. (And I know the nephews will love it…) No worries – I was safely tucked inside my car and thankful for a reasonably powerful…

Tonya2

Homesick :-(

I must give Delhi a chance – but it definitely has a different feel than Bangalore. I’m in the Connaught Place area – a major business/retail district in central Delhi. It’s a busy hub of activity, from street vendors to…

Tonya2

Dinner for a King… or just for TJL!

I have eaten every dinner except for last night at my hotel’s restaurant – the Baluchi. The staff have kind of adopted me – they save the same table for me every night. They had promised to feed me the…

Tonya2

Last day at the office…

I haven’t been here long enough – next time I’ll shoot for another week or two. It was a lovely day after last night’s rain. One of my new friends brought me a string of jasmine – as I had…

Tonya2

Dinner over the City

On this, my next to last night in the lovely city of Bangalore, my management team took me to dinner at a charming place called Ebony on the 13th floor of the Barton Center just off MG Road. A storm…

Tonya2

I’m all in STITCHES!

Yep — I got “stitched” as they call it here. I posted a picture on Monday of the man doing the beadwork at the Punjabi designer where I’ve been referred to get my skirt made. It’s amazing, really… I ran…

Tonya2

Life is in the Journey, Not the Destination

Funny story from my weekend trip to Mysore. About mid-afternoon, we’re motoring along and the driver slows down… and then stops. I can’t figure out why – we’re in the middle of nowhere. And he says – “A cow. You’ve…

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