Friendship with oneself is all-important because without it
one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.
~ Eleanor Roosevelt
by Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett, and Amanda Pressner
If you're a 20-something working and living in New York City, you're
living the dream -- right? Not if you're Jennifer Baggett, Holly C.
Corbett, or Amanda Pressner. The trio of friends -- wondering if the
paths they were on were the right ones -- left their apartments, jobs,
and boyfriends behind to embark on a year-long adventure around the
world, visiting four continents and more than ten countries, including
Peru, Kenya, Vietnam, India, and Australia. Though there are
difficulties (could you hang out with your two besties for a year
without getting on each other's nerves a bit?), there are also a lot of
amazing experiences, such as traveling down the Amazon and volunteering
at a girls' orphanage in Kenya.
by Bill Bryson
Bestselling American travel writer Bill Bryson thought hiking the
Appalachian Trail (AT) with his friend and former college roommate would
be a great idea. After all, he'd been living in England for 20 years,
so it'd be nice to reconnect with his native land and an old buddy...but
he had no idea what he was getting himself into. The two out-of-shape
40-somethings set off from Georgia in March with plans to walk the
entire 2,100 miles to Maine before winter -- but they only made it to
Tennessee before they realized that their original plan might be too
ambitious. Combined with the pair's amusing adventures and encounters
with other hikers are descriptions of nature and a history of the
storied AT.
by Susan Jane Gilman
Some ideas that seem
great at 4 a.m. in a pancake house after a night of drinking turn into a
nightmare once implemented. For example, in 1986, two soon-to-be Brown
University grads who hadn't traveled very much decided to explore the
world...starting in newly opened communist China! Just a few months
later, Susan Jane Gilman and Claire Van Houten (a pseudonym) were in Mao
country armed with the collected works of Nietzsche, an astrology book,
and their wits. Before long, they're losing their wits and facing
culture shock, illness, military police, and a severe strain on their
friendship.
by Danny Wallace
British humorist and TV host Danny Wallace had a bit of a crisis as his
30th birthday approached. He realized that he'd become something of an
adult (i.e. he ate healthily and had throw pillows on his couch) -- and
was shocked by the idea. At the same time, Danny's parents sent him a
box of his childhood things, including an old address book. The aging
Danny then had a brilliantly quirky idea: he'd track down long-ago
childhood friends, no matter where on earth they were, and hang out with
them. Though this isn't your traditional travelogue, armchair travelers
-- especially those approaching a milestone birthday, such as 30 or 40
-- will enjoy this trip around the world and into the 1980s (like,
totally!).
