Travel – Monday Morning with Mona

Kumano Kodo

Before moving to Japan, the one place in the world that I wanted to go to was India. I wanted to see the Taj Mahal. I was obsessed! I followed the Taj Mahal hashtag on Instagram. I spent hours looking at pictures. I envisioned myself in one of those pictures, and then one day IContinue reading “Kumano Kodo”

Okinawa Travel Part 1

I’m from Texas, and in case you didn’t know: TEAXS IS BIG. If you haven’t driven across it, it’s hard to comprehend how BIG it actually is. I used to tell people that it is SO big that you can get from Beaumont, TX to the Atlantic Ocean faster than you can get from ElContinue reading “Okinawa Travel Part 1”

A Trip to Yoron

Friends of mine had been to Yoron, and I had seen pictures, but I had no idea that my 2-hour ferry ride would drop me off onto one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Because Yoron was created from a coral reef and is surrounded by a coral reef, the colors of theContinue reading “A Trip to Yoron”

Daydreaming about the Maldives

The Last Trip before Coronavirus Stopped my Travels. For someone who claims that they don’t care that no one reads the blog, I was unpleasantly surprised at how many people chose NOT to read my blog about Sri Lanka last week. Maybe it was the title. Maybe the timing wasn’t right. Maybe I should’ve sharedContinue reading “Daydreaming about the Maldives”

Sri Lanka: Mangroves, Elephants, Sea Turtles…oh my!

I’m not sure if this begins in November 2019 or if it begins in the fall of 2017. Let’s go all the way back to the 2017, but I promise to keep it short. We arrived to Washington D.C. in the fall of 2017 so that my husband could attend an international military school. IContinue reading “Sri Lanka: Mangroves, Elephants, Sea Turtles…oh my!”

Sri Lanka, Reflections, and Restrictions

I saw them coming. I just called it a couple of weeks before it actually happened to us. I told my mom and sister a couple of weeks ago that I feared that we would be going back into lock-down out here on Okinawa. Since last March, I have tracked the numbers and the responsesContinue reading “Sri Lanka, Reflections, and Restrictions”

Lighthearted in Okinawa

If you read my blog last week, it was based on the premise that “You don’t have to travel the world to know the world.” I had finally come to the realization that a trip to see my family is simply not in the cards this year. That realization was heart-breaking. If you don’t knowContinue reading “Lighthearted in Okinawa”

Wherever You Go, There You Are.

“You don’t have to travel the world to know the world.” “You don’t have to travel the world to know the world.” This is such a ZEN/Buddhist way of thinking, and as much as I wished I could live a more “zen” lifestyle, I am neither zen, nor am I Buddhist. The thought of “knowingContinue reading “Wherever You Go, There You Are.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This time last year, I was in Malaysia. Actually, as I publish this, it was last week of last year, but the actual dates don’t really matter, do they? It is wild to think that just a year ago, I could hop on a plane with several friends, and we could just go to Malaysia.Continue reading “Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia”

Staycation

Kouri Island Back in early 2018, my Marine husband and I were discussing where we would like to consider going for our next duty-station. We selected Okinawa because, in my words, “our parents are healthy, and this would be a great time in our lives to travel in Southeast Asia, so it’s a good timeContinue reading “Staycation”