Before I begin the journey this blog will be I feel it only proper to give you a little insight into myself. My name is Annie, but to my friends I am Ally. Living in southern Colorado my entire life, nineteen years to date, has given me an insight into the convergence of many cultures. I live between two towns--Taos, NM and Crestone, CO; both known for their hippie/boho conglomerate. Taos is also home to a strong Hispanic contingent, a Native American factor, and the wealthy, artsy, escaping-the-hustle-and-bustle-of-Santa-Fe crowd. With these four groups, Taos is the breeding ground for a diverse and eclectic type of living. Homes range from well-loved VW vans, to multi-million dollar stucco and latilla mansions, sprawling in the areas of the Weimer foothills, Blueberry Hill, and for the discerning elitist, Arroyo Seco. To the north I am met with a more or less typical agricultural locale. Large farms, small farms, and homes are interspersed before stopping for the contained minimal sprawl of our few towns. Alamosa, Monte Vista, Center, Hooper, Mosca, La Jara, Blanca, Manassa-- the list can and could go on. The locations I know best are in the areas I have just described, but I have also traveled extensively to regions beyond. My first vacation was to Michigan to see family and my family has been traveling since. I have been to all but nine of the fifty states, most of the National Parks, too many museums and monuments to count, and seen more of the United States at nineteen than either parent had by their 30th birthday. I feel privileged, and I don't take these experiences for granted. Without the traveling I have done, I fear my outlook on life would be decidedly close-minded and shallow.
I have eaten tripe in Mississippi, fried chicken at an Amish restaurant in Ohio, raw oysters in Oregon, and sampled mole in Arizona. I have fed wild donkeys in Oatman, AZ, pitied the hungry dogs on the Navajo reservation, walked on the beach in Mary Esther, FL, and climbed Whale Rock in Moab, UT. Call me possessed, or travel happy. I love traveling, I love seeing new cultures, trying new food, taking pictures of new places, and coming home to places I know well and love deeply.
This blog will be dedicated entirely to food and travel. My long-term life long dream is to be a freelance food and travel writer, and who knows who may read this blog. Maybe this will be the first step down that different path for me.
