Ambria's Adventures

A Mystery Ticket to... On April 1, 2025, I arrived at Las Vegas International Airport (LAS) buzzing with anticipation. This wasn’t just any trip — I was finally going to discover my destination for a week-long adventure. I had booked it through Journee , a travel service that keeps your location a secret until shortly before you depart. I’d said yes to their surprise proposal without hesitation, knowing I wouldn’t know where I was going until just a week before my flight. Some people thought it was a ridiculous gamble. Others thought it was the most exciting idea ever. My friends and family tried to help me crack the clues Journee sent in the days leading up to my departure, but no one guessed correctly. Since Journee is based in London and only flies from a handful of U.S. airports, my journey started with a twist: the closest departure point was LAX. It’s a short flight from Las Vegas, but the extra leg made the whole thing a bit more complicated. And given that it was April Fools’ D...

Some trips you plan. Others sneak up on you when you’re least expecting them. Ten days from now, I’ll be boarding a plane to Paris, France—something I never imagined when this year began. The whole thing started with a casual conversation with a guy I met in Spain a couple of years ago. We were catching up, and he mentioned he’d just come back from Cambodia and was heading to Europe. Then, almost offhandedly, he said, “I’ve got an extra ticket to Rock en Seine. Want it?” At first, I laughed. It sounded so spontaneous, so unlike the version of me who’s been stuck in a rut lately. But then the idea started to glow in my mind. Paris. Music. A handsome, kind man. Why not? After all, I’ve been feeling stagnant these past few weeks—like I’m stuck in a holding pattern, unsure what’s next. Being laid off back in April has left me scrolling through job boards, not feeling excited about much. This trip suddenly became the thing I could hang some hope on. And then… another thought snuck in. For y...

  12/28/13 When I arrived in Istanbul for the first time, it was pretty late at night. I was happy I had a friend from Travel Buddy who was waiting to house me. By the time I arrived at his apartment, I was ready for bed. So, not much more to talk about.  On my second day, my host had to go to work. Luckily, he had a free brother. His brother took me to a park and we walked around the city for a while. It was awesome to see the coast and all the local attractions.  We stopped for a drink. I ordered what I thought was an iced coffee, but it turned out to be a delicious ice cream. We then made our way to the center of the city, near the boats. We had dinner, and the food was terrific. Afterward, we took a ferry over to the European side of Istanbul. Then, I met up with some other travel buddies and the party really began. It happened to be Samina's birthday. So that's just added another reason to celebrate. We walked around looking for pubs. After visiting a few, we settled...

  Sunday is typically reserved as a hiking day for my friend group and me. This past Sunday, we decided to try a trail none of us had ever done but was on our lists: Pali Puka. This trail is less than 1 mile (my GPS marked it as .85 to the hole in the rock and back), rated moderate-difficult, has many steep areas where ropes are provided to help climb, can be windy and muddy, and will have you walking along some cliff edges. If you’re not great with heights, this may not be the one. However, one of the girls with us was very nervous at the cliffs and managed to make it with our support. Getting to the Pali Puka was pretty easy, and there is a parking area for the Nu’uanu Pali Lookout Point (if you’re coming from Honolulu, just take highway 61 N about 5 miles, and the signs are marked. If you reach the tunnels, you went too far). There are parking fees for non-residents that can be paid at the pay station. It looked like there were several options to pay, including using a credit ...

Day 4 - Portland, Columbia River Gorge, Seattle (4h 35m, 270 miles) After a night of rest and relaxation in Portland, it was time to hit the road again. However, it was also the 4 th of July, and my friend and I thought it would be more fun in a city, so we decided to spend the night in Seattle, Washington. Looking back, this was not the best option for us. While we did find a nice hotel at a reasonable price, it was so close to Portland that we definitely did not get enough mileage in. On top of that, most things in Seattle were closed anyway because of the pandemic. If I could do it again, I’d make a stop to get some coffee, check out the wharf, the gum wall, and probably be on my way. Anywho, before we left Oregon, we wanted to check out some views outside of the city and made our way to the Columbia River Gorge. Crown Point offered spectacular scenes of the gorge and forest, even on a cloudy day.  From there, we jumped on the Historic Columbia River Highway to do some wate...

My plan for the summer of 2020 was to be on the coast of Italy, meeting up with some travel friends for an all-girls trip. We came up with the idea around November 2019, but as COVID-19 hit and became increasingly powerful, it was clear that the trip was off.  I was pretty lucky to be spending the pandemic in beautiful Hawaii. Once people were discouraged from coming to the islands, things got pretty loose. While social distancing and wearing masks were encouraged, we weren't as restricted as other places on the mainland or other countries. I can see how I was a brat for complaining when in reality, I could still do many hikes, see friends (in groups of 10 or less), and visit the beaches I loved. Regardless, I had the summer off from work, and I was hoping to go somewhere new.  Since international travel was not likely to happen, I decided to visit friends and family on the mainland. I ended up talking to a girlfriend in Las Vegas who was also upset about the change in her pla...