PACKED FOR ADVENTURE
Desiree Castonguay
“Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.”
Jennifer Lee
![14199225_10154519289433824_6867436044355833739_n[1]](https://escapingtheor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/14199225_10154519289433824_6867436044355833739_n1-500x500.jpg)
Hi! I’m Dez!
- Adventurous spirit
- Adrenaline junkie
- Always looking for the next escape
- Oh! And I’m a Surgical Physician Assistant, too
Blog Recent Travel Stories
My 10 favorite Antarctic experiences
Since my return from the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and Antarctica with Quark Expeditions, the question I’ve gotten the most is: WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE THING?! Well…I’ve managed to narrow it down to ten. I feel like that’s reasonable considering how many different things we did and how many amazing activities there are to pick […]
A day in the life of a polar explorer
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, I should specify that these are modern times. And with modern times come modern comforts. Hot water, expensive outerwear, and Wifi were not available to the Ernest Shackeltons and Roald Amundsens of the world, but hey . . . We’re all explorers at heart! I spent the weeks before […]
Hiking the Table Rock Trail, Pickens, South Carolina
When Dave first moved to South Carolina in 2018, I spent a lot of time searching the internet for things to do in the “upstate” region. Something that kept popping up in my search was hiking Table Rock, which claims to have the best views in the area. If you’ve ever been to South Carolina, […]
Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and Antarctica with Quark Expeditions
As I return to a world filled with talk of social isolation, madness, and quarantine, I find peace and happiness looking through pictures of such an incredible journey. Although the Antarctic polar region is somewhat isolated itself, this trip was exactly the opposite. I set out on this journey as a solo traveler, but never […]
Autumn in Chattanooga
For as long as I can remember, fall has always been my favorite time. Growing up in Maine, I experienced the best: beautiful leaves, cooler temperatures, apple picking—you name it! (Disclaimer: while fall is easily my favorite season, Halloween is not on my favorites list (except the candy part. I know, I know . . […]
Visit Africa with East Africa Adventures (Kenya Edition)
When I found out that an opportunity to visit Cuba for a Cardiothoracic Surgery (heart and lung surgery. That’s what I do!) information exchange wasn’t going to work out, I was feeling pretty bummed. It didn’t take long for my friend Amanda to cheer me up. When I called her to complain about my missed […]
Visit Africa with East Africa Adventures (Tanzania edition)
After spending a week in Kenya, we couldn’t fathom how the trip could get any better. We were in for a treat. We drove back through parts of Amboseli as we made our way to Namanga, where we would cross the border into Tanzania. We were excited to get a new guide, but nervous because […]
A guide to Little Rock, Arkansas
Dave and I headed to Little Rock, Arkansas this weekend to cross another state off our 50 states list. If you’ve read any other posts on this blog, you’ve probably noticed we don’t always get the best weather. It rained most of the day Saturday making the day feel like two completely separate days. We […]
Floating the Current River
What else is there to do when the temperature hits 95 degrees Fahrenheit with a heat index of 110-115 degrees?! The answer: Float on a tube through the Ozarks of Missouri on the Current River, of course! Several of my Southern Illinois friends and I had been talking about wanting to go on a float […]
36 hours in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
“True friendship isn’t about being inseparable, it’s being separated and nothing changes.” -unknown I met my best friend, Michelle, on our first day of college at Husson University in 2007, and for a long time, we were inseparable. We had all the same classes, friends, and were attached at the hip. Life has a funny […]
That’s it. We’re done with brunch.
Since we’re doing the whole long distance thing, Dave and I often meet somewhere in the middle. Chattanooga, Tennessee is one of our favorite stops (mostly because it’s the closest to halfway). We headed there this weekend to stay with our favorite Airbnb host, Loretta; however, she ended up having to leave town. We had […]
Everything is bigger in Texas
On Friday morning we headed out for the last leg of our road trip. We had only five hours left, and we would finally reach our destination in Witchita Falls, Texas, to visit some of my family: my stepsister’s husband is in the military and they are currently stationed there. We hit the road stopping […]
Tour de Louisiana
St. Louis Cemetery #2 For some reason, our Airbnb host asked us to check out early. Since we woke up early anyway, we packed up our things and made our way back downtown to check out the cemeteries while they were open. We spent about an hour walking through each block of St. Louis Cemetery […]
Alabama here we come!
Sunday morning we woke up, packed our things, and ate a quick breakfast in the RV before making our way west. Our Airbnb host, Tom, showed us an RV he was renovating to replace the Yellow Submarine. Compared to where we had spent the previous two nights, this was a mansion! If only we were […]
I thought Florida was supposed to be warm…
It seems like every time we travel we run into some pretty nasty weather. Florida did not disappoint. We woke up Sunday morning to gray skies and cold winds. Despite this, we only had 24 hours left in St. Augustine and needed to make the best of it. We made an effort to shower in […]
“You’re going to drive from South Carolina to Texas in a week? Are you insane?!”
Dave and I have a goal to visit every state in the United States. We keep track of this with a scratch-off map. So what better way to spend his Spring Break than driving across the South? We booked five Airbnbs, used roadtripper.com to plan our route, packed a carry-on, and set off on a […]
τα λέμε σύντομα (see you soon), Greece!
Day 13 Paros/Athens: Day 13 was another travel day. We met in the lobby at 0900 to head to the port. Our ferry was supposed to depart at 1015-1030, however, again it was delayed. We walked around and explored the port for a while and then hung out in the shade of one of the […]
CHARRRRGGGEEEEE!!!!!
Day 11: Santorini/Paros Day 11 was another travel day. We got up at 0830 and headed over to the pool house/restaurant for breakfast. We had to meet in the lobby to catch the bus and check out around 0930. We took the bus down the side of the caldera to the port to catch the […]
I’m on a boat!
Day 12: Paros On day 12 we went on a full day boat tour with Captain Yannis. If you are ever in Paros, Greece…I highly recommend. The boat tour was something Jason had proposed to the group before we had even left for the trip as one of the add-on excursions. Originally, Amanda and I […]
Sunset in Santorini
Day 10: Santorini After staying out all night in Fira, I manage to sleep in until about 1150 on day 10. It made for a really weird day since I cannot remember the last time I slept that late. I got up, grabbed some food in the room and waited for my roommates to wake […]
Fira By Night…and morning
Day 9: Athens/Santorini On day nine, we woke up in the city of Athens and fell asleep on the island of Santorini. From this point on we were on island time and the tour was completely different. We had a later flight to Santorini so we didn’t need to be in the lobby until nine. […]
The day when all my dreams came true.
Day 8: Athens Although day eight was supposed to be a free day, we decided to pack it full of activities. We slept in a little…waking up around 8, had breakfast at the hotel and headed out. National Archeological Museum Our first stop was the National Archeological Museum, which is full of artifacts from all […]
Welcome to Athens
On day seven we had to get up incredibly early to meet in the lobby by 0545 for our flight to Athens, which left at 0845. The hotel in Rome even gave us breakfast in bags since it was so early. We made our way to the airport and through security without any issues. Our […]
How to see the Pope and Pompeii all in one day!
Day six was a fantastic day! We got up super early to meet in the lobby by 0700. We had a scheduled entrance at the Vatican City for 0800 to beat the crowds, but believe me…it was still crowded. We met up with Linda again, our guide from yesterday. Vatican City Fun fact: There are, […]
Touring Rome
Day five started like any other Wednesday. We got up early. We toured the Coliseum. Wait… The Roman Coliseum To be able to enter the Coliseum before all the crowds, we had to leave our hotel around 0800. The weather threatened rain but remained dry. The dark clouds made for some really cool pictures though! […]
From Florence to Rome via Orvieto
Day 4: Orvieto/Rome On day four, we checked out of our hotel in Florence and hopped on a bus for the 3.5 hour trip to Rome with a pit stop in Orvieto for food and to stretch our legs. Check out and departure was at 0900. This bus ride out of Florence was a little […]
The best of Cinque Terre in a day
On day three, I discovered chocolate-filled croissants. They are AMAZING. That is all for this post! Cinque Terre Just kidding! On day three, we had options. Our options were: to enjoy a free day or sign up for a planned excursion to Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is a string of five, centuries-old seaside fishing villages […]
From Florence to Venice and back in 24 hours
Venice Due to the sweet, sweet combination of jet lag, daylight, cold air, boats on the canal, and excitement, we woke up around 0600. The original apartment we booked was under construction so our host had us stay in another apartment overlooking the Grand Canal. Here’s a virtual tour of the Grand Canal from Venezia […]
Italy and the Greek Islands with EF Ultimate Break
A little background My friend Amanda, from PA school, and I had not seen each other since graduating in 2014. We had talked on several occasions about taking a trip, but nothing ever really worked out since we both had crazy schedules. Low and behold, four years later, we figured out! We had difficulty deciding […]
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