"You're only as good as your TRAVEL BUDDY"

In my travel experience, I've ALWAY had a Travel Buddy. I can't even imagine those who enjoy traveling alone. Not only is there safety in numbers, but also, I can only imagine how lonely you would get. Maybe I still have some growing up to do, but at this moment, solo traveling is NOT my calling.

In my traveling career, I've really only had 1 Travel Buddy. My sister, Sam. She is a traveling whiz and has taught me EVERYTHING I know! So when I realized last April, that she wouldn't be returning with me, I became very nervous. How could I possibly travel by myself?? Would I get lost? Would I be lonely? I prayed that God would ease my mind when it came to this next Traveling Adventure. And he answered my prayer by sending me LeAnne.

This summer, while working together, God matched LeAnne as my travel buddy. Though I was excited, I was also VERY nervous. When traveling with Sam, we would fight and get sick of each other every once in awhile. But in the end, I knew everything would be okay, because we were Family and technically, she had to Love me. :) But traveling with a friend?? Though fun, that has the potential to ruin even the best of friendships. What would happen if we had a falling out, in the middle of the Filipino Jungle?? I prayed that God would bless our friendship and help us to withstand ANY and ALL obstacles while on this trip.

As far as I'm concerned, God blessed me with the perfect travel buddy! LeAnne was so fun and took every unique opportunity as an adventure. She has this talent of remaining positive even in the worst of situations, a talent that I have not quite mastered. Even while sick with Malaria, she maintained her kind, pleasant personality. She also has this talent of thinking rationally even in the most stressful situation, another talent I have not mastered. Therefore, we were a perfect match!

Another thing I love about LeAnne, is that we were both in Choir groups at school; she as an alto, me as a soprano. So whenever I would randomly break out into song (which is quite frequently), she would back me up with gorgeous harmony.

She is so funny and could always make light of the situation, but at the same time knew how to handle any conversation in serious manner. Many times throughout this trip, I would go to her with problems or questions that I had and she always had the right thing to say or knew where to look for the answer.

I've heard it said, In Travels, "You're only as good as your Travel Buddy." Well, if this be the case, then I'm totally awesome! LeAnne helped to make this trip so much fun and I can't imagine the trip without her! I would just like to take this moment to say a Huge Thank You to LeAnne's family. I know it may have been difficult to share your daughter/sister/niece/aunt/granddaughter during the holiday season, but this trip wouldn't have been the same without her! So Thank You for Sharing!!

So, this post is dedicated to LeAnne. Thank you for being an awesome travel buddy! You made this Filipino Adventure amazing! Love you, buddy!