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Growing up in Canada, I heard stories about explorers in my family. My American great grandmother Nellie lived in a log cabin in what became Glacier National Park in Montana. Her neighbors were Blackfeet Indians. She grew alfalfa as feed for teams of horses bringing tourists into the Rocky Mountains. Nellie had a crippled leg from polio, and she had to whistle to get her own horse, Babe, to walk up to the raised porch so she could saddle up.
Another traveler in my family, great great grandmother Mary Jane Means from Maine, tutored her children for months at a time at sea. Her husband Lemuel was a sea captain working for Vernon H. Brown and Company of New York, agents of the Cunard Line. Once, when all aboard the clipper ship were sick, Mary Jane was credited with bringing the vessel back across the Atlantic to Milbridge.
The stories intrigued me. I wanted to see the world. When you add up numerous crossings of the North American continent to visit family in various states, moving to the west coast of Norway, and journeys to Southeast Asia to accompany my father during his academic field research in the jungle, I can say that my traveler‘s curiosity was permanently piqued.
Since studying journalism in San Francisco, interning at National Geographic in Washington D.C. and moving to Oslo more than two decades ago, I’ve never stopped being excited by travel. Through the years, I’ve lived in Thunder Bay, Canada; Molde, Norway; Winchester, England and in New York City. But exhilarating travel doesn’t have to be to some far-flung spot on the other side of the globe. It can just as well be about cultivating a traveler’s mindset in my own adopted city, Oslo.
I started The Best Escapes to express my passion – in words and pictures – for all there is to experience in this life, whether it’s near or far, adventure or luxury, culture or sport, five-star resort or cozy inn, 12-course Michelin star meal or a simple oatmeal with cinnamon, nuts and raisins cooked over a campfire. So many things on this small, blue planet of ours are amazing – let’s remind ourselves what is good, and remember to savor it when we can.
Kaia Means
Editor, TheBestEscapes.com
