Taken by the Wind » Travel Photos

Funny Photos from Jamaica

Reannon Muth — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:17:47 +0000

I just got back from Jamaica and was surprised to learn, among other things, that Jamaicans really DO say things like ‘Yeh, Mon’ and ‘No problem, Mon’and ALL THE TIME (it’s not just a stereotype). I got a huge kick out of it and thought the Jamaican accent sounded really pretty (musical even). It definitely ought to be added to the list of World’s Sexiest Accents .

I’ll be posting a more detailed account of my trip later, but thought I’d upload a few funny photos first. I took a jerk-chicken TON of photos (mostly of sunsets, waterfalls and the beach) which you’ll be relieved to know I WON’T be posting (especially after reading this article on how to take better travel photos)

I couldn't help it, okay?

Decorating Ideas for Travel Addicts: Vintage Travel Posters

Reannon Muth — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:52:18 +0000

These photos come from the Boston Public Library’s collection of vintage travel posters. All of them date back to the “The Golden Age of Travel” (1920s through the 1940s). Here’s an exert taken from the description on their Flicker page.

“Travel agents and ticket offices during this period were festooned with vivid, eye-catching posters, all designed to capture the beauty, excitement and adventure of travel and to promote a world of enticing destinations and new modes of transportation.”

My plan is to buy four or five (you can purchase them for 15 bucks online), frame them and hang them up in my bedroom. What do you think?

Photo by Boston Public Library

Photo courtesy of the Boston Public Library

Photo courtesy Boston Public Library

Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library

Photo Courtesy of Boston Public LibraryPhoto courtesy of Boston Public Library

Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library

For ideas on how to decorate using vintage travel posters, the blog Apartment Therapy has some suggestions.

The Zombie Apocalypse Store in Las Vegas: It’s to Die for

Reannon Muth — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 00:42:28 +0000

At the Zombie Apocalypse Store, you can buy everything you need to survive the end of the world; from freeze-dried scrambled eggs and water-filters to wind-up flashlights and stun guns disguised as cell phones.

Oh, and you also can buy a variety of swords, throwing knives, ninja stars and tomahawks…just in case, ya know, you should find yourself under attack by a swarm of flesh-eating zombies.

Seriously.

The store even sells life-like stuffed zombie dolls for people to use as target practice. The human-sized dolls come in various styles (one even resembles Osama Bin Laden) and if you stab or shoot the doll, it squirts fake blood.

Me attacking one of the store clerks

According to one of the store clerks, until about a month ago, the store just sold fake grass (astro-turf lines an entire section of the floor and is funnily enough, still for sale). How the owner, who also runs the jewelry store next-door, came up with the idea to go into the zombie apocalypse business, I have no idea, but it’s a clever business plan.

Because despite the gimmicky name, the store is not much more than a camping and wilderness-survival supply shop. Although they have the occasional true-believer visit the store with a serious intention to stock up on weapons for when a mysterious plague sweeps the planet and turns mankind into man-eating monsters, most of the people who visit the store are just curious.

I asked the female clerk if she believed in all the undead mumbo-jumbo and she wouldn’t give a definitive answer, claiming instead that she believed in “being prepared for anything.”

The Zombie Apocalypse Store can be found just off the Strip, on Spring Mountain road and the I-15. Just look for the building with the giant dinosaur on the roof.

Photos from the Grand Canyon

Reannon Muth — Tue, 31 May 2011 05:30:59 +0000

My German Hiking Buddy

The Grand Canyon at Sundown (the South Rim)

Deer Near our Campsite

More Deer Near our Campsite

Me Doing the Requisite Jumping Shot

This past Memorial Day Weekend, I went camping at the Grand Canyon with a random German backpacker I’d friended online and a group of people I met through a local camping club. While I was a little apprehensive about spending a long weekend in the woods with a group of people I’d never met in person (the camp-out was organized through the social networking site, meetup.com), it turned out to be fun.

My first night there though, I made the mistake of leaving my food out on the picnic table and woke up to find the ravens had devoured my entire stock pile of ramen, pasta and granola bars. They’d even pecked through my graham cracker box. Luckily the other campers were kind enough to share their food so I didn’t have to resort to nibbling white bread all weekend (thanks, guys).

The rest of the weekend, we made s’mores, grilled hot dogs and steaks and went hiking around the south rim of the Canyon as well along the inside. I didn’t hike to the bottom (I vetoed that idea as soon as I heard it would take 12 hours to hike back out. Call me crazy, but the idea of climbing out of a giant hole in the desert in 100 degree weather just didn’t seem worth it for a few photos of a river and a cactus) but I did hike a few miles down.

I was pretty proud of myself for making it that far though, considering that the last time I tried to hike in the desert (a few weeks ago), I wound up with heat stroke and threw up on a boulder about half-way up the hillside (I’ll spare you the photos of that. You’re welcome.)

Anyway, what about you? Ever been to the Grand Canyon? And by the way, here’s a trivia question for ya: Do you have any idea how the Grand Canyon was formed? (Hint: ’asteroid’ is not the answer. That was my genius guess, which received several strange looks and a laugh from the forest ranger).

Funny Photos from Jamaica

Big News: I Have My Own Column!

Reannon Muth — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:49:29 +0000

Before Nicaragua or Guatemala, before I got a job with an airline or lived in Japan and before this blog existed or I even knew what the word ‘blog’ meant, there was India. And the four months I spent hauling my sweaty self up and down mountains and away from stampeding elephants and spitting camels.

Here are a few pictures from that fascinating experience.

Don't eat me!

Snakes, Me and a Crazy Holy Man

Baby Elephant and Me...He kept trying to push me over. Aw, that's love.

Camel Safari

What's scarier...the food or my hair?

Would you eat this?

Are you captivated yet?

Well, I’ve recently been hired by Rumbum.com to write about all of my adventures, starting with when I left NYC and flew to India, all the way through to Nicaragua (and beyond?). It’s a weekly column and you can check back every Monday to read the latest installment or subscribe to it’s RSS feed and receive updates in your email inbox.

It’s called ‘Hello, Big Adventure’ and here’s the link to the first post in the series:

http://rumbum.com/1282-goodbye-big-apple-hello-big-adventure#continue_post

What do you think?

PS Most of these photos were taken by my cousin Anderson. He was nice enough to let me steal borrow them. If you’d like to read about his RTW trip or about the time he cycled through SE Asia, you can check out his blog, Watch Out World.