Taken by the Wind

I got a full-time writing job! Yep, this part-time blogger has gone pro!

Reannon Muth — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:53:36 +0000

This is a quick post to let you all know that I’ve gotten a full-time writing job!

I’m now blogging and social media-ing full-time at an online marketing company (SEO) here in Las Vegas. While it’s been awesome to take a break from teaching ESL and do what I love (writing, duh) it’s also meant that travel writing and this blog will probably be taking somewhat of a backseat for a while (at least things have settled a bit).

Photo by Ben Spark

Now don’t cry now. Chin up! I’m not going anywhere. I love this blog too much to abandon it entirely…I’m just warning you that my posts might become a bit well, sporadic.

In the meantime, you guys can always find me on Facebook and Twitter and I just joined Pinterest (dudes, if you’re the type that’s easily distracted by pretty pictures, don’t join Pinterest. It’s addicting!)

See you out there on the interwebs,

Reannon

Photo Source

Famous Film Locations: Seaside, Florida

Reannon Muth — Sun, 13 May 2012 20:57:31 +0000

The film location for "The Truman Show". Photo by Clark Maxwell.

You’ve got mail? Look at that teeny tiny post office! Photo by Clark Maxwell.

I recently wrote a post for Flipkey.com called Vacation on Location: 5 Famous Film Locations. In it, I wrote about the setting of the film The Truman Show. Though it isn’t my favorite Jim Carey film (I prefer Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), I loved the setting and was surprised to learn that the white-washed, white-sand beach town in the movie wasn’t a Hollywood set but a real “master-planned community” in Panama City Beach, Florida.

Seaside, Florida. Photo by Tim Cummins

Photo by Tim Cummins.

Movie Still from the film "The Truman Show". Photo courtesy of Reel-Scout.com

The photo above is a still from the film The Truman Show. It’s courtesy of an article about iconic movie locations from reel-scout.com.

View from a vacation rental in Seaside, Florida

Photo above courtesy of Flipkey.com

Ain’t it beautiful? I’d love to stay there one day.

What about you? What famous film locations have you visited?

Gone Glamping! Photos of Luxury Campsites

Reannon Muth — Sun, 13 May 2012 19:52:51 +0000

Photo by Reis. In stijl.

Photo by Reis. In stijl.

While doing research for a post I wrote for Tripbase.com, “Hippies, Hashish and Banana Pancakes: The History of Backpacking”, I stumbled upon multiple photos of a style of luxury camping called “glamping.”

Glamping (glamorous + camping) is the opposite of roughing it. About the only thing it has common with the “pee-in-the-bushes-roast-marshmellows”-type camping familiar to most North Americans is that you sleep outdoors…well, sorta.

With glamping, there are no pop-up tents, sleeping bags or outhouses. Instead, there are yurts, heated mattress pads, goose-feather comforters, remote-controlled fire places and even spa tents and room service.

Photo by Carlos Affonso

Photo by Carlos Affonso.

Photo by Karen B

Photo by Karen B.

Photo by Kurt Johnson

Photo by Kurt Johnson.

Photo by Jocelyn Saurini

Photo by Jocelyn Saurini.

Photo by Marya

Photo by Marya.

Photo by Jambako the Jaguar

Photo by Tambako the Jaguar.

The website Glamping Girl features luxury camping items like caffeinated marshmallows and juicy couture sleeping bags.

Funnily enough, this style of camping (if you can call that) isn’t new; it was THE way to camp for the wealthy in the 30s and 40s in Africa and Thailand.

What do you think about glamping? Would you try it?

More Info:

Best Glamping Spots in America. - AOL Travel

Camping? Yes. Roughing it? Not Quite. – The New York Times. “We call it nature on a silver plate.”

New Travel Dating Site Matches Pretty Women with Rich Travelers

Reannon Muth — Tue, 08 May 2012 01:10:04 +0000

Photo by Andrea Rose

A rich business exec gives a pretty woman the following offer: Travel with me, stay in the presidential suite of a five-star hotel, dine in expensive restaurants with my friends and I and you won’t have to pay for a thing!

If that sounds an awful lot like the plot of the movie Pretty Woman, well, it is. But it’s also the premise for the online dating website misstravel.com. Sound super sketchy? That’s what I thought too.

Check out this ueber funny post on Matador: Hot Chicks Travel for Free. In it, writer Candice Walsh describes her experience using the site to try to snag some free vacations. She doesn’t have much luck until she meets a guy from Hawaii. This is how she imagines her date with him will go:

“This is how I picture it going down. I show up in Hawaii. He greets me with a rose, the smile fading on his face ever so slightly as he realizes I’m wearing yoga pants and an Aeropostale hoodie. We share a long, uncomfortable car ride making small talk about the weather. We try to break the ice with random questions like, “Where are you from? What’s your favourite flavour of Jello?” We embark on a trip together, to Rome. We argue loudly on the airplane about who gets the window seat. I want to see the Colosseum and he needs to buy new shoes from Gucci.
When I refuse, he strangles me.”

While I think misstravel.com isn’t much more than an escourt company loosely disguised as a dating website, I find the idea intriguing.

Here’s their promotional video:

If I were rich enough to afford it, I’d love to hire a hot dude to accompany me on all my vacations. Though not for the reasons you’d think. I’m not interested in any mile high club action, but more a personal assistant slash man-slave. Someone to pick up my luggage at the baggage carousel, organize my transportation and make my hotel reservations; all those pain-in-the-butt parts of travel that I usually postpone until three hours after I arrive somewhere. It’d be cool if he spoke the local language too, so that way he could be my language tutor slash translator.

I’m totally kidding by the way. I’d never hire some hot foreign man to wait on my beck and call. That’s what husbands are for! I’d just marry some hot foreign man instead (Ha ha).

Fashion for Travel Addicts: Adventure-themed Jewelry

Reannon Muth — Sat, 05 May 2012 17:59:30 +0000

Um, I love all of these. Will one of you please buy me the telescope necklace? Pretty please?

Vintage globe locket by Plastic Couture

This globe locket is made out of brass and costs $32.50. It’s available via Plastic Couture.

Spyglass necklace by Glazed Black Cherry

The telescope is collapsible and really works! It costs $33.99 and is available on Glazed Black Cherry’s Etsy page.

Wandering Adventure Hand-Painted Pendent by Carolyn Blackhurst

Pirate ship necklace by Carolyn Blackhurst

The two hand-painted pendents above are for sale at Carolyn Blackhurst’s Etsy page and are just $15 each.