Ten years ago I made the choice to go on my first journey that required a passport. In May of 2007 I was slated to fly from Houston to Birmingham, United Kingdom for a one month stay and then another few weeks in London after that. I had been to Eleuthera, Bahamas in high school but made it in with only a birth certificate at the tiniest airport I’ve ever seen. Now I needed governmental approval to travel. That first trip really cemented in me a love of finding new things. Birmingham, which is not most people’s ideal first travel experience, was eye-opening for me. I’ve long been obsessed with British culture and just being around university students that had completely different life experiences than I was invigorating. These students holidayed in Spain or Germany for fun because it was accessible. I, on the other hand, had yet to visit Canada or Mexico.

Starting Out Small

In Birmingham , UK in 2007 (I’m on the far right.) Photo by Zack Russell.

Taking my first trip in an English speaking country was the best thing for me. I needed to ease myself into a different culture and with the diversity represented in Birmingham, there was nothing short of a million things to see. The trip was so amazing that I actually did it again in 2008, followed by another month in London. To date, it’s the most time I’ve ever spent in the UK and I miss it terribly. That’s part of why I chose to propose to my wife in London. There’s just something about the city and culture that has captured my soul.

No matter how many times I go back, there’s always something new to be acquainted with. That’s the beauty of travel, it always affords you new eyes.

Taking a plunge

With my now two-year old passport, I decided to try my mettle at a bit more long term adventure. I signed up for a program that allowed me to teach English to university students in Paris. My teammate and I lived in a tiny room in the 16th Arrondissement and I spent my time letting Paris change me. I was fresh out of university and needed something new in my life. I let my hair grow long, read books by French philosophers and spent every Wednesday playing music at an Open Mic in a Scottish pub. It was a beautiful, stressful and life-altering time.

There was no turning back for me. Travel was exactly what I wanted. Well, travel was more the conduit for experience. I’m a firm believer that you can find what you’re looking for anywhere as long as you’re ready to find it.

Homebound

After returning home to Houston, life set in. I got a job, started dating someone seriously and moved into the city. Whatever I had wanted from my life in Paris was quickly gone. This is something that happens to every traveler at some point. You lose focus of what you wanted to do, sometimes for very good reasons, and then five years passes. For me, I wanted to be normal. The problem is, normal is a myth and I never knew how to find it. To sate my wanderlust I talked about traveling with my girlfriend, who was pretty lukewarm on the idea. I planned imaginary trips that we would never go on and spent my free time pricing airfares.

I was stuck between two worlds with a girlfriend I wasn’t being fair to. So, as expected, the relationship ended. Meanwhile, my passport sat in my desk collecting dust.

Finding the Perfect Travel Companion

It was now 2012 and I had no idea when I was going to travel outside of the United States again. Then the best thing that ever could have happened walked into my life. I found my traveling partner. In five years I had only been to Las Vegas, Seattle or on trips to see family or friends. Within one year of dating my now wife, we’d gone to New York City, all over Texas and planned all the trips to our dream destinations. So when we had the chance to lead a pilgrimage to London and Canterbury in 2014, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I’ll save the whole story for another time, but in short, she said yes as we sat right outside St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Since then we’ve been to Italy, France, and England, with shorter trips to lots of US cities. The last trip on my passport was with my wife and parents to Paris for 10 days. Now I have to start the renewal process so we can have some fresh pages to stamp on our next adventures!

My first ten years of travel have been the most formative years in my life. Living in different cultures taught me to appreciate the “other,” whether thats a different religion, race, lifestyle, sexual orientation or simply an attitude. That’s what I love about the art of travel. No matter where you go you never come back the same person. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

In an article for Forbes, contributor Brett Steenbarger wrote, "I’ve never achieved a creative insight in a routine setting.” As normal sounding as that sentence may be, it’s actually pretty profound. Fresh experiences cause us to create new thoughts, ideas and insights. I spent most of my time in college studying in the exact same position. The back corner table by the bookshelf in The Mudhouse in downtown Springfield, Missouri. It was my home away from home and made me feel comfortable, welcome and caffeinated.

The college period of my life was marked by a pretty heavy creative output. I wrote more words in that coffee shop than probably in all other coffee shops I’ve been to since. It was my routine spot for five years and to this day holds many fond memories. The problem is, the more I look back, the less creative that time seems.

Passport Stamps and Scrutiny

I received my first passport in 2007 and that little government issued booklet has been more of an idea creator than any amount of time I spent at The Mudhouse. The question is, why?

"While traveling, however, I’ve experienced many fresh perspectives and generated quite a few new ideas,” Steenbarger posits in the Forbes article. "The more unique the travel destination, such as the Alaska glacier, the more likely it’s been that I’ve arrived at important realizations."

The moment I stepped off my first trans-Atlantic flight in Birmingham, United Kingdom, every idea I had up until that point quickly faded. I was dutifully  singled out for scrutiny by airport security. My ability to think on my feet was now imperative. This was post-9/11 England and forgetting to bring your destination address was obviously frowned upon. No phone, no address and pretty much no clue, I somehow talked myself out of a weird situation by claiming I was just a dumb American (at that point, true) who’d never been to England before.

Creativity as Necessity

I was traveling alone, having opted to book my own flight without the group I was meeting to save money. Growing up in Houston, now the most diverse US city, had given me a chance to experience lots of different cultures. This, however, was a whole new level. Steenberger writes that “creativity seems to be a function of fresh experiencing,” and that’s exactly what I had stumbled into. Next thing I know I was watching a new friend feed her child some type of lamb stew. Everything was different. It was raining outside, as usual, and my head needed rearranging.

Early on in my stay I found a tiny cafe at the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham’s city centre. For the next month that little place became a haven of new ideas, conversations and thought. I had brought along a few books on philosophy and my mind was awash with new accents and world views. I visited a church for Iranian immigrants fleeing persecution in their home country. Every sinew inside me was pushed to its limit as a brand new reality unfolded in front of me.

At that little cafe, I wrote, read and believed in things that I never would have thought possible just one month earlier. My “fresh experiences” turned on sections of my brain that I didn’t even know existed. I was hopelessly addicted to travel and the world around me.

Finding Fresh Experiences

"We become better creative thinkers when we become more emotionally creative, and we become more emotionally creative when we actively engage the world in fresh ways,” writes Steenbarger. The problem that I have is finding fresh things in the city that I live in. Houston is the fourth largest city in America and has an overabundance of culture, arts and entertainment. It’s literally around every corner. But for me, I have trouble seeing any of it.

This city has been my home for a good number of years and each day it feels exactly the same. Kim and I take little trips and go out of our way to find adventure, but the city feels the same. I crave fresh experiences and for some reason, the only place I can find them is somewhere else.

Redefining Wanderlust

That’s all well and good, but traveling can be pretty expensive and time-consuming when it isn’t your job. Just the other day I visited a piece of the Berlin Wall that is housed on the campus of Rice University. It’s been there since the 1990’s and yet I had never seen it. There’s a wide world right next to me and I can’t seem to stop looking up flights on Google Flights.

Wanderlust is a real thing, now I just need to learn how to translate that wanderlust closer to home for the in between times. After all, for the part-time traveler, the in between time is usually 90% of your life. For the sake of fresh experiences, creativity and happiness, I’ve got to open my eyes a little wider.

Those times at The Mudhouse really seemed creative at the moment, but now that I look back on it, all the end products looked the same. Angsty poetry, research papers and poorly structured song lyrics. The experience itself can't be discounted but the lack of exposure to the world left me a pretty shallow pool to fish from. The more I see the world, the more I am shaped and opened up to these fresh experiences. The creative output that comes from those times is definitely more interesting and inclusive. Steenbarger's right, "the ability to experience the world distinctively" will sharpen and enhance your worldview and your art.

  A few months ago I stumbled across a camera/travel bag from a new company called Vinta. Billed as a bag for the "modern traveler", the Vinta S Series fits somewhere between a less canvas version of a Bradley Mountain backpack and a functional camera bag. I ordered mine in the Forest Green color-way with tan leather handles and accents. In pictures it looked rugged and refined, calling back to a woodsman's sensibilities but in a bit more of a functional fashion.

Green With Envy

Right out of the box the S Series was everything I wanted it to be. The Forest Green color really pops when paired with the leather accents. At only 2.2 pounds, it is super comfortable on your back, even when fully loaded down. For my purposes that includes a Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-120mm lens, Nikkor 85mm lens, battery grip, two batteries and chargers, Rode VideoMic Go, and a lens filter kit. At full capacity, the S Series never felt too full or heavy. The weight distribution over the small footprint bag was perfect and makes carrying it all day a breeze.

Small Size Rules

The S Series is a pretty small feeling bag, which worried me at first. At 11.5 x 15.75 x 5.5 in., it's definitely smaller than my Tenba DNA 15. As I began wearing it fully loaded, I realized the small footprint led to a more comfortable experience. It sits pretty high up on your back but leaves room at the bottom of the bag to attach a tripod comfortably.

Rugged Look

The looks of the Vinta S Series is easily one of its best qualities. I'm not sure I've ever received compliments on my camera bag before, until now. The S Series doesn't necessarily look like a camera bag, which helps with urban commuting and not advertising that it has a few thousand dollars worth of gear inside. On weekends I'm a jeans and t-shirt guy and the S Series blends in seamlessly and fashionably. The back load zipper feature also keeps your gear protected from theft while wearing it.

Digital Nomad Issues

My one issue with the S Series comes not from it's small size but in its ability to carry my 15" MacBook Pro. Namely because it really can't without making it hard to access any of the other gear that I've stored. With all my gear fit inside, the 15" MacBook Pro barely fits into the slot unless you load it from the front, meaning you can't access the camera gear without taking the laptop out first from a different pocket. Yes my 15" MacBook Pro is a beast and I should probably get something a bit more portable. I tried lightening the load and adding it in and that mostly worked, but it was still too tall to open from the back. So if you're looking to use this as a camera and computer bag, make sure you're using a 13" laptop for optimal fit.

Overall

The Vinta S Series is a perfect bag for traveling lightly with your camera. It carries the essentials, especially if you shoot with a mirrorless camera, and looks great while doing it. The small size makes it super comfortable for long days of carrying. I do wish I could fit my 15" MacBook Pro more comfortably, but that's a minor issue for me. I need a smaller laptop anyway. Overall, I'm really happy with the Vinta S Series and can't wait to take it on more photo adventures. You can order the S Series from Vinta here and from Amazon here. To see more specs on the Vinta S Series, check out my earlier post.

Photos: All photos were taken by my lovely wife Kim at Rice University in Houston, TX.

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this post and did not receive my Vinta S Series bag as compensation for this review. I genuinely love this bag and bought it with my own cash. The opinions are my own and are unsolicited. The Amazon link is an affiliate link that allows me to earn commission from any referral sales. This is a way to help support the ongoing effort of I Create Nothing to bring relevant travel, creativity and lifestyle content to you. 

I need to make a travel bucket list.

Us in Paris. June, 2016.

See, I didn't grow up traveling. My childhood was wonderful and full of adventure, but our family wasn't one for going far for that adventure. We had an almost yearly visit to Florida, trips to Illinois, Tennessee or Indiana to see family and that was about it. My wife still finds it hard to believe that I've never been to either Disneyworld or Disneyland. We were always busy with school, sports or work and seeing family just took precedence.

There was a trip to Mount Rushmore once. I was young and don't remember the details but can still see those stone mountain heads in my mind. There was a magic quality to those massive busts that enthralled me. That magic feeling is what I'm still chasing when I head out to a new country. A certain wide-eyed wonder that only seeing the world through those kid-like eyes can bring.

Lately, we've been dreaming of taking more exotic trips so we've started making a bucket list to help guide us in our adventures. Kim is a beach lover so we're combing through lists of best beaches and dreaming big. I'm more of an urban or cold weather traveler so basically I've tagged Iceland and the Nordic regions. Needless to say, it's a bit slow going. There's going to be a lot of compromise, a must for any marriage.

Travel Bucket List Resources

One of my new favorite apps is Journi. A simple way to keep track of where you've been, what you're doing while there, and a way to let people know about your adventures. The virtual passport map is probably my favorite part. Each country you visit gives you a stamp to fill up a map of the world. The adventurer in me wants to color the entire thing.

I also like to watch travel videos on Vimeo for inspiration. There's nothing like seeing others experience new places. That visual look into a trip really whets my appetite to pack a bag and go.

You can't forget the classic resources like bucketlist.org, which is invaluable for finding perfect places to achieve those hard to check off items. For now I think I'm going to get more comfortable with going to the beach. There's plenty of beaches I've yet to go to and those passport stamps don't stamp themselves.

What are some of your more exotic bucket list locations?

London is a beautiful city. It's galleries and museums hold countless treasures from the ancient and modern world. But what happens when you try to see all the art in London in one single day? Well, Alex Gorush tried to find out.

In a clever bit of marketing for the National Art Pass, Gorush rushed to visit all the art in London in a single 24 hour period. From the Tate Modern to my personal favorite, the Victoria & Albert Museum, we get a look inside some of the worlds greatest displays of art, just very quickly. Although my favorite piece of art, Kandinsky's "Red-Yellow-Blue", 1925, is housed in Paris' Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, my favorite glass sculpture is in London's  V&A. The rotunda chandelier by Dale Chihuly is absolutely breathtaking and a must see if you're in London. With something for everyone, London really is an art lovers destination.

A Wing A Day

In 2007 I spent a month in London as part of my first extended stay outside the US. I had made some friends in the city but they all worked during the day so I made a new plan. Each morning I took a new wing of a museum or gallery and thoroughly went through it. From historical treasures in the British Museum to troves of silhouettes in the National Portrait Gallery, I experienced a crash course in art history. It was the opposite of what Gorush did in the video above and it was absolutely amazing.

It seems like so long ago now but I can still feel the creative rush I had when browsing through Soviet propaganda posters at the Tate Modern. The bold lettering, imposing faces and harsh colors still take me back to that day. I also found my personal favorite bathroom on what I think was floor 4. Seriously, check it out.

Art For Inspiration

Whether you see it fast or slow, there's not many things better for a creative kick in the ass than seeing masterworks of art. There's a great run of museums and galleries in Houston that I don't visit often enough, even though most of them are free at least one day a week. So take the time to see the art that's around you. London and Paris are wonderful but if you don't appreciate the art in your own area, you probably won't appreciate it anywhere else.