Ready, Packed, Go!
About Me
Hi! I'm Cathy and I'm so glad you've made your way to my blog.​ I'm a native Floridian (Ft. Lauderdale to be exact), turned Midwestern girl (spent almost 6 years in Cincinnati getting my Ph.D.) and current West Coast travel fiend (now living and working in Los Angeles). Oh and if you're wondering about the picture to the right it was an underwater photoshoot where I channeled my inner mermaid (my spirit animal/favorite magical creature).
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I decided to create this blog as a way to keep track of my travels, life inspiration, photos, food explorations and just life in general. This is my first blog and I'm slightly nervous/excited to get started.
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Like most people I had heard of blogs or 'blogging' as a hobby, sport and even profession but never really understood what was so interesting or cool about them. That was until I was planning my first international trip to Japan...
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As part of my full time job (I'm a research scientist), I get to travel around the country and world giving talks at conferences (check out the 'My Research' tab). Well, about two years ago I got the chance to speak at a conference in Japan (Tokyo to be exact)! I was thrilled but also extremely anxious and nervous about not only going on my first ever international trip, but also going to a place where English wasn't the first language (obviously) and where symbols replaced the typical text I was used to seeing. On top of that I wanted to make this trip COUNT, meaning I wasn't going to stay in Tokyo the entire time, I wanted to go to as many cities as possible but how to actually do and plan this seemed overwhelming.
That was until I found travel blogs. Yes that's right blogs. Simple google searches lead me to a plethora of travel blogs that were so incredibly helpful when it came to planning my trip. Places to go and see, inside tips for transportation and even cultural do's and dont's. I was hooked and also grateful that information like this existed. Real people, real experiences that went beyond a travel guide. As time went on, and more professional and personal opportunities lead to more travel, I decided I needed to keep track of all the things I was doing and help share my experiences.
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Fast forward to today, I've decided to launch 'Ready, Packed, Go!" as a way to help share my experiences on travel, food, life and other general goings-on. I hope you enjoy!
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