ABOUT ME — BLASE CIABATON

Defining myself through travel

Photo of my wife & in Loveland, CO (image owned by author)

I’ve always aspired to travel, but growing up in rural Pennsylvania with a father who worked in a steel mill, my opportunities as a kid were relatively limited. Exotic family vacations consisted solely of our annual trips to the Jersey shore or Ocean City, Maryland in the family station wagon. Consequently, I couldn’t wait to escape the state made famous for scrapple and Ground Hog’s Day.

I experienced my first real reprieve from the great state of Pennsylvania when I went to college in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond exposed me to Southern culture which eventually led me to adopt “y’all” when speaking to groups. I still find myself easily switching back when I visit destinations in the American south. I also discovered my love for quality southern barbeque while living there. Most importantly, it was here that I met my future wife and co-conspirator who shared the same passion for wanderlust and travel.

As college kids, our journeys were pretty much limited to road trips with college friends who had cars. We headed north to Washinton D.C. to absorb some culture & history, and south to the Outer Banks in North Carolina to enjoy the beach.

We finished college with a grand plan to shift our travel ambitions into full gear. We both enrolled in a Cambridge-sponsored class so that…