Hello, welcome to the first post on my blog! My name is Connor Sylvester, and I plan on utilizing this blog to document all of my travel experiences. I hope you can find some entertainment from the stories I share, but most importantly, that it motivates you to go out and travel! I truly believe that travel can leave a lasting impact on us physically, mentally, and spiritually.
My Background:
I grew up and currently reside in the small town of Manheim, Pennsylvania. Manheim is a small borough located in the rich agricultural county of Lancaster. The first thought that comes to many people’s minds when hearing Lancaster County is the robust Amish heritage. And rightfully so, as it was a daily occurrence to see a horse and buggy on the way to school. It was pretty neat growing up near that influence, as many people travel and spend their vacation time to get a glimpse of what I grew up around. However, I am not Amish, nor did I find much of what Lancaster had to offer really excite me. As blessed as I was to grow up in Manheim, I found the ocean and mountains to be my calling. I grew up playing plenty of sports, including soccer, football, wrestling, and cross country. I was always an active kid who loved to dabble in athletic pursuits. But it was the waves of Cocoa Beach, Florida, that stole my heart. Throughout my childhood, I was fortunate enough to spend a week in Cocoa Beach every year. Of course, I had to participate in some kind of activity while there, and well…that was surfing. My father, who had spent time surfing the waves of California while stationed there as a member of the United States Navy, was the biggest culprit for my newfound passion. After seeing me try to “surf” on a boogie board at the age of 11, he knew it was time. He rented a board for me so that I could now join him and my brother, who had just taken surfing lessons the year prior. I was elated to be out there with the “big boys” surfing and with their help, stood up on the first wave I caught! I was now hooked and looked forward to the week in Florida every year.
Unfortunately, living in Pennsylvania was not ideal for maximizing my surfing time. From Manheim, the nearest beach is about 2 and 1/2 hours away, so I had looked forward to that week in Florida and the occasional weekend trip to New Jersey in the summer. This was my reality growing up, but it did not stop me from soaking in my favorite hobby. In order to fill this void, I would watch plenty of surfing films and videos from all sorts of areas around the world. From the hilarious Jamie O’Brien videos on the beautiful North Shore of Hawaii, to the endless peaks in Bali, Indonesia, I was intrigued. My travel itch blossomed from watching these videos, as I could not believe the beauty of the world around me. I could not fathom how little of the world I really knew and had experienced. My curious teenage mind was filled with thoughts on how I could travel to these different places, and preferably, get some waves in. Of course, it helps knowing that I had never gone out of the country growing up, and the farthest west I had been was Ohio for a wrestling camp. Yes, the Ohio that is right next door to Pennsylvania. So not only did I have this urge to surf, but I yearned for travel!
Globe and Soul 