Alive and Trekking!

Yes, I took the plunge, I changed the name and URL of my blog! I thought about it for a while and this felt like the perfect time to go ahead and make some changes. You see, I really love this place! 🙂 So, here’s the official announcement: travelsan becomes aliveandtrekking.com.

Why the name change?

When I started a blog here on WordPress, it was because of a New Year’s Resolution. I wanted a name that I hadn’t used before, something short and easy to remember. My blog was meant to be about travelling and well, the ‘San’ part is me! For some reason there was something I didn’t fully love about the name, but as I had no idea how I would like blogging, what it would be like maintaining a blog, I decided to leave it as it was. The right time will come, I thought, and now it has!

How did I come to this name?

I have to admit, I love naming things. So this creative process is something I like. I believe the right thing will pop in your head at some point. I did some Googling though, because someone surely must have blogged some tips and tricks. I found this particular post very helpful: http://icanbuildablog.com/2014/03/how-to-come-up-with-the-perfect-blog-name/ because it comes closest to how my mind works with this kind of stuff. So I took pen to paper and started writing down words, combining words, Googling my options. First option I really liked was ‘Wanderpack’, a combination of ‘wanderlust’ and ‘backpacking’. I Googled the combo and apparently, it’s some kind of dog trekking pack. Now I really love animals, but this was not it. Then I thought ‘Trailmix’ would be fun. A mix of trails perhaps? Or simply the nuts and berries you take with you on a trekking? I was warming up to it, but Google taught me it also has a completely different meaning in the urban dictionary and I simply don’t want to go down that…trail. Scratched that idea. Then I started thinking about how I feel when I’m out in nature, soaking up fresh air into my lungs, marvelling at beautiful sights. It makes me feel alive and kicking…woah…there’s an idea! So ehm yeah, I started playing around with that phrase and I ended up here. What I love is that there are so many elements of me in this domain name.

Alive

• That’s what I feel when I’m out in nature, when I’m trekking, giving in to my wanderlust. My senses are kicked wide open and I feel alive!

Trekking

• Refers to actual multiple day treks through remote areas. My first trekking was the Routeburn Track and I loved it, felt alive, felt awesome!
• Trekking also refers to trekking through the world and through my life. It applies to so much really.
• And thirdly, trekking refers to my love for Star Trek. That’s right, I’m a geek, a Trekkie!

What’s left to do?

I need to change my ‘sig’ that I post under each photo in the Photography section. I want to fiddle some more with my header, maybe try a logo of some sort. I don’t know. Just a lot of fiddling and basically playing around with settings, Photoshop and stuff. Fun!

So what do you think? 🙂