About Me

Who are you?

Hi! I’m Lost!

I’m a history-loving, book-hugging, day-sleeping Canadian!

In the winter you can find me at the local Starbucks, writing blog posts, stories, and maybe some poetry with a faithful decaf peppermint mocha at my side.

In the summer you’re likely to find me inside or in the shade, trying desperately to avoid the heat. This year though, I have pledged to arm myself with bottles of sunblock and insect repellent, and make an effort to spend more time tending to my garden. I bought tulips during a recent trip to the Netherlands, and am really excited to see them come up!

Like many people, I enjoy singing and dancing, especially when no one is listening and watching, but am at my absolute happiest when exploring the ruins of old castles, peeking down passage tombs, or admiring the luxurious architecture of sixteenth century palaces.

When did you start traveling?

It all started when I was four years old; it was my first time crossing international borders.

I don’t remember any of it.

What I do remember is going down the dragon slide our Disney resort had at it’s pool, and having the panic attack of a lifetime when I realised I had run headlong into the Honey I Shrunk The Kids Set Adventure, and was now completely lost. Everything was huge, terrifying, and I can remember hiding in a termite mound, or maybe it was an ant hill. I don’t know how long it was, but it felt like a good half hour before Dad found me in tears near the entrance.

Despite that, I came to love travel, and learned to take the opportunity whenever it arose!

What is your travel style?

I tend to base myself in one central city, and then branch out on day-trips and bus tours. They’re usually historically focused, but if there are natural phenomenon nearby like the Giant’s Causeway or Mount Snowdon, I won’t pass those up!

For places to stay, I usually stay in hotels, or hostels if I can book a private room with a private bathroom.

Being a lone female traveler, there’s a bit more to think about in terms of safety, so be sure to check out my post about the things I do to keep myself safe.

Why “Lostman’s Star”?

While I had been thinking about starting a travel blog a few weeks before came home from England, the name came a week later when Dad asked me to help him set up a table. He had purchased it on our latest trip to Toronto, and had needed to take the legs off so that it would fit into the car alongside our luggage.

The table, a gorgeous piece made of grey, black, and red granite, was designed to look like a compass rose.

As we worked, I began to wonder about the etymology of the name compass rose. I hadn’t done so well in my Latin courses that I felt confident guessing what the root word of compass could be, but surely anyone could see that it looked nothing like a rose.

I wanted to chalk it up to one of English’s many linguistic seizures and carry on with the work, but something in the back of my mind kept nagging me. When we were done I paused to look it up, and could find no reasonable answer.

A compass, I thought, was more like a star. The North Star, the explorer’s star, a guide to the lost.

The lost man’s star.

Lostman’s Star.

What is your posting schedule?

There will be two guaranteed posts a week, one on Tuesday which will be about travel tips and stories about my travel adventures. Friday which will be destination oriented. Usually the first Friday of each month would be Vacay Friday. I would have posted a pre-planned, budgeted trip for the next month. As an example, in January I might post a ski trip planned for February. June’s post might be a safari planned for August. While I can still plan a rough outline of a trip without knowing the flights, I thought I would take this time during the Covid-19 Pandemic to institute True Story Tuesday! Instead of planned vacations, on the first tuesdays of every month I’ll tell the stories of my adventures abroad. Silly, funny, sad, whatever it may be, it’ll be true, and it’ll be on Tuesday.

I’ve also added Lostman’s Journal, where you can find notes about the recipes I have found in my travels and love, and my first real attempt at growing flowers and vegetables! You may also find a few things posted here and there about archery or my other pass-times.

You can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, where you can get updates about posts and see some behind the scenes of my blogging and trip planning!

Where are you going next?

Right now I’m saving up for my next big adventure, but I have no solid plans. That said, be sure to check out my ever-changing bucket list of places I’d like to see!