I love travel. Travel loves me. Some say I have been bitten by a nasty bug, one that has infected me with a severe, incurable case of wanderlust. They would be right.

But it’s not enough for me just to travel. I must plan all my trips. Myself. Every gory detail. For me the planning is almost as exciting as the trip itself. It’s certainly more exhilarating – the long, slow burn of anticipation for the sights and experiences that lie in store; the satisfaction in discovering the little-known but just-perfect places to rest my head along the way; the months-long self-study of the cuisines, customs and languages of the people I will meet; the memorization of public-transportation maps for the cities I will see (oh, how I love subways!).

Planning my travel allows me to experience my destinations on my own terms. It forces me to study them long before I arrive, giving me far richer and deeper enjoyment of all they have to offer while I’m there. And while it may or may not save me money in the end, it gives me much greater and more satisfying bang for the buck I do spend.

I am no expert, and I’m no travel professional. I’m just an Average Joe smitten with wanderlust and a love of travel planning. There is no magic in my approach, just a desire to have fun with the trip-planning process, a knowledge of the tools that make do-it-myself possible, and a very healthy dose of both patience and persistence in the execution. Come journey with me as I share the tips, tricks and tools that enable the methods of my madness, as well as a few stories and photos I’ve accumulated along the way.

~ JD Cowart

At the Great Wall, outside Beijing, China

(Cover photo: My son, Philip, descending Mt. Meru, Tanzania, in the glow of early dawn, with the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro looming in the distance.)