In the far Northwest corner of the continental United States lies a picturesque little archipelago known as the San Juan Islands - a cluster of more than 170 islands and rocky outcroppings sprinkled across the waters of the Salish Sea. Tucked between the Olympic Mountains, the Cascade Range, and Vancouver Island to the north, these islands enjoy a unique rain-shadow climate - meaning more sunshine than you might expect. Dense evergreen forests mingle with windswept meadows, pebbled beaches, and tidepools teeming with sea creatures. Bald eagles soar overhead, orca pods cruise through the channels. Small communities thrive on ferry-linked islands known for farmers’ markets, art studios, and coffee shops that remember your name.
Before Travily sets off to explore the globe, we thought we’d start closer to home, in a place where life moves slow and nature feels larger than life.
But first, what's that lurking in the forest?
FEATURES
When I was in college, I read a book for a documentary film class called "Ways of Seeing", by John Berger. Most of my education prior to that point centered around the standard Texas School Book Depository curriculum. So, reading something with a different perspective was fascinating. The book taught me that much of how we see the world is more a reflection of what we've experienced, but it also taught me to view things in a multitude of ways, to really understand what we're taking in. Seeing is about experiencing. Travily sets out to explore different ways of seeing. We love to travel, we love design, we love to create, and we love to meet new people. And we love to get dirty. It's a wonderful way to live one's life. We want to create a travel experience with like-minded people traveling across this vast globe. Today's modern-day world and travel experiences seem to have spiraled into an almost overwhelming cacophony, With Travily, we wanted to slow things down. We're not the first ones to approach discovery in this way, but we like this path. We're creators at heart. Each month we'll present several features that dive into a certain place, a unique hotel, a person, interesting food, a history, a landscape, anything that provides a different perspective or way of seeing. Life is about variety, so we imagine this will be that as well. It's just the beginning, so let's create something fun. And if you haven already, make sure to check out App's journey. His energy and passion embody what we want this site to become.
