Lulu Authentica

I find introductions so uncomfortable.

But here we go…

My name is Lauren, but many friends call me Lulu. I’m a thirty-year-old dental hygienist based in Maryland. Many evenings and weekends, I’m waiting tables, or working on a food truck. This is how I fuel my adventure fund.

World travel has been a lifelong dream, but I was always telling myself “someday”. I didn’t have plans, just hoped one day it would come together.

In 2020, smack dab in the middle of COVID rolling through, I graduated hygiene school and ended a 5-year relationship. I moved into my own apartment a couple days before Thanksgiving.

All I wanted was to get away from the holiday in my hometown. Everything reminded me of the end of the relationship, and it was already heavy on my mind.

After asking a friend their opinion, I booked a flight to FLL on Thanksgiving Eve, with the plan to visit Islamorada and Key Largo. I wanted somewhere warm and happy.

I cried on the flight. I cried in the airport bathroom. I cried in the rental car on the drive to Key Largo. I remember wondering what the hell I was doing.

Maybe this was a mistake, maybe I should never have come here. I shouldn’t have done this alone. What the fuck are you thinking?

As luck would have it, it wasn’t a mistake.

It is one of my most nostalgic destinations. And it was because I was all by myself.

I mean, I still cried. A lot.

But I also stretched out in the sun, treated myself to a beautiful Thanksgiving meal, watched an eye stinging sunset and shared conversation with perfect strangers.

It turns out solo travel has been the richest growing experience of my life.

My biggest reason in creating content here is to connect with likeminded individuals, share our lessons, and see the world through each other’s experiences.

Thank you for being here.