I’ve been traveling the globe and writing about it since 2006, first solo, then with my husband, and then with our daughter. When my healthy, strong husband passed away mid-flight in January 2025, I became a solo parent traveler in an instant. It was the beginning of a life I never expected, but I knew I still wanted to show our daughter the world.
Even as a widow with an infant, I choose to see the passport as half full, not half empty. So, whether you’re new to travel or just need encouragement to keep going, I want the Half Full Passport to be a resource for single parents, the grieving, and travelers everywhere. Welcome.
When in Japan, you have to do it: You have to explore Tokyo! It’s modern, it’s historic, it’s for foodies, it’s for fun. We had a great time and took it nice and slow, allowing ourselves to get over our jet lag. Toddler travel is “one goal a day” travel
I’ll be completely honest here: I did not find Tokyo to be the most baby- or toddler-friendly city. Don’t get me wrong, the Japanese people could not stop cooing over my adorable little girl–obviously. That said, there was almost never a high chair or booster seat available at restaurants, and there just aren’t a lot of things to do that are geared toward babies and toddlers in the city. So, it’s a good thing my girl is used to just tagging along with me and whatever I’m doing! We looked at the pearls in the Mikimoto store (swoon), went to nice sushi restaurants with no kids’ menus, and did a lot of walking, sometimes with her in her giraffe harness, and sometimes with her in the wearable carrier attached to me. There were, however, several things my daughter enjoyed! Japan is very into “cute” things and bright colors, which toddlers also tend to love. So, without further ado, here are the best things I did with my toddler in Tokyo!
When people ask, “Why would you go there?’ My response is, “Why not?” And that was definitely true of Mongolia. I got more, “Why would you go there” questions about Mongolia than almost anywhere else I’ve been. I don’t think it was intended to be rude; it was just genuine curiosity. It’s not a place Americans commonly visit (yet), and it’s sort of unknown outside of what we learned in Jr. High about Genghis Khan. But there are so many good reasons to visit! As always, I want you to be more prepared than I was for my first visit. I love to take notes on what I was googling in advance and what I learned there on the ground that I wasn’t expecting. So here they are, y’all: The best tips before you visit Mongolia!
It’s the best part of any trip: The food! I went into our safari experience with no expectations of the meals. I wasn’t really thinking about it. I was thinking about the rhinos, lions, zebras, and giraffes! That’s why I was so delighted to find that every bite of every dining experience was over and above anything I could have anticipated. We never had a bad bite, but here are the best things we ate at Solio Lodge.
Our trip to Mongolia was fascinating in a lot of ways. One of the most intriguing? Visiting a nomadic family. A huge percentage of Mongolians–and Kazakhs living in Mongolia, it turns out–are living a traditional, nomadic life. To me, that means moving from place to place periodically, never staying in the same place twice. But that’s not true! That is a misconception I’m about to debunk for you. Here’s what it’s like to visit a nomadic family in Mongolia.
Big babies. That’s who you’ll see at the Solio Rhinoceros Orphanage. Lots of big babies! They’re sweet, cute, and I might even say majestic. Visiting the Rhino Orphanage was high on our list of things to do while we stayed at Solio Lodge, and it did not disappoint. Here is your guide to the Rhino Orphanage at the Solio Conservancy.
