About Me

I’m McKenzie, a bookworm vagabond from Florida, USA. I have a passion for exploration and have hopped around the world for fun, work, food, research, volunteering, backpacking, and adventures. I consume books like air, and can’t resist a great cup of coffee. This blog is a place for me to share some of my stories and maybe inspire others to push themselves out of their comfort zones.

Places I've lived include Fort Myers, Tallahassee, Antigua, Quito, Hong Kong, Atlanta, and Indianapolis.

Posing in front of canals in Bruges, Belgium, 2026

Countries and territories to which I have traveled (in this order): USA, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Peru, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia, Israel, England, Hong Kong, Thailand, Macau, the Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Canada, Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, South Korea, Brunei, Cuba, Belize, Portugal, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, and Belgium.

Hiking around the Quilotoa crater lake in Ecuador, 2012

My favorite things in life:

• Grand architecture and majestic libraries
• Quirky coffee shops
• Eating sunflower seeds ‘til my lips crack
• Questionable street meat
• Women's empowerment and feminism
• Hula hooping and playing the ukulele
• Buffyverse media
• Sprawling out in a garden or city park with a book
• Shellfish or seafood feasts
• Space operas and epic fantasy stories
• Singing in a chorus
• Lounging on any form of watercraft
• Train rides with a view
• Calvin and Hobbes comic strips
• Nutty brown ales
• A good ole fashioned protest
• Tattoo parlors
• Walking shelter dogs
• Breaking a sweat outdoors hiking or doing yoga
• Indie folk music
• Community building and service
• The smell of a vintage book store

At Sule Pagodo in Yangon, Myanmar, 2016

"What does it mean to be an autistic traveler?" It means I am a formally-diagnosed autistic person who travels. Accommodations help immensely, such as priority boarding and seat assignments, scheduled rest, and a sensory packing list including FL-41 glasses and Loop earplugs! It's a balance to pace myself and accept my limitations, embrace experiences that I find fulfilling, and manage my energy level and social battery on the road.

Disclaimer: Self-diagnosis is legitimate because mainstream research excludes many marginalized groups, and not all disabled folks have the resources to access medical care, but I obtained a formal diagnosis from the director of the Indiana Resource Center for Autism at Indiana University because I wanted the validation and support.

With my husband Chris in Portugal, 2022

Contact Me: mday@bookwormvagabond.com