Hi, I’m MacKenzie (they/she)! I am slowly traveling the world, one town, city, and country at a time! I started documenting my travels with photography early on thanks to my grandfather, and I haven’t stopped since!
In short, the name comes from both my eating habits (vegan – eat the rainbow and all that) and queeritude. Yup, I make up words.
Now that the generic snippet part is over with, let me tell you more about myself…
​I’m gay! Couldn’t tell by the name could ya? Outwardly, I may not fit the stereotypical mold of a queer person (can we talk about how annoying and pervasive those stereotypes are anyway?) so my experiences in places come from a unique perspective. I share some of those happenings in the Travel section, along with my experiences (good and bad), internal monologue (sometimes too much, but what else are you here for if not to be entertained while doing some research?), tips (based on my opinions of course), and itineraries.​
I LOVE photography! It is a passion of mine that I have been able to pursuit in large part due to my grandfather. He provided me with my first camera, my second camera, it’s replacement after that one broke (so, my third), and now my fourth camera.
I’m vegan! I am a low-budget traveler, so I do not always eat out, but when I do you can learn about it here (to be honest, it seems like I’ve eaten out a lot because I’ve been a long of places…). I also have a few recipes that I like to make when I travel or right before I leave to take with me that you can see there as well.
Read about my pledge to keep up sustainability in other ways here.
​I LOVE travel! Again, couldn’t tell from the name, right..? Anyway, I decided to start this blog just over four years after my first international travel experience in 2015. After I graduated high school, my parents and I went to multiple cities in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland, plus London, Liverpool, Paris, and Amsterdam. I had been contemplating writing my experiences and sharing my thoughts since I studied abroad in Maynooth, Ireland two years later, but did not actually start the process until 2019. I am working on getting all my previous travels updated and on the blog while pursuing my current adventures.
Hiking is one of my preferred activities, but not all of my travel involves it. In fact, most of it up to the point has little hiking (but includes tons of walking). In the future I am planning to include more outdoors activities, in addition to other travel.
Finally, I have a few mental illnesses. There are some days I cry at what people would consider inconsequential details of life, and some where I am out exploring like I do not have a care in the world… Sometimes, those are the same days. I want to empower people to pursue their dreams even in the face of such a strong adversary; solo travel just happens to be one of mine. I also want to normalize mental illness. Society today has a deep stigma towards anyone with mental differences, but I hope by being open and transparent we can take steps toward acceptance, just as with the LGBTQIA+ movement.
Thank you so much for visiting. This site is a big passion of mine, and I look forward to sharing it with you. I am also brutally honest and transparent, so you will how know how I feel about a location and whether I would recommend it. Sometimes I include places I didn’t stop at or fully experience, but I make it clear when I do so. I include these places (even though I prefer to only discuss places or things I have personally done) because I think others will enjoy them, or I plan on going back and enjoying them myself!
Finally, please don’t take my pictures… they are dear to me. I am debating selling prints or other similar things, so do let me know if you are interested, and I will work on getting that going. If you want to use them for a school project, make sure to give me credit somewhere. And if you want to use them for anything else, contact me!
Contact Me: contact@rainbowtravellife.com
I respond as quickly as I am able!