Travel Meet Cute Prompt: "PowerPoints and Purple Glass" When a corporate leadership retreat sends me to a tourist-trap ghost town in Arizona, I expect nothing but boring presentations and cheesy team-building exercises. Instead, I meet Chase, who shows me that sometimes the most authentic connections happen in the least authentic places.

Her mother's photographs captured the world in stunning detail, yet her most treasured image was a blurry mess. Years after her death, her daughter journeys to Iceland to uncover the secret behind that flawed picture, a quest that leads her to unexpected discoveries about love and memory.

[SHORTLIST WINNER FOR INTREPID TRAVEL COMPETITION] Ayla Rao has spent the last three years falling for a boy she's never met-her charming, flirtatious, and incredibly sweet Costa Rican pen pal, Sebastian Vargas. So when she wins her college's writing contest-and with it, a once-in-a-lifetime, all-expenses-paid trip to Costa Rica-she finally gets the chance to meet her online crush and the boy behind the letters & calls. From plans of chasing waterfalls and soaking up sunshine to exploring the vibrant culture of Costa Rica together, Ayla is swept into paradise. But is it just a temporary escape, or the start to something more? --- A submission for the Intrepid Travel Competition because the world is meant to be celebrated, seen, and experienced :) Here's to Pura Vida - Pure Life. Traveling is huge to me and I'm so grateful for this opportunity!

I thought I knew Puerto Rico. I thought I'd memorized every scent, every sound, every sunset. But then I brought you - my child, wide-eyed and curious - and the island opened itself in a way it never had before. In this deeply moving short story, a father returns to Puerto Rico, not as a son or a restless man chasing his past, but as a parent sharing a piece of home with the next generation. What unfolds is a tender reflection on family, memory, and legacy - on the way places live in us, and how they bloom anew when seen through the eyes of our children. "Puerto Rico isn't just mine anymore. It's yours too." A story about coming home, and bringing someone with you.

Audrey Álvaro wasn't supposed to be in Spain. She was supposed to be in D.C., pretending her ex didn't happen and writing ad copy for weed seltzers no one drinks. But after a few glasses of wine and one poorly timed impulse, she booked a flight to Collada Vieja-a mountain town her father barely mentioned, and a place her abuelo left behind decades ago. She doesn't speak Spanish. She doesn't know the customs. The hostel owner might think she's unstable. But sometimes the best journeys start with no plan. Translating Audrey is a story about legacy, getting lost in translation, and what happens when you follow your breakdown across an ocean.

Some places don't just hold memories-they hold pieces of your soul. My father had hands like stone-calloused, cracked, and always stained from fixing things no one else could. But when I was a boy, those hands made me feel untouchable. Safe. Puerto Rico wasn't a vacation. It was a return to our roots-a reminder of where we came from, and who we were before life wore us down. My father came alive on that island. I watched him laugh, fix things with nothing but wire and willpower, and teach me lessons he never had to say out loud. This is a story about those lessons. About family, sacrifice, and the kind of love that doesn't need words. It's about dirt roads and ocean skies, old fishing rods and fresh fruit on the side of the highway. It's about becoming a man in the shadow of one who never needed to raise his voice to be heard. Some stories are passed down. Others are lived again. Come walk these roads with me.

When I returned to Puerto Rico, I felt it in my bones-it might be the last time. But this visit was different. I wasn't just coming home. I was bringing my children back to the place that raised me, hoping to pass on something time couldn't steal. Through familiar streets and fading memories, I showed them where our story began-mango stands, rivers, old houses that still echoed with music and laughter. And in doing so, I remembered who I was before the world got too loud, too fast. This is a story about roots. About the island that never forgets. About what it means to belong-to a place, to a past, to a family. Because home isn't just a place you leave behind. It's the place you carry with you. Forever.

After a long day of disastrous travel, social media influencer, Eliza wants one thing: a good night's sleep. Doesn't sound like a hard thing to accomplish, right? It is if it's the last hotel room available during a freak storm, and it's been double booked. Her new roommate is as moody as he is attractive. But Eliza has been through worse. She's not giving up her comfy bed without a fight, even if it means sharing it with a stranger. A very attractive stranger. It's going to be a long night.

For the intrepid travel writing contest ❤️

#IntrepidTravel Writing Contest - Prompt Chosen prompt: Travel Meet Cute: Travel is life-changing - not just for the places you visit or the food you try, but the people you meet along the way. Whether it's a flight-anxious traveler finding comfort in conversation with their charming seatmate, accidental airport encounters that turn into shared adventures, or jet-lagged mishaps that lead to surprise romances, the possibilities are endless.