I agree about not giving out too much info to too many folks - especially those you don't know. "Been here a bit...staying local....always sooner than I'd like...." BUT as a single woman who travels solo, I know there is value in letting CERTAIN PEOPLE know something about your comings and goings.... and letting it be known that CERTAIN PEOPLE will know where you should be and may come looking for you should you not show up when you should. If I can't trust the security guards or the front desk people at my hotel with some basic information to protect my safety - then I need to stay somewhere else.

I have been fortunate enough to have been coming to the same places now for a number of years and I have made some very good acquaintances in town, at some local businesses and on the beach. It makes me feel good when I can walk into a beach bar, greet the bartender and be told "I already knew you were here - I saw you in Green Island this morning." Or when I can stop and chat up Capt. Mike as he makes his rounds on the beach and other people see him greet me warmly. Not only does it give me a sense of belonging, but it does send out a message to those who might consider making me a target. "Nah - lets mess with somebody else that no one is looking out over...."

As I have said many times over, "when you pack your suitcases to travel ... don't forget to bring along your common sense."

Peace.