Do you remember the opening lines from the original Star Trek series? “…explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations” These words, at a tender age, evoked the mystery of travelling the world in me.

I was lucky. My father suffered from wanderlust so as a child I was lucky enough to have traveled throughout the continental United States with forays into Canada and Mexico. Road trips have a special meaning for me as he was afraid to fly, so we didn’t travel anywhere that we couldn’t drive to.

I inherited that same wanderlust.

One day I asked my mom if we were ever going to visit Europe. Her response was she’d like to go. So, we put our deposits down, got our passports, and haven’t stopped since.

I’ve worked within the tourism industry since 2008 and I still love putting together vacation plans for people who thought it was out of their reach. Travel is for everyone.

Having varied interests and hobbies such as reading, horses and riding, photography, scrapbooking and painting, has impacted my very eclectic travels over the years.

Being avid mystery readers, we read about far oft places that we’d ‘one day’ like to see. Thanks to authors such as Phyllis Whitney, we have traveled to England, Scotland and Wales.  Mary Stewart lead us to add Greece and Turkey. Elizabeth Peters, author of the Amelia Peabody books, made us desire to visit Egypt and cruise the Nile! Her descriptions of archeology digs also inspired trips to Israel, Ephesus, Istanbul and so many others.

As a genealogist and family historian, we traveled to Germany, France and Belgium, rediscovering our roots and visiting ancestral homes. We have even met a few cousins during our travels.

As an equestrian, Ireland, one of my very favorite countries, calls to me all the time. I love to ride here and visit the coastline and all the lovely castles! More castles here then England, also a favorite equestrian destination. My goal is to organize more groups to ride here and to see more castles! 

Speaking of horses, dude ranches in the west or dressage clinics in the east make great vacations too. Another of my favorite things to do, is photograph some of the wild horse herds that we have.

Cruising is another favorite mode of vacation for me. It’s amazing that each cruise line and destination has its own unique flavor that adds another dimension to the experience. Cruises are great for groups of any size!

My mom, now into her 90’s, still decides where we will go. She names a place or activity she wants to do, and I make it happen (although I drew the line at zip lining for her…) I love exploring each destination to find little gems to add to the over all experience, making sure that she will have access to various venues. Senior travel has become an area of expertise for me and I love to share those tidbits with other senior travelers.

A few upcoming planned groups, with some space still available: in 2023 there is a  Caribbean Winter Get Away or a Panama Canal Cruise. Or join me in a 12 days of Christmas in Germany.  In 2024 Iceland and Norway are in the works!