Author: andreafezadmin

March 9, 2017

Happy International Women’s Day!

I am so grateful to be surrounded by strong, compassionate, and successful women. These ladies- and many more who are not pictured- have inspired me to be more generous, encouraged me to go bigger with my dreams, and when I needed it the most, assured me that I am enough as I am today.

It’s a weird time to be a woman. We are still defining our role. We are told we can’t have it all – or at least at the same time – but our ambition and our drive says that we can defy the thousands of years of cultural precedents telling us that our true role is at home or that we are not equipped to have a seat at the table. But I see examples of women having “it all”, not just on television, but within that very collage. And you have no idea how important it is, when life seems to be throwing every curve ball at you to fail, to have those people in your life to inspire you to move forward.

So today, I celebrate women! We have it hard in this world, yet we make it through. There is nothing like a woman’s compassion, loyalty, and support- and we are making this world a better place!

P.S. Big shout out to all the boys who support us girls. You are truly loved and needed!

March 3, 2017

Telluride Guide: Should You Go or No?

I’m back on YouTube!

If you’re new here, I have a channel specializing in travel tips called How 2 Travelers. My favorite series on the channel is Go or No, which is an informative guide of a place that concludes with my honest assessment about the destination. This can cause a bit of controversy, but I’ve never been one to shy away from a bit of fun discussion.

What do I think will be the most controversial part of this review? The fact that I DIDN’T like award-winning Brown Dog Pizza. This is the holy grail of Telluride. I’m talking two hour waits to get in. It specializes in “Detroit” style pizza (is that a thing?). I’m from Detroit! I love pizza! What’s not to like?? Well, the pizza. OMG!! Don’t worry. I’ve got my YouTube Comment Helmet on and am ready for the trolls.

March 3, 2017

Flashback Friday: MLS Season Opener with the Portland Timbers

This week marks the start of the 2017 MLS (Major League Soccer) season. It is a special moment, because exactly this time last year I was in Portland for my first MLS game and my first time as host of MLSsoccer.com’s Get Me In There. And boy was I spoiled!

The Portland Timbers fans are heralded as some of the best in the league- and they did not disappoint! I helped prepare the tifo, which is a very large banner or cards that goes up over the crowd, I received a cheat sheet of all the cheers so I could use my off-tune vocal chords, and I got to meet the iconic Timber Joey, who chainsaws off a piece of log every time the Timbers score. Oh, and I got to hang out with Timbers star Nat Borchers who has to be the most down to earth person I’ve ever met. We grabbed a bunch of Heineken, which we had thanks to our sponsor, you know, Heineken, and gave them away to fans who were camped out waiting to get into the game that was still 24 hours away. Not sure if that’s exactly legal, but, uhhh, we “allegedly” did it- okay?

Cool dude. Cool town. Cool video. Check it out above!

February 27, 2017

Heli Skiing with TV Land

What is Heli Skiing?

It’s where you take a helicopter to the top of a mountain and go down its fresh powder. To put that into perspective, I was above where they let off the explosives for avalanches. Yep, 13,400 feet above the Rocky Mountains and I made it down in one piece. Above is the proof.

What You Won’t See In My TV Land Video:

You know the lyric in America, The Beautiful where it says “For Purple Mountain Majesties”? Well, now I get it. When I was on top of Potosi Peak, the mountains didn’t look white, they looked purple. I thought my perspective was so unique, until our guide politely called me out, saying, “Well, yeah, that’s why they call it purple mountains!” Duhhhhh. So, next time you’re above the Rockies, don’t be me, be the guide, and point out why America, The Beautiful has that lyric. You’re welcome. 😉

February 23, 2017

Pago Pago, American Samoa: Not Made For Tourists, Which Is Why I Can’t Wait To Go Back

Would I recommend someone travel all the way to Pago Pago (pronounced Pahngo Pahngo) for some R & R? Absolutely not. Why? Let me list the reasons:

1. There are maybe three restaurants on the island. And one of the places the hotel concierge recommended had an inside joke about diarrhea associated with it. No thank you.

2. Speaking of threes, there are only three hotels on the island and Sadie’s By The Sea, where we stayed, was the best option. It had a beach, a great restaurant, a friendly concierge, but the rooms reminded me of our sterile Holiday Inn hotel rooms in the bad part of Mexico City. Oh, and one of the crew members had their cell phone stolen.

3. There’s not much to do. There’s no shopping, there are barely any restaurants, and the only beach side restaurant we came across- Tisa’s Barefoot Bar- was closed. With that said, when our Crown Princess cruise ship came into port, the whole island changed: shops came out of nowhere, our hotel suddenly had stand up paddle boarding and drink specials, and there were street side vendors with fruit! Whaaaaaaa???

So, with all these reasons, why do I find myself yearning for my time in Pago Pago, American Samoa? Well, it’s a classic example of the question: is it the destination or the people that make the experience?

When it comes to American Samoa, it was a little bit of both, but mostly the latter. The people I was with were amazing. We had the island to ourselves! It was unreal. We rented a cheap car from the hotel and let the one road takes us for as long as we could explore. Every single beach was deserted with these gorgeous huts. It’s an instagrammer’s dream and truly one of the most magical places I’ve been to in this world.

I want to go back, get away from it all, and, of course, bring my DSLR.

The episode where we filmed in Pago Pago airs this Saturday on Vacation Creation (ABC).

To see more of my pictures from Pago Pago, follow my instagram @AndreaFeczko