Who knew traveling on water could come with a whole different set of accessories to pack? Well, obviously you do now! After spending 8 months a year on a cruise ship with Vacation Creation, I can now proudly say I’m a professional cruiser and here are my 7 must have items that I never get on a ship without!
Tag: youtube
Why I Love What I Do
I have my dream job! What is not to love?
Well, sometimes the “dream” isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Show business – in reality – is a lot of long days that are unpaid with zero recognition and lots of rejection. It’s humbling and terrifying. There’s no job security and there’s always someone prettier, funnier, wealthier, and more successful vying for your meal ticket. Traveling can also be far from glamorous. It’s a lot of wear and tear on the body, packing and unpacking, uncomfortable flights, missing friends and family, missing out on big moments, and, at the end of the day, loneliness.
BUT if you can get through the bad, there is unbelievable good. This job has been 10+ years in the making. It’s the Hail Mary pass I never thought would be caught. No one ever said I could host a travel show, and, here we are, a week away from the start of our second season.
Even with all that build up, Vacation Creation has EXCEEDED every expectation. On a working level, I couldn’t ask for a better co-host, mentor, and confidante than Tommy Davidson (and big shout out to his wife Amanda- #BossLady!). The whole team – from those on the ground shooting and producing to those back at the office putting out every fire – is supportive, kind, fun, and insanely talented! There are, of course, the destinations. I’ve been to beautiful places in the world I never thought I would go to- ummm, Bora Bora? St. Petersburg? Alaska? Norway? WHAT IS MY LIFE!!
But above all that, there are the people. The families and individuals we meet have changed my life forever. It’s easy to get caught up in what we want or what we think we deserve, but it’s impossible to do that on this show. Some of these people have been through so much and have come out the other side kinder, softer, and more giving. It’s truly inspiring. And that’s what shocked me. Vacation Creation is fulfilling on a level I never expected.
Obviously, all this couldn’t be put in a sound bite, but this is why I love my job. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted and a lot of things I never thought I wanted, but absolutely needed.
Please check out the new season when it moves to ABC on Saturday Mornings starting October 7, 2017.
xoxo
I’M A TELLY AWARD WINNER!
I’M OFFICIALLY AN AWARD WINNER!
Well, I’m officially an official award winner. I’ve got plenty of participation trophies – that don’t have my name on it, because they don’t do that for participation trophies – but now I have a legit trophy!
Vacation Creation won a Telly Award in the travel and tourism category!
Now, you might be asking – what? What’s a Telly Award? The Telly Awards is the premier award honoring the best in video and TV across all screens, receiving more than 13,000 entries annually from 5 continents. And boo yah! We won. And I’m so proud. Our team put in a ton of long hours, a lot of heart, and maybe 3.5 million gallons of sweat into the first season of Vacation Creation, so it feels great to have it recognized and rewarded.
As a gracious winner, I will say congratulations to all the winners and thank YOU to all who who have been watching! The best news is to come- Vacation Creation will be back– and this time airing on ABC! So make sure you keep your Saturday morning open to watch on ABC starting October 7, 2017.
Now I just need to build a mantle to put this award on… Anyone know a good carpenter? 😉
How 2 Travelers 2.0!
It’s a New Year and now it’s a New YouTube channel! Well, kind of.. Welcome to How 2 Travelers 2.0! I’m so excited to finally put up the brand new banner, icon, and moving graphics on my How 2 Travelers YouTube channel.
This is such a big moment for me as a Content Creator. Last year was a whirlwind year: I starred in my own travel 
show on HLN called Vacation Chasers, I pulled double duty as Host and Senior Producer at The QYOU, and I tripled my social media outreach to over 300,000 people! This is in large part thanks to years of hard work on YouTube, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to give you guys beautiful new graphics to look at when you tune in.
Travel has been my passion- and my identity- since I was a teenager. It’s also one of the hardest genres to book as a host and producer. This is why YouTube is such a gift, because it allows those with the drive, skill, and determination to show the world what we can do! After years of creating content on my own, I teamed up with Rachel Rudwall and re-named my channel as How 2 Travelers. It has been such a success! We put together over 100 episodes and were plucked up from YouTube to star HLN’s Vacation Chasers. Now, due to these successes, Rachel has chosen to delve deeper into off YouTube opportunities (Go Rach!) and I wish her the best of luck. Not only am I continuing the channel solo, but it’s shinier and more professional than ever! I hope you love the new look and make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel to get weekly travel tips!
Inside Japan’s POD Hotel
I love Japan. Not only is it a great place to visit, but the amount of weird stuff that I can film is endless. See Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C… you get the point!
I’ve been a little sleep deprived this year thanks to a n
on-stop work schedule of Vacation Chasers, The QYOU, and hosting the Ultra Music Festivals worldwide- on top of doing my YouTube channel! So, when I had a massive nine hour layover in Tokyo after my already massive nine hour red eye flight from Bali- and BEFORE my 12 hour flight to LAX, I decided to test out Tokyo Narita’s 9 hour Capsule Hotel. And no, not just because nine seemed to be a theme for me that day!
I won’t give away too much- you have to watch the video– but let’s just say they need to make this available at ALL international airports. Just look at my before and after pic! The only recommendation I have is for the pod/capsule hotel to be more conveniently located next to the airport. It was extremely complicated to get to the hotel. I had to take an airport bus AND walk through the subway station to get to the hotel. Yes, you read that right- I had to walk through a subway station. It was weird. But then again, Japan is weird (to me), so, following that logic, it kind of makes sense. Hope you enjoy the video!
