The Adventures in Travel Expo

I had a funny little moment during the introductions portion of our travel panel at the Adventures in Travel Expo. Our moderator, the articulate and well-traveled Beth Whitman of Wanderlust and Lipstick was running down the bios for the panel. These were adventurers’ histories – compact stories of women who have made travel an essential part of their lives for as long as they can remember. (Chris McKay runs Crooked Trails, an amazing developmental travel company, and you might know Mary Jo Manzanares from Fly Away Cafe.) And then, right in the middle of her third intro, at the part where she mentioned that most of the gear was carried by ponies it occurred to me, as though I was not sitting on the stage: Oh my god! She’s talking about me!

We had a terrific discussion about travel – how to be safe, how to save money, how to be green or at least take steps in that direction… we did a little show and tell and being a nerd, I brought the most stuff, but I was glad I did. We had a lively and interested audience who asked good questions. Afterwards, one woman came up to me and told me about her tourism business in Costa Rica and said that the talk was great and that we were “an amazing bunch of women” and again I thought, “Hey, she means me, too!”

Yes, I get that it’s silly. But there you have it.

From where I sat (next to Mary Jo), I thought it was quite an interesting panel. The others had entertaining stories to tell, great advice, and the minor concern I had that we’d repeat each other’s ideas was never realized. I especially enjoyed the Q&A because of the randomness of it – how do you know what someone in the audience is going to ask you? You don’t! – and I was pleasantly surprised by how many people stuck around after we were done to say hi, introduce themselves, or ask more questions. I was excited to get asked about photography. And I didn’t freak out in the spotlight.

It’s possible that I “know” travel more than I know anything. I know how to make it happen, what to do when I’m underway, I think I do a fair job of documenting it, and when it’s over, I know how to get grounded at home and turn towards planning my next adventure. I really enjoyed having a chance to talk about something I’m good at, to share those ideas, and to share the space with three others who are even better at all that stuff than I am. It was a fun experience and I’d like to do it again.

You should totally have us as a panel at your travel event.