Alex Duhl, her husband, toddler, and two dogs decided to move to El Paso Texas for a job offer. They quickly fell in love with El Paso and Alex will be sharing all about it today. Alex strives to share more about El Paso, family friendly restaurants, side trips, and parenting hacks on her instagram, elpasotravelfamily

In this episode Alex will be sharing everything you need to plan your next getaway to El Paso Texas. In this episode we will be covering:

Best time of year to visit El Paso

Favorite restaurants in El Paso

Where to stay in El Paso

What to do in El Paso

National parks near El Paso

Ideal itinerary to El Paso

Food to try in El Paso

2024 Review of the podcast. Jut recapping the last year of the Choose your happy place podcast. In this episode I'll be chatting about some our the hightlights from this year. Listen to hear what the top episode of the year was, how many countries I have listeners in, and all the fun stats. Next, I'll be sharing about the ups and downs of 2024 as well as travels we have done with our family and recommendations in each location. Finally I'll be sharing about the future of this podcast, my goals, bucket list items and things to look forward to.  Happy Holidays!

Hannah Woodhams is sharing today all about Malaysia. As a mother of two, with a passion for adventure and exploring, has lived around the world. Originally from Northampton, UK, Hannah has traveled the world as an international teacher. Her family has lived in Shanghai, Malaysia (Penang), UK, and Malaysia again. Living in Malaysia gave her family an incredible access point for travel. Join me on this episode as we learn more about Hannah and her family and all the information she has about Malaysia

In this episode we will cover

Best time to travel to Malaysia

Where to stay in Malaysia

East or West coast Malaysia

Ideal intinerary for Malaysia

Food to try in Malaysia

In this episode we dive into learning all about Guam from Alicia Mendiola. Born and raised in Guam, Alicia shares her story about growing up on the little and beautiful island of Guam. There she met her husband and after serving in the Army, the Mendiolas ended up in Georgia.

In this episode we will be covering:

Best time of year to visit Guam

Food to try in Guam

Hiking in Guam

Ideal itinerary for visiting Guam

Ben Higgins, a veteran of ABC’s hit series The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, won over the hearts of loyal viewers with his refreshing vulnerability and willingness to share himself fully. Following his appearances across franchises, Higgins has embarked on numerous ventures, entrepreneurial and otherwise, grounded in faith, a sense of hope for humanity, and a mission to help organizations connect more deeply with their employees and customers.

Ben co-founded Generous International in 2017, a for-purpose company dedicated to raising money to create jobs, feed children, improve education, and empower communities to eliminate poverty around the world. Outside of his socially conscious work, he maintains a relationship with his loyal Bachelor fanbase through the iHeartMedia podcast Almost Famous, which he hosts alongside fellow former contestant Ashley Iaconetti. 

In October 2024, I was able to join Ben in Honduras with Humanity and Hope, a nonprofit organization, aiming to provide hope to communities in Honduras. In this episode we talk about Humanitarian work:

Non-profit organizations

How you can get involved with humanitarian work

How humanitarian work has impacted Ben's life

When and where Ben's passion for humanitarian work began

Humanity and Hope 

In this episode we will be covering everything you need to plan a trip to Roatan Honduras. I was joined this week by a new friend I made while visiting Honduras for a humanitarian trip. Cassi had taken her family to the humanitarian trip with Humanity and hope united. We were instant friends. Both in similar family situations and era of life. My husband and I visited Roatan before our humanitarian trip and Cassi and her family visited after. In this episode we discuss both perspectives as well as give ideas for planning your next trip. 

Cassi is a mom of 5 from Indiana. Born and raised there, Cassi and her family enjoy exploring the world and making memories. As co-owners of generous coffee, her family looks for ways to give back and help others.

In this episode we will discuss:

Best time of year to visit Roatan

Favorite food to try in Roatan

Where to stay in Roatan

Excursions in Roatan

Transportation in Roatan

Weather in Roatan

Scuba diving in Roatan

Companies we used while visiting Roatan

Miriam Gersdorf is a Utah-based hiker, outdoor adventurer, and content creator behind the social media account @explore.hike.teach. Her passion is exploring Utah and inspiring others to get outdoors and discover their next favorite adventure.  She has been adventuring around Utah for 30 years, exploring the national parks and off-the-beaten-path locations.  She advocates for responsible recreation and empowers others to get outside and on the trails.  When not hiking, she teaches reading intervention at a local elementary school, spending time with her family and indulging in a good book or disaster movie.

In this episode we will be covering everything you need to plan your dream vacation to the iconic Zion National Park. We will cover

Best time to visit Zion National Park

How long should I visit Zions for?

Transportation in Zions

Food around ZIons

Where to stay around ZIons

Weather in Zions

Family friendly hikes in Zions

Beginner hikes in Zions

Intermediate hikes in Zions

Advanced hikes in Zions

What hikes require permits in Zions?

How to avoid crowds in Zions

Itinerary for Zion National Park

What are the most popular hikes in Zions?

Riley Fuller is the President and Co-founder of Humanity and Hope United, a non-profit organization that inspires hope in communities in Honduras. Anyone who meets him immediately feels welcomed into his life and his purpose. He wants to help people break free from poverty, and to be able to make their dreams come true regardless of where they were born, what they look like, or who their parents are. You can learn more about humanity and hope here

In this episode we will be diving deep into the mission and goal of humanity and hope united. If a humanitarian trip is something you have wanted to do, you will get all your questions answered in this episode

What can you expect from a humanitarian trip

Why did Riley choose Honduras

The backstory of Riley and how humanity and hope was created

What percentage of donated money goes towards the projects

How can people get involved in humanitarian work

What is the goal of humanity and hope

How is humanity and hope different than other non-profits

Deborah Raarup from raarupadventures is a lodging photographer and travel blogger that loves to live life adventurously. After her and her husband got married, they sold most of their things and moved to Alaska. After visiting their 50th state together in January 2023, they embarked on a year long world trip with the goal to travel the world for an entire year on less than $100/day. From both their blog and their youtube channel they share their favorite places, things to do, and easy itineraries.

In this episodes we will be covering everything from Alaska to plan your next adventure. We will discuss:

Favorite time of year to visit Alaska

Unique food to try in Alaska

Best tours to take in Alaska

How to get around Alaska

Favoirte itinerary for Anchorage and Alaska

Must do things in Alaska

Favorite food spots in Alaska

When to see Beluga whales in Alaska

Entrepreneur, adventurer, world traveler, and public speaker, Kat Medina has traveled to more than 35 countries, and lived in Ecuador, Argentina, France and Spain. She draws upon her passion for travel to inspire joy in others, teaching people how to show up and live fully by embodying a traveler's mindset in daily life. 

In this episode Kat shares all about her book, The Joys of Jet Lag, and gives helpful and inspirational advice for how to keep that traveler's mindset with you. In this episode we talk about:

How travel has changed after having kids

Advice for getting out of that rut of everyday and implementing the traveler's mindset into everyday

Tips for Lake Tahoe California

Favorite travel destinations

Lessons learned while traveling and living abroad