The Trip That Changed Me

Today we are speaking with Bruce Wallin, an award winning editor, writer and producer and the host of the podcast, Travel That Matters, which was named one of the 10 Best Podcasts for 2022 by Men's Journal. Bruce has made a name for himself as a leader in travel journalism, a reputation that began when he and a group of friends launched their own publication called, Trip, in the 1990's. It was an incredible experience but eventually they ran out of funds. It was right around this time when Bruce and his former girlfriend decided to travel through Central America to enjoy what they imagined to be their last big adventure before settling down. It was a trip that gave Bruce a new travel ethos, that travel gets better the more effort you put into it. This episode outlines all of the ways effort paid off on that trip, from planning a very romantic proposal to discovering Mayan ruins off the beaten path. It's also worth mentioning that Esme and Bruce did a podcast swap! So after you finish this episode, head over to Travel That Matters where you can listen to Bruce interviewing Esme on a trip that changed her life. 

Check out Bruce on Instagram @brucewallintravel and his website, www.sweetwallmedia.com. Learn more about Full-Time Travel by visiting https://www.fulltimetravel.co/ and follow us on Instagram @full_time_travel. Be sure to rate, review, and follow so that you don’t miss out on travel tips, inspiration, and your potential next adventure! 

This week’s guest is TV writer Kristin Newman, who has spent the last 25 years working on shows like, How I Met Your Mother, That 70's Show and Only Murders in the Building. As a lifelong traveler, Kristin used the breaks between seasons to explore the world, often alone, as more and more of her friends settled down. Her memoir, What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding, details her years as a single woman traversing the globe and enjoying commitment-free romances along the way. In this episode, Kristin shares two very different trips to Argentina. The first, a two month stint in which she attempted to live like a local, fell in love, and decided to commit the next decade of her life to travel instead of marriage and babies. Eighteen years later, she returned to Argentina to shoot a TV show based on her memoir, this time with her parents, husband and child in tow. (Spoiler alert: She did eventually breed.) Join us as we discuss how to meet people as a solo traveler, the complexities of memoir writing, the weird feeling Kristin experienced while watching her life story acted out for the screen, and the ways travel lets you try on new identities and take a vacation from yourself.  

Check out Kristin on Instagram @theotherkristinnewman and her website, www.theotherkristinnewman.com. Learn more about Full-Time Travel by visiting https://www.fulltimetravel.co/ and follow us on Instagram @full_time_travel. Be sure to rate, review, and follow so that you don’t miss out on travel tips, inspiration, and your potential next adventure! 

Today's guest is the writer, Blythe Roberson, author of How to Date Men When You Hate Men. As you can tell from that title, Blythe is best known for her witty comedic voice and has contributed to publications like The New Yorker, New York Magazine, and GQ. Her latest book, America The Beautiful?, was inspired by a two-month road trip from Wisconsin to the West Coast and back again. The road trip aimed to examine the American obsession with freedom, travel, and the open road via 30 national parks. In this episode, Blythe talks about quitting her cushy job on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to pursue this adventure, her desire to write a book that didn’t conform to the healing journey narrative of most female-authored travel memoirs, and how humans can reconcile their need to be in nature with the environmental impact of our collective presence.

Check out Blythe on Instagram @blythelikehappy and her website, www.blytheroberson.com. Learn more about Full-Time Travel by visiting https://www.fulltimetravel.co/ and follow us on Instagram @full_time_travel. Be sure to rate, review, and follow so that you don’t miss out on travel tips, inspiration, and your potential next adventure! 

Today we are speaking with Meg Stafford, a clinical social worker, award-winning writer, and mother to two adventurous daughters. As a lifelong traveler, Meg has been on many expeditions with her kids over the years. One particularly meaningful trip would go on to inspire a memoir: Who Will Accompany You? My Mother Daughter Journeys Far From Home and Close to the Heart. When Kate's daughter opted to visit Nepal and Bhutan for a high school project researching the meaning of happiness, Meg decided to go with her. It was a mother-daughter trip that pushed Meg outside of her comfort zone. She found herself avoiding avalanches while climbing to Annapurna basecamp and dodging paint at the Holi Festival in Kathmandu. It also gave her the opportunity to examine what it means for a parent to love and to let go. 

Check out Meg on Instagram @megstafford2183 and her website, www.MegStafford.com. Learn more about Full-Time Travel by visiting https://www.fulltimetravel.co/ and follow us on Instagram @full_time_travel. Be sure to rate, review, and follow so that you don’t miss out on travel tips, inspiration, and your potential next adventure! 

Today's guest is Christine Winebrenner Irick, the entrepreneur behind the group travel company, Lotus Sojourns and the host of The Soul of Travel podcast, which features guests making a positive impact on the tourism industry. In this episode, Christine shares the story of her first big trip to Asia. In the midst of a period of rebirth, as her career and marriage were crumbling, Christine took inspiration from Alex Garland's book, The Beach, and set off for Thailand with one good friend and no solid plans. What unfolded was a perspective-shifting experience that would, in Christine's own words, "reveal who she would become." Fast forward to 2023 and Christine was recently named one of the most influential women in travel, an accolade that speaks to her work highlighting how sustainable tourism can support gender equality. After you've finished listening to this conversation, be sure to check out Christine's podcast, Soul Of Travel, where you'll find an interview with our very own host, Esme Benjamin. 

Check out Christine's website, www.lotussojourns.com and follow her on Instagram @lotussojourns and @souloftravelpodcast. Learn more about Full-Time Travel by visiting https://www.fulltimetravel.co/ and follow us on Instagram @full_time_travel. Be sure to rate, review, and follow so that you don’t miss out on travel tips, inspiration, and your potential next adventure! 

Today we are speaking with Yulia Denisyuk, who was overworked and unfulfilled at her well-paid job as a brand manager when she took a trip to Morocco – a place she had always fantasized about visiting. It was an eye-opening experience from start to finish and one that would set her on the path to a whole new life. One starlit night in the desert, Yulia made the decision to leave her job and pursue her dream of becoming a travel journalist. The rest is history. Eight years later, Yulia's work has been published in the New York Times, National Geographic, CNTraveler, and many more. She is also the founder of NOMAD + JULES, a small group travel company offering trips to the middle east, and Travel Media Lab, a platform and podcast helping aspiring travel writers get their big break. Join us as we discuss common misconceptions about Morocco, how to delve deeper and really get to know a place, and the power of looking for signs when you need confirmation you're on the right track. If you're harboring a dream but it never quite feels like the right time to make the leap, this episode is for you.

Check out Yulia's website to get 10% off all products, programs, and events at https://travelmedialab.co/esme and follow her on Instagram, @travelmedialab. Learn more about Full-Time Travel by visiting https://www.fulltimetravel.co/ and follow us on Instagram @full_time_travel. Be sure to rate, review, and follow so that you don’t miss out on travel tips, inspiration, and your potential next adventure! 

Today we are talking with Jimmy Carroll, a former British Army officer who now puts his precision planning expertise to good use as the co-founder of Pelorus, a travel company that creates bespoke trips for travelers seeking unique experiences. In 2020, Jimmy and three friends embarked on the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge, a 3,000-mile unsupported rowing race from the Canary Islands to Antigua, known as the world's toughest rowing competition. For 36 days, the team rowed in alternating two-hour stints for 24 hours a day, through storms, sleep deprivation, and an unexpected attack from a 12-foot blue marlin. It was an experience that pushed them to the limit of their resilience but one that was also full of profound beauty and awe. Join us as we discuss the importance of building a united team, the ferocious magic of close encounters with wildlife, how challenges help us grow as individuals, and why we should all be taking better care of our mental health. 

Follow Jimmy on Instagram @jimmyalexandercarroll & @pelorusx and check out his website https://pelorusx.com/. Learn more about Full-Time Travel by visiting https://www.fulltimetravel.co/ and follow us on Instagram @full_time_travel. Be sure to rate, review, and follow so that you don’t miss out on travel tips, inspiration, and your potential next adventure! 

Today, Esme speaks with Samantha Brown, who is the host of some of TV's most popular travel shows. Samantha has been traveling the world professionally ever since landing her first job on the Travel Channel's show, Great Vacation Homes. She has since visited 250 cities in 62 countries and has created over 160 hours of programming, including on PBS for her own Emmy award-winning show, Samantha Brown's Places to Love. As you can imagine, Samantha's life has been full of meaningful trips, but a trip to China ahead of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 altered her mindset as a traveler. In this episode, Samantha shares how a brief encounter with two young girls helped her to understand that travel isn't about the must-sees, it's about the connections you make along the way.

Check out Samantha's website, https://samantha-brown.com/. Learn more about Full-Time Travel by visiting https://www.fulltimetravel.co/ and follow us on Instagram @full_time_travel. Be sure to rate, review, and follow so that you don’t miss out on travel tips, inspiration, and your potential next adventure! 

In this episode, Esme speaks with writer and performer Lane Moore. Lane juggles multiple creative projects at the same time and earns rave reviews for all of them. She is the award winning former sex and relationships editor of Cosmopolitan magazine and the author of two books, How To Be Alone, and the recently released, You Will Find Your People: How to Make Meaningful Relationships as an Adult. She is also the host of a podcast, I Thought it Was Just Me, front person for the band, It Was Romance, and she tours a comedy show called, Tinder Live, which has been praised by critics from the New York Times, New York Magazine and CBS. In this episode, Lane shares the story of a solo trip to Prince Edward Island, an idyllic maritime province in eastern Canada, best known for being the setting of Anne of Green Gables, Lane's favorite book from childhood. As somebody who always thought they'd be alone in the world, Lane was surprised to discover through this trip that you can find kindred spirits in the most unlikely of places. 

Check out Lane's website, lanemoore.org. Learn more about Full-Time Travel by visiting https://www.fulltimetravel.co/ and follow us on Instagram @full_time_travel. Be sure to rate, review, and follow so that you don’t miss out on travel tips, inspiration, and your potential next adventure! 

This week Esme is speaking with Lisette Austin, host of the award-winning podcast, The Globetrotter Lounge, which features diverse women sharing their most creative ways to travel. Lisette is best known for her travel hacking expertise – skills she shares in her online course, "Jetset 101: Becoming a Travel Hacker" – but it's her personal passion for DNA travel that she is sharing with us today. Lisette is an adoptee from Seattle, who, with the help of consumer DNA testing, managed to track down her birth parents. The experience of delving into her roots inspired Lisette to explore her family geography, traveling to the places her biological ancestors lived hundreds of years ago. In this episode, Lisette tells the story of a family reunion in Charleston, South Carolina, an experience that stirred complex emotions as she grappled with family stories, Black history, the immigrant experience, and the integration of her own identity in light of everything she was learning and experiencing. 

Check out Lisette's website https://jetsetlisette.com and visit travelingmyroots.com to learn about her current DNA project and sign up for the substack email newsletter. Learn more about Full-Time Travel by visiting https://www.fulltimetravel.co/ and follow us on Instagram @full_time_travel. Be sure to rate, review, and follow so that you don’t miss out on travel tips, inspiration, and your potential next adventure!