I have always been interested in travel but my real love of exploring the planet happened after a trip to Tennessee. Travel is about the experiences you have with other people and not just “getting away from it all”. My mother inspired our trip to Tennessee. Mom was a huge Elvis Presley fan and I had always wanted to take her to Graceland. We hardly travelled when I was growing up because we lived on a farm so it was hard to leave the animals and the crops.
The opportunity came up for us to take my Mom and Dad to Tennessee in 2011. We decided to buy the trip for my parents as a Christmas gift. I had a strong feeling that we needed to do this now because if something ever happened to my Mom and we couldn’t take her, I’d regret it forever. It was now or never. Christmas 2010 came and Mom was ecstatic with her gift!
The Trip that Changed my Life
In April 2011, we travelled to Tennessee as a family and had an amazing trip. Tennessee was also our first trip outside of Canada for the winter and we were hooked. To see green grass, smell it while it was being cut and hearing the lawnmowers when we knew the ground was white with snow back home was such a unique experience for us. Now we knew why people travelled south to escape the Canadian winter deep freeze.
Travel Builds Precious Memories
We came back home with many fond memories of that trip. I call that trip a “God Thing” because in December 2011, my Mother suffered a severe stroke. She walked a fine line between this world and the next for several weeks. If we wouldn’t have taken her to Graceland in April, she never would have made it there and I would have lived with that regret for the rest of my life.
Time to Make a Difference
I knew I needed a career change – one that would get me out of the office and away from the corporate world. Travel was calling my name. I enrolled in the Travel & Tourism diploma program at SAIT in Calgary and I graduated in April 2018, with Honours and a 4.0 GPA. I have an extensive administrative background so that coupled with my love of travel helped me to excel at the program. Since graduation, I have been travelling and building my travel writing career by exploring different countries to find my niche.
My niche found me in Germany while sitting in a biergarten overlooking the rolling hills of the German countryside. We were staying in a small-town in Waldeck and it was our last night in the country before heading to France. It was in this serene setting that we realized our true love of small towns and the unique experiences they offer. My favourite topics to cover in small towns are history, food, drink, and photography. Photography is my other passion and architecture, street photography, and historic sites are my favourite muses to capture.
Travel has changed me and my family and it can change you, too. My first book, Roam Free: A Travel Transformation Memoir was published on January 8, 2020 and quickly became an Amazon bestseller. Roam Free is a tale of our struggles, travel stories and inspiration for you to take the leap and transform your life with travel.
In May 2020, I launched my travel consulting business A Wandering Web Travels as an extension of my travel writing and photography. Now, I can use my words and extensive travel knowledge to help you plan and book your travel dreams.
Don’t just visit. Live it.
