Travel Tales

Comedian/writer Steve Benaquist shares Travel tales of his two-week trip to Cuba with his girlfriend.

Joe Miragliotta, the man behind the popular JoesDaily.com lifestyle website, stops by to talk about his travels as a style influencer and the tech he uses when on the road.

TV producer Tony Dimond Shares Tales of his travels for HGTV's Island Hunters. He also talks about his early days doing standup on the road, boyhood trips to Mexico, and more!

Lawyer Jahnavi Goldsteing makes her 2nd appearance on Travel Tales, and she's got a doozy of a Tale: during her last trip to Bali she contacted Dengue Fever and spent over a week in the hospital! She also discusses her 3-month trip through Europe taken just before the ill-fated Asia experience. 

Lifestyle journalist James Lawrence specializes in wine, restaurants and travel - a great way to live! The London-based Lawrence was one of the media members on my train trip aboard the Rocky Mountaineer in Canada. While the amazing Canadian Rockies passed by the window, we recorded this interview.  Cheers!

BONUS EPISODE! All aboard the Rocky Mountaineer train! Celebrating its 25th anniversary, The Rocky Mountaineer invited members of the media including yours truly, to share the experience. I chatted with communications specialist Jeff Pelletier on the train to get the details on the Rocky Mountaineer legend.

Writer, teacher, scuba diver, blogger and founder of the We Said Go Travel website Lisa Ellen Niver (as in diver) joins us in the studio for a chat. 

James Fell saw photos of himself over 20 years ago and didn't like what he saw. He decided to lose weight before proposing to his girlfriend, now wife. Thus started a lifetime of fitness and eventually a change in career. James created the Body For Wife website and began posting fitness articles. His humorous and sometimes scathing critiques of trendy diets and fitness crazes struck a chord with readers, and soon the marketing exec was a fitness guru full-time. His job requires travel, which often is not conducive to dieting. But James gives some tips on how to stay in shape on the road, and recounts his travels to run marathons on both coasts. Recorded in James' hometown airport of Calgary, Alberta. How Canadian is he? He ran  his first two marathons wearing a Rush shirt. Now that's Canadian! Thanks, James!

Video producer/storyteller Josh Johnson is a seeker of new experiences, new lands, and new hallucinogens. 

No comedian has parlayed comedy into more worldwide travel than Tom Rhodes. He's hosted a late night talk show in Amsterdam, and performed comedy throughout Asia, Europe and the Middle East.  A dream guest!

LA native Jessica Howard works as an expert in education. Her last vacation with friends was also a chance for her to fulfill a dream of experiencing a place made famous by one of her idols, Charles Darwin - the Galapagos Islands.  

David "Reaper" Justin came by his fearsome moniker as a tactical expert and crack shot on the professional paintball circuit. Justin honed his skills as a soldier in the Israeli army back in the 80's, after the California native sold his possessions and moved to a kibbutz to find a new way of life.  He returned to Cali after years in Israel with a new wife, started a family, worked in the software business, and later took on the weekend-warrior paintball hobby full throttle, earning endorsements along the way. We discuss his travels throughout the Middle East, Crete, Japan, and more. Enjoy!

Back in '94, John Bizarre quit a successful stand-up and acting career in LA to move to Amsterdam, drive a pedicab, and smoke a lot of weed. He returned two years later a 140-pound opium addict.  Now sober and living and working in Las Vegas, John recalls his travels throughout Europe and Southeast Asia with no (OK, maybe a few) regrets. Drugs, prostitution, smuggling - this episode's got it all!

Hollywood screenwriter Jessica Bendinger shares Tales of traveling through Asia and her younger days as a model living in Europe.

Some people are well-traveled, and then there's Lee Abbamonte. By the ripe old age of 32, Lee became the youngest American to visit every country in the world. From war-torn regions like West Africa and Iraq,  to both the North and South Poles, the Connecticut native has seen it all. I caught up with Lee while he was making a pitstop in LA, and we covered all bases: how long his journey took; how he paid for it; scary border crossings; police run-ins; bizarre foods, and everything in-between. Pleasure to meet you Lee, and see you down the road!

An American-born child of Vietnamese immigrants, Rosie's parents met in the thriving expat community in the Crescent City. It may seem like an odd mix of cultures at first, but consider the similarities: humid weather, a strong French influence, and a prominent fishing industry among others, and the match begins to make sense. Rosie began her comedy career in New Orleans before moving to LA, and her family and upbringing provided a wealth of material. We talk about her family's fascinating backstory, and she gives insider tips on the best places to go in New Orleans off the beaten tourist path.

Highlights from Travel Tales guests and a wrap-up from a great year of travel. 

We all have questions about flying, and Gretchen (not her real name) is here to answer them. 

Comedian Yoshi Obayashi grew up with Japanese and Korean parents in Japan and emigrated to the US as a boy. He adopted a love of many things American: our freedoms, our language, and of course, our massive serving portions. He also developed a love of stand-up comedy, and since starting his career in the Pacific Northwest and LA, comedy has brought him around the world. He's performed in Europe and gone as far as Afghanistan. He's also held some interesting jobs along the way. Great Travel Tales!

You may recognize Robert Peters as an actor in numerous films and commercials, but he's also a writer/director whose films have played in festivals around the world. Robert shares his Tales of hanging with the stars in Cannes, is behinnings in Oklahoma, his love of Thailand, and much more. Enjoy!