Speaking Of Travel ®

Taylor and Natalie are coworkers who enjoy traveling together for business. When they realized they were both scheduled to fly through the same airport for connecting flights to their differing final destinations, they decided to seize the opportunity to chat and catch up in the terminal. The Denver-based friends are experienced travelers and know how to make the most of their trips.“Always be nice to your flight attendants,” Taylor said. “Say hi to them on the way in, maybe buy them a snack. I’ve gotten lots of free drinks and snacks on the plane from it. Always give them a smile and say 'hey.' They appreciate it.”For Natalie, a well-planned itinerary is the key to success while traveling.“I get to the airport extremely early just in case something random happens,” Natalie said. “It’s always nice to have some wine or beer along the way.”Taylor and Natalie love flying through AVL. “It’s really personal,” Taylor said. “You don’t have to worry about long security lines. They have a great little restau

Doreyl Ammons Cain, co-founder of the Appalachian Mural Trail, explains how honoring the rich mountain heritage through the arts is the core essence of the Appalachian Mural Trail’s vision and how storytelling is a vivid part of Appalachian culture, folk tales, Cherokee legends, mountain music & the beauty of nature. There are over 75 murals online at muraltrail.com and you can find directions for where to go and how to view these magnificent murals in the communities and towns of the Appalachians.Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Travel South USA is the official regional destination marketing organization for the southern United States. This non-profit organization promotes travel to and within its member states  of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Speaking of Travel is on location at the Travel South USA Domestic Showcase in Myrtle Beach, SC, where over 700 tourism professionals gathered for collaborative meetings with a goal of delivering more visitors in the South. Travel South USA was formed in 1965 by a resolution presented at the Southern Governor's Conference by the Southern Travel Directors Council.Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Speaking of Travel is in Myrtle Beach, SC, for the Travel South Domestic Showcase, the premier marketplace event in the South where over 700 tourism professionals gather for three days of collaborative meetings with a goal of delivering more visitors to spend more time and money in the South. Travel South USA serves as an information source for journalists, tour operators, retail travel agents and other travel professionals. Find out from industry leaders how the Travel South USA partnership provides a foundation for collaboration by state tourism offices to position tourism as a vital and dynamic element in the region’s economic development. And enjoy some great travel storytelling!  Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

LaBet Prichard knows travel changes us. She entered an eight-year solo vision quest to find her authentic voice with a soul-searching travel process that has carried her through many high and low roads. Her openness and willingness required courage, trust, and faith as this serendipitous and synchronistic pilgrimage took her from the mundane through the threshold into the miraculous. Her faith in intuition to guide and support her, although her the path isn’t always clear, has freed her to find delight in the unknown and embrace uncertainty. She explains how getting out of her head and living in the present to find joy of being feels good.  And LaBet believes in the words of Ram Dass... "We are all just walking each other home.”Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Dayna Reggero of the Climate Listening Project and Suzan Satterfield, director of the PBS series Ecosense for Living, share solutions geared for treading lighter on the planet and improving the quality of life. Ecosense for Living aims to empower viewers with practical solutions to help save money, leave no trace and improve our quality of life. All important things we need to know inside/out. A must listen! Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Town Mountain is an independent-minded steward of classic bluegrass, but their take on Appalachian music is infused with a modern-day feel that allows the group freedom of expression. With Town Mountain's newest album, New Freedom Blues, the band discovered a way to build off their past to craft something new and exciting, and so authentic in terms of who they are as musicians and as people. Banjo/vocalist Jesse Langlais, mandolin/vocalist Phil Barker, and bass player Zach Smith share what life on the road means to the band, change, bluegrass and how their creative process unfolds. Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Tim Lewis is president of TALA Professional Services, an international technology and innovation firm. By bringing innovative ideas to life, he impacts entire communities and helps create a focused vision. Tim explains how his work helps communities embrace and leverage technology for economic development, education and workforce training such as The Gateway Innovation and Discovery Center in Tuscaloosa, AL. He is also a leader with the Equal Justice Initiative and is committed to challenging racial and economic injustice and protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Sunil Patel is the founder/farmer of Patchwork Urban Farms and Sunil’s Indian Suppers in Asheville, NC. He is an accomplished chef and visionary and is laying the groundwork for a citywide food system by creating networks of sharing relationships that can support a village scale food production platform. Sunil explains why having farming out in the open, where people can experience it on a daily and seasonal basis (just by seeing it happen in their neighborhood), will in a subtle but powerful way shift how we relate to the land we live on and the food we eat. Sunil's Indian Suppers are created with love and a mixture of Sunil's farming background and worldly travels, creating an experience spanning the range of the diverse array of Indian cuisines. The local-seasonal menu is always cooked from scratch, with Sunil's care for the earth, nutrition and heart, leading to a feeling of fusion but still a wholly Indian experience.  Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net

Graham Sharp, banjoist for the Steep Canyon Rangers since they first came together 20 year’s ago, talks about their life on the road, how the band has evolved over the years, their relationship with Steve Martin, and what’s ahead moving forward. Graham talks about how the band continues to evolve with a fresh sound and identity all its own and how the creative process unfolds. With such a passionate and energetic on-stage style, they really know how to put on a show. The band also features Woody Platt (acoustic guitar), Mike Guggino (mandolin), Nicky Sanders (fiddle), Mike Ashworth (box kit/cajon) and Barrett Smith (upright bass).Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Today’s music scene is a golden age for women. French pop-rock soul singer Madeleine Besson and Australian-born, singer/songwriter and instrumentalist Katie Cole are two such Nashville-based women who are shining a light for others to follow. Madeleine tells us about her new recording Journey Home, an album about departures, destinations, and the lessons learned along the way. It provides insight on Besson's own journey, which began in her childhood home of Paris, France, how she traveled the world as a child and eventually moved to Nashville as an adult. Katie is the touring keys player for The Smashing Pumpkins among many other musical endeavors, and recently released her newest solo offering, Things That Break, Part 1, featuring rootsy instrumentation, weaving Americana moodiness and Katie's own brand of soaring melodies. "I just want to make music that makes me excited and proud," said Katie.      Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, t

The Warner family will be spending their holiday season across the pond in London, England. Commuting to visit relatives in Somerset is an especially interesting experience for the Warners. “We will drive down,” Doug said. “What is interesting about the drive is that you go… within 50 yards of Stonehenge.”As a family who frequently travels together, the Warners know what it takes to get the job done. “Get here early,” Doug said. “Do whatever you have to do to get out of the house quickly and relax at the airport.” The Warner family loves the convenience of AVL. “We live one exit away,” Doug said. “It is literally a five-minute drive.”Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

The Keaton family is making their first-ever trip to Rome, Italy. With the holidays on the horizon, the Keatons are eager to celebrate in a different way and make memories together over the holidays. When it comes to traveling as a family, Michael understand the importance of patience and flexibility.“It can try the patience a little bit,” he said. “Kids want to do their thing, and parents have ideas of what the kids should be doing. We give them enough freedom, and it all works out.”Michael loves starting his adventures at AVL. “It is very convenient,” he said. “The parking is close to the terminal. It is very affordable. It is much faster than taking a long two-and-a-half-hour drive… and it is great that at the end of your trip you do not have a two-and-a-half-hour drive awaiting you when you are all exhausted and just want to go home.” Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Why is biodiversity important to the places we love to travel? The 2019 Speaking of Travel Climate Listening Project Series with Dayna Reggero begins with a discussion around Dayna’s recent photography series “Voices of Hope for Forests,” featuring individuals from around the world who are working together to protect forests as part of the Environmental Paper Network. The Environmental Paper Network is made up of 140 organizations who are working together on a Global Paper Vision for the pulp and paper industry. Guests include Josh Axelrod of the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), Beth Porter of Green America and Amy Moas of Greenpeace. Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Steven is off to New Orleans to spend the holidays with family, but he is not going alone. He is bringing along his favorite four-legged travel companion, Levi. As someone who frequently travels with a pet, Steven knows a thing or two about bringing furry friends on board.“He is fun to travel with,” Steven said. “He has traveled everywhere with me. A lot of people like him and try to pet him.”Steven likes the ease of traveling in out of the AVL. “It is an easy airport to travel out of,” Steven said. “It is not like a big airport where you have so many planes coming in.”Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Grace is heading south for winter. She will spend the season with family in Arizona. Her dog is also joining in on the fun, awaiting boarding in her carrier.“You have to pack a lot of stuff.” Grace said. “That is why we… carry her the way we do. We have so much to handle, to check in and out.”Grace likes how easy it is to navigate her way around AVL. “It is friendly and small,” Grace said. “It is just easy to get around. I enjoy it here.”Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Robert is Memphis-bound for the holidays to be with family. The Tennessee native was only in town briefly, picking up his son who attends college in the area. With such a quick turnaround, he came prepared to navigate the airport with efficiency. “I always anticipate the TSA stop. Wear stuff that is easy to get off and put back on. Have a backpack to keep it all so you do not misplace it. It will fit in the overhead bin – no matter how small the plane is.”Robert likes the convenience and speed of traveling through AVL. “I picked Asheville for our… flight because it is easy to check in and check out,” Robert said. “If you rented a car, you can drop it off.”Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Best known as The Midlife Comic, Jason Scholder is also the inventor of a yoga product called the Three Minute Egg. His curiosities take him down many roads, both literally and figuratively. Jason tells us about how travel began impacting his life at an early age, studying abroad in Ecuador, hitchhiking the entirety of Turkey, studying yoga in India and how his travels have taken him to France, Spain, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Holland, Germany, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy and Greece. And why comedy became a way of life for him. Funny guy! Funny show!   Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Since 2006, Jeff Miller and his Blue Ridge Honor Flight team has transported veterans from WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War to Washington, DC, to visit the memorials dedicated to their honor and sacrifice. On May 4, 2019, they will fly again, giving those who have served our country a chance to experience the hope, healing, and welcome home they so deserve. Learn more about this great mission, how you can get involved or how you can send a deserving veteran to DC for a day of honor. www.blueridgehonorflight.com Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Each month in 2019, Dayna Reggero of The Climate Listening Project, along with guest experts, will discuss climate change and its impact on the places we love to travel and how how we can become sustainable travelers. We’re about to embark in this new transformative year of wonder and discovery. Remember, only dreams give birth to change. So let’s all dream BIG! As we move into the new year, you’ll have more opportunities to listen to experts and learn how we can find common ground and become more conscious of leaving a smaller footprint as we embark on our journeys.  Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.