Speaking Of Travel ®

Drayton is a customer service representative for United Airlines. After working with an airline for 17 years, he knows all the tricks to traveling with ease. “Have your ID available,” Drayton said. “If you are traveling internationally, you must make sure you have your passport.” Drayton loves working at the Asheville Regional Airport. “I like the customers, working with the public and interacting with people is what I love to do most,” he said. “Some travel a lot and you get to see their faces a lot and you know them personally.”Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Natalie and her family can’t wait to begin their family vacation! They're flying from the Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) to Tampa to kick off their cruise to Cozumel and the Grand Cayman Islands. Natalie’s children enjoy the perks of traveling with family. “They love traveling with their cousins,” Natalie said. AVL helps Natalie start her vacation as quickly as possible. She said, “I love that it is so close to us, and that it has direct flights.” Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

April and three-month-old Carter are making the trip back home to Orlando after visiting with family here in Asheville. With family in California and a six-year old at home, she knows the ins and outs of flying with kids. Traveling with a baby can be daunting, but April has some great tips for moms on the move. “We usually go to the dollar store and get a bunch of little items – they don’t even have to be toys – maybe calculators or boxes with things in them," April said. "I find the best way to keep him occupied is to have anything that he hasn’t seen before, lots of snacks, let him engage with other kids on the flight and explore.” For April, flying out AVL makes all the difference. “I love going out of small, nice airports. It makes traveling with kids so much more convenient and less stressful.”Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Beth and Randy Fluharty are active hikers so taking a vacation usually includes some hiking adventures. They talk to us about why you should consider taking a hiking vacation and discuss various ways to go about it and what advantages and disadvantages might look like. Is it better to participate in an all-inclusive package or do a self-guided tour? Find out what to look for in picking a touring company and whether the tour matches your personal hiking level. Beth and Randy are a wealth of info on hiking vacations and you'll be ready to grab your backpack and get on the trail!   Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Kelly McEnany is Chair of the Behavioral Sciences department at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (AB Tech). She also serves as AB Tech’s Global Education Committee Chair and Coordinator. She and her team develop global programming and encourage students to pursue the study of foreign languages and international travel. Kelly regularly presents at conferences on topics of curriculum infusion, global and local connections, and creating viable partnerships to benefit students. Find out how she and her colleagues are helping to change the way students view the world and make change happen for the better by breaking down stereotypes and opening their minds. Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Hemp is one of the oldest crops and has been used for paper, textiles and fiber for thousands of years around the globe. Hemp is grown as a renewable source for raw materials and is incorporated into thousands of products. Its seeds and flowers are used in health foods, organic body care, and so much more.Join Franny Tacy of Franny's Farm, the first woman to grow hemp in North Carolina and Dayna Reggero of The Climate Listening Project, as they explain the benefits of hemp, not only for health-related reasons, but also for the environment around the world. And find out how you can become involved in this grass-roots movement! Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Gabriele Marewski is a 64 year-old adventurer who knows the difference between being fully alive and just existing. She helps us process how to let go of our fears and create the life we want to live. Gabriele began traveling in 1969! Find out how she started her adventure lifestyle, why she loves solo traveling and where she's heading next. Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

We are celebrating the one-year anniversary of The Gourmet Highway on Speaking of Travel and Doc Lawrence is onboard sharing a conversation about people, places, food, wine and history! Doc and I reminisce about great cities and wonderful sites and we review some of the special destinations we've visited during 50+ shows. You will learn so much about quality travel and the amazing towns and cities we all call home. thegourmethighway.comThanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Tracey Nesbitt, editor of Solo Traveler, an online publication and community where people who share a passion for traveling alone go for tips and advice, shares wisdom and encouragement for solo travel. She’s also the moderator of the Solo Travel Society on Facebook, a very active group of over 230,000 travelers around the world. And she has traveled solo for over 20 years! She provides useful tips on how to get started, safety and more! Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Brian Biro has delivered over 1,300 presentations around the world and is one of the nation's foremost speakers and teachers of leadership, possibility thinking, thriving on change and team building and is the author of 11 books including bestseller, Beyond Success! Brian talks to us about how travel is so empowering and how staying in our comfort zones can become confinement zones. He loves people and believes in being fully present in all we do and how everyone has their own potential to have an amazing life. A great 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.

Dayna Reggero of The Climate Listening Project, Rita Frost of Dogwood Alliance and Rev. Leo Woodberry of the Justice First Tour, discuss forest conservation and how to protect our connection to nature. Forests are life-sustaining. Forests provide us with the very air we breathe and clean our drinking water supply. They are our connection to nature and can help us cope with stress, fatigue and anxiety. For over 20 years, Dogwood Alliance has worked with diverse communities, partner organizations and decision-makers to protect Southern forests across 14 states.The Justice First Tour calls for a strong network of grassroots and frontline organizations working together to advance climate justice and forest protection, with a focus on 100% clean energy for 100% of the people.Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park and Lake Lure is just a short forty-minute ride from Asheville and within the Blue Ridge Foothills of Western North Carolina. I love this place! Find out all there is to see and do with my guests from Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park, the Broad River Inn, the Esmeraldo Inn, Lake Lure Inn, and the Burntshirt Vineyards Tasting Room and Bistro. There’s all this and more as Speaking of Travel broadcasts from Chimney Rock and Lake Lure, NC.Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Liquid Spark Foundation founder Julie Thorner leads small groups of women through Eastern Tibet with a mission to connect with women on the other side of the world and learn a different way of life. She began the non-profit foundation to help provide education sponsorships to Tibetan young women to go to college, as well as fund projects at the nunnery they visit based on the needs and interests of the nuns. With the help of a few tour guides in Tibet, Julie designed a tour that includes home stays with village women and nuns as well as plenty of hiking and exploring the culturally rich region of Tibet. Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Drew Binsky has visited 140 countries since 2012 and brings the world to all of us. He inspires people to step out of their familiar zone and shows us we are all one with his unique videos and stories. Drew is a blogger, teacher, traveler, entrepreneur and innovator. And is well-loved by many! Drew tells us about his journey so far and how he's made a career from making travel videos online and why building an audience is so important for him. Drew is a delightful person who is making our world a better place. Someday we're going to say we knew Drew when. He's a rising star! Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Asheville Van Life founder & director Micah Pulleyn explains how the van life culture is rising to stardom. Find out how people thrive in their careers while exploring the world and enjoy the freedom and flexibility of being digital nomads. Asheville Van Life operates with the principles of respect, imagination, curiosity, connection and humility. The beauty of the van life community is in its diversity and high standards of respect and personal dignity. Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Grant and Megan Baird are self professed travel junkies and took a giant leap of faith when they left to travel around the world. Find out how they shook things up and changed their lives for the better. We talk about making the decision to leave comfortable careers, their home and pets, and how they prepared for this epic journey and created the freedom to find themselves. Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Adriana Chavela Stamey and Ron Stamey are a husband and wife pair and lifelong entrepreneurs who founded Hola Carolina Magazine. While Adriana and Ron are business partners, they insist that couples going into business together remember to put the same investment into their own relationship. In fact, they share the same thirst for adventure and love traveling to new places just as much as they love each other.Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

For Eytan Elterman and Marco Bollinger, making the film 2.5%-The Osa Peninsula, was the catalyst that led them to launch Lokal Travel and work to transform the travel industry for the better. Eytan and Marco fell in love with the Osa Peninsula while filming their documentary and partnered up to form Lokal Travel in an effort to address the lack of support for local communities like in the Osa Peninsula.www.lokaltravel.comThanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Did you know spending time in nature improves your brain, reduces stress and keeps you fit? I know when I walk through the forest and climb up to a mountain overlook, it clears my head and allows me to reboot. As John Muir said, "The clearest way into the Universe is though a forest wilderness.” At home in NC’s Great Smoky Mountains, naturalist and writer George Ellison and his artist wife, Elizabeth, share their creative insights into nature and speak about inspirations and love of discovery. Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

Eryn Murman and Jason Hite of 5jBarrow recently took a one-year tour of the US, moving their life out of NYC and into a van, getting married, and finding out how different our culture is from town to town. They explain how busking is different in cities and towns like NYC, Asheville, New Orleans, Burlington, San Francisco, and how they witnessed their music to be an amazing tool in breaking down walls between themselves and strangers. Travel has taught Eryn and Jason to go with the flow and trust that things will fall into place. Thanks for listening to Speaking of Travel! Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.