My love of travel started not long after high school and really ramped up in college. Although I had made the requisite beach trips, which are very common for those of us living in the Memphis area in the 80s and 90s, I had never traveled much further than wherever we could drive in a day and definitely not overseas.
My first trip outside of the U.S. was after high school graduation when my friends and I took a cruise to the Bahamas. I loved it and loved seeing a culture that was so vastly different from what I was familiar with. In college, meeting people not just from the Southeastern part of the U.S. but those from around the world really made my curiosity peaked, and I decided then that I wanted to see the world.
I am a graduate of Northwest Mississippi Community College and the University of Alabama with a major in broadcasting. As I got closer to graduation from Alabama, I made a plan to go on a vacation to a new destination every year. That goal has evolved over the years, and I’ve been fortunate to travel both for work as well as for fun.
After moving back home to North Mississippi for a couple of years post-graduation to work in local news in Memphis, I moved to Atlanta for six years, then to New York City for 8 to work for CNN. In 2013, after 14 years at CNN, I settled into life in New Orleans. As a child, I dreamed of living here. When I finally made it happen, I jumped in feet first, trying to take advantage of everything this city has to offer.
Thanks to my career in journalism, I’ve been to cities big and small across America and even got a chance to go to Rome for the Papal Conclave in 2013.
Although my career has mostly been spent in journalism, I always reported on other people’s stories and never was able to share the stories of my travels and fun. Contributing to Pedacitos Blog has been a fun shift from my normal day-to-day life of freelance journalism and communications.
I love the beach and enjoy any trip that includes some sand and sun. You can find my interest in craft beer and excellent wine mentioned in my blogs. Sometimes, I’ll devote a whole post to exploring that scene in the cities and towns I visit.
Travel is essential for me, not just to explore and enjoy my time away from the day-to-day work life but also as a chance to recharge. Sometimes a trip is calm and relaxing while others are busy and require a vacation after my vacation!
A trip to me is something personal. Everyone has travel destinations and experiences that are uniquely personal to them and may not work or be appealing to their family or friends.
My goal in sharing my travel experiences is to hopefully inspire you to get out and explore, creating the vacation experiences that work best for you and your interests while encouraging you to try something new.
Want to know more? Are you interested in becoming a contributor for Pedacitos? We'd love to hear your stories! Send me a message and I will get back to you!