Mary Jo Manzanares is a lifelong resident of Washington State and has spent decades exploring its highways and byways. She spent 32 years as a flight attendant, eagerly sharing tips and recommendations about Seattle to inquiring passengers. Mary Jo is a frequent speaker at travel industry events, a member of the Society of American Travel Writers, and writes about her beloved Washington State at www.discoveringwashingtonstate.com and about her general travels at www.travelingwithmj.com. She is the author of the new book author of Secret Seattle: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure.

This Week in Travel

Mary Jo Manzanares - Travel to Seattle

Hjörtur Smárason is the CEO of Visit Greenland. He is a contributor to the new book, Aftershocks and Opportunities 2: Navigating the Next Horizon.   Hjörtur Smárason talks about how Greenland tourism was affected by Covid. No tourism for a year and a half. No cruise ships have been allowed in the country, and that eliminated half the tourism. They will be allowed to resume next year. He continues to tell us about the expected infrastructure growth over the coming 3-4 years and destination differences between North Greenland and South Greenland. Next, we talked about the future of tourism post-Covid and sustainability. He sees an increased demand for rural travel and experiencing peacefulness. We got off on an enthusiastic tangent about the intersection of new tech and travel and the quality of the tourist vs. the number of tourists. Greenland is for adventure travelers. Some of the activities are seeing the "Titanic killers" - sizable icebergs, dogsledding, photo tours, hiking, cross country skiing, standing on the snow that touches the North Pole, seeing the Milky Way, Northern Lights. We conclude with a peek into the future of travel and the fascinating chapters of his new thought-provoking book available on Amazon.   Travel tips of the week: Gary – USB-C charger  Jen – "Hey, Disney" with Walt Disney World voice assistant on the Amazon Echo   Hjörtur – Dogsledding in Greenland with the locals, Inuit hunter. Enjoy the Northern Lights above you.  

Hjörtur Smárason - Greenland and the Future

SPECIAL GUESTS: Chantal and Chloe Patton  We are a Canadian family of 5 who travels the world, visiting 100 countries since 2013. We're documenting our travels to share with everyone on our Youtube channel called Growing Up Without Borders and would love to share our story about our journey, how we're managing to find places to stay, and all the fun experiences we've had. At the moment, we've been in New Zealand since Covid, which has allowed us to fully discover each area of their country.

Chantal Patton - Growing Up Without Borders

Mary Forgione covers outdoors and travel for the Los Angeles Times. She's also editor of The Wild, a newsletter that covers essential outdoor content for Southern Californians. She loves running, hiking, camping and backpacking, and doing anything outdoors -- and always looks for new ways to experience destinations in California and beyond. Mary also is a trained volunteer Sierra Club outings leader who leads free hikes open to all. She hikes to the top of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous U.S., every year. She recently spearheaded the L.A. Times 24-page Hiking Guide, with 50 of the best SoCal hikes. latimes.com/hiking.   Sign up for THE WILD: https://www.latimes.com/newsletters/the-wild   Destination Tips:  Gary – Castle Mountains National Monument Jen – Walla Walla Hiking in Oregon, https://www.wallawalla.org/hiking/  Mary – Amboy Crater Hike, late fall or winter in Mojave     Travel tips of the week: Gary – The Brave Browser for blocking ads, third-party cookies. It brings in your history and extensions from Chrome. More secure and less server issues.  Jen – ENO hammock at REI https://www.rei.com/product/875843/eno-pacific-crest-trail-association-doublenest-hammock Mary – Two apps that people should download - All Trails and Gaia GPS. https://www.alltrails.com/

Mary Forgione - Outdoors in Southern California

John Argento is an avid traveler who has been exploring the world for the last 35 years. Originally from Canada, John has traveled to nearly 90 countries to date, visited hundreds of cities, towns, and villages around the globe, and currently resides in Amsterdam. He has previously lived in New York, London, Paris, Milan, Montreal & Lausanne and was the host & producer of the short-lived podcast, The Travel Broadcast. He is now developing a travel concierge business, offering customized tours to European destinations.    John talks about a five-week RV trip through Europe during the pandemic. He raves about Spain. Salamanca. Malaga. San Sebastián. Some of the apps he used on his trip were ReopenEU and Camper Contact.    Destination Tips:  Gary – Drive over the Viaduc in France Jen – Cadaqués in the Girona, Spain. Costa Brava.   Steven - South of France - Cassis, a small fishing village west of St. Tropez   Travel tips of the week:   Gary – Tip podcasters in Bitcoin - The Breeze app, Sphinx chat Jen – A country-by-country guide to travel restrictions for Americans in Europe   John – Book - Travel as a Political Act by Rick Steves   CLAIM=3c4c94446fd430b4195825f491166d6318531484=CLAIM

John Argento - RVing in Europe

Steven is the Host of "The One Way Ticket Show" podcast, where he explores with his acclaimed guests where they would go if given a one-way ticket, no coming back. Their destinations may be in the past, present, future, real, imaginary, or state of mind. He also chats with his guests about their lives and work. Steven is also the Host of the "IsraelCast" podcast. He speaks with experts about their work in Israel in high tech, medicine, agriculture, water management, the culinary & visual arts, and more.   Born and raised in Chicago, Steven worked for Young & Rubicam Advertising in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, and New York City.   While producing and hosting a radio show in Singapore, he conceived the idea for "The One Way Ticket Show," which he launched as a podcast after moving to New York.    An exhibited photographer with a penchant for travel to rogue nations, Steven's adventures have taken him to nearly 70 countries, including North Korea, Libya, Iran, Burundi, Sudan, Syria, Burkina Faso, and Saudi Arabia.   Steven earned his B.A. (Honors) in Chinese Language & Literature from Washington University in St. Louis and his M.A. in International Relations from The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C.  

Steven Shalowitz - Traveling to China and Israel

Dave Seminara is a writer and former diplomat based in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is the author of four books. Mad Travelers: A Tale of Wanderlust, Greed and the Quest to Reach the Ends of the Earth (June 1, 2021) is a deep exploration of wanderlust, focused around the true story of William Baekeland, a young Brit who conned many of the world’s most traveled people as they sought to reach the planet’s most remote and off-limits places.

Dave Seminara - The World's Most Extreme Travelers

Fran Golden is an award-winning travel writer whose work regularly appears in Bloomberg, Travel + Leisure magazine, and other leading media outlets. She is the author of numerous cruise and travel books, including “100 Things To Do In Alaska Before You Die” (Reedy Press, 2021). The Alaska book is available at leading booksellers, or order an autographed copy at 100ThingsAlaska.com

Fran Golden - 100 Things to Do in Alaska

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