Talking Travel with Brooks Laich

A couple months ago, Global Traveler's sister site Trazee Travel ran a story about former NHL star Brooks Laich starting a travel booking company. Always looking for new angles for Talking Travel interviews and certainly always happy to discuss hockey, I contacted Laich about an interview.

I knew it would be a fun interview when Brooks atrted by saying he always loves talking about travel. As the co-founder and CEO or World Palyground, a fairly new travel booking company, Brooks does more than talk travel. He impacts travel for his clients.

Brooks had a long NHL career, mostly with the Washington Capitals. Of course, I had to ask him a few hockey questions before we moved on to travel. Brooks gave a couple fun stories, including one on his first hockey card.

World Playground promises to get your travel plans made without added costs. Brooks feels the more you save the more you can travel. That makes total sense. In the interview, you can really see Brooks loves what he does. This is more than just a business to him.

That interview is at Talking Travel with Brooks Laich. While you are there, please subscribe to the GT YouTube channel. Also, go to worldplayground.co for more info on this great company.

Talking Travel with Patricia Kara

Actress and tv host Patricia Kara returned to Global Traveler for her second Talking Travel interview. As she stated in our first interview, travel is her favorite subject.

Perhaps best known for her role as briefcase #9 model on television's Deal Or No Deal, Kara wrote "Dream On...Now Deliver" (notice the DOND acronym connection) about the entertainment business. On the surface it is a guide for making it and staying in show business, but there are plenty of other life lessons in the book.

On September 9 (notice the 9 connection), Kara will release "Open the Case," her book about her time on the popular game show. She promises it will be full of great pictures and stories. One story not in the book is the obstacles she overcame to finish it. She temporarily lost much of the content due to a computer issue. Fortunately, all was saved, but the release was delayed. Ever the positive and creative person, Kara decided 9/9 would be the perfect date to release the book.

It's always fun talking to Kara. Just like her live events, it's like being with an old friend.

You can watch the interview on the GT YouTube channel. I hope you'll enjoy it and subscribe. More subs, mean more fun content.

Talking Travel with Jennifer Weatherhead

Direct from Toronto, Canada, travel expert Jennifer Weatherhead is my latest interview guest on Talking Travel for Global Traveler. living up to her expert label, Weatherhead delivered hacks, tips, trends and more.

Feeling the lure of travel, Weatherhead left ELLE Canada to dive full-time into the travel industry. Through years of travel and research, Weatherhead earned her expert status. She is often the go-to person when media outlets need to discuss travel and not just in Canada.

We discussed all of this as well as her hometown in our interview. Without sounding like a sales pitch, Weatherhead spoke highly of Toronto. Having been there a few times, I also agree with her about the beauty and friendliness there.

Go to the GT YouTube channel for this interview and all the other great travel content. The more subscribers we get (and it's free to subscribe) the more interesting content we can produce.

Talking Travel with Haley Reinhart

I have written many times about musician Haley Reinhart. About four years ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing her. That interview helped launch my Talking Travel series on Global Traveler.

I have wanted to interview her again for a while, but the timing was never quite right. That changed with my recent interview with musician Dave Koz. While setting up the interview, I learned Haley would be appearing on his upcoming Somma cruise. I pitched the idea of doing both interviews to Koz's PR person and all agreed. Another factor in my favor was Haley releasing her newest song "Promise." 

I was a bit more relaxed in this interview with Haley. I am still just as big of a fan of her, but having talked to her many times in person, I was much more at ease. For her part, Haley was as charming and engaging as always.

We talked a bit about "Promise" and her voiceover work on "F is For Family." Then we moved into talk of the cruise. We finished with a little Chicago talk, as she is a Chicago area gal.

The interview can be found on the Global Traveler YouTube channel. I hope you'll enjoy it and that you'll subscribe to the channel. The more subscribers the channel gets, the more fun interviews I can do.

Talking Travel with Dave Koz

Saxophonist Dave Koz is one of the first celebrities to host a celebrity sea cruise. In fact, debuting in 2004, the Dave Koz & Friends at Sea Cruise might be the first.

With the growing number of such cruises and Koz's coming up in November, I thought it was the perfect time to do a Talking Travel interview with him about cruises.

That interview can be found on the Global Traveler YouTube channel. Watch it and subscribe. Every subscription (it's free) helps build momentum for the Talking Travel series, which allows me to get great guests like Koz.

Like millions of fans, I have enjoyed Koz's music for years, but I didn't know a lt about him. He was so nice and engaging on our interview, I didn't want it to end.

Koz discussed his career, his cruises and much more. He was a great addition to the series and I hope you''ll watch it and feel the same. 

Talking Travel with Dan Christian

I am not exactly a trend-setter. I usually am several years behind trends. Fortunately, when it comes to travel, I can turn to Dan Christian to learn all about travel trends.

Last month, I had the pleasure of interviewing Christian on Talking Travel for Global Traveler. After giving his bio, Christian gave his thoughts on several trends happening now and ones he expects. He also discussed the shortening of trends as society in general moves quickly. Christian was very entertaining and informative.

Go to the Global Traveler YouTube channel to watch Christian's interview and all the other great content and subscribe to it while you are there. Also, check traveltrendspodcast.com for all of Christian's content.

Talking Travel with Dr. Tiffany Brown

April was Autism Acceptance Month (formerly Autism Awareness Month). To learn more about how autism impacts travel, I turned to Dr. Brown, an autism mom, veteran traveler and author.

The author part of her description is one she shares with her son Caleb. Together they are raising awarness and spreading acceptance of autism. It's a beautiful, interesting and informative story they share.

Dr. Brown gave so much information, I couldn't do it justice in a recap. Go to Talking Travel with Dr. Tiffany Brown to hear it all. While you are here, please subscribe to the Global Traveler YouTube channel. 

Talking Travel with Andrew McCarthy

Similar to my feelings about interviewing musician Suzi Quatro, when I watched Andrew McCarthy's movies in the 80s, I never thought I would interview him. Like with Suzi, I also interviewed McCarthy on multiple occasions now.

To be honest, I didn't even know he was a travel writer until several years ago. Then I attended a couple of his presentations, met him a couple times and interviewed him. That first interview was one of the main reasons I was given the Talking Travel platform on Global Traveler.

Don't take McCarthy lightly. He is a legit travel journalist and enthusiast. Two of his previous books used travel as the backdrop for other stories. He walked 500 miles with his son in one and traveled to several cities finding himself in the other.

In his new book, "Who Needs Friends," McCarthy once again found travel to be a theme in his book. Initially, the focus was on reconnecting with old friends and exploring male friendships. He intended to return home after the first reunion, but found himself driving to the next after it. Friend after friend, mile after mile, he drove over 10,000 miles on his physical and mental journey. 

Once again, I approached his PR person and landed an interview. Once again, McCarthy gave a very interesting interview, which is at Talking Travel with Andrew McCarthy.

McCarthy's book is available now and I highly recommend it. I read am advance copy, but I picked up a hard copy at his recent presentation. It's a great read and not just for travel content. McCarthy is a very talented writer and this book works on several levels.

Talking Travel with Suzi Quatro

When I was a youngster and discovered Suzi Quatro, little did I dream I would one day interview her and three times, no less! Also, this was prior to her appearance on tv's Happy Days and also her "Stumblin' In" duet with Chris Norman. The newest interview is at Talking Travel with Suzi Quatro on Global Traveler.

This interview was to promote Freedom, her new album, which is available now.

How does that relate to travel? We did discuss her upcoming tour, but to be honest, I would  not pass on an interview with Suzi, travel or not.

Suzi was her usual self. She's honest and direct, funny and serious or the two sides of Suzi, as she would say. Talking to her and getting to know her a bit, I have even more appreciation for her.

Freedom is Suzi expressing her comfortability in herself. The songs play like an audio movie. I told her it could be used in a course on mental health. Accept yourself. Understand yourself. Announce yourself. It is so powerful.

Musically, it is pure Suzi, too. She can rock with the best of them, but there are also slower songs. Just when I though the ride was over, Suzi and Alice Cooper sang "Kick Out the Jams.' amazing.

I am so proud of this interview and thankful, too. Thankful to Suzi, her publicist and Fran from GT who lets me occasionally drift a bit from pure travel.

Talking Travel with Annie Pezza

My latest guest on Talking Travel was travel advisor Annie Pezza. That interview is at Talking Travel with Annie Pezza on Global Traveler.

Like a lot of others who started businesses, Annie saw a void in the travel advisor space and decided to fill it. Thus Pinerary was born.

Despite sounding like a mashup of Pinterest and Itinerary, Pinerary's name came from a brainstorm session. That is just the first of many information bits Annie gave in the interview. Of course, the others were more relevant to actually helping folks with travel. Still, I like a good name origin story and Annie had one.

Pinerary is a place for folks to leave their travel thoughts and gather those from others. It's like a big travel community and it is getting bigger. Annie stated it was more (or perhaps originally more) focused on women, but one look at the site and you can see it is helpful to all.

Watch the interview and please subscribe to the Global Traveler YouTube channel. It's free, easy and helps me pay my bills. Also, check pinerary.com for more info on Annie and her platform.

Talking Travel with Michele Lindsay

When I go on trips with my friends, I usually do most of the planning. I'm okay with that, but if I wasn't, I would use someone like Michele Lindsay.

The founder of Blue Pointe Travel, Lindsay is a travel advisor. Although she specializes in luxury trips and cruises, she can help with any trip. I had to start by askin what makes someone an expert. She responded with the steps she took to achieve that status. It's not a false claim.

Then I had to give her a short quiz about the current state of cruises, the changes over the years and upcoming trends. Lindsay easily passed my pop quiz with plenty of info to back up her answers. There's no question Lindsay knows her stuff.

My full interview with Lindsay is at Talking Travel with Michele Lindsay on Global Traveler. Once you've watched it (or even if you don't), please subscribe to the Global Traveler YouTube channel. Every subscription helps.

Talking Travel with Raymont Harris

My latest Talking Travel interview for Global Traveler is with former NFL running back Raymont Harris. The Ultraback just published a book and was happy to discuss it and a little travel.

Raymont's book, Control the Controllables, was especially of interest to me. It's a philosophy I try to use whenever I face a tough situation, like running a Marathon. If you take care of the things you can control, the rest is a bit easier and you have more time and brain power to handle all else. Of course, that is my simplistic interpretation. Raymont's book is much more in depth and informative.

This was a fun interview, because Raymonth was a popular member of the Chicago Bears for four seasons. The interview came together quickly and it was a pleasure working with Raymont.

I'm not just plugging the book because of the interview. It really is a good book. There are  life lessons mixed with his stories. Raymont's life wasn't always easy, but he shares all of it, including his mindset.

The interview is at Talking Travel with Raymont Harris. Also, do me a favor and subscribe to the GT YouTube channel.

Talking Travel with Stefan Holt

My latest Talking Travel interview was with anchorman, journalist and pilot Stefan Holt. The full recap and interview is on Global Traveler at Talking Travel with Stefan Holt.

The son of veteran newsman Lester Holt, Stef grew up around the media field. His mother was a flight attendant, putting aviation in his blood. Stef pursued both. One was a passion, while the other was a profession.

I talked to Stef about both. My initial focus was on Standard Terminal Arrival charts. In Chicago, several paths are named after Chicago sports legends. Other cities have similar names, too. Stef explained how all of that works.

He also talked about travel to cover events, his bucket list trips and more. Last, I had a little fun asking him about his Chicago favorites and the Bears. (His wife, a granddaughter of Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer Bobby Dillon) is a Packers fan.

This was a fun interview, but one with a lot of interesting aviation info. I thank Stef for his time and consideration and I encourage all to check out his Instagram account for more fun.

Lastly, please subscribe to the Global Traveler YouTube channel. It's free, easy and you won't be bothered. Plus it really helps me.

Talking Travel with Sara Richard

Happy New Year. I will start the year with one of my favorite people, artists and interviews. 

I have been an admirer of artist Sara Richard for many years. From the moment I met her around 15 years ago, I was immediately fascinated by her illustrations. She is amazingly talented. Over the years, I also learned what a cool person she is. I am proud to call her a friend.

While all of that is great, it isn;t the reason I interviewed her on Talking Travel for Global Traveler. I have met Sara in several places, including Chicago, New York, Columbus, Detroit and maybe a couple others. That is a part of the reason for the interview, but her recent travels are really the main reason.

Sara's work pulled her to Shaghai, where she made two trips and spent several days. Her passions brought her to Gettysburg, where she looked for the supernatural, while absorbing the history. All together, it made for a fascinating and fun interview.

Of course, I was happy to expose her talent to the GT viewers. I am always happy to spread the word on talented folks and just as happy to deliver talented folks to my viewers. The perfect combo is when that talented person is a friend, like Sara.

Watch our interview at Talking Travel with Sara Richard. While you are there, please subscribe to the GT YouTube channel.

Talking Travel with Richard Newton

As you can tell, I am a sports fan. My usual interests are pretty basic though. I usualy don't seek out unfamiliar sports. Luckily for me, Richard Newton does just that.

Newton has written many sports articles for Global Traveler. While I had to wait for each issue to see a new sport, you no longer have to wait. Newton just published Global Games, a collection of more than 90 of his sports columns from GT.

I interviewed Newton on Talking Travel to discuss his book and his world travels. He also mentioned his older book, Burton & Taylor in Africa and an upcoming project.

Watch the interview at Talking Travel with Richard Newton. Please subscribe to the GT YouTube channel, too!

Talking Travel with Meena Thiruvengadam

Sometimes I search too far when a good source is much closer. Such was the case with fellow Chicagoan travel journalist Meena Thiruvengadam.

Many years ago, Meena combined her passions for writing and travel into a career into what I would call a travel entrepreneur. She is still a busy journalist, but she has built a travel platform along with it.

Through Travel with Meena, she shares her vast knowledge of all aspects of travel and she is not afraid to admit to learning from her followers, too. Meena said she wanted to give a voice to people of color and to make it easier for them. Without diminishing that goal, I think she has done that for everyone. Perhaps that is the key though. Perhaps by focusing a bit on people of color, she is also enlightening the rest of the world. Maybe this brings us all closer and makes travel that much better.

Whatever her original goals were, she is succeeding on a bigger stage. Meena is definitely making an impact in travel. I am happy to share her story with everyone.

Watch our interview at Talking Travel with Meena Thiruvengadam. While you're there, subscribe to the GT YouTube channel.

Talking Travel with Dale Torborg

Dale Torborg started our Talking Travel interview by stating because of his father (former Major League Baseball player and manager Jeff Torborg), he has traveled to many places and seen things most people won't experience. I couldn't ask for a better introduction to our interview.

After playing at Northwestern, Dale played pro ball, then moved on to a short wrestling career, followed by a long career as an MLB coach. That is enough of an interesting background for any interview, but this one was mostly about Jeff Torborg - A Wonderful Baseball Life, the documentary Dale produced about his dad.

Dale's love and respect for his dad is evident as we talked. It is just as evident throughout the documentary, but he isn't alone. The doc features many legends of baseball talking about Jeff. Despite the star power, I think Dale's mom (Jeff's wife) stole the show. All together, this makes a heartwarming and entertaining piece on a great baseball man and a wonderful person.

We did talk a little travel, as Dale mentioned great times in Yankee Stadium and other ballparks. A longtime resident of Chicago, Dale also mentioned some of his favorites in the Windy City. He also had a great story of being in the Wrigley Field scoreboard during filming of A League of Their Own. I told you, Dale's story is interesting enough on its own.

The interview is at Talking Travel with Dale Torborg on Global Traveler. It is also on the GT YouTube channel and I would greatly appreciate anyone subscribing to that channel. It's free and you won't get bothered by emails etc.

Talking Travel with Kacy Standohar

I love it when I can combine my Global Travel world with my friends. Obviously, I can't just interview my friends for no reason in the Talking Travel series, but when I see a possibility, I jump on it.

Such was the case with Chicago media personality Kacy Standohar. I first met Kacy when she was an in-game host for the Chicago bandits. She had just relocated from her native Ohio. Since then, her career has blossomed. She is all over the Chicago sports scene, including the NBC5 newscast. It has been a pleasure watching her career grow, because she is such a wonderful and talented person. She has earned everything she has.

When I interviewed Kacy a couple years ago for here, she mentioned her dream trip would be to Italy. She also said she had never left the country. Since then, I saw her social media posts about trips to Italy, France, San Francisco, Nashville and more. That seemed to be a great focal point for a Talking Travel interview and it turned out to be a fun one.

Our interview is at Talking Travel with Kacy Standohar on the GT YouTube channel. While you're there, please subscribe to the channel. It's free, you won't be bugged and it helps my job.

Talking Travel with Valerie Joy Wilson

Who better to interview for travel than a "trusted travel girl?" I didn't get just any trusted travel girl. I got THE Trusted Travel Girl, Valerie Joy Wilson.

Wilson's passion for travel and adventure started early, but was derailed a bit with a diagnosis of Lyme Disease. That was only a delay though. Wilson was determined to live her life traveling. Thus Trusted Travel Girl was born.

One of Wilson's best qualities is her openness to ideas of others. Although she considers herself a travel expert (and rightly so), she admits she doesn't know everything and is always learning, even from amateur travelers. While Wilson's platform was focused on solo women's travel, it has expanded a bit naturally to include men. Her platform was so popular and useful, men started following her.

The interview is at Talking Travel with Valerie Joy Wilson on Global Traveler. It is also on the GT YouTube channel and I would greatly appreciate anyone subscribing to that channel. It's free and you won't get bothered by emails etc.

Talking Travel with Tess Millhollon

Like a lot of my Talking Travel interview guests, Tess Millhollon turned to travel looking for direction and answers. After a trip to Australia, she found her career and life path.

Millhollon realized a need for solo women travelers. She developed HerHouse, an app connecting solo women travelers with background-checked hosts. It's a safe way for women to travel and for women to host travelers. The amount of interaction on the trips is up to the individuals involved.

Millhollon discussed all of this in our interview, along with her book Sherbet Skies and giving her travel favorites. Her energy and positivity made this a fun one, along with being highly informative, especially for women.

The interview is at Talking Travel with Tess Millhollon. While you are there, please SUBSCRIBE to the GT YouTube channel.