Why I’m Your Gal
I’m not one of those trust fund kids whose parents took them galavanting all over the globe so they had all 50 states and more than 20 countries under their belt before they took their gap year, went to college and studied abroad.
As a child, my family packed at least seven of us and usually a pet or two into our minivan. If you were lucky, you only had to share your bench seat with one other sibling. Mom packed us each a baggie of snacks, our favorite small, noise-less toys and activities, and we set off the 18 hours from my small town to Orlando. But Florida was a special trip we took only a few times. Mostly, we went on tent camping trips within a couple hours of our home.
My first flight was at 16 and I didn’t fly again until late in college when the student newspaper took me to New York City. After graduating, I craved travel. But making barely more than minimum wage wasn’t going to get me very far.
Researching travel and learning as much as I could about the industry gave me not only inspiration, but also the knowledge to plan trips that I could afford. By taking advantage of points and being open to less touristy locales and activities, I was able to finally get on the road.
So far, I have visited 35 states and 14 countries (soon to be 16 as soon as COVID-19 allows), and 18 national parks. The cheapest domestic flight I ever took was $15 from San Francisco to Phoenix. The cheapest international flight I ever took was $166 from Oakland to Stockholm.
Any planner can tell you to visit the Eiffel Tower or the Grand Canyon, but it takes knowing the travelers and exploring the destinations to recommend a tree growing around a bench, a chapel made of bones for a Halloween trip, a quirky statue, a private mixology class, or a glass blowing demonstration.
I have planned more than 100 trips for myself, my family, friends, coworkers, and now my circle is expanding. I wish I could help everyone experience their dream trip for free, but travel planning can be time consuming and overwhelming. Otherwise, you’d do it yourself, right? So I’m here for you.
Together we can plan something personalized for you and your travel buddies that will help you see just how small and connected our world really is. Whether you plan to Instagram the hell out of it or save all your photos and memories for a scrapbook when you return, your friends and family will definitely be jealous of your journey.
“Jess does a thorough and thoughtful job of creating travel plans. The adventures I have taken with her include the key highlights, but she also digs deeper to find unique experiences to connect with the local area.”
“I am normally such a nervous traveler, but Jessica made the process worry-free. She really catered the trip to our needs and gave us flexible options on our lodging, flights, meals and activities that interested us. All the details were planned, so we could relax and enjoy every moment of our vacation.”
“I am in awe of Jessica and extremely grateful for her travel expertise. I recently went to Europe, for the first time, and was sticker-shocked at the price tags of the flights. I knew Jess had experience traveling abroad so I reached out for her advice. She not only suggested airlines to research, most of which I had never heard of, but even went to one of the sites and found flights for me. The flights were considerably less than what I originally found. Had it not been for Jess, I wouldn’t have been able to afford my trip, so I am indebted to her and greatly appreciative.”
