I have been a teacher for 22 years but a traveler my whole life. Growing up, I visited my grandparents on the Texas-Mexico border, stayed with extended family outside Orlando, woke up on beaches, and marveled at the Colosseum. For my family, for friends, and for student groups, I have planned, organized, and led travel, nationally and internationally. My two favorite places to get away are Disney World and Italy.
For me, travel is about creating bonds and making memories that no one can take from you. Someday, when my parents are gone and my children are grown, I’ll have the precious memories of our travels, spent well in discovering new places and investing intensely in one another’s lives.
My favorite memories are traveling with family, a legacy I have striven to pass on to my sons and students, helping them learn about the world by exploring it. One of my greatest joys is helping families craft vacations that leave a lasting impression for generations to come.
Personal Life
I am the proud wife of a Kansas City Police Officer and mother to an Army veteran, an active-duty Marine, and a high school Fire Fighter cadet. Our life raising boys has always been full of adventure! As a high school English teacher, my certification is in English 9-12 and Gifted K-12, with Masters and Educational Specialist degrees in Curriculum & Instruction, and even more grad hours just for the fun of it. I have always enjoyed research and learning.
What has made my life rich, however, are the wonderful memories I have from my travel experiences. Growing up, my parents took my all over this great country. As a parent, I strived to re-create some of those memories for my kids. I wish I had done a better job of it. That is one of my strongest driving factors as a travel agent: to help families make memories that will last a lifetime.
How Did I Become a Travel Agent?
As I have grown older, I have increasingly embraced the ideals of the Transcendentalists: men and women who believed in living life to the fullest. As a teacher and someone intensely invested in family, helping others to plan their adventures and helping them to live their lives to the fullest fills my heart.
For years – even while teaching – I said that my dream job would be as a travel writer, moving about the world and experiencing different languages, cultures, and landscapes while sharing those wonders with others. After being in the classroom for 20 years, I discovered that one of my colleagues was a travel agent on the side. The rest is pretty much history. Once I found out I could develop my knowledge and skills and use my love of families and research to help others make those kinds of indelible memories for their own children, nothing was going to hold me back. For a short while, I worked with another travel agent as I voraciously learned about different suppliers and booking travel, and about 6 months later, in January 2020, I launched my own travel agency: Next Adventure Vacations™. Next Adventure Vacations™ was born out of my love for travel, family, and making memories. I believe that time invested in a well-designed vacation – whether couples, groups, family, or solo – is an investment in your relationships, your legacy, and your quality of life.
It was on our way back from visiting our middle son in Twentynine Palms, California that my husband, who didn’t grow up traveling yet indulges my passion, unknowingly named the business. As we drove the 3 hours from the Mojave Desert to the Ontario airport, my reluctant yet rejuvenated partner-in-crime turned to me and asked, “So when is our next adventure”? Within two weeks, the agency was formally licensed and operational under the name Next Adventure Vacations™.
Thank you for your joining in me in the journey. I look forward to helping families for years to come; even after my season of being a teacher in the classroom ends when I retire, I will be able to support them in growing stronger bonds together – because that’s what travel does. When you can travel together with those who are close to you, get away from the distractions, and focus on just being together, that’s where the memories are made – memories that will carry on in your children’s hearts for the rest of their lives.