About
The Authors
I was ten years old when I first stepped onboard an airplane
and my lifelong love affair with travel began. At age sixteen,
I applied to six different airlines
and received nice rejection letters telling me to wait a few years and try again.
I literally counted the days until I was nineteen, the age for hiring at the
time. I was finally accepted for training as a flight attendant by Eastern Air
Lines in 1965.
Leaving Opp, Alabama and moving to Miami was a big step
for a small town southern girl off to see the world! For
the
next twenty two years I loved every minute
I spent airborne. Although I later graduated from college, travel offered a far
more comprehensive learning experience than long hours in the classroom. The
many remarkable adventures and hundreds of intriguing people I met during my
years as flight attendant expanded my knowledge and experience, but most importantly,
gave me a deep appreciation for the beauty and diversity of our world.
Hank took a different route early in life. Born and raised
in Miami, he graduated from University of Florida with
a degree in advertising. Eventually, he answered
his true calling and moved to Atlanta to become a firefighter…following
in his father’s footsteps.
We met as blind dates in 1973 and married in 1975. It didn’t
take long to infect Hank with my love for travel. Before
we had our sons, he traveled frequently
with me as I worked flights. We also took advantage of our discounted travel
privileges and began our quest to see as much of the world as possible. After
having our two sons, Eric and Ryan, we didn’t hesitate to pack up the four
of us and hit the trail. We learned first-hand the pleasures and pitfalls of
traveling with a three year old or a thirteen year old. In 1986, I left the airline
and Hank accepted a position as Director of Emergency Services in the Panhandle
of Florida. Since that time this has been our travel base.
Today, Hank works with Unconventional Concepts, Inc. as
Director of Emergency Response Operations. He travels several
times
a month between his Florida office
and Washington DC. With co-author, Paul Maniscalco, he has written four textbooks
in the disaster management and terrorism field, including "Understanding
Terrorism
and Managing the Consequences". Hank’s insights and contributions
in the areas of travel health and safety and business travel are an integral
part
of
Travel Wisdom.
After spending twelve years in banking, I’ve returned
to the travel industry through travel writing and
professional speaking. Over the years, together and individually,
we’ve have been fortunate to travel to 43 countries and
virtually every state in the United States. There is no doubt, travel is addictive.
Our appetite continues to grow to see new places and re-visit old favorites.
A few years ago, we discovered cruising and since that time have enjoyed 14 cruises
with five different cruise lines. We believe there is no better value for our
travel dollars…as you will see in our chapter Smooth Sailing.
We hope you will enjoy and benefit from reading Travel Wisdom
as much as we enjoy our travel experiences and writing
about them. In addition to the travel tips,
tools, and tactics, we especially enjoy sharing our Favorite Resources, a Few
of Our Favorite Things, and excerpts from our travel journal.
It’s a wonderful world out there. We hope to meet
you in our travels!
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