I’ve been busy with a few travel-related projects, and I’m excited to fill you in on one of them. I’ve been named the Conference Director for TBEX. I’m going to take this minute to brag on this opportunity a bit, and to fill in many of you unfamiliar with TBEX, and so will just publish the press release announcement. I’m VERY excited about this opportunity, and hope that some of you will consider attending the awesome event at Keystone Resort in Colorado (in photo above). It will be a great opportunity to learn about travel blogging from some of the best in the business, as well a chance to network with travel industry representatives. SAN DIEGO, April 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Recently acquired by BlogWorld, TBEX ’12, the world’s largest gathering of travel bloggers is taking place at the Keystone […]
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Hello 2012: Bucket List Update
Last year around this time I published my bucket list – a stream of conscious list of things I wanted to do, places to go, and things to see. I knew it was pretty ambitious; it was meant to be. Instead of having all these ideas rolling around in my head, I wanted to put them down on paper and see just how things stacked up. Despite a fair amount of traveling in 2011, I only crossed one item off my bucket list – a visit to Quebec City. So if I was traveling a lot, but didn’t cross anything else off the list, what in the heck was I up to? Here are a few details. San Francisco I’ve been a fan of the City by the Bay since my first visit back in high school, and this week […]
Read MoreMy World Map Has Been Updated
After my most recent travels to Portugal, I figured it was time to update my “map of the world”. I love taking a look at how much (or how how little) of the world I’ve seen. It’s clear that I’ve got a long ways to go! How much of the world have you seen? Create your own travel mapMary Jo’s travel map has traveled to: Aruba, Bahamas, Bosnia And Herzegovina, Canada, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican Republic, France, Haiti, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, Panama, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, United States, United States Virgin Islands, Vatican City, USA States: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin
Read MoreIntroducing: The Traveler’s Way
I’ve been laying low lately, not out of a lack of interesting travel experiences to write about or because I’m on the road, but because I’ve been in the midst of a big, big project. And when there’s a big project going on, I sort of go to ground, working hard to let things play out as they’re supposed to. So what’s been going on? After a number of years as working for other companies as a travel editor, I have gone out on my own, so to speak, joining with two highly respected individuals in the online travel space (more about them in a moment), to start a new online travel magazine. This is a big, and very exciting big step for me, and I am so darned excited that I can hardly stand it. The magazine is called […]
Read MoreTravel Photos Make Great Holiday Cards
HO – HO – HO! Like it or not, it’s time to start thinking about the Christmas holidays. Chances are you have files and files of travel photos stored on your computer. I know I do. I have taken tons of photos on my trips around the Seattle area, on weekend getaways to Las Vegas, Southern California, and Orlando, and on my summer vacation traveling in Italy. Travel photos serve as research for blog posts, reminders of great times, and memories of special places and the people that I’ve shared them with. I’ve turned my travel photos into calendars, t-shirts, books, and a mouse pad. This year, I’m going to tackle something new – finding just the right photo to turn into this year’s Christmas cards. I’ve never done photo cards before, thinking they were just for showing off the […]
Read MoreFare Thee Well 2009
End of the year time, and that means it’s time for personal reflection, taking stock of myself and life in general, celebrating (mostly) and whining (just a bit). There’s lots to complain about, if I let myself get in that frame of mind, but I’m determined to count my many blessing as I bid farewell to 2009. Here are just a few of my travel experiences, special moments, and thoughts on this last year of the decade. Memorable Travel Experiences: Walking the ramparts surrounding the Old City of Dubrovnik. Passing through Bosnia – Herzegovina Taking a 5 year old to see Lion King in Las Vegas Staying at La Montalla in Tuscany Lots and lots of gelato in Italy Wine tasting in Napa A Few of My Favorite Things Family and friends, including the four-legged kind My business family and […]
Read More2009: My Year of Travel
Despite a sagging economy, increased issues involved in air travel, and juggling a host of responsibilities, I still managed a fair amount of travel this year. Here’s how my travel resolutions stacked up for the year: Visit two new countries – I accomplished this with visits to Switzerland, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Visit two new states – Not so good here. Visited lots of new cities, but no new states. Re-visit five places that I’ve already been, but see and experience them differently – I did pretty well with this one, although didn’t quite make it to 5. Discover new restaurants, hotels, and resorts and share those experiences with you – This one was pretty easy, as I discovered new places in the Seattle area, as well as discovering others on my travels. Here are some of my other travel highlights […]
Read MoreGoodbye, So Long, Ciao, Au Revoir. . . From Flyaway Cafe
On March 17,2006, I started writing about travel here at Flyaway Cafe. I knew a lot about travel, but nothing about blogging, technology, social media, photo editing or building readership. I knew airport codes, not HTML code. And I knew airline route structures, and how to find a good hotel deal. but not a thing about Digg or Twitter. But boy did I learn! Now, after more than 3 1/2 years, and 1,325 posts, Flyaway Cafe is being retired. Today’s post, my 1,326th, will be my last. As I write this, there is an incredible range of emotions rushing through me, the first of which is a huge amount of thanks. I am very thankful for the early days of b5media, and the people who were willing to take a chance on Flight Attendant who loved to travel, and said […]
Read MoreWelcome to Traveling With MJ
Hello fellow travelers and friends, and welcome to my new travel blog – Traveling With MJ! I first started travel blogging back in March 2006 at a travel blog called Flyaway Cafe. It was my first attempt at blogging, and I thoroughly enjoyed sharing the adventure of travel with all of my readers. After over three years blogging at Flyaway Cafe, that blog is being retired at the end of October 2009. So what was I to do but strike out on my own, and so Traveling with MJ is born. I have been a Flight Attendant for over 20 years, and continually find myself being asked about where to go, what to do, and for all sorts of recommendations about destinations, where to stay, and products. That’s what I hope to continue sharing with you here. Let’s find the […]
Read MorePoint Magu: A Tribute of January 31st, 2000
Five years ago – on January 31st, 2000, at about 4:46 pm Pacific Time, a tragedy occurred at Point Magu. Today I honor the memory of friends lost in the tragedy. I hope those of you know me well enough to understand the significance of today will join me in a moment of silence this afternoon. Photo credit: wikimedia
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