November 22, 2024 • 53 mins
The Wishing Well's Terrie Dean discusses this week's travel news and hot deals!
Join us on this exciting episode as we guide you through the art of creating your ultimate travel bucket list. Discover essential tips and strategies to craft a list that reflects your dreams and aspirations.
We then dive into some of the world’s top bucket list destinations, including the mesmerizing Northern Lights, the luxurious cityscape of Dubai, the rich cultural heritage of Italy, and the vibrant metropolis of Tokyo.
Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or just starting out, this episode is packed with inspiration and practical advice to help you embark on unforgettable adventures.
Join us on this exciting episode as we guide you through the art of creating your ultimate travel bucket list. Discover essential tips and strategies to craft a list that reflects your dreams and aspirations.
We then dive into some of the world’s top bucket list destinations, including the mesmerizing Northern Lights, the luxurious cityscape of Dubai, the rich cultural heritage of Italy, and the vibrant metropolis of Tokyo.
Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or just starting out, this episode is packed with inspiration and practical advice to help you embark on unforgettable adventures.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is a Lifeless Ordinary. It's a travel show and
podcasts from your friends at the wishing Well two forty three,
f Avenue and harshmerg and online at the wishing Well
dot this. The wishing Well is your ultimate luxury concierge,
travel agency and A Lifeless Ordinary is a travel show
and podcast hosted by Terry Dean, bringing her over forty
years of experience in the travel industry to help guide
(00:20):
you to great experiences in your travel, whether it be
around the block, around the country, or around the world.
Let's bring in Terry Dean. Say hello, Chris, how are you.
I'm well, it's good to see you, Terry.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Good to see you. It's good to be seen. I'll
tell you I wasn't feeling too swift last week.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
That's what I heard. I'm I'm I'm sorry you were
going through something. You look good today.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Well, thank you so much. I try. You know, it's
a week saying an effort.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
But you know, it's interesting how people are asking me
a lot about illnesses and flus and COVID and you know,
I say this, it's here to stay. I think it's
something that we're going to deal with. And just as
a reminder. You know, we're headed up on the holidays
and you're going to be around a lot of family members.
So I think we're going to see a little bit
(01:06):
of this between now and Christmas.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
What was the I can't believe, I can't remember the
Chevy Chase Christmas movie. What was that?
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Oh yeah, Christmas vacation.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Christmas vacation and when his brother brother in law comes
into town. Oh yeah, that's what I feel like. Thanksgiving
is going to be like this.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Oh no, don't have that.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Actually could be fun, though, but one relative who refuses
to cover his mouth.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
As long as you an old strap your grandma up
on top of the car, you'd be okay. Well, but
all my family comes in to my house, and of
course I cook my traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and I'm excited
about you know, I always think that's sort of my
gift to my family, or at least part of it,
and I'm always honored that it's done at my house.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Beck and I are having family into our house this year,
and we're putting together our shopping list of you know what,
the Thanksgiving menu is going.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
To close as am I it's a busy day in
the shopping centers. Today is Saturday.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
And we were having a really difficult time trying to
come up with what are like families traditional dishes are
really and our Thanksgiving dinner I think is going to
be really boring. So here, I want to know. Let
me tell you what we're having. You tell me what
you would add to the list. Grabbing turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing,
slash dressing. We are going to have it like a
(02:26):
sweet potato casserole that's got oatmeal stuff on top.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
That's not good.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Yeah, I'm making my green beans which it has a
pound of bacon in it and onions. It's a heart attack.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Don't you just put the whole pig in there?
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Okay, it's disguised as a vegetable, but it's a heart attack.
And mashed potatoes and graving.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Where's the cranberries?
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Oh, we're having cranberries.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Okay, cranberry sauce. You don't put it out of that.
It doesn't do that sucking sound as it comes out
of the canda. Please say no.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Honestly, I don't know as someone else is bringing it.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Okay, So yeah, so what's missing? You know?
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Things that my constant Thanksgiving dinner are macaroni and cheese.
My mother always makes that. It's traditional sour kraut, and yeah,
we always do souer kraut as a side dish.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Do you do that for New Year's Day?
Speaker 2 (03:20):
No, actually we don't. My mother's birthday is New Year's Day,
so we always tend to go out all nice.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
I grew up we always had sauer kraut and pork
on New Year's Day.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Oh yeah, well, actually my grandfather used to always get
up every New Year's Day and we had fried oysters
for breakfast on New Year's Day. It was a tradition.
So lots of you know, lots of neat traditions this
time of year. It's always fun to talk about it,
find out what people are doing.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Yeah, I feel like our Thanksgivings it's going to be
so boring.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Anyway, it does not sound boring to me.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
We may have to stop over to the Dean House exactly,
borrow a sideish or something.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
Not a problem at all.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
So we need to get caught up on all the
travel news that's happened or the we do.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
There's always something going on, you know. This industry is
full of news, and that's the truth. And I want
to address one thing that's been in the news a
lot lately, and that is Spirit. And I'm not talking
about the Christmas Spirit or anything else. I'm talking about
Spirit Airlines. They've had some bad news lately. They have
(04:26):
actually filed Chapter eleven bankruptcy and those proceedings are actually
going to position that airline for some hopefully some long
term success, they think.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
But analysts say that.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Despite having reached a debt restructuring agreement with their bondholders,
Spirit's going to need to really quickly stem its losses
to survive this. I think they have quarters, to be honest,
not years. But Chapter eleven filing Chris is actually the
first by a large main line US carrier since American
(05:03):
did that in twenty eleven. So this is kind of,
you know, an unprecedented sort of action that airline, an
airline takes. Spirit's exit plan for its financial woes was
sort of this three point eight billion dollar merger that
they were counting on with Jet Blue, But in January,
(05:24):
antitrust regulators at the Department of Justice prevailed in their
suit to block that merger as anti competitive. Now, since then,
the airline has scrambled to increase liquidity, lower cost and
improve their revenues. And if they don't find some way
to make some cash by next summer, I think that
(05:44):
could be a very bad sign for them. But kind
of keeping our eyes on Spirit Airlines to see what happens.
You know, quite frankly, these low cost carriers these days,
you would think people would flock to that, but people
also want convenience. How many times do we talk about
that here on a life less ordinary. Spirit just didn't
(06:04):
get the whole job done, you know. Next in the news, Chris,
we've got Norwegian Cruise Line. This was a very interesting
news article and one that I think was shrouded a
little bit in mystery and still is for me right now.
But Norwegian Cruise Line has canceled up to thirty eight
sailings and these were scheduled sailings between November of twenty
(06:30):
twenty five and April of twenty twenty six. Now that's
a long way off, but these canceled cruises were on
the Norwegian Dawn, the Norwegian Jewel, and the Norwegian Star,
according to a statement that was sent to travel advisors
this past Wednesday. The line has not announced details of
(06:53):
these ships redeployment. That's the mystery to me, that's the
part that's missing from this entire story.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Are these old ships.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
They really aren't that old, you know, So it's really
kind of again I'm scratching my head about this. But
the Jewels Tampa itinerary from November to twenty third, which
is going to be right around Thanksgiving time next year,
to April to fifth have been canceled. All of those
were canceled. The ship had been scheduled to sail Caribbean
(07:21):
cruises of five up to fourteen days. Now between November
tewo and April twelfth, the Dawn had been scheduled to
sail twelfth to twenty one day cruises looping around the
south tip of Africa before heading to the Persian Gulf,
cutting across to Singapore, and then they were circling back
around Africa en route to Europe. The Star nixed cruises,
(07:45):
including the ship's season in South America and Antarctica between
November twelve and April to fourteenth. Now, affected guests are
of course going to receive full monetary refund of the
fares they've paid to the original form of payment provided
at the time they made their reservations, and the line
(08:06):
is also saying they're going to offer a ten percent
discount through a future cruise credit. But again, I'm hopeful
to have some additional news for you guys as I
find out. But to me, this particular news story was
just shrouded in a lot of mystery. But certainly because
I know a lot of people these days book at
(08:27):
least a year in advance, I wanted to make sure
to announce that today for people who might have cruises
with Norwegian booked for next holiday period.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
It sounds like they've got some sort of maintenance thing
that they're pulling the ship.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Well, you know, I mean a lot of things went
through my mind. That also military initiatives, because sometimes ships
are deployed and redeployed for that purpose. So kind of
made me scratch my head a little bit. Now, don't
everybody go off saying Terry said ships are going to
be deployed for military purposes. I didn't say that. I
(09:03):
will say it did raise a question in my mind.
So because there was no other details following that news.
Interesting yep, speaking of cruise lines, though in very good news,
good news for Viking. Viking Cruise Line This is a
line that we often talk about here on a Life
Less Ordinary. Number one because we've had some very successful
(09:26):
groups on Viking, but number two because it just happens
to be traveler's favorite. I almost say that Viking has
what I call an almost near cult following. It's just
amazing how people go on one Viking cruise, they're hooked,
they go again and again and again. No surprise then,
for this news headline, Viking is seventy percent sold out
(09:52):
right now for their twenty twenty five ceilings.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Gosh, can you.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Believe that they reported that third quarter revenue in the
third quarter threw eleven percent to one point six eight
billion dollars and that their inventory is now seventy percent
sold out for twenty twenty five. Vikings target demographic of
couples over age fifty five. These folks all tend to
(10:18):
plan ahead. I know that because they're my clients too,
which helps to naturally extend the booking curve, and there's
going to be a lot of certain segments of them
that are keen to always book early. As of November,
the third Viking compiled four point three billion dollars in
advanced bookings for twenty twenty five departures twenty six percent
(10:42):
higher than they saw in twenty twenty four season at
the same point in the same time. So I think
if we had a whistle to blow for Viking right now,
I certainly would, But good on them. They are doing
very well and have quite a following. Speaking of quite
a following, we are seeing some survey results that say, Chris,
(11:06):
that a record number of Americans are going to be
traveling this Thanksgiving holiday on the road, in the air,
and of course at sea. From November the twenty sixth
until December two, it is estimated that over eighty million people. Wow,
we'll be traveling at least fifty miles from home. Six
(11:27):
million of those will be flying during the holidays. No,
I don't want to be in the airports up from
five point seventy three million, which was last year's number,
and the US accounts for a lot of that. But
international bookings are up twenty three percent this year. Now,
where's everybody going? Domestic travelers are headed to Florida. The
(11:51):
top three domestic destinations are Orlando, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale.
Tampa's the fifth. New York is number four. Los Angeles Honolulu,
San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Atlanta round out the top ten.
And for internationally, this was interesting. The most popular destination
is Budapest, Hungary, and that's followed by Border City, Mexicali,
(12:16):
San Juan, Cancun, Puntakana, Rome, Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, and Munich.
So lots of folks are going, Lots of people want
to travel, and they're looking for good deals. So I
do have some sales that I want to talk about
as well.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Let's check out some hot deals, yep.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
So it's you know, everybody looks for these Black Friday deals.
And we were talking about Viking a while ago. I
don't know where they're going to put anybody, but they
are saying that for twenty twenty five and twenty twenty
six sailings, they've got free international airfare. They are offering
free their Silver Spirits beverage package plus only twenty five
(12:59):
dollars deposits will hold your crews with Viking if you're
lucky enough to get one. So that's their Black Friday deal.
And then we've got air Portugal that's offering a I
included this not because air Portugal is such a hot
commodity at the Wishing Well, but the deal was pretty fantastic.
(13:20):
Three hundred and fifty nine dollars is their Black Friday
deal headed to a lot of destinations for Portugal, Africa,
and Europe. And if you're looking to travel from Washington
to Lisbon, only four hundred and sixty nine dollars will
buy you an economy class ticket on Air Portugal anytime
purchasing now until December the fourth for travel between January
(13:45):
the fourteenth, so you can't go now and May the fifteenth.
That's January the fourteenth to May fifteenth of twenty twenty five.
So if you want to go to Lisbon, great time
to buy a ticket four hundred and sixty nine dollars
round trip. We'll get you there. I like the fait
said it's Black Friday. Yeah, I like that too. Yeah.
Now another one that I really like a bunch. This
(14:06):
goes back aways because these guys started about the same
time I did in the travel industry. Club med they
are the pioneer of the all inclusive concept. They are
offering their best discount of the year with their Black
Friday sale, offering travelers up to fifty percent off of
Winter Spring and summer getaways across their all inclusive resorts
(14:28):
in the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada, and that deal includes
up to five hundred dollars instant savings and free stays
for kids under four years of age. Now, the Black
Friday Sale extends to their international resorts as well, with
up to seven hundred and seventy dollars of instant savings
(14:50):
at many of the Club Med favorites, like the Exclusive Collection,
These are five star club Med resorts. By the way,
in the alpine ski resort Club Med. There's also a
another one that is in their newly renovated Club Med
in Greece. They've got nearly seventy resorts to choose from Internationally.
Clubmed has the perfect sun and ski resort for everybody,
(15:13):
so check that one out. Finally, Chris, I've got a
Black Friday deal to offer with Royal Caribbean. They are
calling their Black Friday to beat the Rush sale with
up to seven hundred and fifty dollars off. Their Black
Friday deal also includes deals for kids to sail free
and you'll get up to five hundred dollars toward airfare
(15:36):
on a lot of the twenty twenty five Europe and
Alaska itineraries. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
And like I like to say, really, this is just
a thimbleful of all of the Black Friday deals that
I have seen come across my desk lately. Chances are,
if it's a tour operator, if it's a cruise line,
if it's an airline, they all have some sort of
(15:57):
very active Black Friday deal. If you're in all you
have to do is give me a call happy to
take a look and see what's out there for you.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
That number is five four oh nine eight twenty three
thirty three. That's five four oh nine oh eight two
three three three to talk to Terry Dean.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Absolutely, she'd love to hear from it. We can get
you anywhere you want to.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Go, bro, it sounds like a great price.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
If you want to.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Fight the six million people that are going to be
traveling over the holidays, maybe you want to wait a
little later. I think it's good that some of these
deals are actually starting in January through April, because yeah,
that's a better time to go maybe.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
So I'm excited about today's show too. You gave me
the title of it, and I'm like, Oh, I really
want to dig into this. It's called From Basics to Adventures,
your fascinating bucket list blueprint exactly. Ooh, you're going to
design us a bucket list get away.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
You know pretty much, because you know, Chris, just because
you have a bucket list doesn't mean you know how
to create a bucket list. And that's the fascinating part
of today's show. I think I want to hear more,
and we'll talk about it more next here on a
light flus ordinary.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
Protect your vacation investment with guidance from a travel professional.
The wishing Well knows travel and help you avoid pitfalls
that can spoil your hard earned vacation. We'll plan your
trip and have you back as you travel. All of
this without support or so called convenience fees. We're on
the web at the Wishingwell dot biz or call us
at five four zero nine zero eight two three three
(17:23):
three has five four zero nine zero eight two three
three three. The washing Well really does make dreams come
true and welcome back to a life less ordinary.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Travel showing podcasts from your friends at the wishing Well.
They're on f Avenue in Harrisonburg online at the Wishingwell
dot biz, or you can call them at five four
zero nine oh eight twenty three thirty three. Our show
today is from Basics to Adventures Your fascinating bucket list blueprint.
Right before we went to the break, you were saying,
a lot of us have a bucket list, but we
(17:53):
don't know how to create a.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Bucket list exactly. And I know that sounds strange.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
I have couesse.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Do you have a bucket list? And I mean of anything,
really anything? Yeah, I guess so, yeah, I think everybody does,
but we don't. We sometimes just kind of like a spitball.
We just throw it up on the wall and there's
where it is. That's where it sits, and then sometimes
you know how it goes.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
We never get around to it.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
It's like my five year career plan.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
I know where.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
I don't get that. I don't have a clue how
to get there exactly. And I don't know why.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
But recently, Chris a lot of my clients, and seemingly
everywhere I go, I don't care if I turn on
the radio or television or where somebody, somebody somewhere is
talking about a bucket list. So I thought this would
be fun. And bucket lists, I mean from everything everything
from home improvements books they want to read, even bucket
(18:47):
lists for the next great career move or where you
want to be in the next you know. However, many
years those are all bucket lists. Now, thankfully, I fell
into the last one over forty five years ago and
I really haven't looked back. And that is the career
path that I'm in. But I've even been dealing with
my own clients who report having bucket lists when it
(19:08):
comes to travel, and I won't lie. The idea and
the concept fascinates me. It just does because I'm a planner.
That's what I do. That's why I'm even in this business,
and I think I do so well in this career
because of that. So naturally, when it came to the
specifics of bucket lists, I didn't want to just fall
(19:30):
into the concept. I actually decided this is something that
should require some careful planning and maybe even sort of
a blueprint.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
I want to get there, you know, do it right.
If you're going to do it, do it right right.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
So now we're going to dive into a few bucket
lists destinations. Today We're going to do that. But before
we do, I want you to consider that Today's a
lifeless Ordinary is sort of a bucket list how to
one oh one. Okay, it's going to be fun. So
one of the first things that I think you need
to do, and this is whether or not you're kind
(20:07):
of using this blueprint for a travel bucket list. It
works for that, of course, but this could kind of
work for any sort of bucket list you want to create.
The first thing you want to do is to make
a prioritized bucket list. And I'm sure everybody's heard of that,
but how many of you have actually created one. Today
(20:30):
I want to teach you how to create your own
travel bucket list. It's going to help you organize your
future travels in the most efficient way possible, like with purpose. Okay,
So I'm going to tell you a little secret. I
use this method and I apply it to areas outside
of travel as well.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
It's a very helpful little tool. Okay.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
So in general, it's just a way to sort of
organize and prepare for the things that you want to
plan for basically, and it works for bucket lists as well.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
If you're listening right now to Terry's Ted Talk, you
might be thinking you should be taking notes.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
I encourage you get out your crayon.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
I encourage you to open your iHeartRadio app and you
can actually listen back to this in the form of
a podcast, and you can exactly pause it as you
go and take notes from there. So just sit back
and enjoy the.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Show today exactly.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
So before we begin, I need you to determine what
about travel actually excites you. That's one of the first
places to start. What about that excites you? Pick some
things that are pretty general in nature, and if you
ask me about my major interest, of course it's going
to be meeting people, understanding new and different cultures. Time
(21:47):
to get real with yourself, even if it means that
you have to ask yourself too pretty hard questions, and
those would be what are those two questions? Well, the
first one is if you have add thirty days to live,
where would you go and what would you do with
unlimited money? Because if we've got a bucket list, we
(22:10):
don't want to limit it. Okay, you don't want to
limit your bucket list because we're starting with just the
concept of where we want to go. So I want
you to throw out all your preconceived notions. Oh I
don't have enough money. Oh I don't have this, I
don't have that. I want you to do just this.
If you had thirty days to live, where would you go?
(22:30):
And what would you do if you had unlimited money?
That's question number one. Question number two, if you were
on your deathbed, what would you regret about your past
the most? What would you regret? And we're focusing all
of this really on travel. And these are questions that
(22:51):
are very personal, so they don't necessarily require an answer
to me right now, but hopefully you're creating some of
those answers to yourself, and those are very deep and
they're quite thought provoking. Most people live their life assuming
that they're going to always have more time, and I
think everybody is guilty of this at some point in
their life. It's important to understand that our lives are
(23:13):
not only limited, but the date at which the light
switches off is unknown to any of us.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
We just don't know that.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
So by asking yourself those questions, it sort of helps
to set the tone for the list that you're about
to create. The next thing you want to do is
begin making what I call a short list. You can
always create a longer list later, but start small, get
the hang of the method, and then eventually you can
(23:42):
create a longer list. Now, you actually might need a
little help with this, so research your topic to get
some ideas. And when I say topic, if you're using
this method for all kinds of things, that works. If
you're using it for travel, well, if you want to
visit a specific country, let Google help you type in
(24:04):
things to do in whatever country Ireland. There's going to
be more than a thousand ideas for every country. You're
going to browse through them swiftly write down anything that
kind of seems incredibly interesting to you. Remember, though, you're
only working on your short list right now, so don't
go crazy. It'll get too overwhelming for you. Right now,
(24:25):
you're just focusing on those two questions that you ask
yourself and a short list of places you.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
Want to go. Okay, are you with me so far?
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Chris, I'm with you.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
The next thing you want to do is be specific
about each bucket list item.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
So I said to Ireland a while ago.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
If you want to visit Ireland, don't just say visit Ireland, okay,
be more specific, say something like I want to visit
the Cliffs of More or I want to take a
road trip from Dublin to Cork's specific. That's your bucket
list item for Ireland, okay, And after you've finished creating
(25:07):
your small list of items, then you can add some
of that who, what, where, how, why, which and when
to each one of these if you need to. For example, okay,
I'm gonna give you some examples. Now we're gonna drill down. Okay,
so you will still with me, and if you please,
don't go to sleep, get a cup of coffee if
you need to stay away for this. But it's fun.
(25:29):
This is really a fun exercise and we're gonna get
to some good stuff. But if we are doing Ireland,
we're gonna stick with that one. And we said visit
the Cliffs of More, So if you want to be specific,
that statement then becomes visit the Cliffs of More with
my best friend by taking the bus during the winter,
(25:51):
because I want to get some drained drone shop shots
of the cliffs. So now we've kind of focused in
more Or on exactly what that's going to look like.
We're actually visualizing this bucket list item. We're not just
going to Ireland. We've picked up the pen and we've
put it there, but now we've actually envisioned and created
(26:15):
a vision for what we're going to do when we
get there.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
Or that.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Simple one that we wrote down a road trip from
Dublin to Cork, when now that becomes take a road
trip from Dublin to Cork with my best friend in
a rental car during the summer and we try jumping
in the water when we get there. Now did you
notice how specific that was? And listen, this is your list,
(26:42):
So no judgments. Nobody's going to see this unless you
want them to. But just know when you envision something,
especially something more specific, it is far more likely to manifest. Okay,
So getting to these places then becomes something that you
can actually see yourself going to. Then you have to
(27:05):
add the how will it make you feel to the
bucket list items. So this also seems a bit strange
to add, but it's really quite effective again in helping
to manifest these dreams into reality. The deeper that you
think about your dream, the stronger that your desire will
be to accomplish it. And by adding an emotional attachment
(27:29):
to a futuristic plan, is only going to help ignite
the fire of motivation for you to go. It just
simply works this way. It does after the previous step.
Now it's important to add how each scenario would make
you feel, So try not to be too brief with
this one. So now we're going to visit the statements again.
(27:51):
For the first one, visit the Cliffs of More with
my best friend by taking the bus during the winter.
I want to get drone shots of the cliffs when
we arrive. You're going to add, it's going to be
amazing to see all the beautiful scenery from the window
of a bus that we drive by. I hope we
arrive at the cliff when there's snow. These are some
(28:12):
of the most beautiful cliffs in the world, and I've
always wanted to see them since I was a child.
I want to get the most epic photo using my
drone with me and my best friends standing on this cliff.
All of a sudden, now not only do you have motivation,
you actually have a dream that you're starting to cast
(28:35):
into realistic version. And that statement of a road trip
from Dublin to Cork with my best friend in a
rental car during the summer, we can try jumping in
the water when we get there. You add how it's
going to make you feel. The last time my best
friend and I went on a road trip, we laughed
so hard for countless hours. She had a huge sense
(28:57):
of humor. I think we're going to last for days
and days during our trip. She also has a huge
sense of adventure, and I think we're going to want
to stop and explore as many places together as we can,
and I expect we're going to smile and laugh and
make a lot of memories. So adding that attachment of
your emotions to this almost cenches your investment in this.
(29:22):
You're emotionally invested. This is the dream on your bucket list.
This was your short list, which is now you're turning
into more of a realistic version of what you can do.
Then you want to build your travel bucket list in
two separate categories, because you might wind up with several lists.
Here the destinations or experiences that bring you the most excitement,
(29:46):
and then there'll be another list of the destinations or
experiences that seem to be the most attainable. You're going
to decide which of those two lists have the most
importance to you. You're going to put your items in
a thoughtful, attainable order, and then you're going to begin
to enjoy the fruits of all this labor, and just
a short amount of time, you're going to take your
(30:08):
dream and make it come true. You're going to check
off the first one of those most attainable bucket list trips,
which you now have manifest in writing, put a thoughtful
plan behind beginning to check each one off, And what
a great feeling that is. So that's really the essence
of creating a bucket list trip is that you start
(30:31):
with all of those places that you really thought you
might want to do, where you want to go. You're
going to research them a little bit, make sure that
it really fits you. Maybe that was a dream you
had when you were, you know, fifteen, and now you're
fifty and you've changed a little bit. When you research
those places now they might look a little different. But
you start out with that short list, you add to
(30:54):
that some things that really make it real for you.
But then you add the emotional attack, and all of
a sudden you've got a bucket list that you feel
compelled to follow through on. But I think this is
a neat little exercise. It's a short one, but that's
you know, kind of my bucket list how to one
oh one. And now that we have the beginnings of
(31:16):
this successful bucket list preparation, Chris, I want to spend
the second part of our show today sharing some of
what travelers say are some of their most longed four destinations.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
Let's get into that next here on a lifeless wordin
who would think of driving off to a new destination
without guidance from Google or Syria.
Speaker 3 (31:35):
Let the Wishing World guide your next travel experience.
Speaker 4 (31:38):
Travel the world as you enjoy the very best destinations
and all they offer at the best prices. Our mobile
travel app keeps your vacation on track and keeps you
connected with our team of experts for help. If you
need it, call us at five four zero nine zero
eight two three three three, stop by two forty three
nap Avenue, or visit us at the Wishingwell dot bizz.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
And welcome back to a life less ordinary. Every Saturday
morning we sit down with Terry Dean from the Wishing
Well and we talk travel. And if you'd like to
talk to Terry, you can stop buying Sierra in person
on nef Avenue and Harrisonburg Online, you can find the
wishing Well dot biz, or you could call Terry at
five four oh nine oh eight twenty three thirty three.
Our show today is from Basics two Adventures, Your Fascinating
(32:22):
bucket List Blueprint Now Terry and the first part of
our show, we sort of did a one oh one
I called it your Terry's Ted talk as you described
how to make that list. But now we'd like to
dig into what people actually have on their lists, what
their dream destinations are.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
We do and before we do, though, Chris, I want
to point out to listeners that I think you and
I share a little bit in common when it comes
to kind of the logistics or the framework of how
something is put together. We're both kind of fascinated by that. Yeah,
And that's really why I wanted to concentrate our efforts
(33:03):
not just on doing a bucket list show, because we
could have just done that. We could have just talked
about lots of different destinations, and for sure we're going
to do that here in just a little bit. But
I think the framework of building a bucket list is fascinating.
And what's fascinating about that to me is when my clients.
(33:25):
I'm honored when I feel like they share that with me.
It's a little bit like eavesdropping, you know, a little
bit on somebody's conversation or what goes on in their mind.
I mean, let's face it, a lot of what goes
on in our head we never really share with a
lot of people on this planet. It kind of stays
locked up where it is safely in many cases, safely
(33:47):
because it's ours. It's the one space where we can
go where everything that's near and dear to us stays.
Bucket Lists tend to be that kind of thing. Always
so honored when my clients come in and they share
with me, this is actually a bucket list trip that
I want to do, Terry. And here's why I love that.
(34:11):
And I was asking you before if you had any
bucket list ideas about travel.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
Or so I was as you were spelling out, I've
got thirty days left to go, I've got endless amount
of money to travel anywhere. And this is going to
really sound depressing. I started thinking, can I leave the
money to somebody I love?
Speaker 3 (34:36):
I feel that is not the way to play this game, Chris.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
So I play the game. I would love to go
to Europe. I'd love to go to Rome. I'd love
to go to Germany to see where my family was
originally from. Yeah, I kind of want to travel the
whole world now that I've got endless money, exactly. I
want to go to Tokyo. I want to have sushi
(35:00):
in Japan. Okay, Okay, I'm going to manifest it. Okay,
I'd like to have sushi. And one of those comes
off the conveyor belt.
Speaker 3 (35:08):
There you go. You need to get busy on that
bucket list.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
I can see you've got pent up requirements to travel.
I can see that right now. And as we go
through some of these destinations, which might very well you
have found on your own bucket list, they might somehow
make your own list make a whole lot more sense,
you know, or it might change it entirely.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
I don't know, but I think a lot.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
Of these are going to be very interesting and to you, Chris,
because of what you just mentioned. One may be very
fascinating to you. As a matter of fact. Sometimes according
to your lists, it might be famous attractions. It could
be delicious food that draws you to someplace, Stunning hotels,
that's always one for me. I mean I am. I
(35:57):
am awed by hotel prop parties that just do it right.
I mean nothing nothing says luxury and vacationing to me
like a hotel that just rolls out the red carpet
for me. And I'm not talking about a hotel like
those that you find in Dubai, although those are really fabulous.
(36:17):
I'm talking about some of the boutique hotels, the relay
and chateau hotels that really just focus so on service
where you feel so special. And remember when I said
before about creating your bucket list and adding to that
bucket list and those bucket short list items how it
(36:38):
makes you feel, because that's why you chose it, that
would be on mine, the how it makes me feel.
Speaker 1 (36:46):
I think it's funny as you're saying that, because my
wife the hotel is more important than the destination.
Speaker 3 (36:52):
Is that right?
Speaker 1 (36:52):
It's going to have a king sized bed, and it's
going to have Hello, it's going to have that kind
of top on it where when you lay down, you
sink down at ah.
Speaker 3 (37:00):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
Yes, she could go anywhere in the world as long
as they have that hotel and she'd be happy there. Yeah,
I'm just as happy to stay in some little roadside
place that may not have made service.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
There's such a guy. But now you know there's a
whole other sect of folks and we know who they are.
They are most typically the gen zers. It's the bragging
rights that come with checking off every continent, every country,
every state. They want pictures of that, They want to
be able to do that. So their bucket list is
(37:31):
going to look say, very different from mine, or your wife's,
or even yours. Whatever has motivated your choices, though, I've
rounded up a few incredible trips, really complete with once
in a lifetime experiences and iconic sites that you won't
find anywhere else in the world. So what makes a
(37:52):
trip truly life changing? That answer varies from traveler to traveler,
as we just found out, and as you create a
bucket list yourself, you're going to find that out too.
But one thing is for sure. From African safaris to
classic road trips, this list, I hope, is going to
make you want to plan your next great adventure. And
(38:15):
if it doesn't come, see me, because you did it wrong.
Speaker 3 (38:20):
You're broke. You're broken, you did it wrong.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
We'll fix you.
Speaker 3 (38:25):
That's right, that's right.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
So I think the first destination that's got to be
at the top of this bucket list group has got
to be a trip to see the Northern Lights. I
got to tell you just yesterday I had clients come
in who were very unspecific about the destination they wanted
to travel to. But the one thing they were absolutely
(38:47):
certain about, Chris, was what they wanted to do, and
that was see the Northern lights somewhere. Now, you want
to talk about throwing a dart at the globe that's
at as wide as it gets, catching a glimpse of
the elusive Northern lights is possible in several destinations. We
(39:08):
had that conversation together. You can go close to the
Arctic Circle. You can go to Alaska, Iceland, Canada, Greenland, Finland, Sweden, Norway.
All of those places have incredible viewpoints and even some
more fascinating hotels. We've even talked about them here on
a Lifeless Ordinary before, where they're like these little dome
(39:31):
sea through huts that are positioned right on the cliffs
of the mountain where at night, when those Northern lights start,
you're laying on your back in your bed in a
nice toasty, warm environment, maybe even with a fireplace you know,
just roaring in your room and you're looking up in
what do you see this picture show of beautiful color
(39:54):
and northern lights. It's it's fabulous really, and in addition
to winter scenery, all of that comes together. The lights
are best viewed. I will tell you, folks, if you're
a northern light chaser, they can be viewed the best
from late fall through early spring. So really, right now
(40:16):
is a great time if you don't mind the cold weather,
because you can't mind that, that's when it's the clearest.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
I'm envisioning somewhere in Norway or Sweden or something where
the snow is about three feet back right and the
trees the branches are bending from the way to the snow.
For sure, that's what I want.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
Oh yeah, yeah, And you know, maybe a dog sled
takes you to your gear push it. Okay, my bucket lists,
Chris may not yours, But it was on the outside
with the dog sled, But those are That's that's really one.
I would say the number one top most requested thing
(40:54):
that people have on their lists since COVID. Then you
mush dogs in a last time I did. I'm mushed
dogs and you know went on cert. Actually, Harry did
a Harry my business partner for those of you who
listened pretty religiously, he's here with us. Sometimes it's actually
in Egypt right now. One of his bucket list items.
(41:15):
But he actually went in search of the Northern Lights
with a group of folks from one of our local
senior centers here in Harrisonburg, and they went to Mackinaw
Island in search of the Northern Lights. You want to
hear the irony of that trip. So they didn't see them,
but while they were gone right here in the Shenandoah Valley,
(41:37):
we had one of the most incredible displays of northern
lights I've ever seen.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
Harry and I did an episode where we talked about that,
So if you go back maybe six or seven episodes,
you'll hear Harry's experience in Macinaw Island.
Speaker 2 (41:50):
Yeah, so Northern Lights is definitely something on a lot
of people's bucket lists. It's a phenomenon, Okay, it's people
want to see it because it's so beauty and it's
so unexpected and it's such a great surprise when you
do next on my list of places to go, and
that most people have on their bucket lists. Not surprisingly
(42:13):
is Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. It is the
next place that comes up, and I think there's lots
of reasons for that, not the least of which includes
ease of access. It wasn't so very long ago that
the airlines began to operate direct NonStop service Chris from
Washington Dulles to Dubai, which for a lot of travelers
(42:35):
today is so much a part of that luxurious experience.
We've talked about that. I think we even did an
entire show here one day on the United Arab Emirates
and everything that's going on these days in Dubai and
Abu Dhabi and how rich and cultural and how progressive
(42:56):
those areas are becoming, and why people are flocking there. Well,
it's because it's outrageous and it's outrageously beautiful. It's over
the top resorts and hotels that are there. They offer
some extravagance services at very affordable prices. I mean, that's
really one of the other key features. There's enormous shopping centers,
(43:18):
wonderful desert excursions, plenty of beaches there, and Dubai offers
diverse attractions for just a wide array of travelers. The
most temperate time to visit the hot city, which gets
about three hundred days of sunshine a year, is from
November to February, and that's another reason why people like
(43:40):
to go because rain is probably not going to ruin
your vacation at all. And winter is also when the
Dubai Shopping Festival takes place. And I was not real
keen on what this was, so I looked it up
and it's really fascinating. The Buy Shopping Festival runs from
(44:02):
December sixth through January the twelfth, and for this celebration,
you do not want to miss out on must watch
live entertainment. They have unmissible superstar performances. I've heard rumors
about who's going to be there, can believe it. And
so this is really taking the whole United Arab Emirates
(44:23):
by storm, concerts, amazing deals, fun filled adventures for everybody
every single day through that period. And that's why Dubai
finds its way as my number two on many travelers
bucket lists. It's not the shopping festival, folks, but it
is the sheer extravagance that only this destination can portray.
Speaker 1 (44:45):
They've got gold vending machines. Yes, yeah, put your credit
card in and it gives you a bar of gold.
Speaker 3 (44:51):
Can you believe it?
Speaker 2 (44:53):
I mean, it's just fantastical. I mean I've gone to
Vegas for years and years and thought Vegas was really
over the top. But no, we don't know anything. Dubai
dwarfs Vegas in comparison.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
I feel like Vegas is the like Disney, where they
try to make you feel where you're in something. Yes,
Vegas wants you to feel like you're in Dubai, where Dubai.
Speaker 3 (45:20):
Is in Dubai. That's right, that's right.
Speaker 1 (45:23):
It's not like the you know, the Eiffel Tower in Vegas. No, yeah,
you're not in Paris. What will make you feel like
you kind of are?
Speaker 2 (45:29):
And the interesting thing is, like I said, it's so accessible.
You've got these direct NonStop flights from Washington Dulles and
I have so many clients that will go there now
because the flight is, what you know, about six to
eight hours. Okay, so that's as far as it is
from here to Saint Lucia, you know, so why not, Yeah,
let's let's go to Dubai. It's a direct NonStop flight.
(45:52):
You say, it's affordable there. It is very affordable there.
The hotels are incredibly affordable and continue to be They
really want tourism, and it is growing and growing and
growing and is soon going to be one of the
most sought after tourist destinations.
Speaker 3 (46:12):
In all of Europe. Interesting, So ready to move on
to the next bucket list item.
Speaker 1 (46:19):
I'm trying to guess what they all are.
Speaker 2 (46:20):
But yeah, okay, next is Italy. Oh yeah, it has
been four years and it continues to be one of
the most requested destinations by our travelers at the Wishing Well.
But I have to say, the scope, Chris, of what
people want their experience to actually look like in Italy
is kind of evolving a little bit. Kind of deciding
(46:41):
between the historic cities of Rome and Venice, Naples and
Florence for the top destination to visit in Italy kind
of feels impossible. So the entire country deserves a spot
on your list. Really, you want to start in the
eternal city, head north through the rolling hills of Tuscan,
need to visit Florence, maybe, followed by Milan or Venice,
(47:04):
or go south to the beaches to the beautiful Amalfi
Coast and then there's of course the football at the
toe of Italy called Sicily. And when I say it's evolving,
I've even got some clients now actually just recently that
came in. They want to steer away from the larger
cities entirely in Italy and instead they want to spend
(47:24):
their time all in the countrysides, in the countrysides of
Italy and the smaller regions, and not in hotels, but
in more of those more single hillside villas or country
inns and boutique hotels. Again, bucket list travel defined. Otherwise
it's just Italy, right, You stick a pin in the
(47:45):
paper and go, Italy's on my bucket list. Don't forget
what I said about your bucket list, one oh one,
drill down Where in Italy? Why in Italy? And how
do you think it would make you feel? That's why
most people go to Italy. I got to tell you.
When I'm sitting down with them at my desk and
we're talking about places to go and Italy comes up.
(48:07):
I almost never hear about the cities. I hear about
Here's how it makes me feel to think about going
to Italy.
Speaker 1 (48:15):
Well, I mean, you see in the movies, the wine
country and in these small villas and someone making the
food from exactly, that's what I envision exactly. I don't
know if that's all of Italy, but that's what I
in my mind. It looks like that's part of how
it makes you feel. And my family's from the northern
part of Italy. We're from up in the Tyrolean region.
Speaker 2 (48:33):
You just have your second item on your bucket list.
I believe this one may have been number one for you, Chris.
I think probably Tokyo, Japan. Oh, that one I thought
you're talking about it. Actually, no, I have to tell
you this was on my bucket list too, a lot
of years ago, and I did manage to check this
one off. I'm so glad I did. This trip for
(48:54):
me was a life changing event. I don't know if
I've mentioned that here on a Lifeless ordinary before, but
a lot lot of friends, people who know me well
know that about me. Tokyo changed my life. I spent
a good part of my travel career as a corporate
travel agent, and during those years I was the lead
senior advisor for General Electric and their main corridor of
(49:15):
travel was between Washington, Dulls and Tokyo. They went several
times a month, in many cases per week, so over
time it was important to me to go on a
research trip. I was sent there, and so while I
was in Tokyo, I experienced my first bucket sorry bullet train.
I ate my first authentic Japanese cuisine, I visited a
(49:36):
real Buddhist temple, and I saw my very first kabuki dancer.
It was amazing. But one other thing was so very
striking to me. As I stood at the top of
a street called Rapungi, I watched well over ten thousand
individual Japanese people walking all together down this one street
in perfect harmony and in utter silence. It was amazing.
(50:00):
Any disruption, no pushing, no arguing, no shoving, perfect bliss.
I will never ever forget that moment old and new
come together. In Japan's bustling cities, You've got historic temples, shrines,
busy shopping districts, delicious food, huge music scene, and some
(50:20):
of the world's best theme parks and attractions. Whatever your interests,
there's something for you in Tokyo. Now, I hope we've
got Toime. I know we are real tight on tom
but this next destination is on my bucket list, and
it is an African safari. I've longed to go there
since I was a child, to see elephants, lions, zebras,
(50:44):
giraffes in their natural habitat before they're no longer here.
Forced to admire perfection and the endangered species. But man
can so easily destroy what God made. It's sad to me,
but seeing majestic animals like lions and the rhinos in
the wild is a dream best accomplished with an African safari.
(51:06):
South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya some of the most popular
African safari destinations. But it's not only the lodges, but
it's also the gorilla in the chimpanzee trekking in Uganda.
That's garner a whole lot of requests when it comes
to bucket list travel. This for me is where I live, Chris.
(51:27):
This is my life. This is what living and working
in the Wishing Well for me every day is really
all about. It's these dreams. It's these dreams that manifest
that go from paper, from mind to paper to manifestation
and a reality come true, a dream come true inside
(51:48):
the offices of the Wishing Well for a lot of
people who find their own bucket list destination on what
we mentioned today.
Speaker 1 (51:56):
If we come to see you, do we need to
have our bucket list already done? Or will you help
us figure that out too?
Speaker 2 (52:00):
I would help you, know, that's that's just I think
that's such so much a fun part of it, but
it's also so much a very personal part of what
makes you you. I don't have the ancestry in Italy
and Europe and Germany like you do, so my bucket
list isn't going to look like yours.
Speaker 3 (52:20):
But can I help you? Sure?
Speaker 2 (52:22):
I'd be happy to help. But if you follow just
those few amazing tips that we talked about in the
very beginning of today's show, I think you can come
up with a fabulous bucket list trip that we can
help you put together.
Speaker 1 (52:35):
How do I combine the Vatican and Tokyo in one
bucket list?
Speaker 3 (52:41):
That's a whole other show, Chris.
Speaker 1 (52:43):
I really would have a hard time picking between the
two of them. Yeah, Honestly, even though you said Tokyo
is probably my number one, I think I would choose
Vatican over Tokyo.
Speaker 2 (52:52):
Good for you, Yeah, yeah, so Italy really might be
your number one go to destination. Yeah, and that would
be your short list. You know your short list of
places are Italy and then Tokyo.
Speaker 1 (53:04):
Yeah. I didn't pick anywhere cheap, did I know you
did not? How do we get in touch with you?
Speaker 3 (53:08):
I am easy to find, Chris.
Speaker 2 (53:10):
I'm located in Heresonburg, Virginia at two forty three nef Avenue.
We're in the Valley Center. People can call me. I'm
at five four o nine oh eight two three three three,
or they can look us up on the web. We
are at the Wishingwell dot biz.
Speaker 1 (53:25):
This has been a life Less Ordinary, the travel show
from your friends at the wishing Well at two forty
three nef Avenue in Harrisonburg. If you have any questions
on topics discussed today, please reach out to the wishing
Well online at the wishing Well top biz or five
four oh nine oh eight twenty three thirty three. Past
episodes are available on the iHeartRadio app. And we'll see
you again next Saturday morning at ten for a life
(53:47):
less Ordinary from the wishing Well
This is a Lifeless Ordinary. It's a travel show and
podcasts from your friends at the wishing Well two forty three,
f Avenue and harshmerg and online at the wishing Well
dot this. The wishing Well is your ultimate luxury concierge,
travel agency and A Lifeless Ordinary is a travel show
and podcast hosted by Terry Dean, bringing her over forty
years of experience in the travel industry to help guide
(00:20):
you to great experiences in your travel, whether it be
around the block, around the country, or around the world.
Let's bring in Terry Dean. Say hello, Chris, how are you.
I'm well, it's good to see you, Terry.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Good to see you. It's good to be seen. I'll
tell you I wasn't feeling too swift last week.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
That's what I heard. I'm I'm I'm sorry you were
going through something. You look good today.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Well, thank you so much. I try. You know, it's
a week saying an effort.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
But you know, it's interesting how people are asking me
a lot about illnesses and flus and COVID and you know,
I say this, it's here to stay. I think it's
something that we're going to deal with. And just as
a reminder. You know, we're headed up on the holidays
and you're going to be around a lot of family members.
So I think we're going to see a little bit
(01:06):
of this between now and Christmas.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
What was the I can't believe, I can't remember the
Chevy Chase Christmas movie. What was that?
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Oh yeah, Christmas vacation.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Christmas vacation and when his brother brother in law comes
into town. Oh yeah, that's what I feel like. Thanksgiving
is going to be like this.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Oh no, don't have that.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Actually could be fun, though, but one relative who refuses
to cover his mouth.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
As long as you an old strap your grandma up
on top of the car, you'd be okay. Well, but
all my family comes in to my house, and of
course I cook my traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and I'm excited
about you know, I always think that's sort of my
gift to my family, or at least part of it,
and I'm always honored that it's done at my house.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Beck and I are having family into our house this year,
and we're putting together our shopping list of you know what,
the Thanksgiving menu is going.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
To close as am I it's a busy day in
the shopping centers. Today is Saturday.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
And we were having a really difficult time trying to
come up with what are like families traditional dishes are
really and our Thanksgiving dinner I think is going to
be really boring. So here, I want to know. Let
me tell you what we're having. You tell me what
you would add to the list. Grabbing turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing,
slash dressing. We are going to have it like a
(02:26):
sweet potato casserole that's got oatmeal stuff on top.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
That's not good.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Yeah, I'm making my green beans which it has a
pound of bacon in it and onions. It's a heart attack.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Don't you just put the whole pig in there?
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Okay, it's disguised as a vegetable, but it's a heart attack.
And mashed potatoes and graving.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Where's the cranberries?
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Oh, we're having cranberries.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Okay, cranberry sauce. You don't put it out of that.
It doesn't do that sucking sound as it comes out
of the canda. Please say no.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Honestly, I don't know as someone else is bringing it.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Okay, So yeah, so what's missing? You know?
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Things that my constant Thanksgiving dinner are macaroni and cheese.
My mother always makes that. It's traditional sour kraut, and yeah,
we always do souer kraut as a side dish.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Do you do that for New Year's Day?
Speaker 2 (03:20):
No, actually we don't. My mother's birthday is New Year's Day,
so we always tend to go out all nice.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
I grew up we always had sauer kraut and pork
on New Year's Day.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Oh yeah, well, actually my grandfather used to always get
up every New Year's Day and we had fried oysters
for breakfast on New Year's Day. It was a tradition.
So lots of you know, lots of neat traditions this
time of year. It's always fun to talk about it,
find out what people are doing.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Yeah, I feel like our Thanksgivings it's going to be
so boring.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Anyway, it does not sound boring to me.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
We may have to stop over to the Dean House exactly,
borrow a sideish or something.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
Not a problem at all.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
So we need to get caught up on all the
travel news that's happened or the we do.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
There's always something going on, you know. This industry is
full of news, and that's the truth. And I want
to address one thing that's been in the news a
lot lately, and that is Spirit. And I'm not talking
about the Christmas Spirit or anything else. I'm talking about
Spirit Airlines. They've had some bad news lately. They have
(04:26):
actually filed Chapter eleven bankruptcy and those proceedings are actually
going to position that airline for some hopefully some long
term success, they think.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
But analysts say that.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Despite having reached a debt restructuring agreement with their bondholders,
Spirit's going to need to really quickly stem its losses
to survive this. I think they have quarters, to be honest,
not years. But Chapter eleven filing Chris is actually the
first by a large main line US carrier since American
(05:03):
did that in twenty eleven. So this is kind of,
you know, an unprecedented sort of action that airline, an
airline takes. Spirit's exit plan for its financial woes was
sort of this three point eight billion dollar merger that
they were counting on with Jet Blue, But in January,
(05:24):
antitrust regulators at the Department of Justice prevailed in their
suit to block that merger as anti competitive. Now, since then,
the airline has scrambled to increase liquidity, lower cost and
improve their revenues. And if they don't find some way
to make some cash by next summer, I think that
(05:44):
could be a very bad sign for them. But kind
of keeping our eyes on Spirit Airlines to see what happens.
You know, quite frankly, these low cost carriers these days,
you would think people would flock to that, but people
also want convenience. How many times do we talk about
that here on a life less ordinary. Spirit just didn't
(06:04):
get the whole job done, you know. Next in the news, Chris,
we've got Norwegian Cruise Line. This was a very interesting
news article and one that I think was shrouded a
little bit in mystery and still is for me right now.
But Norwegian Cruise Line has canceled up to thirty eight
sailings and these were scheduled sailings between November of twenty
(06:30):
twenty five and April of twenty twenty six. Now that's
a long way off, but these canceled cruises were on
the Norwegian Dawn, the Norwegian Jewel, and the Norwegian Star,
according to a statement that was sent to travel advisors
this past Wednesday. The line has not announced details of
(06:53):
these ships redeployment. That's the mystery to me, that's the
part that's missing from this entire story.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Are these old ships.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
They really aren't that old, you know, So it's really
kind of again I'm scratching my head about this. But
the Jewels Tampa itinerary from November to twenty third, which
is going to be right around Thanksgiving time next year,
to April to fifth have been canceled. All of those
were canceled. The ship had been scheduled to sail Caribbean
(07:21):
cruises of five up to fourteen days. Now between November
tewo and April twelfth, the Dawn had been scheduled to
sail twelfth to twenty one day cruises looping around the
south tip of Africa before heading to the Persian Gulf,
cutting across to Singapore, and then they were circling back
around Africa en route to Europe. The Star nixed cruises,
(07:45):
including the ship's season in South America and Antarctica between
November twelve and April to fourteenth. Now, affected guests are
of course going to receive full monetary refund of the
fares they've paid to the original form of payment provided
at the time they made their reservations, and the line
(08:06):
is also saying they're going to offer a ten percent
discount through a future cruise credit. But again, I'm hopeful
to have some additional news for you guys as I
find out. But to me, this particular news story was
just shrouded in a lot of mystery. But certainly because
I know a lot of people these days book at
(08:27):
least a year in advance, I wanted to make sure
to announce that today for people who might have cruises
with Norwegian booked for next holiday period.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
It sounds like they've got some sort of maintenance thing
that they're pulling the ship.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Well, you know, I mean a lot of things went
through my mind. That also military initiatives, because sometimes ships
are deployed and redeployed for that purpose. So kind of
made me scratch my head a little bit. Now, don't
everybody go off saying Terry said ships are going to
be deployed for military purposes. I didn't say that. I
(09:03):
will say it did raise a question in my mind.
So because there was no other details following that news.
Interesting yep, speaking of cruise lines, though in very good news,
good news for Viking. Viking Cruise Line This is a
line that we often talk about here on a Life
Less Ordinary. Number one because we've had some very successful
(09:26):
groups on Viking, but number two because it just happens
to be traveler's favorite. I almost say that Viking has
what I call an almost near cult following. It's just
amazing how people go on one Viking cruise, they're hooked,
they go again and again and again. No surprise then,
for this news headline, Viking is seventy percent sold out
(09:52):
right now for their twenty twenty five ceilings.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
Gosh, can you.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Believe that they reported that third quarter revenue in the
third quarter threw eleven percent to one point six eight
billion dollars and that their inventory is now seventy percent
sold out for twenty twenty five. Vikings target demographic of
couples over age fifty five. These folks all tend to
(10:18):
plan ahead. I know that because they're my clients too,
which helps to naturally extend the booking curve, and there's
going to be a lot of certain segments of them
that are keen to always book early. As of November,
the third Viking compiled four point three billion dollars in
advanced bookings for twenty twenty five departures twenty six percent
(10:42):
higher than they saw in twenty twenty four season at
the same point in the same time. So I think
if we had a whistle to blow for Viking right now,
I certainly would, But good on them. They are doing
very well and have quite a following. Speaking of quite
a following, we are seeing some survey results that say, Chris,
(11:06):
that a record number of Americans are going to be
traveling this Thanksgiving holiday on the road, in the air,
and of course at sea. From November the twenty sixth
until December two, it is estimated that over eighty million people. Wow,
we'll be traveling at least fifty miles from home. Six
(11:27):
million of those will be flying during the holidays. No,
I don't want to be in the airports up from
five point seventy three million, which was last year's number,
and the US accounts for a lot of that. But
international bookings are up twenty three percent this year. Now,
where's everybody going? Domestic travelers are headed to Florida. The
(11:51):
top three domestic destinations are Orlando, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale.
Tampa's the fifth. New York is number four. Los Angeles Honolulu,
San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Atlanta round out the top ten.
And for internationally, this was interesting. The most popular destination
is Budapest, Hungary, and that's followed by Border City, Mexicali,
(12:16):
San Juan, Cancun, Puntakana, Rome, Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, and Munich.
So lots of folks are going, Lots of people want
to travel, and they're looking for good deals. So I
do have some sales that I want to talk about
as well.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Let's check out some hot deals, yep.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
So it's you know, everybody looks for these Black Friday deals.
And we were talking about Viking a while ago. I
don't know where they're going to put anybody, but they
are saying that for twenty twenty five and twenty twenty
six sailings, they've got free international airfare. They are offering
free their Silver Spirits beverage package plus only twenty five
(12:59):
dollars deposits will hold your crews with Viking if you're
lucky enough to get one. So that's their Black Friday deal.
And then we've got air Portugal that's offering a I
included this not because air Portugal is such a hot
commodity at the Wishing Well, but the deal was pretty fantastic.
(13:20):
Three hundred and fifty nine dollars is their Black Friday
deal headed to a lot of destinations for Portugal, Africa,
and Europe. And if you're looking to travel from Washington
to Lisbon, only four hundred and sixty nine dollars will
buy you an economy class ticket on Air Portugal anytime
purchasing now until December the fourth for travel between January
(13:45):
the fourteenth, so you can't go now and May the fifteenth.
That's January the fourteenth to May fifteenth of twenty twenty five.
So if you want to go to Lisbon, great time
to buy a ticket four hundred and sixty nine dollars
round trip. We'll get you there. I like the fait
said it's Black Friday. Yeah, I like that too. Yeah.
Now another one that I really like a bunch. This
(14:06):
goes back aways because these guys started about the same
time I did in the travel industry. Club med they
are the pioneer of the all inclusive concept. They are
offering their best discount of the year with their Black
Friday sale, offering travelers up to fifty percent off of
Winter Spring and summer getaways across their all inclusive resorts
(14:28):
in the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada, and that deal includes
up to five hundred dollars instant savings and free stays
for kids under four years of age. Now, the Black
Friday Sale extends to their international resorts as well, with
up to seven hundred and seventy dollars of instant savings
(14:50):
at many of the Club Med favorites, like the Exclusive Collection,
These are five star club Med resorts. By the way,
in the alpine ski resort Club Med. There's also a
another one that is in their newly renovated Club Med
in Greece. They've got nearly seventy resorts to choose from Internationally.
Clubmed has the perfect sun and ski resort for everybody,
(15:13):
so check that one out. Finally, Chris, I've got a
Black Friday deal to offer with Royal Caribbean. They are
calling their Black Friday to beat the Rush sale with
up to seven hundred and fifty dollars off. Their Black
Friday deal also includes deals for kids to sail free
and you'll get up to five hundred dollars toward airfare
(15:36):
on a lot of the twenty twenty five Europe and
Alaska itineraries. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
And like I like to say, really, this is just
a thimbleful of all of the Black Friday deals that
I have seen come across my desk lately. Chances are,
if it's a tour operator, if it's a cruise line,
if it's an airline, they all have some sort of
(15:57):
very active Black Friday deal. If you're in all you
have to do is give me a call happy to
take a look and see what's out there for you.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
That number is five four oh nine eight twenty three
thirty three. That's five four oh nine oh eight two
three three three to talk to Terry Dean.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Absolutely, she'd love to hear from it. We can get
you anywhere you want to.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Go, bro, it sounds like a great price.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
If you want to.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Fight the six million people that are going to be
traveling over the holidays, maybe you want to wait a
little later. I think it's good that some of these
deals are actually starting in January through April, because yeah,
that's a better time to go maybe.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
So I'm excited about today's show too. You gave me
the title of it, and I'm like, Oh, I really
want to dig into this. It's called From Basics to Adventures,
your fascinating bucket list blueprint exactly. Ooh, you're going to
design us a bucket list get away.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
You know pretty much, because you know, Chris, just because
you have a bucket list doesn't mean you know how
to create a bucket list. And that's the fascinating part
of today's show. I think I want to hear more,
and we'll talk about it more next here on a
light flus ordinary.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
Protect your vacation investment with guidance from a travel professional.
The wishing Well knows travel and help you avoid pitfalls
that can spoil your hard earned vacation. We'll plan your
trip and have you back as you travel. All of
this without support or so called convenience fees. We're on
the web at the Wishingwell dot biz or call us
at five four zero nine zero eight two three three
(17:23):
three has five four zero nine zero eight two three
three three. The washing Well really does make dreams come
true and welcome back to a life less ordinary.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Travel showing podcasts from your friends at the wishing Well.
They're on f Avenue in Harrisonburg online at the Wishingwell
dot biz, or you can call them at five four
zero nine oh eight twenty three thirty three. Our show
today is from Basics to Adventures Your fascinating bucket list blueprint.
Right before we went to the break, you were saying,
a lot of us have a bucket list, but we
(17:53):
don't know how to create a.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Bucket list exactly. And I know that sounds strange.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
I have couesse.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Do you have a bucket list? And I mean of anything,
really anything? Yeah, I guess so, yeah, I think everybody does,
but we don't. We sometimes just kind of like a spitball.
We just throw it up on the wall and there's
where it is. That's where it sits, and then sometimes
you know how it goes.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
We never get around to it.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
It's like my five year career plan.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
I know where.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
I don't get that. I don't have a clue how
to get there exactly. And I don't know why.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
But recently, Chris a lot of my clients, and seemingly
everywhere I go, I don't care if I turn on
the radio or television or where somebody, somebody somewhere is
talking about a bucket list. So I thought this would
be fun. And bucket lists, I mean from everything everything
from home improvements books they want to read, even bucket
(18:47):
lists for the next great career move or where you
want to be in the next you know. However, many
years those are all bucket lists. Now, thankfully, I fell
into the last one over forty five years ago and
I really haven't looked back. And that is the career
path that I'm in. But I've even been dealing with
my own clients who report having bucket lists when it
(19:08):
comes to travel, and I won't lie. The idea and
the concept fascinates me. It just does because I'm a planner.
That's what I do. That's why I'm even in this business,
and I think I do so well in this career
because of that. So naturally, when it came to the
specifics of bucket lists, I didn't want to just fall
(19:30):
into the concept. I actually decided this is something that
should require some careful planning and maybe even sort of
a blueprint.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
I want to get there, you know, do it right.
If you're going to do it, do it right right.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
So now we're going to dive into a few bucket
lists destinations. Today We're going to do that. But before
we do, I want you to consider that Today's a
lifeless Ordinary is sort of a bucket list how to
one oh one. Okay, it's going to be fun. So
one of the first things that I think you need
to do, and this is whether or not you're kind
(20:07):
of using this blueprint for a travel bucket list. It
works for that, of course, but this could kind of
work for any sort of bucket list you want to create.
The first thing you want to do is to make
a prioritized bucket list. And I'm sure everybody's heard of that,
but how many of you have actually created one. Today
(20:30):
I want to teach you how to create your own
travel bucket list. It's going to help you organize your
future travels in the most efficient way possible, like with purpose. Okay,
So I'm going to tell you a little secret. I
use this method and I apply it to areas outside
of travel as well.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
It's a very helpful little tool. Okay.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
So in general, it's just a way to sort of
organize and prepare for the things that you want to
plan for basically, and it works for bucket lists as well.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
If you're listening right now to Terry's Ted Talk, you
might be thinking you should be taking notes.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
I encourage you get out your crayon.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
I encourage you to open your iHeartRadio app and you
can actually listen back to this in the form of
a podcast, and you can exactly pause it as you
go and take notes from there. So just sit back
and enjoy the.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Show today exactly.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
So before we begin, I need you to determine what
about travel actually excites you. That's one of the first
places to start. What about that excites you? Pick some
things that are pretty general in nature, and if you
ask me about my major interest, of course it's going
to be meeting people, understanding new and different cultures. Time
(21:47):
to get real with yourself, even if it means that
you have to ask yourself too pretty hard questions, and
those would be what are those two questions? Well, the
first one is if you have add thirty days to live,
where would you go and what would you do with
unlimited money? Because if we've got a bucket list, we
(22:10):
don't want to limit it. Okay, you don't want to
limit your bucket list because we're starting with just the
concept of where we want to go. So I want
you to throw out all your preconceived notions. Oh I
don't have enough money. Oh I don't have this, I
don't have that. I want you to do just this.
If you had thirty days to live, where would you go?
(22:30):
And what would you do if you had unlimited money?
That's question number one. Question number two, if you were
on your deathbed, what would you regret about your past
the most? What would you regret? And we're focusing all
of this really on travel. And these are questions that
(22:51):
are very personal, so they don't necessarily require an answer
to me right now, but hopefully you're creating some of
those answers to yourself, and those are very deep and
they're quite thought provoking. Most people live their life assuming
that they're going to always have more time, and I
think everybody is guilty of this at some point in
their life. It's important to understand that our lives are
(23:13):
not only limited, but the date at which the light
switches off is unknown to any of us.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
We just don't know that.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
So by asking yourself those questions, it sort of helps
to set the tone for the list that you're about
to create. The next thing you want to do is
begin making what I call a short list. You can
always create a longer list later, but start small, get
the hang of the method, and then eventually you can
(23:42):
create a longer list. Now, you actually might need a
little help with this, so research your topic to get
some ideas. And when I say topic, if you're using
this method for all kinds of things, that works. If
you're using it for travel, well, if you want to
visit a specific country, let Google help you type in
(24:04):
things to do in whatever country Ireland. There's going to
be more than a thousand ideas for every country. You're
going to browse through them swiftly write down anything that
kind of seems incredibly interesting to you. Remember, though, you're
only working on your short list right now, so don't
go crazy. It'll get too overwhelming for you. Right now,
(24:25):
you're just focusing on those two questions that you ask
yourself and a short list of places you.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
Want to go. Okay, are you with me so far?
Speaker 1 (24:35):
Chris, I'm with you.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
The next thing you want to do is be specific
about each bucket list item.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
So I said to Ireland a while ago.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
If you want to visit Ireland, don't just say visit Ireland, okay,
be more specific, say something like I want to visit
the Cliffs of More or I want to take a
road trip from Dublin to Cork's specific. That's your bucket
list item for Ireland, okay, And after you've finished creating
(25:07):
your small list of items, then you can add some
of that who, what, where, how, why, which and when
to each one of these if you need to. For example, okay,
I'm gonna give you some examples. Now we're gonna drill down. Okay,
so you will still with me, and if you please,
don't go to sleep, get a cup of coffee if
you need to stay away for this. But it's fun.
(25:29):
This is really a fun exercise and we're gonna get
to some good stuff. But if we are doing Ireland,
we're gonna stick with that one. And we said visit
the Cliffs of More, So if you want to be specific,
that statement then becomes visit the Cliffs of More with
my best friend by taking the bus during the winter,
(25:51):
because I want to get some drained drone shop shots
of the cliffs. So now we've kind of focused in
more Or on exactly what that's going to look like.
We're actually visualizing this bucket list item. We're not just
going to Ireland. We've picked up the pen and we've
put it there, but now we've actually envisioned and created
(26:15):
a vision for what we're going to do when we
get there.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
Or that.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Simple one that we wrote down a road trip from
Dublin to Cork, when now that becomes take a road
trip from Dublin to Cork with my best friend in
a rental car during the summer and we try jumping
in the water when we get there. Now did you
notice how specific that was? And listen, this is your list,
(26:42):
So no judgments. Nobody's going to see this unless you
want them to. But just know when you envision something,
especially something more specific, it is far more likely to manifest. Okay,
So getting to these places then becomes something that you
can actually see yourself going to. Then you have to
(27:05):
add the how will it make you feel to the
bucket list items. So this also seems a bit strange
to add, but it's really quite effective again in helping
to manifest these dreams into reality. The deeper that you
think about your dream, the stronger that your desire will
be to accomplish it. And by adding an emotional attachment
(27:29):
to a futuristic plan, is only going to help ignite
the fire of motivation for you to go. It just
simply works this way. It does after the previous step.
Now it's important to add how each scenario would make
you feel, So try not to be too brief with
this one. So now we're going to visit the statements again.
(27:51):
For the first one, visit the Cliffs of More with
my best friend by taking the bus during the winter.
I want to get drone shots of the cliffs when
we arrive. You're going to add, it's going to be
amazing to see all the beautiful scenery from the window
of a bus that we drive by. I hope we
arrive at the cliff when there's snow. These are some
(28:12):
of the most beautiful cliffs in the world, and I've
always wanted to see them since I was a child.
I want to get the most epic photo using my
drone with me and my best friends standing on this cliff.
All of a sudden, now not only do you have motivation,
you actually have a dream that you're starting to cast
(28:35):
into realistic version. And that statement of a road trip
from Dublin to Cork with my best friend in a
rental car during the summer, we can try jumping in
the water when we get there. You add how it's
going to make you feel. The last time my best
friend and I went on a road trip, we laughed
so hard for countless hours. She had a huge sense
(28:57):
of humor. I think we're going to last for days
and days during our trip. She also has a huge
sense of adventure, and I think we're going to want
to stop and explore as many places together as we can,
and I expect we're going to smile and laugh and
make a lot of memories. So adding that attachment of
your emotions to this almost cenches your investment in this.
(29:22):
You're emotionally invested. This is the dream on your bucket list.
This was your short list, which is now you're turning
into more of a realistic version of what you can do.
Then you want to build your travel bucket list in
two separate categories, because you might wind up with several lists.
Here the destinations or experiences that bring you the most excitement,
(29:46):
and then there'll be another list of the destinations or
experiences that seem to be the most attainable. You're going
to decide which of those two lists have the most
importance to you. You're going to put your items in
a thoughtful, attainable order, and then you're going to begin
to enjoy the fruits of all this labor, and just
a short amount of time, you're going to take your
(30:08):
dream and make it come true. You're going to check
off the first one of those most attainable bucket list trips,
which you now have manifest in writing, put a thoughtful
plan behind beginning to check each one off, And what
a great feeling that is. So that's really the essence
of creating a bucket list trip is that you start
(30:31):
with all of those places that you really thought you
might want to do, where you want to go. You're
going to research them a little bit, make sure that
it really fits you. Maybe that was a dream you
had when you were, you know, fifteen, and now you're
fifty and you've changed a little bit. When you research
those places now they might look a little different. But
you start out with that short list, you add to
(30:54):
that some things that really make it real for you.
But then you add the emotional attack, and all of
a sudden you've got a bucket list that you feel
compelled to follow through on. But I think this is
a neat little exercise. It's a short one, but that's
you know, kind of my bucket list how to one
oh one. And now that we have the beginnings of
(31:16):
this successful bucket list preparation, Chris, I want to spend
the second part of our show today sharing some of
what travelers say are some of their most longed four destinations.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
Let's get into that next here on a lifeless wordin
who would think of driving off to a new destination
without guidance from Google or Syria.
Speaker 3 (31:35):
Let the Wishing World guide your next travel experience.
Speaker 4 (31:38):
Travel the world as you enjoy the very best destinations
and all they offer at the best prices. Our mobile
travel app keeps your vacation on track and keeps you
connected with our team of experts for help. If you
need it, call us at five four zero nine zero
eight two three three three, stop by two forty three
nap Avenue, or visit us at the Wishingwell dot bizz.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
And welcome back to a life less ordinary. Every Saturday
morning we sit down with Terry Dean from the Wishing
Well and we talk travel. And if you'd like to
talk to Terry, you can stop buying Sierra in person
on nef Avenue and Harrisonburg Online, you can find the
wishing Well dot biz, or you could call Terry at
five four oh nine oh eight twenty three thirty three.
Our show today is from Basics two Adventures, Your Fascinating
(32:22):
bucket List Blueprint Now Terry and the first part of
our show, we sort of did a one oh one
I called it your Terry's Ted talk as you described
how to make that list. But now we'd like to
dig into what people actually have on their lists, what
their dream destinations are.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
We do and before we do, though, Chris, I want
to point out to listeners that I think you and
I share a little bit in common when it comes
to kind of the logistics or the framework of how
something is put together. We're both kind of fascinated by that. Yeah,
And that's really why I wanted to concentrate our efforts
(33:03):
not just on doing a bucket list show, because we
could have just done that. We could have just talked
about lots of different destinations, and for sure we're going
to do that here in just a little bit. But
I think the framework of building a bucket list is fascinating.
And what's fascinating about that to me is when my clients.
(33:25):
I'm honored when I feel like they share that with me.
It's a little bit like eavesdropping, you know, a little
bit on somebody's conversation or what goes on in their mind.
I mean, let's face it, a lot of what goes
on in our head we never really share with a
lot of people on this planet. It kind of stays
locked up where it is safely in many cases, safely
(33:47):
because it's ours. It's the one space where we can
go where everything that's near and dear to us stays.
Bucket Lists tend to be that kind of thing. Always
so honored when my clients come in and they share
with me, this is actually a bucket list trip that
I want to do, Terry. And here's why I love that.
(34:11):
And I was asking you before if you had any
bucket list ideas about travel.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
Or so I was as you were spelling out, I've
got thirty days left to go, I've got endless amount
of money to travel anywhere. And this is going to
really sound depressing. I started thinking, can I leave the
money to somebody I love?
Speaker 3 (34:36):
I feel that is not the way to play this game, Chris.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
So I play the game. I would love to go
to Europe. I'd love to go to Rome. I'd love
to go to Germany to see where my family was
originally from. Yeah, I kind of want to travel the
whole world now that I've got endless money, exactly. I
want to go to Tokyo. I want to have sushi
(35:00):
in Japan. Okay, Okay, I'm going to manifest it. Okay,
I'd like to have sushi. And one of those comes
off the conveyor belt.
Speaker 3 (35:08):
There you go. You need to get busy on that
bucket list.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
I can see you've got pent up requirements to travel.
I can see that right now. And as we go
through some of these destinations, which might very well you
have found on your own bucket list, they might somehow
make your own list make a whole lot more sense,
you know, or it might change it entirely.
Speaker 3 (35:32):
I don't know, but I think a lot.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
Of these are going to be very interesting and to you, Chris,
because of what you just mentioned. One may be very
fascinating to you. As a matter of fact. Sometimes according
to your lists, it might be famous attractions. It could
be delicious food that draws you to someplace, Stunning hotels,
that's always one for me. I mean I am. I
(35:57):
am awed by hotel prop parties that just do it right.
I mean nothing nothing says luxury and vacationing to me
like a hotel that just rolls out the red carpet
for me. And I'm not talking about a hotel like
those that you find in Dubai, although those are really fabulous.
(36:17):
I'm talking about some of the boutique hotels, the relay
and chateau hotels that really just focus so on service
where you feel so special. And remember when I said
before about creating your bucket list and adding to that
bucket list and those bucket short list items how it
(36:38):
makes you feel, because that's why you chose it, that
would be on mine, the how it makes me feel.
Speaker 1 (36:46):
I think it's funny as you're saying that, because my
wife the hotel is more important than the destination.
Speaker 3 (36:52):
Is that right?
Speaker 1 (36:52):
It's going to have a king sized bed, and it's
going to have Hello, it's going to have that kind
of top on it where when you lay down, you
sink down at ah.
Speaker 3 (37:00):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (37:00):
Yes, she could go anywhere in the world as long
as they have that hotel and she'd be happy there. Yeah,
I'm just as happy to stay in some little roadside
place that may not have made service.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
There's such a guy. But now you know there's a
whole other sect of folks and we know who they are.
They are most typically the gen zers. It's the bragging
rights that come with checking off every continent, every country,
every state. They want pictures of that, They want to
be able to do that. So their bucket list is
(37:31):
going to look say, very different from mine, or your wife's,
or even yours. Whatever has motivated your choices, though, I've
rounded up a few incredible trips, really complete with once
in a lifetime experiences and iconic sites that you won't
find anywhere else in the world. So what makes a
(37:52):
trip truly life changing? That answer varies from traveler to traveler,
as we just found out, and as you create a
bucket list yourself, you're going to find that out too.
But one thing is for sure. From African safaris to
classic road trips, this list, I hope, is going to
make you want to plan your next great adventure. And
(38:15):
if it doesn't come, see me, because you did it wrong.
Speaker 3 (38:20):
You're broke. You're broken, you did it wrong.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
We'll fix you.
Speaker 3 (38:25):
That's right, that's right.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
So I think the first destination that's got to be
at the top of this bucket list group has got
to be a trip to see the Northern Lights. I
got to tell you just yesterday I had clients come
in who were very unspecific about the destination they wanted
to travel to. But the one thing they were absolutely
(38:47):
certain about, Chris, was what they wanted to do, and
that was see the Northern lights somewhere. Now, you want
to talk about throwing a dart at the globe that's
at as wide as it gets, catching a glimpse of
the elusive Northern lights is possible in several destinations. We
(39:08):
had that conversation together. You can go close to the
Arctic Circle. You can go to Alaska, Iceland, Canada, Greenland, Finland, Sweden, Norway.
All of those places have incredible viewpoints and even some
more fascinating hotels. We've even talked about them here on
a Lifeless Ordinary before, where they're like these little dome
(39:31):
sea through huts that are positioned right on the cliffs
of the mountain where at night, when those Northern lights start,
you're laying on your back in your bed in a
nice toasty, warm environment, maybe even with a fireplace you know,
just roaring in your room and you're looking up in
what do you see this picture show of beautiful color
(39:54):
and northern lights. It's it's fabulous really, and in addition
to winter scenery, all of that comes together. The lights
are best viewed. I will tell you, folks, if you're
a northern light chaser, they can be viewed the best
from late fall through early spring. So really, right now
(40:16):
is a great time if you don't mind the cold weather,
because you can't mind that, that's when it's the clearest.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
I'm envisioning somewhere in Norway or Sweden or something where
the snow is about three feet back right and the
trees the branches are bending from the way to the snow.
For sure, that's what I want.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
Oh yeah, yeah, And you know, maybe a dog sled
takes you to your gear push it. Okay, my bucket lists,
Chris may not yours, But it was on the outside
with the dog sled, But those are That's that's really one.
I would say the number one top most requested thing
(40:54):
that people have on their lists since COVID. Then you
mush dogs in a last time I did. I'm mushed
dogs and you know went on cert. Actually, Harry did
a Harry my business partner for those of you who
listened pretty religiously, he's here with us. Sometimes it's actually
in Egypt right now. One of his bucket list items.
(41:15):
But he actually went in search of the Northern Lights
with a group of folks from one of our local
senior centers here in Harrisonburg, and they went to Mackinaw
Island in search of the Northern Lights. You want to
hear the irony of that trip. So they didn't see them,
but while they were gone right here in the Shenandoah Valley,
(41:37):
we had one of the most incredible displays of northern
lights I've ever seen.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
Harry and I did an episode where we talked about that,
So if you go back maybe six or seven episodes,
you'll hear Harry's experience in Macinaw Island.
Speaker 2 (41:50):
Yeah, so Northern Lights is definitely something on a lot
of people's bucket lists. It's a phenomenon, Okay, it's people
want to see it because it's so beauty and it's
so unexpected and it's such a great surprise when you
do next on my list of places to go, and
that most people have on their bucket lists. Not surprisingly
(42:13):
is Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. It is the
next place that comes up, and I think there's lots
of reasons for that, not the least of which includes
ease of access. It wasn't so very long ago that
the airlines began to operate direct NonStop service Chris from
Washington Dulles to Dubai, which for a lot of travelers
(42:35):
today is so much a part of that luxurious experience.
We've talked about that. I think we even did an
entire show here one day on the United Arab Emirates
and everything that's going on these days in Dubai and
Abu Dhabi and how rich and cultural and how progressive
(42:56):
those areas are becoming, and why people are flocking there. Well,
it's because it's outrageous and it's outrageously beautiful. It's over
the top resorts and hotels that are there. They offer
some extravagance services at very affordable prices. I mean, that's
really one of the other key features. There's enormous shopping centers,
(43:18):
wonderful desert excursions, plenty of beaches there, and Dubai offers
diverse attractions for just a wide array of travelers. The
most temperate time to visit the hot city, which gets
about three hundred days of sunshine a year, is from
November to February, and that's another reason why people like
(43:40):
to go because rain is probably not going to ruin
your vacation at all. And winter is also when the
Dubai Shopping Festival takes place. And I was not real
keen on what this was, so I looked it up
and it's really fascinating. The Buy Shopping Festival runs from
(44:02):
December sixth through January the twelfth, and for this celebration,
you do not want to miss out on must watch
live entertainment. They have unmissible superstar performances. I've heard rumors
about who's going to be there, can believe it. And
so this is really taking the whole United Arab Emirates
(44:23):
by storm, concerts, amazing deals, fun filled adventures for everybody
every single day through that period. And that's why Dubai
finds its way as my number two on many travelers
bucket lists. It's not the shopping festival, folks, but it
is the sheer extravagance that only this destination can portray.
Speaker 1 (44:45):
They've got gold vending machines. Yes, yeah, put your credit
card in and it gives you a bar of gold.
Speaker 3 (44:51):
Can you believe it?
Speaker 2 (44:53):
I mean, it's just fantastical. I mean I've gone to
Vegas for years and years and thought Vegas was really
over the top. But no, we don't know anything. Dubai
dwarfs Vegas in comparison.
Speaker 1 (45:08):
I feel like Vegas is the like Disney, where they
try to make you feel where you're in something. Yes,
Vegas wants you to feel like you're in Dubai, where Dubai.
Speaker 3 (45:20):
Is in Dubai. That's right, that's right.
Speaker 1 (45:23):
It's not like the you know, the Eiffel Tower in Vegas. No, yeah,
you're not in Paris. What will make you feel like
you kind of are?
Speaker 2 (45:29):
And the interesting thing is, like I said, it's so accessible.
You've got these direct NonStop flights from Washington Dulles and
I have so many clients that will go there now
because the flight is, what you know, about six to
eight hours. Okay, so that's as far as it is
from here to Saint Lucia, you know, so why not, Yeah,
let's let's go to Dubai. It's a direct NonStop flight.
(45:52):
You say, it's affordable there. It is very affordable there.
The hotels are incredibly affordable and continue to be They
really want tourism, and it is growing and growing and
growing and is soon going to be one of the
most sought after tourist destinations.
Speaker 3 (46:12):
In all of Europe. Interesting, So ready to move on
to the next bucket list item.
Speaker 1 (46:19):
I'm trying to guess what they all are.
Speaker 2 (46:20):
But yeah, okay, next is Italy. Oh yeah, it has
been four years and it continues to be one of
the most requested destinations by our travelers at the Wishing Well.
But I have to say, the scope, Chris, of what
people want their experience to actually look like in Italy
is kind of evolving a little bit. Kind of deciding
(46:41):
between the historic cities of Rome and Venice, Naples and
Florence for the top destination to visit in Italy kind
of feels impossible. So the entire country deserves a spot
on your list. Really, you want to start in the
eternal city, head north through the rolling hills of Tuscan,
need to visit Florence, maybe, followed by Milan or Venice,
(47:04):
or go south to the beaches to the beautiful Amalfi
Coast and then there's of course the football at the
toe of Italy called Sicily. And when I say it's evolving,
I've even got some clients now actually just recently that
came in. They want to steer away from the larger
cities entirely in Italy and instead they want to spend
(47:24):
their time all in the countrysides, in the countrysides of
Italy and the smaller regions, and not in hotels, but
in more of those more single hillside villas or country
inns and boutique hotels. Again, bucket list travel defined. Otherwise
it's just Italy, right, You stick a pin in the
(47:45):
paper and go, Italy's on my bucket list. Don't forget
what I said about your bucket list, one oh one,
drill down Where in Italy? Why in Italy? And how
do you think it would make you feel? That's why
most people go to Italy. I got to tell you.
When I'm sitting down with them at my desk and
we're talking about places to go and Italy comes up.
(48:07):
I almost never hear about the cities. I hear about
Here's how it makes me feel to think about going
to Italy.
Speaker 1 (48:15):
Well, I mean, you see in the movies, the wine
country and in these small villas and someone making the
food from exactly, that's what I envision exactly. I don't
know if that's all of Italy, but that's what I
in my mind. It looks like that's part of how
it makes you feel. And my family's from the northern
part of Italy. We're from up in the Tyrolean region.
Speaker 2 (48:33):
You just have your second item on your bucket list.
I believe this one may have been number one for you, Chris.
I think probably Tokyo, Japan. Oh, that one I thought
you're talking about it. Actually, no, I have to tell
you this was on my bucket list too, a lot
of years ago, and I did manage to check this
one off. I'm so glad I did. This trip for
(48:54):
me was a life changing event. I don't know if
I've mentioned that here on a Lifeless ordinary before, but
a lot lot of friends, people who know me well
know that about me. Tokyo changed my life. I spent
a good part of my travel career as a corporate
travel agent, and during those years I was the lead
senior advisor for General Electric and their main corridor of
(49:15):
travel was between Washington, Dulls and Tokyo. They went several
times a month, in many cases per week, so over
time it was important to me to go on a
research trip. I was sent there, and so while I
was in Tokyo, I experienced my first bucket sorry bullet train.
I ate my first authentic Japanese cuisine, I visited a
(49:36):
real Buddhist temple, and I saw my very first kabuki dancer.
It was amazing. But one other thing was so very
striking to me. As I stood at the top of
a street called Rapungi, I watched well over ten thousand
individual Japanese people walking all together down this one street
in perfect harmony and in utter silence. It was amazing.
(50:00):
Any disruption, no pushing, no arguing, no shoving, perfect bliss.
I will never ever forget that moment old and new
come together. In Japan's bustling cities, You've got historic temples, shrines,
busy shopping districts, delicious food, huge music scene, and some
(50:20):
of the world's best theme parks and attractions. Whatever your interests,
there's something for you in Tokyo. Now, I hope we've
got Toime. I know we are real tight on tom
but this next destination is on my bucket list, and
it is an African safari. I've longed to go there
since I was a child, to see elephants, lions, zebras,
(50:44):
giraffes in their natural habitat before they're no longer here.
Forced to admire perfection and the endangered species. But man
can so easily destroy what God made. It's sad to me,
but seeing majestic animals like lions and the rhinos in
the wild is a dream best accomplished with an African safari.
(51:06):
South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya some of the most popular
African safari destinations. But it's not only the lodges, but
it's also the gorilla in the chimpanzee trekking in Uganda.
That's garner a whole lot of requests when it comes
to bucket list travel. This for me is where I live, Chris.
(51:27):
This is my life. This is what living and working
in the Wishing Well for me every day is really
all about. It's these dreams. It's these dreams that manifest
that go from paper, from mind to paper to manifestation
and a reality come true, a dream come true inside
(51:48):
the offices of the Wishing Well for a lot of
people who find their own bucket list destination on what
we mentioned today.
Speaker 1 (51:56):
If we come to see you, do we need to
have our bucket list already done? Or will you help
us figure that out too?
Speaker 2 (52:00):
I would help you, know, that's that's just I think
that's such so much a fun part of it, but
it's also so much a very personal part of what
makes you you. I don't have the ancestry in Italy
and Europe and Germany like you do, so my bucket
list isn't going to look like yours.
Speaker 3 (52:20):
But can I help you? Sure?
Speaker 2 (52:22):
I'd be happy to help. But if you follow just
those few amazing tips that we talked about in the
very beginning of today's show, I think you can come
up with a fabulous bucket list trip that we can
help you put together.
Speaker 1 (52:35):
How do I combine the Vatican and Tokyo in one
bucket list?
Speaker 3 (52:41):
That's a whole other show, Chris.
Speaker 1 (52:43):
I really would have a hard time picking between the
two of them. Yeah, Honestly, even though you said Tokyo
is probably my number one, I think I would choose
Vatican over Tokyo.
Speaker 2 (52:52):
Good for you, Yeah, yeah, so Italy really might be
your number one go to destination. Yeah, and that would
be your short list. You know your short list of
places are Italy and then Tokyo.
Speaker 1 (53:04):
Yeah. I didn't pick anywhere cheap, did I know you
did not? How do we get in touch with you?
Speaker 3 (53:08):
I am easy to find, Chris.
Speaker 2 (53:10):
I'm located in Heresonburg, Virginia at two forty three nef Avenue.
We're in the Valley Center. People can call me. I'm
at five four o nine oh eight two three three three,
or they can look us up on the web. We
are at the Wishingwell dot biz.
Speaker 1 (53:25):
This has been a life Less Ordinary, the travel show
from your friends at the wishing Well at two forty
three nef Avenue in Harrisonburg. If you have any questions
on topics discussed today, please reach out to the wishing
Well online at the wishing Well top biz or five
four oh nine oh eight twenty three thirty three. Past
episodes are available on the iHeartRadio app. And we'll see
you again next Saturday morning at ten for a life
(53:47):
less Ordinary from the wishing Well
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