May 30, 2024 • 35 mins
What transforms a casual road tripper into an eco-conscious travel blogger? Dani Rosenblad James, the visionary behind Misfit Wanders, takes us through her exhilarating travel adventures. A life-changing journey to Peru not only ignited her passion for travel but also set the stage for meeting her life partner. Dani’s story unfolds from a personal journal into a blog that inspires cultural exploration and sustainable travel practices.
Imagine finding strength in the aftermath of a traumatic brain injury—Dani certainly did. This chapter of her life story reveals how she shifted to a lifestyle of meaningful connections and impactful travels. Dani demonstrates how travel became a therapeutic tool in her recovery.
Yearning for sustainable and affordable travel tips? Dani’s got you covered! She shares invaluable insights for making travel accessible. Discover eco-friendly practices and the empowerment of solo travel, particularly for women, as we wrap up with rapid-fire favorites and the importance of self-care routines.
Take a listen and find more about Dani and Misfit Wonders here:
Travel blog: misfitwanders.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misfit_wanders/
Let's Connect:
https://www.facebook.com/DanielleNicoleLaRose/
https://www.instagram.com/danielle_nicole_larose/
https://www.daniellenicolelarose.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dani Rosenblad James (00:00):
that view.
It was probably one of the bestviews I've ever seen because of
what I had to overcome to getto it.
Danielle La Rose (00:09):
Welcome back to the show.
Those of you that are listeningnow.
You are in for a treat.
And I say I totally geek outall the time.
I say this every single time Ihave a guest, but it's because
I'm very selective about who Iwant on the podcast, because I
want to make sure their storiesthat you know will inspire and
are real and powerful for womento hear.
(00:29):
And so when I got Danny's oh, Ishould have asked you how to
say your name, but I'm going tojust try.
But when I got Danny'ssubmission for being interested
on being on the podcast and hertalking about travel y'all know
that's one of my love languages,I'm obsessed with travel and so
I was like, yes, I have got toknow more about this incredible
(00:49):
human.
So here we are today.
I'm going to quickly share withyou who Dani is and then I'm
going to allow her to kind ofdig into her story.
So, dani Rosenblatt am I close?
Yeah, all right.
Dani Rosenblatt James, thecreator behind Misfit Wonders, a
travel blog inspired by herlove for nature, cultural
(01:10):
exploration and eco-conscioustravel.
Her journey, which has includedhitchhiking, farming and even
overcoming a traumatic braininjury, fuels her passion for
sharing stories and inspiringothers to embrace the beauty of
the world's natural wonders anddiverse cultures.
And on top of that, now it's afamily adventure of travel,
(01:31):
since she now has a two-year-old.
So through Misfit Wonders, sheaims to spark an eco-conscience
mindset in travelers.
So her blog posts are a gatewayto sustainable and immersive
experiences, encouragingeveryone to leave a positive
impact while exploring ourincredible planet.
And that sounds so glorious.
(01:52):
So, dani, welcome to the show.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
How are you and how did you get?
Where did this start?
Were you like three years oldand you're like you know what
I'm going to do one day I'mgoing to be a hitchhiker and
farm and do all this stuff andtalk all about travel.
How did this come about?
Dani Rosenblad James (02:14):
Well, it definitely wasn't like that.
I actually wanted to be aveterinarian when I was little,
okay, so this is quite differentthan that.
Where did it all begin?
Oh, my, so my family.
I have family all over the US,so I kind of grew up with going
on road trips to visit thempretty regularly.
(02:35):
So my passion for traveling waspretty much ingrained into me
because we did it all the timeand then when I turned, I think
it was 23.
Yeah, 23.
I went to Peru because myfriend invited me to meet him
there.
He's my husband now, but yeah.
(02:58):
So he invited me on this tripand that was my first solo trip
out of the country and I fell inlove with travel from that trip
.
We did so many unique things.
We learned how to fish withmachetes and we caught eight
fish.
We stayed in the Amazons forthree nights and this was during
(03:23):
the rainy, rainy season, so wehad to move our camp every night
.
We got to see cayman baby.
It came in.
Alligator crocodile, um, thatour our tour guide.
One of them just jumped in thewater in the middle of the night
and we're like pitch black.
We're like what is happening.
He comes in it back with acaiman and all I'm thinking is
(03:46):
where's the mom?
Like what?
And yeah, so just, we had somany great experiences and crew
and bolivia and I was my husbandwell, my friend at the time.
He traveled with me for a weekand then we went our solo way or
so, yeah, solo ways and then Ifind out a couple years ago that
(04:11):
he kept going out of his way tokeep meeting up with me and I'm
like, oh, I thought you werejust kind of following the flow
that everyone else at all thesehostels was doing, going the
same paths in a way.
But yeah, that's what startedmy travel blog pretty much.
Danielle La Rose (04:36):
Oh my gosh, I love that it's it's a travel
adventure At the same time as,like your love story that I was
not aware of when we werehopping on.
It's like so that's so fun, sofrom there.
So that's how it all started,right, and since then, tell us
more about like your experiences.
And I mean, you could haveeasily just been like, oh, I
enjoy traveling and so I travel,but you chose to start a blog
(04:58):
about this.
How did that come about?
Like, what made you make thatdecision to really to put that
out into the world?
Dani Rosenblad James (05:06):
Well, initially, the travel blog was
more like a personal journalonline, because I didn't want to
travel with a book, with allthe other things I had when I
was traveling, because at thattime, being my first time out of
the country alone, I overpacked.
I had a huge backpack that Iwould bring everywhere and it
(05:28):
was full of so much unnecessaryclothes and unnecessary items
and things and it's like, oh, Ican't add a book to that as well
.
And, yeah, I think it was afriend that pointed that out to
me that I could do that.
So then I started it and thenover time, I realized, wait, I
could turn this into somethingelse.
(05:48):
I could turn this into where Ican help people learn more about
all the places I've been to andexperiences and inspire them to
want to travel, to overcomeobstacles in life and go forward
Stuff like that, yeah were youever?
Danielle La Rose (06:04):
Have you ever found yourself or maybe it was
like at the beginning or justanytime like fearful hesitant
about traveling that you had toovercome?
Or have you always just beenlike it's fine, it'll all work
out, I'll go by myself, it'stotally okay uh.
Dani Rosenblad James (06:21):
So I definitely have had some second
thoughts a lot of times.
But I have this thing where Ialways follow my gut and if my
gut saying it's okay, eventhough it's an uncomfortable,
I'd like to get out of mycomfort zone too.
So that's helpful withtraveling, because there's
always going to be the unknown,like what's going to happen.
(06:43):
You can't have every momentplanned out, yeah, and if you
did, it would take away thewhole experience.
Danielle La Rose (06:51):
Yeah, I love that, though, like you know,
trusting your gut.
You know, for you it's fortravel, but for a lot of people
it's so many different thingsright that we get fearful and
hesitant.
We don't know what's going tohappen, and so that stresses us
out.
But if we just take a second tolisten to our gut, it won't
steer us wrong.
And, like you said, it's goodto get uncomfortable, like in a
(07:14):
safe way, but it's, you know,it's good to get uncomfortable
and push yourself and to havethose.
You won't ever have thoseexperiences if you don't do that
Right, so I love that.
Um, okay, so I mentioned in theintro that you have had a
traumatic brain injury.
That's powerful and I'm surehas affected lots of different
(07:35):
things, so share with us alittle bit about that.
Dani Rosenblad James (07:39):
That actually happened.
I think it was six months or soafter my trip to Peru and
Bolivia.
Um, and I was on black ice inWyoming.
So I'm originally from SouthDakota and I was driving to
California to go to work and Iwas driving through Wyoming on
(08:02):
that was black ice.
Visibility was less than a mile.
I all I remember is going, ohno, looking forward and seeing
cars piled up, and so it was aneight, uh seven car pile up and
I was the last one there and Iguess, automatically I tried I
(08:25):
can't remember that I was like Iblacked out, but I guess I must
have tried spiraling out of theway or going to the right or
something, and then I clippedanother one of the vehicles and
spun out of control.
Um, so I ended up getting agash in my head from that.
I think I had four concussionsum bruised, um in the brain, two
(08:50):
different spots and yeah, so itwas pretty bad.
But on that side, since it wasso cold, I didn't lose that much
blood, so I didn't have to havea blood infusion.
So that's good.
So I didn't have to have ablood infusion, so that's good.
Always finding the positive,yeah.
And then the sheriff that foundme.
He said that was the worst he'sever seen his whole working his
(09:14):
career and he was going to beretiring in a couple of weeks or
so and, yeah, I had to behelicoptered to Salt Lake City,
utah, from there.
And, yeah, I had to behelicoptered to Salt Lake City,
utah, from there and intensivecare unit for over 10 days had
to relearn how to walk, how touse my brain.
So it was.
(09:37):
It wasn't just a little, oh,you had a traumatic brain injury
, it was like it was a prettybig one.
Danielle La Rose (09:42):
Yeah, I mean you were flown to a different
state there for 10 days.
Like this is.
I mean this is impactful.
So what did you do?
So again, you, as you mentioned, you know you're learn,
relearning how to walk and dothe things.
What, how did that?
How did that shift your life orshift your mindset, or did it?
Dani Rosenblad James (10:05):
Oh yeah, 100%.
I realized where I was in mylife.
I didn't want to be, I didn'twant to be alone and I was
pretty much just living just toparty all the time.
I didn't think anything aboutmy future.
And then, once this happenedafterwards, I was like what am I
doing?
Why am I doing just theselittle things when I feel like I
(10:26):
could do so much more in theworld and there's so much more I
want to do?
And then I realized I want tostill, I want to travel, I want
to see the world, I want to makesome kind of impact on people's
lives and, yeah, that's where Iam today.
Danielle La Rose (10:43):
So, okay, no, sister, we can't just jump to.
That's where I am today.
No, no, no.
Okay.
So traumatic brain injury.
We're in the hospital, we'redoing the things and then we say
you know what there's more tolife?
I want to make a bigger impact,I want to travel, I want to see
the world, I want to make adifference.
No-transcript Like what did youdo?
Dani Rosenblad James (11:14):
wow it.
It was super hard because I'm aI'm a hard-working woman.
I'm used to working in fieldsand doing like eight to ten hour
jobs, like every day orsomething like that.
Well, after my accident Icouldn't work more than an hour,
my body would be in full painand it was my friend who's my
(11:36):
husband that saved me frommyself.
He could see that I wasoverworking and he would force
me to go back to the house andrest and watch movies or
something and he'd go and work.
And then he would find mehidden working in the fields and
stuff and be like, do, do, do,do, do, go back to bed.
And then it was after that weactually realized that we loved
(11:58):
each other and did the wholething and all that stuff.
And yeah, but yeah that stuff.
Danielle La Rose (12:04):
No, big deal, it's fine.
Dani Rosenblad James (12:07):
But he's a huge reason that I am where I
am today, because he helped merealize that I need to take care
of me.
I can't just be like my oldself where, oh, I can just go
full force forward.
No, I had to listen to my bodyto heal, and that's a huge
reason that I've gotten to whereI am, even though it was just
(12:29):
so hard.
The first two years I didn'tfeel like myself, and that's
pretty long time not to feellike yourself.
Yeah.
Danielle La Rose (12:42):
So how did it move then?
So it was a few months beforethat situation where you had
just gone on this trip and youguys went as friends and then we
moved into.
We had this serious event.
And then you said I want to bea new human not new human, but I
want to pursue more and do more.
And then he said you got tostop working so much.
(13:02):
We're not doing that.
You need to rest, listen toyour body.
It took you a couple of years,right, to get back to feeling
like yourself.
So from then, how did you?
Where did you go with traveling?
I mean your whole life.
Now, right Is traveling.
It's talking about travel.
It's helping people with travel.
What did you?
How did you?
What was your next step then?
(13:23):
Did you go on another trip orwhat happened?
Dani Rosenblad James (13:28):
So let's see, we were on our honeymoon
and our honeymoon was a sixmonth road trip in the U?
S well, that's cool.
Yeah, so that was a six monthroad trip in the US Well, that's
cool.
Yeah, so that was a great wayto experience it and work on
helping my body.
We had our two cats and our dogwith us, and the first hike
(13:52):
that I went on after my accidentwas very impactful as well.
We did Yosemite National Parkand I did one of the hikes there
.
That was up into the waterfalls, and I think the hike was
supposed to last maybe four orso hours.
It took me 12 hours to dobecause I was in so much pain
(14:17):
and my head would be poundingand I'd have oh, I'd be just in
tears and it was my mantra thathelped is slow and steady wins
the race.
And then, as well as passingall the people oh, they were so
supportive They'd be like, oh,you're so close, you're doing
great.
Because they could see that Iwas struggling with tears down
on my face and my husband and mydog they were.
(14:40):
I told them just to go ahead,so they went and then they came
back to check on me.
And then they came back, theywent up with me but, yeah, that
was very impactful and that viewit was probably one of the best
views I ever seen because ofwhat I had to overcome to get to
it.
Danielle La Rose (15:04):
I want to take a second because that is an
important thing that we all getto remember, that you said the
view was just amazing because ofwhat it took to get there.
Like I'm sure the view wouldhave been amazing regardless
right, it would have been great.
But it was a different feelingfor you because you had to go
through hard stuff, like mostpeople.
Sister, if you would have beenlike, oh, it's going to take you
12 hours to get up this andyour head's going to be pounding
(15:25):
and all this stuff, I'd be likeI need to go, I'm going to go
take a nap.
That sounds so hard, but it wasimportant to you and because of
that, when you finally made itthere and again number one, you
didn't give up.
But, number two, you made it tothe top and you're like this
was worth it.
Right, like this view isbeautiful because I worked so
(15:53):
freaking hard to get here and Ididn't give up.
Like that's a powerful,important reminder for all of us
when we go through hard times,that like, if it's important and
we make it to the top, it'sgoing to be so freaking
beautiful.
Thank you for sharing that.
I love that.
Okay.
So listen, I, you know you and Iare new friends and so I just
got on this call and you're like, no, I don't live near you.
(16:14):
It's like so many hours I'mahead of you, I'm ready for bed
and I'm like full of energy here.
I'm like, yeah, let's go, causeit's like middle of the day for
me.
So tell us a little bit moreabout different places.
So you've done six months, youwent here, you did this, you got
married.
So you've done lots of things.
Tell us, are there other placesthat you've been where you're
like this was the most, otherthan those that you just told us
(16:36):
, because those are reallyfreaking powerful.
But is there anywhere elsewhere you're like this was a
place?
This was a powerful part of myjourney, of like travel um,
there's a few, let's see.
Dani Rosenblad James (16:51):
I really enjoyed when we visited northern
Greece.
You know, when people think of,they always think of all the
white buildings and the beachesand Athens and the ruins.
Well, northern Greece isamazing.
They have Vicos there, it's agorge they have Papingo pools
(17:17):
those are amazing.
And then they have all of thesearch bridges.
Like we went on a little roadtrip and ventured and saw all
these beautiful arch bridgesthat were spread out.
And we also tried to do MountOlympus, which is northern
Greece, is northern Greece.
(17:39):
Although we couldn't really dothat with a rental vehicle.
It was like going straight upand we're like, uh, sort of kind
of rolling back.
We're like, okay, maybe we needto go back because it was like
the time of the season, wecouldn't really hike it.
It wasn't very uh, very uhsmart decision if we would have
tried so northern Greece, greece.
Danielle La Rose (17:56):
So do you, do you all try to do more like non
traditional type travel or likeyou're saying?
You know people typically go tolike certain areas the white
buildings, the whatever and youyou're kind of like, no, we're
gonna go somewhere different.
Do you do that often?
Or kind of a mixture?
Dani Rosenblad James (18:17):
I think, since I have my son, it's kind
of turned more into a mixture,like this last trip that we did,
we went to France and Belgiumand these.
The reason we did these tripswas because we were meeting up
with some of my friends inFrance because they were going
to a wedding.
So France was never really on aradar, especially Paris because
(18:38):
it's so touristy.
So we tried it out and, yeah,there's a lot of people and I
definitely like staying a littlefarther away and more into the
nature places of the countries.
Yeah so, but we tried it soyeah, I love that.
Danielle La Rose (18:55):
And now you live where In Sweden, and how do
you enjoy Sweden?
Dani Rosenblad James (19:02):
Oh, it's one of the best places for
nature, so I'm in the rightplace, yeah yeah, I love that.
Danielle La Rose (19:08):
I've never been to Sweden, so if people who
are listening right, I know,because for me when I talk to
people about traveling and stuff, they're always thinking, oh, I
wish I could do that, I wish Icould go to these different
places, I want to go see thesedifferent places.
What would you say to peoplewho maybe are putting like
travel on the back burner or,you know, really want to see it,
(19:31):
but you know, financiallythey're like, oh, that seems so
expensive and I don't know if Ican do it.
Like do you have maybe it's onyour blog, but like different
tips and strategies or thingsthat you would share with people
who are kind of in that mindset?
Dani Rosenblad James (19:45):
So if you're in that mindset, what you
need to do is be like what,what's stopping you?
Isn't it yourself?
Like, are you the one that'ssaying, oh no, I can't do this
because of blah, blah, blah.
Okay, if it's money, you needto make kind of a list for
yourself and then be like, oh,how much would this cost?
Do some research.
Like there are a lot of ways tosave money.
(20:07):
I mean, they have couch surfingout there.
They have workaways where youcan work on someone's farm, or
you can work on someone'sproperty and do whatever for so
many days, for so many hours outof a day or something.
There are so many differentways around it.
I found out that they have whatis it redeemed vacation, where
(20:29):
I'm not really sure how it works, but they make it where you can
stay at hotels at a cheaperprice.
There are a bunch of differentbusinesses out there now that
are trying to help people traveland make it more affordable in
some way, and I also like thisthat they're working more on
making a sustainable travel forpeople.
(20:49):
So that's always good.
Danielle La Rose (20:51):
Okay, so tell us more about that.
What do you mean by sustainabletravel?
Dani Rosenblad James (20:55):
So that means that they're trying to be
more eco friendly, they'retrying to care more eco-friendly
, they're trying to care moreabout the environment.
So, like, a lot of touristcompanies are starting to,
they're noticing that people arestarting to care about that and
, um, there's even like theairplanes and the big air
company, uh, flight companiesthey are also trying to make
(21:19):
less of a footprint on our sorry, on our world as well.
So it's really good to hearthis.
Danielle La Rose (21:28):
Yeah, so those of us that are like, okay,
yes, I want to help the world,I want to, you know, be more
sustainable, things like that,especially with travel, what
would you encourage them to do?
Are there things or experiencesthat you've had that is like
right up the alley?
Dani Rosenblad James (21:45):
of that?
Well, 100%, they should havetheir own water bottle, like you
don't need a plastic waterbottle.
You have a metal water bottleor one that's reusable.
That's like so easy to do andit makes so much of a difference
.
Then you can also have likesnacks with you and reusable
(22:05):
bags and things that you knowthat you don't have to just
throw away.
Try to stay away from plastic.
You can use, have a woodenspoon or fork or spork with you
or something like that.
There are, yeah, there's loadsof different, just little things
here and there that you orsomething like that there are.
Yeah, there's loads ofdifferent, just little things
here and there that you caneasily do.
That just works.
Danielle La Rose (22:24):
Yeah, and I love that you share that,
because you know, for me, mymind, thinking about like you
traveling and doing all thesebig cool trips and stuff, like I
thought I was thinking like,okay, what is a big picture
thing that I can do forsustainable travel?
And you started out with just awater bottle.
I'm like, okay, yeah, I do that.
Like that's, you know, likethat's part of like everyday
life, but that's something toconsider, like when traveling,
(22:46):
because, again, people whenthey're traveling, they do pick
up just bottle water and thingslike that.
So I love that you started likeso simple, like it's not like
this big grandiose thing, it's,it's the simple little things
that sometimes seeminsignificant but make a really
big difference.
So what is one of your ultimateand maybe you've already
(23:09):
covered it, so if you did, thenI'll ask a different question
You're like your favorite tripof all time?
Dani Rosenblad James (23:18):
I still think that would have to be my
Peru trip, the very first one.
Yeah, just because it was.
Oh man, we did so many thingson that trip.
It was like for a month and ahalf we were traveling Well, I
was doing the whole separate andthen meeting up thing.
So then we did the Amazon thatI told you about earlier.
There we got to hang out with abunch of locals and we got to
(23:45):
meet a shaman.
We got to try out ayahuasca,yeah.
So we had a whole lot ofdifferent experiences there.
We learned that coca leaves, um, are very common to use there
to help give them energy andhelp them with the um elevation.
Uh.
So I also went into one of themost dangerous mines and that
(24:10):
was in bolivia.
That was pretty crazy and yeah.
So there's, there's loads ofjust experiences.
In that one trip.
I went into one of the hotsprings that was for locals and
it had some legendary storiesbehind it which made it really
interesting.
It was I can't remember exactlyall of it anymore, but it's
(24:34):
still Ojo del that.
I can't even remember the name.
Danielle La Rose (24:40):
That's okay, I, you know it's.
It's really awesome Becauseagain that was like your first
trip that kind of led to all ofthis, but again it wasn't
necessary.
I love that you always go backto the culture, right, Like
meeting the locals and doingthings that they do and like
(25:01):
really embracing where you areand really being open and
wanting to understand, like youknow, why people there do what
they do, and getting to eattheir food and doing those
things and not just going justto see beautiful places or lay
on the beach or whatever, which,hey, no, no judgment.
If you like to go and just layon a beach, you'd go lay on a
beach.
But you know, no judgment.
If you like to go and just layon a beach, you'd go lay on a
(25:22):
beach.
But I really love that for youit's like this whole cultural
experience and that's reallyinspiring.
And one of the things that,before I jump into rapid fire,
is I wanted to point out,because you've mentioned a
couple times of solo trips and Ijust find that so powerful for,
(25:43):
especially for women, I knowthat many women would be
hesitant and fearful of going ona solo trip by themselves and
you know there's many of us whogoing to eat dinner by ourselves
sounds scary, right Like wedon't want to go out in public
and do things alone.
And here you are, traveling theworld on your own, and that is
(26:07):
just a powerful message of I gotthis, I can do this on my own
and experience things, and Iexperience things and I don't
need someone else.
It's great to have someone else, right, but I just love that
you go about your life and andand do it for you.
Dani Rosenblad James (26:27):
Well, yeah , I think what's the point of
being scared?
Then you always have thatregret like why didn't I do that
and what's what's the point ofthat?
I mean, yes, you're a solofemale, but if you get in a
situation where you feeluncomfortable, what you need to
be is confident.
In that situation, don't lookscared, just be confident and be
(26:49):
like I got this Because youknow, when you get in those
situations and they can seeyou're scared, it usually is not
going to be any good.
Yeah, yeah.
Danielle La Rose (27:00):
But even just the simple decision that I'm
going to go on a trip by myselfyeah, that well they have.
Dani Rosenblad James (27:09):
Sorry, go ahead, they have so many things
out there.
Now there's that group calledgreet her and it's actually
created by a woman that has it,where she has connections with
women worldwide that you canmeet.
If you go solo to like, let'ssay, you go to UK solo, you can
meet up with a person there,another female, and tell her
(27:31):
what activities and everythingyou want to do.
So I mean this a huge way ofjust traveling solo, where you
don't fully have to be solo onceyou get to your destination.
Danielle La Rose (27:42):
I love that.
That's so cool.
I didn't know that that existed.
That's super cool Again.
So, like you said, like youdon't have to feel alone, but
again just making the decisionto do something for yourself by
yourself, like that, not only doyou need the confidence to do
that, but also I can't imaginehow much confidence that builds
(28:02):
for you, that like I'm out heredoing this by myself like
homegirl.
Yes, I love it so good.
All right, are you ready forjust a couple fun, quick, rapid
fire questions?
Okay, okay, um.
You can only have one meal forthe rest of your life.
What do you choose?
You?
Dani Rosenblad James (28:22):
can only have one meal for the rest of
your life.
What do you choose?
Danielle La Rose (28:24):
Oh my, gosh, that'd be vegetarian burritos.
Ooh, do you make them yourselfor do you have a favorite place?
I make them myself.
Oh, look at you.
All fancy, I love it.
Dani Rosenblad James (28:38):
Um, okay, what's one movement or exercise
that you enjoy that makes youfeel powerful?
Danielle La Rose (28:42):
Oh man, I think that would have to be the
plank, the one most people don'tlike.
Dani Rosenblad James (28:47):
Yeah, that's probably why it makes me
feel powerful.
Danielle La Rose (28:51):
Yes, I love that answer so much.
All right, um, who's onepowerful woman that has inspired
you in your life?
Dani Rosenblad James (29:00):
Oh man, I have not ever thought of this
question before.
That's okay.
Um oh no, I don't think I'mgonna have an answer for you
forever, that's okay.
Danielle La Rose (29:12):
That's okay.
Um, okay, we'll move on to thenext one.
What is a daily or consistenthabit that helps you step more
into your confidence?
Dani Rosenblad James (29:21):
Oh, that'd be my self care routine that I
do daily.
Oh, did you do, you want somedetail, I kind of do oh, all
right, so I start my day Afterdropping off my son.
I usually go on my daily walkin the forest that we have
outside and then on that I do myvisualizations.
(29:43):
Then I I'm on top of for awhole day.
I'm on top of drinking a watera gallon of water a day and
watching what I eat, and then Ihave affirmations.
So I usually start the day offwith the affirmations where I'm
like saying you're worth it, youare beautiful, and I say this
in a mirror, which of course atthe beginning feels a little
(30:06):
strange.
But after a while you're likeyes, and then you get pumped up
and you're like, yes, thank youyou.
And you're like, yeah, no,thank you you.
Danielle La Rose (30:15):
That's the best.
That's like your main morningroutine, self-care routine.
Huh, that's good, that's sogood.
Um, okay, do you have a songthat makes you feel powerful?
Dani Rosenblad James (30:30):
Oh, I just blame him the name of the song.
Danielle La Rose (30:32):
Now, that's okay, I'm feeling good, I'm
feeling good, I'm feeling good,I love it All right, um, okay,
if there was, I'll end with thisone.
If there was one powerful pieceof advice that you could leave
for women around the world, whatwould it be?
Dani Rosenblad James (30:48):
Stay positive.
I mean the world.
It's not worth it to benegative or anything like yeah,
you could be having a reallyrough day or obstacles in your
life, but if you stay positive,you're going to see the good
stuff instead of all the bad.
Danielle La Rose (31:06):
So good.
Okay, Danny, I could talk toyou forever about all the places
and all the things that thishas been so powerful, so helpful
, so inspiring.
So thank you so much for beinghere.
For those people that arelistening that are like, okay, I
need to know more of what she'stalking about with all this
travel stuff and what she doesand sustainability like I just
(31:26):
want to know it all.
Where would you like people tocome hang out with you on the
internet?
Dani Rosenblad James (31:32):
yeah, so you can always go to
misfitwanderscom and contact methere.
Or we got Instagram, facebook,tiktok, linkedin, kind of all
over.
So she is everywhere.
Danielle La Rose (31:46):
So I will link, drop those links in the
show notes so that way peoplecan click and find you easily.
Is there anything, danny, thatI didn't ask you or you wanted
to share, that we didn't get tocover before we say goodbye
wanted?
Dani Rosenblad James (32:00):
to share that we didn't get to cover.
Before we say goodbye, I'mactually going.
I'm actually working on writinga book right now and it's
loosely based on truth, so it'sI'm using my story of my
traumatic brain injury andthat's going to be the book.
Danielle La Rose (32:16):
Ooh, do you have a potential release date
yet?
Dani Rosenblad James (32:20):
Oh, do you have a potential release date
yet?
It's going to be in the end ofJuly.
Danielle La Rose (32:25):
Oh, I feel like we have a little
cliffhanger here.
I know I'm like oh my gosh, Ican't wait to read your book.
That's so exciting.
Dani Rosenblad James (32:34):
When did you start this?
I started just a couple weeksago.
Danielle La Rose (32:38):
Okay, so this is new, fresh and new, that's
exciting, nerve wracking andexciting.
So your message is so powerfuland I know that that book will
be so helpful for so many people.
Yeah, because your story is so.
(33:00):
It's just so good.
It's just so good and the waythat you use your story like I'm
never going to forget now theidea I can imagine you walking
up the mountain and 12 hoursgetting to the top, tears down
your face and just being like Idid this and this is so
beautiful because of everythingI went through.
Right, and that's just going tobe an inspiration for so many
(33:23):
people and so that story is sopowerful.
So I'm so excited for you.
Thank you for sharing that.
So we'll all be looking for yourbook at the end of July.
So good luck with that.
You don't need luck, but goodluck and it's going to be
amazing.
And just keeping you andsharing this because, again, for
myself included, travel is justso powerful and getting to
(33:48):
experience those things, and soyou sharing that just inspires
and supports so many womenwanting to do the same.
So thank you so much forsharing that, thank you for
being here and I just appreciateyou so much.
So, friends listening, I'lldrop the show.
I'll drop her links in the shownotes.
Go check her out, hang out withher and thank you for being
here and I will talk to you guyson the next one.
(34:09):
Bye, dani, thank you, thank you.
that view.
It was probably one of the bestviews I've ever seen because of
what I had to overcome to getto it.
Danielle La Rose (00:09):
Welcome back to the show.
Those of you that are listeningnow.
You are in for a treat.
And I say I totally geek outall the time.
I say this every single time Ihave a guest, but it's because
I'm very selective about who Iwant on the podcast, because I
want to make sure their storiesthat you know will inspire and
are real and powerful for womento hear.
(00:29):
And so when I got Danny's oh, Ishould have asked you how to
say your name, but I'm going tojust try.
But when I got Danny'ssubmission for being interested
on being on the podcast and hertalking about travel y'all know
that's one of my love languages,I'm obsessed with travel and so
I was like, yes, I have got toknow more about this incredible
(00:49):
human.
So here we are today.
I'm going to quickly share withyou who Dani is and then I'm
going to allow her to kind ofdig into her story.
So, dani Rosenblatt am I close?
Yeah, all right.
Dani Rosenblatt James, thecreator behind Misfit Wonders, a
travel blog inspired by herlove for nature, cultural
(01:10):
exploration and eco-conscioustravel.
Her journey, which has includedhitchhiking, farming and even
overcoming a traumatic braininjury, fuels her passion for
sharing stories and inspiringothers to embrace the beauty of
the world's natural wonders anddiverse cultures.
And on top of that, now it's afamily adventure of travel,
(01:31):
since she now has a two-year-old.
So through Misfit Wonders, sheaims to spark an eco-conscience
mindset in travelers.
So her blog posts are a gatewayto sustainable and immersive
experiences, encouragingeveryone to leave a positive
impact while exploring ourincredible planet.
And that sounds so glorious.
(01:52):
So, dani, welcome to the show.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
How are you and how did you get?
Where did this start?
Were you like three years oldand you're like you know what
I'm going to do one day I'mgoing to be a hitchhiker and
farm and do all this stuff andtalk all about travel.
How did this come about?
Dani Rosenblad James (02:14):
Well, it definitely wasn't like that.
I actually wanted to be aveterinarian when I was little,
okay, so this is quite differentthan that.
Where did it all begin?
Oh, my, so my family.
I have family all over the US,so I kind of grew up with going
on road trips to visit thempretty regularly.
(02:35):
So my passion for traveling waspretty much ingrained into me
because we did it all the timeand then when I turned, I think
it was 23.
Yeah, 23.
I went to Peru because myfriend invited me to meet him
there.
He's my husband now, but yeah.
(02:58):
So he invited me on this tripand that was my first solo trip
out of the country and I fell inlove with travel from that trip
.
We did so many unique things.
We learned how to fish withmachetes and we caught eight
fish.
We stayed in the Amazons forthree nights and this was during
(03:23):
the rainy, rainy season, so wehad to move our camp every night
.
We got to see cayman baby.
It came in.
Alligator crocodile, um, thatour our tour guide.
One of them just jumped in thewater in the middle of the night
and we're like pitch black.
We're like what is happening.
He comes in it back with acaiman and all I'm thinking is
(03:46):
where's the mom?
Like what?
And yeah, so just, we had somany great experiences and crew
and bolivia and I was my husbandwell, my friend at the time.
He traveled with me for a weekand then we went our solo way or
so, yeah, solo ways and then Ifind out a couple years ago that
(04:11):
he kept going out of his way tokeep meeting up with me and I'm
like, oh, I thought you werejust kind of following the flow
that everyone else at all thesehostels was doing, going the
same paths in a way.
But yeah, that's what startedmy travel blog pretty much.
Danielle La Rose (04:36):
Oh my gosh, I love that it's it's a travel
adventure At the same time as,like your love story that I was
not aware of when we werehopping on.
It's like so that's so fun, sofrom there.
So that's how it all started,right, and since then, tell us
more about like your experiences.
And I mean, you could haveeasily just been like, oh, I
enjoy traveling and so I travel,but you chose to start a blog
(04:58):
about this.
How did that come about?
Like, what made you make thatdecision to really to put that
out into the world?
Dani Rosenblad James (05:06):
Well, initially, the travel blog was
more like a personal journalonline, because I didn't want to
travel with a book, with allthe other things I had when I
was traveling, because at thattime, being my first time out of
the country alone, I overpacked.
I had a huge backpack that Iwould bring everywhere and it
(05:28):
was full of so much unnecessaryclothes and unnecessary items
and things and it's like, oh, Ican't add a book to that as well
.
And, yeah, I think it was afriend that pointed that out to
me that I could do that.
So then I started it and thenover time, I realized, wait, I
could turn this into somethingelse.
(05:48):
I could turn this into where Ican help people learn more about
all the places I've been to andexperiences and inspire them to
want to travel, to overcomeobstacles in life and go forward
Stuff like that, yeah were youever?
Danielle La Rose (06:04):
Have you ever found yourself or maybe it was
like at the beginning or justanytime like fearful hesitant
about traveling that you had toovercome?
Or have you always just beenlike it's fine, it'll all work
out, I'll go by myself, it'stotally okay uh.
Dani Rosenblad James (06:21):
So I definitely have had some second
thoughts a lot of times.
But I have this thing where Ialways follow my gut and if my
gut saying it's okay, eventhough it's an uncomfortable,
I'd like to get out of mycomfort zone too.
So that's helpful withtraveling, because there's
always going to be the unknown,like what's going to happen.
(06:43):
You can't have every momentplanned out, yeah, and if you
did, it would take away thewhole experience.
Danielle La Rose (06:51):
Yeah, I love that, though, like you know,
trusting your gut.
You know, for you it's fortravel, but for a lot of people
it's so many different thingsright that we get fearful and
hesitant.
We don't know what's going tohappen, and so that stresses us
out.
But if we just take a second tolisten to our gut, it won't
steer us wrong.
And, like you said, it's goodto get uncomfortable, like in a
(07:14):
safe way, but it's, you know,it's good to get uncomfortable
and push yourself and to havethose.
You won't ever have thoseexperiences if you don't do that
Right, so I love that.
Um, okay, so I mentioned in theintro that you have had a
traumatic brain injury.
That's powerful and I'm surehas affected lots of different
(07:35):
things, so share with us alittle bit about that.
Dani Rosenblad James (07:39):
That actually happened.
I think it was six months or soafter my trip to Peru and
Bolivia.
Um, and I was on black ice inWyoming.
So I'm originally from SouthDakota and I was driving to
California to go to work and Iwas driving through Wyoming on
(08:02):
that was black ice.
Visibility was less than a mile.
I all I remember is going, ohno, looking forward and seeing
cars piled up, and so it was aneight, uh seven car pile up and
I was the last one there and Iguess, automatically I tried I
(08:25):
can't remember that I was like Iblacked out, but I guess I must
have tried spiraling out of theway or going to the right or
something, and then I clippedanother one of the vehicles and
spun out of control.
Um, so I ended up getting agash in my head from that.
I think I had four concussionsum bruised, um in the brain, two
(08:50):
different spots and yeah, so itwas pretty bad.
But on that side, since it wasso cold, I didn't lose that much
blood, so I didn't have to havea blood infusion.
So that's good.
So I didn't have to have ablood infusion, so that's good.
Always finding the positive,yeah.
And then the sheriff that foundme.
He said that was the worst he'sever seen his whole working his
(09:14):
career and he was going to beretiring in a couple of weeks or
so and, yeah, I had to behelicoptered to Salt Lake City,
utah, from there.
And, yeah, I had to behelicoptered to Salt Lake City,
utah, from there and intensivecare unit for over 10 days had
to relearn how to walk, how touse my brain.
So it was.
(09:37):
It wasn't just a little, oh,you had a traumatic brain injury
, it was like it was a prettybig one.
Danielle La Rose (09:42):
Yeah, I mean you were flown to a different
state there for 10 days.
Like this is.
I mean this is impactful.
So what did you do?
So again, you, as you mentioned, you know you're learn,
relearning how to walk and dothe things.
What, how did that?
How did that shift your life orshift your mindset, or did it?
Dani Rosenblad James (10:05):
Oh yeah, 100%.
I realized where I was in mylife.
I didn't want to be, I didn'twant to be alone and I was
pretty much just living just toparty all the time.
I didn't think anything aboutmy future.
And then, once this happenedafterwards, I was like what am I
doing?
Why am I doing just theselittle things when I feel like I
(10:26):
could do so much more in theworld and there's so much more I
want to do?
And then I realized I want tostill, I want to travel, I want
to see the world, I want to makesome kind of impact on people's
lives and, yeah, that's where Iam today.
Danielle La Rose (10:43):
So, okay, no, sister, we can't just jump to.
That's where I am today.
No, no, no.
Okay.
So traumatic brain injury.
We're in the hospital, we'redoing the things and then we say
you know what there's more tolife?
I want to make a bigger impact,I want to travel, I want to see
the world, I want to make adifference.
No-transcript Like what did youdo?
Dani Rosenblad James (11:14):
wow it.
It was super hard because I'm aI'm a hard-working woman.
I'm used to working in fieldsand doing like eight to ten hour
jobs, like every day orsomething like that.
Well, after my accident Icouldn't work more than an hour,
my body would be in full painand it was my friend who's my
(11:36):
husband that saved me frommyself.
He could see that I wasoverworking and he would force
me to go back to the house andrest and watch movies or
something and he'd go and work.
And then he would find mehidden working in the fields and
stuff and be like, do, do, do,do, do, go back to bed.
And then it was after that weactually realized that we loved
(11:58):
each other and did the wholething and all that stuff.
And yeah, but yeah that stuff.
Danielle La Rose (12:04):
No, big deal, it's fine.
Dani Rosenblad James (12:07):
But he's a huge reason that I am where I
am today, because he helped merealize that I need to take care
of me.
I can't just be like my oldself where, oh, I can just go
full force forward.
No, I had to listen to my bodyto heal, and that's a huge
reason that I've gotten to whereI am, even though it was just
(12:29):
so hard.
The first two years I didn'tfeel like myself, and that's
pretty long time not to feellike yourself.
Yeah.
Danielle La Rose (12:42):
So how did it move then?
So it was a few months beforethat situation where you had
just gone on this trip and youguys went as friends and then we
moved into.
We had this serious event.
And then you said I want to bea new human not new human, but I
want to pursue more and do more.
And then he said you got tostop working so much.
(13:02):
We're not doing that.
You need to rest, listen toyour body.
It took you a couple of years,right, to get back to feeling
like yourself.
So from then, how did you?
Where did you go with traveling?
I mean your whole life.
Now, right Is traveling.
It's talking about travel.
It's helping people with travel.
What did you?
How did you?
What was your next step then?
(13:23):
Did you go on another trip orwhat happened?
Dani Rosenblad James (13:28):
So let's see, we were on our honeymoon
and our honeymoon was a sixmonth road trip in the U?
S well, that's cool.
Yeah, so that was a six monthroad trip in the US Well, that's
cool.
Yeah, so that was a great wayto experience it and work on
helping my body.
We had our two cats and our dogwith us, and the first hike
(13:52):
that I went on after my accidentwas very impactful as well.
We did Yosemite National Parkand I did one of the hikes there
.
That was up into the waterfalls, and I think the hike was
supposed to last maybe four orso hours.
It took me 12 hours to dobecause I was in so much pain
(14:17):
and my head would be poundingand I'd have oh, I'd be just in
tears and it was my mantra thathelped is slow and steady wins
the race.
And then, as well as passingall the people oh, they were so
supportive They'd be like, oh,you're so close, you're doing
great.
Because they could see that Iwas struggling with tears down
on my face and my husband and mydog they were.
(14:40):
I told them just to go ahead,so they went and then they came
back to check on me.
And then they came back, theywent up with me but, yeah, that
was very impactful and that viewit was probably one of the best
views I ever seen because ofwhat I had to overcome to get to
it.
Danielle La Rose (15:04):
I want to take a second because that is an
important thing that we all getto remember, that you said the
view was just amazing because ofwhat it took to get there.
Like I'm sure the view wouldhave been amazing regardless
right, it would have been great.
But it was a different feelingfor you because you had to go
through hard stuff, like mostpeople.
Sister, if you would have beenlike, oh, it's going to take you
12 hours to get up this andyour head's going to be pounding
(15:25):
and all this stuff, I'd be likeI need to go, I'm going to go
take a nap.
That sounds so hard, but it wasimportant to you and because of
that, when you finally made itthere and again number one, you
didn't give up.
But, number two, you made it tothe top and you're like this
was worth it.
Right, like this view isbeautiful because I worked so
(15:53):
freaking hard to get here and Ididn't give up.
Like that's a powerful,important reminder for all of us
when we go through hard times,that like, if it's important and
we make it to the top, it'sgoing to be so freaking
beautiful.
Thank you for sharing that.
I love that.
Okay.
So listen, I, you know you and Iare new friends and so I just
got on this call and you're like, no, I don't live near you.
(16:14):
It's like so many hours I'mahead of you, I'm ready for bed
and I'm like full of energy here.
I'm like, yeah, let's go, causeit's like middle of the day for
me.
So tell us a little bit moreabout different places.
So you've done six months, youwent here, you did this, you got
married.
So you've done lots of things.
Tell us, are there other placesthat you've been where you're
like this was the most, otherthan those that you just told us
(16:36):
, because those are reallyfreaking powerful.
But is there anywhere elsewhere you're like this was a
place?
This was a powerful part of myjourney, of like travel um,
there's a few, let's see.
Dani Rosenblad James (16:51):
I really enjoyed when we visited northern
Greece.
You know, when people think of,they always think of all the
white buildings and the beachesand Athens and the ruins.
Well, northern Greece isamazing.
They have Vicos there, it's agorge they have Papingo pools
(17:17):
those are amazing.
And then they have all of thesearch bridges.
Like we went on a little roadtrip and ventured and saw all
these beautiful arch bridgesthat were spread out.
And we also tried to do MountOlympus, which is northern
Greece, is northern Greece.
(17:39):
Although we couldn't really dothat with a rental vehicle.
It was like going straight upand we're like, uh, sort of kind
of rolling back.
We're like, okay, maybe we needto go back because it was like
the time of the season, wecouldn't really hike it.
It wasn't very uh, very uhsmart decision if we would have
tried so northern Greece, greece.
Danielle La Rose (17:56):
So do you, do you all try to do more like non
traditional type travel or likeyou're saying?
You know people typically go tolike certain areas the white
buildings, the whatever and youyou're kind of like, no, we're
gonna go somewhere different.
Do you do that often?
Or kind of a mixture?
Dani Rosenblad James (18:17):
I think, since I have my son, it's kind
of turned more into a mixture,like this last trip that we did,
we went to France and Belgiumand these.
The reason we did these tripswas because we were meeting up
with some of my friends inFrance because they were going
to a wedding.
So France was never really on aradar, especially Paris because
(18:38):
it's so touristy.
So we tried it out and, yeah,there's a lot of people and I
definitely like staying a littlefarther away and more into the
nature places of the countries.
Yeah so, but we tried it soyeah, I love that.
Danielle La Rose (18:55):
And now you live where In Sweden, and how do
you enjoy Sweden?
Dani Rosenblad James (19:02):
Oh, it's one of the best places for
nature, so I'm in the rightplace, yeah yeah, I love that.
Danielle La Rose (19:08):
I've never been to Sweden, so if people who
are listening right, I know,because for me when I talk to
people about traveling and stuff, they're always thinking, oh, I
wish I could do that, I wish Icould go to these different
places, I want to go see thesedifferent places.
What would you say to peoplewho maybe are putting like
travel on the back burner or,you know, really want to see it,
(19:31):
but you know, financiallythey're like, oh, that seems so
expensive and I don't know if Ican do it.
Like do you have maybe it's onyour blog, but like different
tips and strategies or thingsthat you would share with people
who are kind of in that mindset?
Dani Rosenblad James (19:45):
So if you're in that mindset, what you
need to do is be like what,what's stopping you?
Isn't it yourself?
Like, are you the one that'ssaying, oh no, I can't do this
because of blah, blah, blah.
Okay, if it's money, you needto make kind of a list for
yourself and then be like, oh,how much would this cost?
Do some research.
Like there are a lot of ways tosave money.
(20:07):
I mean, they have couch surfingout there.
They have workaways where youcan work on someone's farm, or
you can work on someone'sproperty and do whatever for so
many days, for so many hours outof a day or something.
There are so many differentways around it.
I found out that they have whatis it redeemed vacation, where
(20:29):
I'm not really sure how it works, but they make it where you can
stay at hotels at a cheaperprice.
There are a bunch of differentbusinesses out there now that
are trying to help people traveland make it more affordable in
some way, and I also like thisthat they're working more on
making a sustainable travel forpeople.
(20:49):
So that's always good.
Danielle La Rose (20:51):
Okay, so tell us more about that.
What do you mean by sustainabletravel?
Dani Rosenblad James (20:55):
So that means that they're trying to be
more eco friendly, they'retrying to care more eco-friendly
, they're trying to care moreabout the environment.
So, like, a lot of touristcompanies are starting to,
they're noticing that people arestarting to care about that and
, um, there's even like theairplanes and the big air
company, uh, flight companiesthey are also trying to make
(21:19):
less of a footprint on our sorry, on our world as well.
So it's really good to hearthis.
Danielle La Rose (21:28):
Yeah, so those of us that are like, okay,
yes, I want to help the world,I want to, you know, be more
sustainable, things like that,especially with travel, what
would you encourage them to do?
Are there things or experiencesthat you've had that is like
right up the alley?
Dani Rosenblad James (21:45):
of that?
Well, 100%, they should havetheir own water bottle, like you
don't need a plastic waterbottle.
You have a metal water bottleor one that's reusable.
That's like so easy to do andit makes so much of a difference
.
Then you can also have likesnacks with you and reusable
(22:05):
bags and things that you knowthat you don't have to just
throw away.
Try to stay away from plastic.
You can use, have a woodenspoon or fork or spork with you
or something like that.
There are, yeah, there's loadsof different, just little things
here and there that you orsomething like that there are.
Yeah, there's loads ofdifferent, just little things
here and there that you caneasily do.
That just works.
Danielle La Rose (22:24):
Yeah, and I love that you share that,
because you know, for me, mymind, thinking about like you
traveling and doing all thesebig cool trips and stuff, like I
thought I was thinking like,okay, what is a big picture
thing that I can do forsustainable travel?
And you started out with just awater bottle.
I'm like, okay, yeah, I do that.
Like that's, you know, likethat's part of like everyday
life, but that's something toconsider, like when traveling,
(22:46):
because, again, people whenthey're traveling, they do pick
up just bottle water and thingslike that.
So I love that you started likeso simple, like it's not like
this big grandiose thing, it's,it's the simple little things
that sometimes seeminsignificant but make a really
big difference.
So what is one of your ultimateand maybe you've already
(23:09):
covered it, so if you did, thenI'll ask a different question
You're like your favorite tripof all time?
Dani Rosenblad James (23:18):
I still think that would have to be my
Peru trip, the very first one.
Yeah, just because it was.
Oh man, we did so many thingson that trip.
It was like for a month and ahalf we were traveling Well, I
was doing the whole separate andthen meeting up thing.
So then we did the Amazon thatI told you about earlier.
There we got to hang out with abunch of locals and we got to
(23:45):
meet a shaman.
We got to try out ayahuasca,yeah.
So we had a whole lot ofdifferent experiences there.
We learned that coca leaves, um, are very common to use there
to help give them energy andhelp them with the um elevation.
Uh.
So I also went into one of themost dangerous mines and that
(24:10):
was in bolivia.
That was pretty crazy and yeah.
So there's, there's loads ofjust experiences.
In that one trip.
I went into one of the hotsprings that was for locals and
it had some legendary storiesbehind it which made it really
interesting.
It was I can't remember exactlyall of it anymore, but it's
(24:34):
still Ojo del that.
I can't even remember the name.
Danielle La Rose (24:40):
That's okay, I, you know it's.
It's really awesome Becauseagain that was like your first
trip that kind of led to all ofthis, but again it wasn't
necessary.
I love that you always go backto the culture, right, Like
meeting the locals and doingthings that they do and like
(25:01):
really embracing where you areand really being open and
wanting to understand, like youknow, why people there do what
they do, and getting to eattheir food and doing those
things and not just going justto see beautiful places or lay
on the beach or whatever, which,hey, no, no judgment.
If you like to go and just layon a beach, you'd go lay on a
beach.
But you know, no judgment.
If you like to go and just layon a beach, you'd go lay on a
(25:22):
beach.
But I really love that for youit's like this whole cultural
experience and that's reallyinspiring.
And one of the things that,before I jump into rapid fire,
is I wanted to point out,because you've mentioned a
couple times of solo trips and Ijust find that so powerful for,
(25:43):
especially for women, I knowthat many women would be
hesitant and fearful of going ona solo trip by themselves and
you know there's many of us whogoing to eat dinner by ourselves
sounds scary, right Like wedon't want to go out in public
and do things alone.
And here you are, traveling theworld on your own, and that is
(26:07):
just a powerful message of I gotthis, I can do this on my own
and experience things, and Iexperience things and I don't
need someone else.
It's great to have someone else, right, but I just love that
you go about your life and andand do it for you.
Dani Rosenblad James (26:27):
Well, yeah , I think what's the point of
being scared?
Then you always have thatregret like why didn't I do that
and what's what's the point ofthat?
I mean, yes, you're a solofemale, but if you get in a
situation where you feeluncomfortable, what you need to
be is confident.
In that situation, don't lookscared, just be confident and be
(26:49):
like I got this Because youknow, when you get in those
situations and they can seeyou're scared, it usually is not
going to be any good.
Yeah, yeah.
Danielle La Rose (27:00):
But even just the simple decision that I'm
going to go on a trip by myselfyeah, that well they have.
Dani Rosenblad James (27:09):
Sorry, go ahead, they have so many things
out there.
Now there's that group calledgreet her and it's actually
created by a woman that has it,where she has connections with
women worldwide that you canmeet.
If you go solo to like, let'ssay, you go to UK solo, you can
meet up with a person there,another female, and tell her
(27:31):
what activities and everythingyou want to do.
So I mean this a huge way ofjust traveling solo, where you
don't fully have to be solo onceyou get to your destination.
Danielle La Rose (27:42):
I love that.
That's so cool.
I didn't know that that existed.
That's super cool Again.
So, like you said, like youdon't have to feel alone, but
again just making the decisionto do something for yourself by
yourself, like that, not only doyou need the confidence to do
that, but also I can't imaginehow much confidence that builds
(28:02):
for you, that like I'm out heredoing this by myself like
homegirl.
Yes, I love it so good.
All right, are you ready forjust a couple fun, quick, rapid
fire questions?
Okay, okay, um.
You can only have one meal forthe rest of your life.
What do you choose?
You?
Dani Rosenblad James (28:22):
can only have one meal for the rest of
your life.
What do you choose?
Danielle La Rose (28:24):
Oh my, gosh, that'd be vegetarian burritos.
Ooh, do you make them yourselfor do you have a favorite place?
I make them myself.
Oh, look at you.
All fancy, I love it.
Dani Rosenblad James (28:38):
Um, okay, what's one movement or exercise
that you enjoy that makes youfeel powerful?
Danielle La Rose (28:42):
Oh man, I think that would have to be the
plank, the one most people don'tlike.
Dani Rosenblad James (28:47):
Yeah, that's probably why it makes me
feel powerful.
Danielle La Rose (28:51):
Yes, I love that answer so much.
All right, um, who's onepowerful woman that has inspired
you in your life?
Dani Rosenblad James (29:00):
Oh man, I have not ever thought of this
question before.
That's okay.
Um oh no, I don't think I'mgonna have an answer for you
forever, that's okay.
Danielle La Rose (29:12):
That's okay.
Um, okay, we'll move on to thenext one.
What is a daily or consistenthabit that helps you step more
into your confidence?
Dani Rosenblad James (29:21):
Oh, that'd be my self care routine that I
do daily.
Oh, did you do, you want somedetail, I kind of do oh, all
right, so I start my day Afterdropping off my son.
I usually go on my daily walkin the forest that we have
outside and then on that I do myvisualizations.
(29:43):
Then I I'm on top of for awhole day.
I'm on top of drinking a watera gallon of water a day and
watching what I eat, and then Ihave affirmations.
So I usually start the day offwith the affirmations where I'm
like saying you're worth it, youare beautiful, and I say this
in a mirror, which of course atthe beginning feels a little
(30:06):
strange.
But after a while you're likeyes, and then you get pumped up
and you're like, yes, thank youyou.
And you're like, yeah, no,thank you you.
Danielle La Rose (30:15):
That's the best.
That's like your main morningroutine, self-care routine.
Huh, that's good, that's sogood.
Um, okay, do you have a songthat makes you feel powerful?
Dani Rosenblad James (30:30):
Oh, I just blame him the name of the song.
Danielle La Rose (30:32):
Now, that's okay, I'm feeling good, I'm
feeling good, I'm feeling good,I love it All right, um, okay,
if there was, I'll end with thisone.
If there was one powerful pieceof advice that you could leave
for women around the world, whatwould it be?
Dani Rosenblad James (30:48):
Stay positive.
I mean the world.
It's not worth it to benegative or anything like yeah,
you could be having a reallyrough day or obstacles in your
life, but if you stay positive,you're going to see the good
stuff instead of all the bad.
Danielle La Rose (31:06):
So good.
Okay, Danny, I could talk toyou forever about all the places
and all the things that thishas been so powerful, so helpful
, so inspiring.
So thank you so much for beinghere.
For those people that arelistening that are like, okay, I
need to know more of what she'stalking about with all this
travel stuff and what she doesand sustainability like I just
(31:26):
want to know it all.
Where would you like people tocome hang out with you on the
internet?
Dani Rosenblad James (31:32):
yeah, so you can always go to
misfitwanderscom and contact methere.
Or we got Instagram, facebook,tiktok, linkedin, kind of all
over.
So she is everywhere.
Danielle La Rose (31:46):
So I will link, drop those links in the
show notes so that way peoplecan click and find you easily.
Is there anything, danny, thatI didn't ask you or you wanted
to share, that we didn't get tocover before we say goodbye
wanted?
Dani Rosenblad James (32:00):
to share that we didn't get to cover.
Before we say goodbye, I'mactually going.
I'm actually working on writinga book right now and it's
loosely based on truth, so it'sI'm using my story of my
traumatic brain injury andthat's going to be the book.
Danielle La Rose (32:16):
Ooh, do you have a potential release date
yet?
Dani Rosenblad James (32:20):
Oh, do you have a potential release date
yet?
It's going to be in the end ofJuly.
Danielle La Rose (32:25):
Oh, I feel like we have a little
cliffhanger here.
I know I'm like oh my gosh, Ican't wait to read your book.
That's so exciting.
Dani Rosenblad James (32:34):
When did you start this?
I started just a couple weeksago.
Danielle La Rose (32:38):
Okay, so this is new, fresh and new, that's
exciting, nerve wracking andexciting.
So your message is so powerfuland I know that that book will
be so helpful for so many people.
Yeah, because your story is so.
(33:00):
It's just so good.
It's just so good and the waythat you use your story like I'm
never going to forget now theidea I can imagine you walking
up the mountain and 12 hoursgetting to the top, tears down
your face and just being like Idid this and this is so
beautiful because of everythingI went through.
Right, and that's just going tobe an inspiration for so many
(33:23):
people and so that story is sopowerful.
So I'm so excited for you.
Thank you for sharing that.
So we'll all be looking for yourbook at the end of July.
So good luck with that.
You don't need luck, but goodluck and it's going to be
amazing.
And just keeping you andsharing this because, again, for
myself included, travel is justso powerful and getting to
(33:48):
experience those things, and soyou sharing that just inspires
and supports so many womenwanting to do the same.
So thank you so much forsharing that, thank you for
being here and I just appreciateyou so much.
So, friends listening, I'lldrop the show.
I'll drop her links in the shownotes.
Go check her out, hang out withher and thank you for being
here and I will talk to you guyson the next one.
(34:09):
Bye, dani, thank you, thank you.
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