@WakeUpCall – Jessica Gee, The Bucket List Family

The Bucket List Family’s Jessica Gee joins Amy King to share expert tips on traveling with kids and 50 destinations you do not want to miss. The show closes with this week’s ‘Amy’s on It’ highlighting Martha now streaming on Netflix.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Right now, let's say good morning to the matriarch of
the National Geographic bucket List Family, Jessica Gee. Good morning, Jessica,
good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
How are you.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
We're doing great. I think you're better because you are
a world traveler and your story is so fascinating. Tell
us how many countries have you been to? And how
do we start to follow you on your journeys.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
I think unofficially we're about ninety countries, give or take
a couple and we've been traveling for the last almost
ten years. And you can follow us on the Bucket's
family on Instagram and YouTube and all the social media's.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
Okay, and what inspired you to want to travel around
the world with your family?

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Well, back in twenty fifteen, it was kind of a
moment in our lives. My husband had a company in
college and you had luckily sold it, and so we
didn't really feel like it was right to sit down,
settle down and buy a house and buy a boat
and buy all the things you might think when you
when that happens, and so we were like, let's take
a beat and do a little bit of traveling, and
a little bit of traveling. It was supposed to be
a four month trip, it turned into three years full

(01:09):
time and then you know, here we are about nine
years and ninety countries later.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
That's just crazy. And so, Jessica, when you travel around,
do you stay at hotels? Do you stay in airbnbs?
Do you stay with friends? How do you how do
you navigate that?

Speaker 2 (01:25):
We stay at all of the above. You know, initially
we started off doing airbnbs and burbos and stuff like that.
And then and then once we grew our social media
and social media influencing became a thing. I feel like
our timing was really right for that. Then we started
working with hotels and destinations and tourism boards, and now
it's a job.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
Okay, perfect, It's your job to travel and that's I
love that. So you're traveling with your family, and I
know that traveling, just like with my best friend, can
be challenging. So what are some of the biggest challenges
with traveling with a family of five.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
Well, I feel like I'm a I'm the planner of
the family, and the best laid plans are always great
until they don't work out. So for me, it's always
just managing when an unexpected thing happens. When you lose
a piece of luggage, or when flights are delayed and
you've got a toddler who needs a nap. It's stuff
like that. So I think the biggest thing is just
controlling your attitude and trying to get through it and
to expect the unexpected.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
Okay, and then do you have, like you have a
guide that can kind of give some tips and tricks
to other people or is it just by following you
on your socials? No.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
I just came out with a book this year called
bucket Lists Family Travel with National Geographic, and the whole
book is all about how to travel, how to budget,
how to pack all the things that you know, especially
with traveling with little kids all over the world.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
Yeah. Well, and you mentioned two really important things, packing
for one, and then the budget, because I could imagine
that you could bust your budget pretty quickly if you're
not careful. So it's called the bucket List Family Travel.
And where do we get it?

Speaker 2 (02:57):
You can get anywhere books are sold. You can get
it online or to the bookstore.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
Okay. And again, if they want to follow you on
your Instagram and other social media, what's what where do
they find you?

Speaker 2 (03:07):
Yep? It's the bucket List Family on social media.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
Okay, and I know you got to go. Where are
you going next?

Speaker 2 (03:13):
Next up is actually the Christmas markets in Europe. We're
starting in Budapest, going through Vienna, ending in Germany. So
that's that's going to be a great holiday play.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
I've heard that those are fabulous. Have a great time.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
Okay, I cannot wait. I bet.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
Thank you Jessica gee, I wish we had more time,
but thank you so much. And it's The bucket List
Family Travel, a guide to traveling around the world. What
a great idea.