WEBVTT - INSPIRING TRAVEL 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:03.600 The man has been to every country on Earth and 0:00:03.720 --> 0:00:08.640 both poles. That puts Lee Abbamonte in a tiny club 0:00:08.680 --> 0:00:11.879 of global explorers, and he's got a bunch of stories 0:00:11.920 --> 0:00:16.960 to tell. The most interesting woman in the world. That's 0:00:17.000 --> 0:00:21.160 the impressive title. But Outside Magazine bestowed on Kelly Edwards 0:00:21.720 --> 0:00:26.759 Modern Adventurer, travel host, mountain climber, deep water diver and pilot, 0:00:28.120 --> 0:00:30.000 having a passenger in the plane with you for the 0:00:30.120 --> 0:00:32.440 very first time, and that you tricked them into getting 0:00:32.520 --> 0:00:34.040 the plane in the first place, and you say they're 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:36.360 taking them to lunch. I'm taking you to lunch. Well, 0:00:36.360 --> 0:00:37.800 why are we at the airport because I'm going to 0:00:37.880 --> 0:00:40.200 fly us there. That's why you have that kind of friend. 0:00:41.680 --> 0:00:44.040 And then literally going into an emergency situation, having to 0:00:44.120 --> 0:00:47.160 rock my wings, making sure I'm communicating with the tower 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:50.080 because they can't hear me, and landing the plane immediately. 0:00:50.120 --> 0:00:52.720 I mean, I've had so many experiences, but it does 0:00:52.760 --> 0:00:55.800 not stop me from always getting back up there. Because 0:00:56.200 --> 0:00:59.360 if you've ever felt what it's like to have the 0:00:59.440 --> 0:01:01.840 yoking your hand in an aircraft and know that that 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:04.480 plane is going where you wanted to go, it's a 0:01:04.520 --> 0:01:08.440 power that you never want to really push. For me, 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:11.000 the greatest moment of my life, and I really mean 0:01:11.040 --> 0:01:14.440 this was reaching the South Pole. To to be at 0:01:14.480 --> 0:01:17.880 a latitude line and to think where you are on 0:01:18.000 --> 0:01:21.479 the world. You know, it's just like, holy shit, every 0:01:21.520 --> 0:01:24.280 single thing for me is up, you know, And this 0:01:24.440 --> 0:01:25.800 I felt the same way when I went to the 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:28.800 North Pole, and I'm like, this is so cool and 0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:31.360 everything on Earth is blow me right now. And I'm, 0:01:31.640 --> 0:01:34.120 you know, still one of a handful of people. I 0:01:34.120 --> 0:01:35.800 think it's like four or five people in history have 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:40.560 been to every country in both poles. Okay, Antarctica just 0:01:40.640 --> 0:01:43.560 moved higher up my list of places that I want 0:01:43.600 --> 0:01:47.120 to visit. If you longed for the care free days 0:01:47.240 --> 0:01:52.480 just taken off for somewhere exploring changing latitude and attitude, 0:01:52.960 --> 0:01:56.560 I'm right there with you. Both my guests, Kelly Edwards 0:01:56.600 --> 0:02:00.600 and Leebamonte, have such passion and curiosity any talking to 0:02:00.640 --> 0:02:05.840 them reminded me how important how vital travel has been 0:02:05.840 --> 0:02:08.640 to me and to Jennifer. So if you feel like 0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:13.840 being transported and inspired to seek new experiences, just as 0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:18.079 soon as safer day's return, you're gonna enjoy meeting them. 0:02:18.280 --> 0:02:21.560 Kelly is a pioneer who's building her empire. She was 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:25.200 the first black woman to host her own travel TV series, 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:30.280 Mysterious Islands. She's become an influential force and travel journalism. 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:35.280 Kelly fully embraces any adventure, great and small that she 0:02:35.360 --> 0:02:38.480 can think of. Well, Kelly, I'm so excited to talk 0:02:38.520 --> 0:02:41.520 with you and hear your ideas and your experiences and 0:02:41.520 --> 0:02:45.720 your messagers too would be travelers. But I gotta say first, 0:02:46.160 --> 0:02:49.400 we probably could have done this podcast recording at the 0:02:49.440 --> 0:02:52.520 summit of a fourteen thousand foot peak in Summit County, Colorado, 0:02:52.520 --> 0:02:55.399 because you missed each other by one day in Recoverens 0:02:55.440 --> 0:02:57.639 this summer, and we both share a passion from mountains, 0:02:57.639 --> 0:03:01.600 So maybe another time. Right. Absolutely, I'll meet you at 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:05.720 any fourteen or you're ready to Summit. I'm there, let's 0:03:05.720 --> 0:03:09.320 do it. The passion for mountains, I mean, like you, 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:12.040 I grew up in Illinois, there were no mountains nearby. 0:03:12.720 --> 0:03:15.959 But I know you you've talked about that moment when 0:03:15.960 --> 0:03:19.320 you realize that mountain scenery and being in mountain was 0:03:19.320 --> 0:03:23.000 going to be important to you. Absolutely. It was when 0:03:23.040 --> 0:03:26.120 I was leaving Chicago as a young child with my 0:03:26.200 --> 0:03:28.760 mother headed to California on the Greyhound bus. And as 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:33.280 you said, there are no mountains anywhere near Chicago, and 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:36.560 so as a young child to see mountains for the 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:40.480 first time, it was literally one of the most memorable 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:46.960 and powerful experiences in my childhood and it totally shaped me. 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:49.440 When I saw him for the first time, I pointed 0:03:49.480 --> 0:03:52.240 to them and I said, Mom, those look like buried 0:03:52.240 --> 0:03:56.640 Braunosaurus is because of the huge hump, that's what I 0:03:56.720 --> 0:04:01.040 thought a mountain was. And my mom said, no, those 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:04.240 are called mountains, Kelly. I thought there were buried dinosaurs, 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:09.280 and I was just so fascinated at their presence, at 0:04:09.320 --> 0:04:17.320 their I can't even find the word to to describe 0:04:17.360 --> 0:04:19.880 what it's like to see something that is literally so 0:04:20.000 --> 0:04:24.760 monumental when all you've seen your young life is city 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:29.640 blocks and skyscrapers. You know, a lot of Chicagoans, especially 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:31.479 where I come from, you know, living on the South 0:04:31.480 --> 0:04:34.120 side of Chicago, as close as we are to Lake Michigan, 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:36.280 you'd be surprised at how many people have never even 0:04:36.320 --> 0:04:40.080 been to to Lake Michigan, to the beach. So for 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:42.560 me to be taking out of that element and to 0:04:42.680 --> 0:04:48.440 see the world in the landscape from Chicago to California, 0:04:48.680 --> 0:04:51.680 I knew that I had to have a place in 0:04:51.720 --> 0:04:54.839 a connection to the new landscapes I was seen. Mountains 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:57.040 taught me to have big goals because you see them, 0:04:57.080 --> 0:05:00.000 you think, oh my god, that is so humongous. Maybe 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:02.760 some day I could get up there, and then you 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:05.360 realize that, I mean literally a couple of weeks later, 0:05:05.400 --> 0:05:07.039 we were on top of them. I thought, wait a minute, 0:05:07.080 --> 0:05:09.880 let's not view these things as so far off, insurmountable. 0:05:10.240 --> 0:05:12.120 You can do it. You just don't even know what. 0:05:12.200 --> 0:05:13.839 You don't know about it yet, And if you open 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:18.120 yourself up, life changing experiences traveling fascinate me. It sounds 0:05:18.120 --> 0:05:20.880 like you had one on that airplane. What other things 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:24.640 come to mind? Where you in in a lightning bolt 0:05:24.680 --> 0:05:28.080 sort of altered your perspective, or or saw beauty that 0:05:28.160 --> 0:05:30.400 was just so moving that it was kind of burned 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:35.640 into your brain forever. I'd have to say, it's gonna 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:38.520 sound so simple, but it meant a lot to me. 0:05:39.000 --> 0:05:42.680 It was the first time I had saw my dad, 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:48.479 my stepfather, leave the sand in California and walk into 0:05:48.560 --> 0:05:54.000 the ocean and swim. And when I say, he disappeared 0:05:54.080 --> 0:05:59.320 down the shoreline current and came up for me, as 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:03.600 a child looked like twenty minutes later, and he was fearless, 0:06:04.040 --> 0:06:07.960 and to see how powerful the ocean was, and that 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:13.560 he blended so magnificently with it it. I became fascinated 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:17.599 with the ocean as well, but my fascination did not 0:06:17.680 --> 0:06:21.080 allow me to step foot and start swimming in the 0:06:21.120 --> 0:06:24.520 ocean until I was older, because it is incredibly powerful. 0:06:25.120 --> 0:06:28.080 And so I find between the mountains and the ocean, 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:34.760 these things that have such dynamics and prowess and presence 0:06:36.640 --> 0:06:40.320 that they really did change me. And so I believe 0:06:40.480 --> 0:06:42.560 that day that I saw my dad walk into the 0:06:42.560 --> 0:06:45.599 ocean and swim and saw the beauty of the ocean, 0:06:45.760 --> 0:06:48.280 I said, this is the world is made of water. 0:06:49.160 --> 0:06:51.839 Where else can I go and have this moment? You know? 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:58.320 And now you're deep water scuba diver exactly. I went 0:06:58.440 --> 0:07:03.839 from literally being being stuck on the sand to going 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:06.799 to the depths of the ocean looking for shipwrick dives, 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:14.320 diving with whale sharks, free diving. I love. I love 0:07:14.520 --> 0:07:16.920 the ocean because there's so much about it that's unknown 0:07:17.720 --> 0:07:21.320 and the mystery of it it keeps drawing me back. 0:07:21.600 --> 0:07:23.960 I'm a person, I'm who loves to explore. I'm an 0:07:24.000 --> 0:07:27.920 explore at heart, and so anything that there's still questions, 0:07:28.640 --> 0:07:31.720 I'm always seeking the answer. I think for me, a 0:07:31.720 --> 0:07:34.280 life changing moment was seeing Because I'm a diver as well, 0:07:34.520 --> 0:07:36.440 I'm a little rusty. I gotta get back and do 0:07:36.520 --> 0:07:38.200 more of it because it's easy to let the years 0:07:38.240 --> 0:07:40.360 go by and you realize that, um, you haven't been 0:07:40.400 --> 0:07:41.960 on the water in a while. But you know, seeing 0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:44.680 a shark doing a night dive and seeing a more 0:07:44.680 --> 0:07:47.120 a eel kind of weird. I mean, those are things. 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:50.920 I think they're so charged and they're so exciting that 0:07:50.960 --> 0:07:52.840 you you literally I could go right back there in 0:07:52.880 --> 0:07:55.559 a second. I'm sure you've had experiences like that underwater too. 0:07:55.800 --> 0:07:59.920 Oh absolutely. I swam with the whale shark in Broom, Australia, 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:05.760 UH late last year in and it was massive. It 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:09.640 was massive. And that same day I swam with a 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:12.920 hump back well, which I had no idea it could 0:08:12.920 --> 0:08:15.640 move that fast. The way it turned around and whipped 0:08:15.640 --> 0:08:19.240 towards me, I literally almost like lost my breath, Like 0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:24.320 holy smokes, you realize it came right at you, came 0:08:24.440 --> 0:08:28.000 right towards me, and I thought it was the day 0:08:28.080 --> 0:08:31.200 was gonna be over he that was gonna be the 0:08:31.320 --> 0:08:35.800 end of me. But you know, the creatures are so magnificent, 0:08:36.920 --> 0:08:41.239 and I love, really, really really love having these encounters 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:44.640 with animals in their natural habitats. It really doesn't get 0:08:44.640 --> 0:08:49.440 any better than that. Whether it's in land, see air, 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:51.679 no birds. I don't want any birds to fly by 0:08:51.679 --> 0:08:54.959 the plane. That's always a hazard. However, but you know, 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:56.640 I spent a lot of time in the great outdoors, 0:08:56.640 --> 0:09:00.600 and so I've come across bare moves, I've seen wolves, 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:05.000 you know, foxes, and I'm always just in awe. It's 0:09:05.000 --> 0:09:08.880 pretty incredible. I can relate. You mentioned the skies. I 0:09:08.920 --> 0:09:12.280 wanted to go there next because besides being a scuba divy, 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:16.560 you're also a pilot. So being in the skies or underwater, 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:19.199 there's some things that are they share in common, I think. 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:23.760 But being detached from terra firma in a great way. 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:28.800 What is it about that experience that um in the 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:31.400 moment you love but also maybe changes your perspective from 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:35.120 when you're back on the ground. Sure, I'll see. The 0:09:35.160 --> 0:09:38.079 most powerful thing for me about being in the air 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:42.320 is a sense of freedom, right, the freedom that I 0:09:42.400 --> 0:09:45.040 have to take myself where I choose to go. The 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:49.000 freedom of looking at the world below from a new perspective, 0:09:52.000 --> 0:09:56.400 the freedom of flight, Uh, feeling like a bird in 0:09:56.440 --> 0:10:00.599 a way. You know, that bird's eye view is truly unparalleled. 0:10:00.640 --> 0:10:03.080 And I'm not at thirty thousand feet in the clouds, 0:10:03.120 --> 0:10:05.640 you know, like on a commercial airliner. I fly a 0:10:05.640 --> 0:10:10.440 lot of general aviation aircrafts like Cessna's Piper Cherokees Serious 0:10:10.679 --> 0:10:16.120 icon A five where I'm at six feet and I'm 0:10:16.120 --> 0:10:20.000 seeing the mountains of the desert, the shoreline, and I 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:22.959 also have my seaplane ratings, so I could also land 0:10:22.960 --> 0:10:26.280 on the water, and so that ability to be in 0:10:26.320 --> 0:10:29.439 the air, Oh my gosh, it was the best thing 0:10:29.440 --> 0:10:31.000 that I've done for my life. And a few of 0:10:31.040 --> 0:10:33.719 my friends who think that they can just call me 0:10:33.800 --> 0:10:36.080 up and take them somewhere, Hold on, buddy, hold on 0:10:37.320 --> 0:10:41.080 sky uber No, I think that's cool. You've you've taken 0:10:41.160 --> 0:10:46.840 some small planes into some treacherous air And how much 0:10:46.880 --> 0:10:50.320 of it was that adrenaline rush? Do you do you 0:10:50.320 --> 0:10:52.720 think you have that component in you? I mean, was 0:10:52.720 --> 0:10:56.120 it unintentionally an adventure or did you seek that out? 0:10:57.360 --> 0:11:02.160 So I seek adventure for sure. However, in an airplane 0:11:03.080 --> 0:11:07.480 you have to respect the air you have to respect 0:11:07.800 --> 0:11:11.280 the limitations of what the aircraft is capable of. And 0:11:11.360 --> 0:11:14.320 I intend on having a very long life for as 0:11:14.360 --> 0:11:15.880 long as I'm meant to be on this earth, and 0:11:15.960 --> 0:11:19.200 so I'm not a fool. So the times where I've 0:11:19.240 --> 0:11:23.400 had situations have definitely While you can check the weather 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:25.760 and you'll have the weather on your um, you know 0:11:27.000 --> 0:11:29.720 what the tools that I used to know what it's 0:11:29.720 --> 0:11:33.439 like where I'm headed, I will say that I've had 0:11:33.440 --> 0:11:37.240 some surprises and they are scary. I mean, I remember 0:11:37.240 --> 0:11:41.079 flying in the Illusion chain Um headed out to nicole Ski, Alaska, 0:11:41.800 --> 0:11:45.600 and the weather said, I don't care that you have 0:11:45.640 --> 0:11:47.599 a place to be. I don't care. I'm going to 0:11:47.720 --> 0:11:50.560 turn your round two, three, four or five times because 0:11:50.640 --> 0:11:54.920 right now I'm running this thing. And so I literally 0:11:55.559 --> 0:11:59.600 was headed from Dutch Harbor to Nicolesky, Alaska for a 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:03.000 shoe and we literally had to turn around I think 0:12:03.120 --> 0:12:05.000 three or four times. We just could not get over 0:12:05.040 --> 0:12:09.200 there into the weather cooperated. And you know, I can say, 0:12:09.280 --> 0:12:12.280 as a person who you know, also fly solo a lot, 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:18.240 I've had times where I've had avionics go out, which 0:12:18.280 --> 0:12:22.000 means I cannot communicate to air traffic control towers or 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:25.160 other pilots. Being in the airplane by yourself trying to 0:12:25.320 --> 0:12:30.920 fix a system is not fun, you know, So I 0:12:30.960 --> 0:12:33.000 have to trim the plane out, make sure I'm straightening 0:12:33.080 --> 0:12:38.400 level um, trying to literally become like an aircraft mechanic 0:12:38.440 --> 0:12:42.480 in the middle of the sky. Not fun. So I've 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:45.760 also had times where you know, I'm taking off and 0:12:47.720 --> 0:12:49.560 you can, you know, lose an alternator and have to 0:12:49.559 --> 0:12:52.720 go into an emergency procedure, having a passenger in the 0:12:52.720 --> 0:12:54.960 plane with you for the very first time that you 0:12:55.040 --> 0:12:56.600 tricked them into getting in the plane in the first 0:12:56.600 --> 0:12:58.880 place because you say you're taking them to lunch. I'm 0:12:58.880 --> 0:13:00.360 taking you to lunch. Well, why are we at the 0:13:00.400 --> 0:13:02.320 airport because I'm going to fly us there. That's why 0:13:02.600 --> 0:13:05.840 you have that kind of friend. And then literally going 0:13:05.880 --> 0:13:08.520 into an emergency situation, having to rock my wings, making 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:11.679 sure I'm communicating with the tower because they can't hear me, 0:13:12.160 --> 0:13:14.679 and landing the plane immediately. I mean, I've had so 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:17.600 many experiences, but it does not stop me from always 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:21.440 getting back up there. Because if you've ever felt what 0:13:21.559 --> 0:13:23.800 it's like to have the yok in your hand and 0:13:23.840 --> 0:13:26.160 an aircraft and know that that plane is going where 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:28.680 you want it to go. It's a power that you 0:13:28.800 --> 0:13:32.800 never want to relinquish. I'm with you on flying adventurous places. 0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:36.720 I've had lots of um unintentionally adventurous flights and small planes, 0:13:36.720 --> 0:13:38.720 but not not at the controls. I'm good with someone 0:13:38.720 --> 0:13:41.040 else doing the control. You said something though, that that 0:13:41.559 --> 0:13:44.480 I think it's important for all people who love nature. 0:13:44.520 --> 0:13:46.600 You have a passion for it, but you respect the 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:49.360 power of it, whether you're in the skies, under the water. 0:13:49.800 --> 0:13:52.760 I don't ever use the term conquering a mountain. I 0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:55.800 don't think you conquer or visit it. You pay respect 0:13:55.800 --> 0:13:58.240 to it and you leave. But nature is not something 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:00.959 to be overcome or conquer. We are in nature. It's 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:03.840 all together. And I think it's it's cool that you've 0:14:04.559 --> 0:14:07.839 had that that lesson reinforced under the water and in 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:10.880 the skies and on land too. You've been able to 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:14.760 turn your passion into a a fast growing empire, which 0:14:14.800 --> 0:14:17.520 is so cool. Well done with that. It's going to 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:21.360 get bigger and bigger. I I just know. But what 0:14:21.440 --> 0:14:26.400 do you describe to people general question the power of travel? 0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:28.920 If you had to put it into words, I would 0:14:28.960 --> 0:14:34.320 say that the power of travel is humbling. It's necessary. 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:37.760 And when I say travel, I don't want people to 0:14:37.840 --> 0:14:41.720 think that that means going across the world. Travel can 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:45.800 be the town that you live in, exploring that the 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:51.880 town next door, the state over. It's connecting with communities, cultures, 0:14:52.360 --> 0:14:57.640 people opposite genders of who you are to learn what 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:01.920 makes the world go round. And from me, it's really 0:15:02.000 --> 0:15:05.960 changed the woman that I am as far as how 0:15:06.000 --> 0:15:09.920 I pay respect to my fellow man, my fellow human. Um. 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:12.240 It also makes me check how I move in my 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:14.560 own life. Um. When you go to some of these 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:16.280 places that I've been, and you see they only have 0:15:16.360 --> 0:15:20.200 one water spickett for the entire town. Yet I turn 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:22.440 on my water and it's running for five minutes before 0:15:22.440 --> 0:15:25.640 I get in it. You know, I have to say, 0:15:26.200 --> 0:15:28.360 there's people who don't have water. Why is your water 0:15:28.440 --> 0:15:31.320 on for so long before you step in it? Um, 0:15:31.440 --> 0:15:33.680 you don't want to finish that plate of food, but 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:37.120 there's people who would do anything to have that last bit. 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:41.800 And so for me, it's it balances me and my 0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:45.760 day to day actions because I've traveled and been able 0:15:45.800 --> 0:15:49.000 to experience so much of the world, especially being a 0:15:49.040 --> 0:15:51.480 young black woman coming from the South Side of Chicago 0:15:51.560 --> 0:15:54.600 and San Bernardino, California. These are not places that are 0:15:54.680 --> 0:15:58.520 very well known for um exploration and adventure, to say 0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:00.800 the least, And so I don't take it for granted. 0:16:01.320 --> 0:16:03.480 Um it's changed my life. I've seen it change other 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:05.920 people's lives. I've introduced a lot of people to travel. 0:16:06.000 --> 0:16:10.000 I've purchased a lot of passports for Christmas for my friends. 0:16:10.120 --> 0:16:12.480 I feel like, no, I don't want to give you 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:13.920 a pair of shoes. I'm going to give you this 0:16:13.960 --> 0:16:17.240 tool that you can see what you're made of in 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:21.760 the world. And I've had people on trips with me 0:16:22.120 --> 0:16:24.160 and on trips that they've taken themselves, and say, why 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:26.400 didn't I do this earlier? And I say, at the 0:16:26.480 --> 0:16:28.240 end of the day, it's never too late to start. 0:16:28.520 --> 0:16:31.840 That's an awesome message. I think that it is important 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:35.720 memory that adventure, you know, need not be exotic or 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:39.200 far flung. Adventure just requires you to pack your curiosity 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:41.520 right and be open to learning things and seeing things. 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:45.160 And you can have adventures within the city you live 0:16:45.320 --> 0:16:48.240 right if you in your mind. So, what's the most 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:52.040 mundane place that you visited? You ended up having an 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:59.280 adventure and and some great memories of mm hmmm. I'd 0:16:59.320 --> 0:17:05.720 say I wasn't expecting too much out of like Joshua 0:17:05.840 --> 0:17:09.960 Tree because it looks like there's just like a bunch 0:17:09.960 --> 0:17:13.720 of Joshua trees, if that's what they're called, everywhere out there, 0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:15.720 and a lot of a lot of rock formations, and 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:18.960 it's really really hot. Oh my gosh. I went camping 0:17:19.000 --> 0:17:22.200 out there overnight. I had never seen the stars so clear, 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:25.480 so close to Los Angeles. You have a spiritual experience 0:17:25.480 --> 0:17:29.600 out there, and it was incredible, absolutely without any assistance. 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:34.360 I mean, just a natural spiritual experience exactly, no, totally natural, 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:37.280 and I mean when I say natural, just me, myself 0:17:37.280 --> 0:17:41.960 and me, no no additives. But I had a moment 0:17:41.960 --> 0:17:46.520 out there between the hiking, between looking at the beautiful 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:52.159 rock formations, between being fascinated about how creatures survive in 0:17:52.200 --> 0:17:56.520 this climate. Um, I was really really shocked because for me, 0:17:56.560 --> 0:17:58.680 I love to find I need the trees, I want 0:17:58.720 --> 0:18:01.320 to see the moss, I need the streams and the 0:18:01.480 --> 0:18:05.159 rivers and hike to the lake, to the glaciers, and 0:18:05.200 --> 0:18:07.400 so to be in a desert, I was like, oh, well, 0:18:07.520 --> 0:18:10.920 this could be okay. No. As soon as that sunset, 0:18:11.600 --> 0:18:14.640 I said, Oh, this place is gorgeous and you can 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:20.040 find stunning things and and the things that you least expect. 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:22.680 And so that's something that caught me a bit off 0:18:22.680 --> 0:18:25.040 guard because I usually go to places specifically looking for 0:18:25.480 --> 0:18:28.520 the I know the beauties there already. You know you're 0:18:28.520 --> 0:18:30.560 such a great storyteller. You're painting a picture. I'm wanna 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:32.080 leave the city right now, would like to hang off. 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:34.560 I just want to go out thea nature after hearing that, 0:18:36.600 --> 0:18:38.320 But what do you say to friends that you buy 0:18:38.359 --> 0:18:40.520 passports for, or just people you come in contact with 0:18:40.600 --> 0:18:44.960 and they say, Kelly, without judging them, I want to 0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:49.280 just be comfortable. I just want to relax, um fearful 0:18:49.320 --> 0:18:51.200 of this, or if they don't use the word fear, 0:18:51.280 --> 0:18:54.919 they're just reluctant. They don't want to be uncomfortable. And 0:18:55.240 --> 0:18:58.000 if that's the case, you can have nice vacations, but 0:18:58.040 --> 0:19:00.159 you may be shutting yourself off from experiences. You have 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:03.360 a message when you hear that. Yes, I say all 0:19:03.400 --> 0:19:06.400 the time. Everything you want is on the other side 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:11.000 of fear, for one. So if there's something out there 0:19:11.000 --> 0:19:13.119 that you're interested in doing, but you just don't know 0:19:13.160 --> 0:19:18.200 how to begin. Let's look into that and life mus 0:19:18.440 --> 0:19:23.520 begins at the end of your comfort zone. Okay, it 0:19:23.640 --> 0:19:27.240 really does. And so while I also love to lay 0:19:27.240 --> 0:19:30.920 on the beach and have a nice beverage and listen 0:19:30.960 --> 0:19:37.080 to the waves lapping amongst the sand, that's fine. However, 0:19:38.000 --> 0:19:41.600 they're so often so much more there for you only 0:19:41.640 --> 0:19:44.440 if you're willing to explore and see it with your eyes. 0:19:44.800 --> 0:19:49.840 I don't force adventure on anyone. People are seeing through 0:19:49.880 --> 0:19:55.919 my journey that they can do it too, right, and 0:19:55.960 --> 0:19:58.359 it makes them curious. The only thing I'm trying to 0:19:58.400 --> 0:20:01.040 do is spark curiosity. And if I can do that, 0:20:02.560 --> 0:20:04.919 your brain will do the rest of the work for me, 0:20:04.960 --> 0:20:07.199 because it will be in your subconscious of man, I 0:20:07.280 --> 0:20:09.280 keep saying no to that, but it sure keeps popping 0:20:09.320 --> 0:20:11.479 up in my thoughts. Maybe it's time to try. And 0:20:11.560 --> 0:20:13.240 I tell people all the time all I do is 0:20:13.280 --> 0:20:16.959 just try everything. I'm not an expert in anything. I 0:20:17.000 --> 0:20:20.320 don't know at all. I'm consistently and constantly learning. And 0:20:20.359 --> 0:20:22.080 you can do the same thing too. We both wake 0:20:22.160 --> 0:20:23.639 up and we put two feet on the ground to 0:20:23.680 --> 0:20:25.359 start our day. What are you gonna do with yours? 0:20:27.320 --> 0:20:30.920 I classify travel as either it's a vacation or and 0:20:31.000 --> 0:20:32.959 are like you said, lay in the beach, a trip, 0:20:33.280 --> 0:20:35.920 you got other places you experience things, and then an adventure. 0:20:35.920 --> 0:20:37.119 And I think it's nice to have a balance of 0:20:37.160 --> 0:20:41.359 all three. Right whatever we all need to chill out, 0:20:41.359 --> 0:20:44.239 need not be demanding, but it's also need to just 0:20:45.359 --> 0:20:48.160 go somewhere. Did you ever have the notion you want 0:20:48.160 --> 0:20:50.119 to go to some big international airport, look at the 0:20:50.119 --> 0:20:53.760 flight board, You've packed versatile clothing, you pack lightly, and 0:20:53.880 --> 0:20:56.080 just look at the board and go, I'm gonna go 0:20:56.119 --> 0:20:59.640 to is Stembul, or I'm gonna go to Bangkok. I've 0:20:59.680 --> 0:21:01.560 never done that, but my wife and I have talked 0:21:01.600 --> 0:21:04.679 about doing that at some point that we will. That 0:21:04.720 --> 0:21:12.000 would be amazing and an incredibly expensive ticket the day of. However, hey, 0:21:12.080 --> 0:21:15.359 I think that would be an absolute amazing experience to do. 0:21:15.440 --> 0:21:18.359 And you're sparking a thought in me right now that 0:21:18.480 --> 0:21:21.200 maybe that will be. Who knows, We're all end up 0:21:21.240 --> 0:21:23.879 what's available, and hey, especially right now, I mean we 0:21:23.920 --> 0:21:26.760 have such limited choices. It's like, okay, we've got these 0:21:26.760 --> 0:21:31.000 five places there to get to that in a second. 0:21:31.000 --> 0:21:33.239 But I also want to ask you, why do you 0:21:33.359 --> 0:21:39.680 think that the travel experience, and maybe specifically the adventure 0:21:39.720 --> 0:21:44.200 travel experience, has all been filtered through a mail lens, 0:21:44.280 --> 0:21:48.760 and specifically a white male lens. Until you why did 0:21:48.760 --> 0:21:51.520 it take so half long? And how does he how 0:21:51.520 --> 0:21:53.520 do you feel about being a pioneer in that area? 0:21:54.080 --> 0:21:58.080 I love talking about this, Chris, I knew you did. 0:21:59.440 --> 0:22:02.040 So to answer your first question, how do I feel 0:22:02.040 --> 0:22:05.840 about adventure being through a white male lens? I think 0:22:05.840 --> 0:22:09.840 it's a tragedy. And that is because when you think 0:22:09.880 --> 0:22:14.120 about the explorers of the world, they are not all 0:22:14.200 --> 0:22:20.679 white males. If you think about the Inca Trail, the 0:22:20.800 --> 0:22:23.600 Native people who lived there were running that trail. When 0:22:23.640 --> 0:22:27.359 you think about America, the Native Americans knew this land 0:22:27.440 --> 0:22:33.320 before anyone came here. I think about Matthew Henson, who 0:22:33.400 --> 0:22:36.600 was the first person to reach the North Pole, who 0:22:36.640 --> 0:22:39.880 was also a black man. Where is his story? Why 0:22:39.880 --> 0:22:42.720 don't we hear more about him? When we think about 0:22:42.720 --> 0:22:47.359 aviation and pilots, we hear about the Wright brothers and 0:22:47.520 --> 0:22:50.440 Howard Hughes, But what about Bessie Coleman. We hear about 0:22:50.480 --> 0:22:53.720 Amelia Earhart, right, But Bessie Coleman was the first black 0:22:53.720 --> 0:22:56.600 woman to get her pilot's license in a year before 0:22:56.600 --> 0:22:59.680 Amelia Earhart. And so there are so many different faces 0:22:59.680 --> 0:23:06.000 that are having adventures, and yet the narrative between media, marketing, television, 0:23:06.160 --> 0:23:10.800 film all show up in the face of the white 0:23:10.840 --> 0:23:13.960 male at the top of Everest with the chiseled jaw 0:23:14.119 --> 0:23:16.119 looking out the side. And I'll tell you, I've been 0:23:16.160 --> 0:23:18.040 to some of these same mountains that they've been and 0:23:18.080 --> 0:23:22.000 I look nothing like them at all. And so why 0:23:22.040 --> 0:23:24.879 it's taken so long for a person like myself to 0:23:24.960 --> 0:23:29.080