About QVoyagers.

At the end of our life we will only regret the things we didn't do. 

I was blessed to grow up with a lovely family that always traveled. We would go to Disney World, Cruises, or Caribbean islands for vacation. Nothing too exotic, but still travel and adventure was a big part of our life.

My first chance to leave the country and fly overseas happened when I was in the church as a 19-year-old. An opportunity came to go to Kenya to build a church/school with 15 other people. I was lucky to have parents who could afford for me to take this remarkable trip in 1987.

There are moments in our lives that we can look back on and realize they were LIFE changing. The trip to Africa was this kind of moment for me. We started the adventure from Detroit and landed in Brussels for a long layover. We spent the day in Bruges, Belgium, a very unique city.

Arriving in Kenya was a dream for me. I have always had a passion for wildlife, especially African Elephants. My other passion was anthropology and human history, and evolution. To walk the land where Louis & Mary Leakey made all their extraordinary discoveries was an incredible bonus.

Everything about Africa is magical, the people, the land, the animals. Very few places can get so deep in your soul that you feel an immense connection to the land. Africa has been that for me. Of all my travels, Kenya is still that special to me. It forever changed me as a person.

(*Note I am very against spreading religion around the world and learned many lessons since this trip as teenager. We should respect cultures and countries and not oppose our views on others. Which leads to one of my favorites quotes below) 

“Take only memories, leave only footprints.”

On the way back from Africa, our group was lucky to spend five days in Paris, which has become my lifelong love and the city I have visited the most worldwide. I feel Paris is my second home. You will see many posts here about Paris and France in general, so get ready! :-)

Kenya reinforced my life choices to do whatever I could to help endangered wildlife. I wanted to be a zoologist or wildlife veterinarian. I started my studies soon after Africa in Animal Science at the University of Michigan. After graduation, I started a job with my other passion, doing websites for the equine industry. I was always involved in the horse business and was a competitive rider as a youth. It was a bit of a change in my career trajectory but still allowed me to work with my true love, animals. I always stayed close to my passion of protecting endangered wildlife and did websites for the amazing Nick Brandt Foundation, www.biglife.org, and my own website to raise money for causes I love, www.globalimpak.com. I believe in doing what we can to help the world around us.

I have been very blessed to have traveled around the world, covering events and showcasing the world of equestrian sports: thirty-eight countries so far and counting. I always had a passion for history and architecture, especially the ancient Egyptian civilization. I was a book nerd as a kid, and my parents took me to see the King Tut exhibit when it came to Chicago in 1977.  Egypt became my dream destination, and I have been lucky to have traveled there more than ten times. The first was in 2004 and it forever changed me as well.

"My only goal these days is to run out of pages in my passport."

Many of my favorite destinations have been around the Middle East and Africa. I love history and exploring ancient lands. There is something compelling standing on the ground that our ancestors once stood. You often try to imagine what life was like back then. It's very profound and makes you a more humble person to know your place in the world and in human history is just a nanosecond, and we should take every opportunity to do good things and help the world and the people that live here.

I have been lucky to share my travels with new people. There is no greater joy than taking someone to a faraway destination where they have never been. Even if you have been there many times, the chance to see it again through the eyes of a new traveler makes it extra special. My first organized group trip was taking 16 people to Dubai in 2006 for an Arabian horse show and planning a side trip to Jordan to see Petra. I learned that I was a natural travel planner on that trip and enjoyed sharing my love of travel with others.

“I love places that make you realize how tiny you and
your problems are.”

Qvoyagers started as a blog for my personal travel stories and to share my experiences and favorite destinations. I had others who wanted a place to share their stories, and the idea of being a home to friends and family to collectively share our love of travel was born.  Some are members of the LGBTQ community, and many are Allies! We all love to travel and want to share our tips, stories and experiences to help others.

We hope to grow Qvoyagers into an inclusive and inspiring place for travel lovers.

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“Travel opens your heart, broadens your mind, and fills your life with stories to tell.”

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Contact us today with any questions, we would love to hear from you!