April 11, 2018
“Roam Sweet Roam”
Listeners were regaled with both harrowing and heart-warming tales of travel around the globe in a night of vicarious adventure.
Emily Parker, who has her own globe-trotting pedigree, was our charming emcee for the night.
Rhianna Hohbein kicked off the evening telling how, as a teen, she had crippling social anxiety. How could she ever relax with others when they might find she had nothing interesting to say? She hadn’t really known people who traveled, but a boy told her about traveling to Italy and she thought, “Maybe that’s the ticket.” That notion provided the seed of the woman she was to become and gave rise to many amazing stories, one of which she shared on stage.
After many years of schooling, Daniel LePage found himself at a crossroads. Would he take a job as a microbiologist and settle down or perhaps sell everything and set off to hike the entire Pacific Crest Trail? As a fit and confident runner, he decided to go for it, taking the more challenging, north-to-south route and racing the snow and the clock.
Robert Alan Black has decades of world travel behind him, but he told of his first long trip when he’d planned to visit 24 countries. Egypt was not a part of his plan, but he was convinced by some acquaintances, and off he went to Luxor, Cairo and Giza on a trip he barely survived.
Just out of high school, Paul Guillebeau and his buddy set off on a long road trip from Georgia to Alaska. Whether encountering a bear, rapacious mosquitos or “professionally friendly” girls, Paul had the audience in stitches.
The name chosen out of the Crackerjack box was that of Jayashree Jagadis who had just arrived in the United States to visit her daughter after a long trip from her home in Bangalore, India, via the Hamburg airport and on to Atlanta. She and her husband had never taken such a long, complicated trip. Even for sturdy senior citizens like Jaya and her husband, getting from Concourse B to Concourse Z in 30 minutes to catch a flight would be a challenge.
After years of study in Germany, Hungary and England, Jörg Mayer was ready for adventure in the New World. He went to work and travel in the United States. Before long, his German parents made their own journey across the sea to visit him, and the true adventure began. Would Jörg survive his parents’ ten-day visit?
In 2012 Brittany Barnes and her friend decided to take a trip to Leticia, Colombia, the “Gateway to the Amazon.” They wanted to trek through the jungle and experience the Amazon River. They were not very prepared but luckily found Rudolfo (and his 7-year-old son) to guide them on their journey. Supplied with cans of Spam, machetes for all, and an intimate knowledge of the jungle, Rudolfo would see them through, though not unscathed nor unchanged.
Sarah Vaughn’s first big overseas trip was with a big group of college friends to Istanbul, Turkey. After an evening of drinking, Sarah was feeling sick and decided to go back to her hotel while her friends went on to a club. She got in a cab at the same time a stranger climbed in the door on the other side. Should she share the taxi?