The LBC

Long Beach Travel Expo.

My main goal of this excursion was to find out how to get paid for traveling. This has become my new goal in life.

At the LA Travel Expo. there were many booths to far off lands and some not so far away. One section was dedicated to all the wonderful places around California.  Another section highlighted the other beautiful places around the United States.  Then the section that I was truly excited for- The world!

As I went around to all of the booths I was trying to find a common theme that makes someone a "traveler" and how I could continue my travels on someone else's dime.  I talked to a forest ranger who works in Yosemite. Then I darted to the Thailand booth and talked to a few people and the two Thai men who were hosting the table. Weaving in and out of booths, occasionally filling out a form for a free trip, and asking about people's travels.

Do you want to go to Africa?  Maybe take a safari? I talked to a native Tanzanian who had climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro 23 times which apparently is nothing compared to some of the older guides who have scaled to the roof of Africa more than 100 times.  I would be happy just to scale Mt. Kili once in my lifetime!

We met this couple who are skydivers.  The man is a professional skydiver instructor and once a year he and his wife go to the Himalayas for a month to do sky diving tours from base camp.  Their eyes lite up as they described their experiences and talked about the tours they offer.  There was also, a joke about a Yak and a Nak and Yak milk. Apparently, if you ask a Sherpa about Yak milk they find it very funny. I have a sneaking suspicion that it might be rather gross!

There were many speakers who have accomplished the goal of getting paid to travel. To be honest I was too caught up getting a picture with penguins to actually sit down and listen to their words of wisdom.   What seemed to become apparent throughout the afternoon of having new places continuously being added to my "Bucket List" is that you have to figure out your interests and more importantly your passions in life.

Tip#1: Follow your passions.  Allow them to take you to far off places and spark that inner light. 

So, pack your bags and jump into the next adventure!

Next Blog Post:

Being a Tourist in Your Own Town- Los Angeles, CA