Three months on the road. Hosting + Filming. Walking Tours + Helicopter Tours + Food Tours + Boat Tours + Bus Tours galore. One video camera + one GoPro. 20 cities, 100+ travel videos. Where do I even begin?
The moment I arrived in San Francisco, I knew my life was about to change. After applying in an online video contest for the aptly titled Dream Travel Job, it was hard to believe that finally, the adventure was about to begin. Among 400+ entries, two top travel video journalists, two thousand miles away, met here in San Francisco to take on the ultimate assignment.
My travel partner Brock, a Canadian travel blogger (with some mighty impressive backpack patchwork I might add), and I would soon transform from utter strangers to become 24/7 travel mates. What could have been a recipe for disaster turned out to be a sparkling gem of a friendship.
Over the next three months, we would experience the top 'things to do' in North America. We're talking super famous cities, super famous sites, and super exhilarating activities...and we got paid! No joke, this really was a Dream Travel Job!
3...2...1...LIFT-OFF
The fun began with two weeks of intensive training at the
Viator headquarters. There, we brushed up on some filmmaking techniques, and then set foot onto the blank canvas we would soon paint in technicolor.
We explored San Fran with great curiosity, seeing the famous Golden Gate Bridge by car, boat, seaplane, helicopter, and bike. We laughed as Brock pedaled his bike up to the bridge while attempting to film me enjoying the experience--only to end up with a heap of footage that literally glittered--the images were permanently covered with sparkles, thanks to a hidden camera function called 'sparkle mode'. TIP #1: Learn your tools.
After working out a few last glitches, it was time to head off. With a camera in hand and a tripod in tow, our two-man crew set off to conquer the world, starting with North America.
We waltzed into amazing cities like Vancouver and Montreal, crossing the Canadian - American border at Niagara Falls. We toured up and down the East Coast, starting in Boston, dropping down to DC, up bouncing back up to NYC. Then we headed way South to the hot hot hot destinations of Miami and Orlando. We ate our hearts out in New Orleans and got swept away by the Windy City, Chicago. We lost some money in Vegas and did a grand tour of the grand canyon, before driving over to Cali: LA and San Diego. Our final stop was in Hawaii: Oahu, Maui and The Big Island, a great way to unwind and celebrate all we'd done in a few short months. What an adventure it was!!! Words can't say enough. That's why we got it all on video!!!
To earn those magical moments, we sure had our work cut out for us. This was a really unique gig, one that required each team member to be one part filmmaker, one part host, and one part traveler, combining equally to make one lean, mean, video ninja! While it may seem like we were carefree travelers, we were not your average tourists! Armed with a bag full of camera gear--extra batteries, go-pro attachments, rain covers, you name it--we were like sly soldiers, ready to strike at any moment.
We navigated around each unfamiliar city, finding city broll like it was a scavenger hunt, trying to beat the costs of public transport and the quickly setting sun. We literally RAN around from location to location, racing against the clock. It was nothing new to be filming real life (hey, this was no movie set after all), but it was a big challenge to film reality in real-time. We captured the moments as they really happened, without really knowing what was coming ahead, how long we'd be at each place, or whether it was important or not. We had to make all these decisions on the fly. So if you were going on a helicopter ride, you gotta think. People are hopping onto the helicopter one time. You have one chance to get it. One. As a filmmaker, this is a challenge. You have to prioritize your wide shot, medium, shot, and close up. There's no second chances. You can't tell a whole group of paying customers to exit the helicopter and enter again because you want to get another shot. You can't ask the pilot to restart the engine, because your battery died the first time. You have to beat them to the punch. And if you're hosting, you have to explain what's going on as it really happens. There's no chance to say,
"Hey, can we roll through that again, I stumbled over my words. Take two? Fuhgettaboutit. These were the challenges of my summer.
And I'll tell you what, we struggled. We were constantly RUNNING ahead of walking tours to film people walking by. And then, without being left behind, we'd race back to the front of the line to get the next shot. Now, imagine doing this with a backpack on your shoulders, the hot summer sun beating down on your shoulders, in 90% humidity. Or how about trying to film while balancing on a segway. How do you get that low close up of of the wheels spinning on pavement without going over the handlebars or hitting oncoming traffic? What if you were looking through a viewfinder on on a teetering boat or bracing yourself backwards on a jerky hop-on, hop-off bus? With two cameras in your hands? With your eyes closed, just kidding. Haha. It was kind of hilarious. Yeah...it's wasn't all glitz and glam, but man, was it sure fun trying!
Eventaully, we got in a flow. We knew exactly where we should stand when people were boarding the helicopter, we knew exactly where we should sit to get the best view, and we knew exactly how to acquire good audio while hearing buzzing chopter blades whip by.
While these were some of the most challenging shooting conditions I've been in, I have to say, it was well worth the payoff. We got to experience the best things North America has to offer, and we got to produce work that was creative and fulfilling. Plus, I walk way with a boatload of new tricks in my bag. I may have to get a new bag...
And luckily, once we figured it all out, we were able to enjoy the Dream Travel Job to the fullest.
THE GRAND NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
Day to day, Brock and I were literally boarding boat cruises and flying away in helicopters. It felt like one big movie. Is this for real?
Some days we got a true taste of the city, visiting local restaurants on food tours, learning how to make Gumbo in New Orleans, finding the best pizza in NYC, putting down some poutine in Montreal, noshing on lobster rolls in Boston, and tasting all of Latin America in Miami.
Other days, we visited some of the most scenic landmarks: the Statue of Liberty, the Lincoln Memorial, the famous Hollywood sign...
We went on some exhilarating adventures, rafting down the Colorado River of the Grand Canyon, getting drenched by the mighty Niagara Falls, viewing the most active volcano in the world--Kileaua.
We saw some pretty impressive man-made spectacles as well, including Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom in Orlando, and ritzy, glitzy Las Vegas. We met our favorite celebrities (well, wax figure versions) at Madame Taussauds in LA, and we got to see the softer side of Seaworld and the San Diego Zoo.
We got our fill on history, learning about the American Revolution in Boston and Pearl Harbor in Honolulu. We touched base at the heart of the World Trade Center site and visited the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
I'd say, we had a pretty well-rounded trip! ;) And somehow, we even found time to do our laundry.
Best of all, I got paid to do what I love: travel + make films! I must be the luckiest gal on the planet! Look at Brock, drinking on the job, again. Just kidding.
Stay tuned, our travel videos are just now starting to be released one by one...
HOME AGAIN
The best question someone has asked me since I got home: What was the best thing I learned? I learned that North America is a very diverse destination. It's far more exotic that I had previously given it credit. Boston is not Miami which is not Vegas is not Honolulu. Does one city really embody America? How different is outdoorsy Vancouver was compared to French-Canadian Montreal? My head is still spinning after all I've seen with my very own eyes this summer.
I typically like to travel to exotic locations. India, Russia, Argentina are all on my bucket list. I love to try new foods and learn about culture and really immerse myself in a place. I like to get lost. I like to learn language. I like to problem solve. Something I realized is that you can enjoy all of these things just outside your front door. You don't need to go halfway around the globe to have a true adventure.
I learned a lot about myself, my expectations, my work ethic, my strengths, my weaknesses. I thought I knew myself pretty well, but hey, we are constantly changing, learning, growing. I'm learning not to take my work too seriously. I'm learning to trust others. I'm learning to pack less shit. And most importantly, I'm learning this:
You can do anything you want to do in this world if you just do it. If you want to be a writer. Write. If you want to be a dancer. Dance. And if you're like me, and you want to be a travel journalist, just book that ticket, grab your camera, and get that experience on tape.
Here's another sneak peek of some of the things we got up to. It's enough to fill a book:
Viator made a great little photo album on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150984517200865.466159.21566250864&type=3
Here's our blog page in case you want to check out what we got up to as well!:
http://travelblog.viator.com/dream-travel-job-team-2/
Before + After.
I came back with a tan!
But my suitcase was not in as great of shape.
As for me, there are more adventures ahead (always!), but first, a few more days of R&R. We seemed to miss out on that this summer.
As for Brock, he's back on the road already! He high-tailed it from Hawaii and headed to Russia, naturally. He's a lean, mean, backpacking machine, and I can't wait to bump into him again. You can follow his adventures at:
To Viator, thank you a million billion times for sending me on this crazy adventure. We did stuff that only happens in dreams. I guess that's why you call it the Dream Travel Job. We worked hard, had fun, and can't wait to do it again.
To my bright-eyed buddy Brock, we made it! I'm so glad I got to go on this awesome adventure with you. Can't wait to go out on another assignment!
