Achieving Your Travel Bucket List with Your Family: Strategies for Busy Working Moms

Leanna Laskey McGrath  0:08  

Welcome to the Executive Coach For Moms podcast where we support women who are attempting to find balance and joy while simultaneously leading people at work and at home. I'm your host, Leanna Laskey McGrath, former tech exec turned full time mom, recovering perfectionist and workaholic, and certified executive coach. 

Leanna Laskey McGrath  0:30  

Hi everyone. Welcome back to the show, and thank you so much for being here today. I'm really excited to announce today's guest, Christina Trotter. Christina is an expert in travel. I know that we all love to travel, and maybe we traveled in the past more than we do now that we have kids. Maybe most of our travel is work related, and we don't always think about prioritizing what we want to do in our travel lives, and so I've brought Christina onto the show today so we can just bring some attention to this topic and maybe give you some ideas for how you might think about or prioritize travel in 2025 and beyond. So welcome Christina. 

Christina Trotter  1:16  

Well, thank you so much. I appreciate it. It's great to be here. 

Leanna Laskey McGrath  1:18  

Yeah, it's so great to have you, and I'm so excited for this conversation. So to start off, can you tell us all a little bit about yourself and your background? 

Christina Trotter  1:25  

Sure. So I started out in the corporate world, and I worked for PwC and IBM, and I was a business consultant, and I actually worked for commercial airlines, and I worked on things like the customer experience in the airport or on the aircraft and operational efficiency. So that kind of started from a career perspective, my love for travel, I'm sure as we get in the discussion, you'll hear more about it actually started much before that, but I did that for many years, and then I took a break when my husband and I decided to have kids, because we were road warriors, and we traveled 100% of the time. And then we started to have fertility problems, and I needed to get off the road. And so so I did that, and then I went back to work after we had kids, and I quickly realized that I just couldn't juggle the two things. My mind would never quite shut off from work. And so I took about a 10 year hiatus, and then during, right before the pandemic started, I started a website about travel, and it started doing really well, but people kept asking me to plan trips. So now I do a little bit of both. I work on the website, which is something that I'm really passionate about, but I'm also passionate about planning trips for other people and helping them overcome challenges to travel.

Leanna Laskey McGrath  2:41  

Yeah, so tell me more about travel. Like, why is it so important to you, and what made you decide to start a travel website and, like, go in that direction? 

Christina Trotter  2:50  

Well, you know, there's certain things that you do that just like, it just makes you happy, and travel is one of those things that I've noticed. Like, whenever I go on a trip, I've never come back and thought, Man, I regret doing that. I mean, we all know like, all sorts of crazy stuff happens when you travel, and it's never how you planned it. But even those, to me, are good lessons in life, and I've found some of the most interesting people just when we travel, and it's really opened my eyes to how different people live and different cultures, and I've always been really fascinated in history and just people and places and animals in general, and so this kind of scratches that itch for me.

Leanna Laskey McGrath  3:35  

Gotcha. Yeah, I just have to ask since, as everyone who listens regularly knows I always love hearing people's stories memoir, and autobiography is my favorite genre of all the books, and so I just want to hear a little bit more about you.  So you took a 10 year career hiatus, you said, to focus on your kids. I guess I'm just curious, like, how that experience was for you as someone who was working so much and so hard as a consultant and traveling all the time and like work was your life, and then deciding to make a big change where your kids were really your whole life for 10 years, and then making another change where now you're kind of doing the self employment, you know, building your own business kind of thing. 

Christina Trotter  4:20  

Yeah, so that's something that really struck me hard. I knew I wanted to be home with my daughter when she was born, but, you know, that wasn't the plan. The plan was to go, you know, to go back to work, and when, like, one of the first times we had her in a daycare. And the daycare was, I lived in downtown Dallas, and so my daughter's daycare was downtown, in a big building, and they had a parking garage, and I was double pumping on my way from my job to go pick up my daughter, and the the arm for the parking garage was broken, and there were two guys working on it, and I literally had to roll down my window and take a ticket from two men that were standing there, and I have like a breast pump on me. And at that moment, I go up into the parking garage, and I just started bawling, and that was it. I actually didn't go straight to pick up my daughter at that moment. I went into the lobby of the area, and I sat down, and I asked for some paper and pen from someone, and I wrote a note to myself, and I called it dear stay at home mom, and I wrote a letter of all the reasons why I needed to leave my job, just in case I ever doubted myself later. And then I stuck it in an envelope and I sealed it. And it turns out that I didn't need to open that ever. And I actually just recently found it and opened it up and read it, which was very poignant for me, but, but I will say with that, I struggled quite a bit afterwards, because this career woman who managed large projects and sometimes programs for companies, and now here I am at home and and not like, I don't really excel at, I'm not good, I'm not a tidy person, you know. So it's just one of those things where it's like, you're used to being this, this, there's something that you're very successful at, and then there's something that you want to do, but you're not really that good at it. And I felt kind of like a fraud too. I'll never forget coming home or at the hospital. Actually, the very first thing people said is, hey mom, or Hey Mama, how you doing? Like, you know, Moms always like to call each other mama and how you doing. And that, like, when I first started, I had major imposter syndrome and so, so that was hard. And what I ended up doing is, like a good consultant, I started creating spreadsheets of all this stuff. I was going to know all the activities in Dallas to do. I was going to solve this for everyone. I was going to figure out the work, and, you know, all these things. I sent out a questionnaire to like, I don't know 10 of my friends that were moms and my sister, and my sister responded back, you need to chill the hell out. And she was right. I did, you know, and now I laugh at that, but that's how it was. So. 

Leanna Laskey McGrath  7:17  

Yeah, that's so interesting. I think that I did the same thing whenever I decided to, I took a two year career pause, and I kind of took my work brain, like how I had been thinking about work and approaching it, and just like, applied it then to this new job that I had. And so I bought a curriculum for two year olds and planned out all of our days, and planned out these things, and we were always doing activities, and I had this belief that I had to be 100% present, 100% of the time, you know, if she was awake, like I could not look at my phone, I had to, like, be there with her, because I had no excuse, you know, at the moment not to, so that's so interesting to hear. I think that that is a widespread experience. And so I guess I just have to know, like, then did you ever chill the hell out? Like, how did you do that? 

Christina Trotter  8:11  

Oh, yeah. Well, definitely by the time the second kid came around. So when my son, Oliver, was born, by that point, you know, we all know, like the next child, you know, you get progressively more lax as each you know, child is born. So that definitely helped. But also just, you know how kids are, like, they have their own personalities, and it comes out pretty fast. You know, it's like they go from being babies that sleep all the time to whatever their personality is going to be pretty quick. And and my daughter, certainly, she's 12 now, and I still, like, when I go back and we have, like, a our Alexa, like, shows us all sorts of pictures, you know, cycles through these things. And it's so funny when I see her young sometimes I'm like, I don't really remember her like that, because I can think of what she said that day, and it was always something a little bit precocious, or whatever, just showing her personality. So so she also just really helped me, because she's almost it's hilarious between my two kids, my my oldest daughter actually has like the youngest child, sort of, you know what they say the youngest child is supposed to be like, and then it's the opposite. My youngest child is like, the the more responsible one. And so she schooled me.

Leanna Laskey McGrath  9:28  

I love that. And so now your kids are nine and 12. Is that right? 

Christina Trotter  9:32  

That's right, yep. 

Leanna Laskey McGrath  9:34  

And how has travel fit into or like, how have you changed how you view travel, you know, from before, when you were a consultant and you and your husband were traveling 100% of the time, you were gone Monday through Friday every week, and then you had young children. And so what does travel look like, or how has it changed in kind of the different seasons of life? 

Christina Trotter  9:59  

Well, I think you uses the right phrase. So I'll start with that. For folks that have young kids right now, and if you're mourning the loss of travel, I'll just tell you that it is a season of life and things will change. So there was a part of me too that was, you know, I love travel so much, and I did all this corporate travel, which I enjoyed, you know, before we had kids, you know, we we got tons of points, and we would meet up in different cities, and we would go internationally for a few days, and it was no big deal. And then, you know, to all of a sudden have that stop was pretty crazy, and I was very sad about that for a long time, but what I realized is, like, it's kind of funny, like, I hated the movie growing up of Mary Poppins, but it's almost like the line where she says, you know, in every job that must be done, there's an element of fun, like you got to kind of figure out that kind of stuff. And so what I found was that road trips and national parks were the answer for us. And so, you know, I grew up in a military family. We never lived close to my grandparents on either side or anyone else for that matter, so we always had to do a road trip. And to this day, I love them, and it's just it's a great way to get out and to think, and it clears my mind. And it's very intoxicating to me to see new places like I could be going to the middle of nowhere in Kansas. And I'll enjoy it, because there's different things. Like, you know, there might be a gorgeous, gorgeous stars at night, or whatever there's, there's always something, if you look for it, but you have to be open to it, too. 

Christina Trotter  11:36  

And then I'll say, like, as time has progressed, you know, I'm also a big believer that you got to get start getting the kids on the airplane soon. Some people are like, right away, and we did, just as a function of, again, our family is spread out everywhere. But get them, you know, get them on the planes. Kids are pretty resilient. And, you know, I feel like we're all, all of us parents traveling together, try and help each other out. And, you know, sit in the back of the plane with the loud people. You may be a loud person you don't know, but just get out there and get started and and then also, you know, as kids get older, then you can pick back up. We're starting to do more international travel now. My kids absolutely love it, so do what feels right and what you're comfortable with, but get your kids started early. And for heaven's sake. Don't listen to everyone that's talking about screen time. Give the kids a screen if it gets you through the flight. 

Leanna Laskey McGrath  12:26  

Yeah, I remember pre baby, when I would travel and there would be like, a baby on the flight. I was like, babies should not be allowed on planes. I shouldn't say that out loud, but that's no, it's really how I felt as like, a young, single traveler, there should be like, a baby section or something, you know?

Christina Trotter  12:46  

Right.

Leanna Laskey McGrath  12:47  

And then for my daughter's first year, I traveled constantly for work, and I was breastfeeding, and she wouldn't take a bottle, so she came with me everywhere I went, and so she had a baby passport.

Christina Trotter  13:01  

That's awesome. 

Leanna Laskey McGrath  13:02  

She was a frequent flyer. She probably would have gotten status if it were possible for a one year old to have status. It really kind of, I think, changes your perspective of travel, you know, of traveling with kids or with babies, and the reality of it. And I remember at first I was like, I felt so kind of like, apologetic, I guess, you know, for having a baby on the plane. And then I was just like, you know, like, what am I supposed to do? This is just what we need to do. And it's not that I am wrong now, it's that I was wrong then.

Christina Trotter  13:38  

Yeah, no, I so to this day, like now, I feel an obligation, you know, when I'm on a flight or I'm in the gate area, if I see a family, and there's a lot of moms or dads that are traveling by themselves, and, you know, just help where you can. I mean, I always try and take a bag and and, you know, help them get it on the plane. I mean, you know, it's the least you can do. So.

Leanna Laskey McGrath  14:01  

Yeah, so whenever you think about traveling with kids, I know it can be really hard to kind of think about trying to prioritize it or fit it in amongst all the other things, you know, like maybe I'm traveling already for work and I just want to relax at home, or maybe it just feels like there's always something going on, like the kids always have something at school or with their sports or whatever, and it doesn't feel like it's like, when would we do it? And so I'm just curious what your thoughts are, what advice you would have about, number one, why do you believe travel is important, especially for kids? And then number two, like, how would we go about trying to fit it in, trying to prioritize it over all the million of other things that we have to do?

Christina Trotter  14:48  

Yeah, so I think you should give it some consideration in terms of what your travel goals are, but also like, what you want your kids to experience. And so, of course, that kind of depends on the age. So when they're young, you know, you know, they probably won't remember too much before, let's say the age of four. But the reason why I think it's so important to get them going soon is because if you have kids, you know that, you know people, kids get set in their ways, and so if you get started early, it's just something that they've always done, you know. And then they may or may not like it, but they know it, and they do it because as they get older, they get more like I said, set in their ways, more obstinate about things, and they may not be as likely to want to travel. And then you're, you know, you've got more obstacles to overcome. So I think it's important to get started, started early. But for those that once they are, you know, four and whatnot, then you start thinking about, like, what kind of trips would be meaningful for me to take with my children? And there is a book that I actually haven't read because the whole topic depresses me, so I shouldn't even bring it up, but I will, because it is true. It's called 18 Summers. And you know, that's, that's what you have with your kids while they're at home, right? And so we talk about wanting to live a life of intention a lot of times. And, you know, I think that's one of those things that a lot of people get to where their kids are in high school or about to graduate, and they think, oh, man, I've never taken them anywhere internationally. It'd be really cool. And people stress out. And I so I have a lot of clients, actually, where I've done trips like that for them. 

Christina Trotter  14:58  

And you know, if you start when they're young, then you know you can so what I like to do is I like to think of like kind of what they're learning in school and what they're passionate about. So as an example, my son's in third grade, and last year they learned a lot about Roman gods and the Roman Empire. So, you know, a trip to Italy would be great, or Greek gods go to Greece, or if they're really into American history, or the Civil War, or the French or the American Revolution, rather, you can, you know, do a trip, you know, somewhere on the East Coast, or visit one of the battlefield sites or whatever. So that's a way to get your kids, you know, excited about travel. And it's also seeing something through your kids eyes that they're interested in or that they're, you know, learning in, and they can keep learning about. Because the other thing too, we you know, if you have kids, you know, they come home from a school and you ask them, what'd you do today? 

Leanna Laskey McGrath  17:21  

Nothing. 

Christina Trotter  17:21  

And the answer is always, yeah, nothing. I don't remember. I have a 12 year old, and I'm still getting that response so but if you know that they're learning about, you know, Roman history, and you go to Rome, they're going to start telling you, you know, when you get to a place like the forum or the Coliseum, they're going to start telling you what they know about that place. And it's really cool to make some connections for them in their head, and then also just hear what what they're learning about. So.

Leanna Laskey McGrath  17:50  

Yeah, I love that. I love the idea of kind of the experiential learning for kids, you know that whatever they're learning in the classroom that then they can go and see it for real. I think that's so cool. My daughter is in they do, like Culture Club, and they just did Egypt, and today they're starting a new country. They do a country each month, and so she's so excited to find out what the country is this month. 

Christina Trotter  18:15  

Oh that's awesome. 

Leanna Laskey McGrath  18:15  

It would be really cool to then go. I mean, we aren't going to go visit all the countries, obviously, because they do one each month. But it might be cool, you know, at the end of the year to figure out, like, which was her favorite, which one was she most interested in, and maybe go visit that one. 

Christina Trotter  18:30  

Yeah, and, you know, and there's also some things like Disney, you know, people, people tend to have kind of polar reactions, like they're either totally into it, can't wait to do it, or they're totally against it. It is an expensive vacation. I was one of those where I love Disney growing up, so I did see the value in it. But then as an adult, I'm like, oh my god, we could go to Europe and we could have this amazing trip for the same price. So you have to kind of reconcile those things in your head, but I will tell you, it is so magical, and you get a window on that, like, you know, if you have a daughter, for example, that that loves to wear Princess clothes, and you know all the time, it's the perfect time you know. And when you know, when he or she sees you know a princess or a prince or whomever at Disney World, you know their favorite character, and they just light up. It is absolutely amazing, and you'll never forget it. 

Christina Trotter  19:23  

The other thing I'll say about that, because now that my kids are older, you know, there gets there, you have a window when this experiential learning is more successful than other times. So as an example, now we went to, or actually it was earlier this year, we went to Belize and Guatemala. And, you know, I mentioned that I'm interested in cultural experiences and authentic travel, and so with the commercial airlines, I used to do a lot of operational things and process modeling and stuff. I love a good tour. So we went and we did a tour of like, a chocolate factory a macadamia nut farm and a coffee plantation, some different things. And, you know, to me, it was like, Oh, my God, this is like my dream tour, because it had these five different experiences and all rolled into one. My kids then when we went to Belize, and I was suggesting, you know, going to see another chocolate experience or whatever. You know, kids love chocolate, right? Why would this not be enjoyable? My daughter looked at me, and she said, if you throw in another chocolate tour, I am not going on this trip. And then my, my even keeled son was like, Yeah, I'm with her, you know? So you also have to, kind of sometimes I try and sneak in some of the learning, but like at the end of the day too, like they have their own preferences. And so what I found to be very effective on that is one to throw in something really fun, like zip lining or something if you have kids that are of the age and weight where they can do that. 

Christina Trotter  20:58  

But also, you know, kids are really computer savvy very early now, thanks to the pandemic, but what they can do is they can help you plan the trip. So when we were planning the trip to Belize, I kept trying to get my family involved and interested and and no one wanted to help. And then finally, I just looked at my daughter and I said, I know you love zip lines, and there is a zip line experience, but I am not booking it until you come to, you know, put together your own itinerary of what you want to do. And then the next thing I know, I had actually her, my son and my husband all looking at what to do so and and we ended up having a great itinerary that we all loved, that we all put together.

Leanna Laskey McGrath  21:41  

Nice. So it sounds like for kids, a big benefit is kind of the experiential learning, just seeing other cultures and people and how they live and, you know, things like that, anything else that you think is like, really important about travel that kind of, again, like in our busy lives, that would help us to say, Yes, this is something I definitely needed to prioritize? 

Christina Trotter  22:07  

I can think of a million reasons, both on the on the kids perspective, as well as well as on, you know, moms and dads themselves and so we just talk about kids. One more thing, like, you know, when you get older kids to going off and looking at colleges and stuff, that's that's a great thing to do, but I think you really can give so many life examples and life lessons through travel. Like I said, connecting the dots is a big thing. So it's not even like you're necessarily. You don't have to actively try and teach them on vacation, just go on vacation and have a good time, and they will see that currencies aren't the same everywhere. And then they'll look at the money, and they'll say, Well, who is this? And you know. And then you can have a conversation, and you know, sometimes you're not going to know who it is either, but you can find out the answer. They'll learn about exchange rates. They want to buy something, but you know, like, how much does that really cost? You know, they'll hear people speaking in another language, and they'll realize not everyone speaks English. There's just so many invaluable lessons that, you know, I can't stress enough how, you know, how important. And also, like the you know, you'll go somewhere, and they'll see these like textiles, and, you know, you go into the the shops and the art and stuff, and it's all going to be different from where you live.

Leanna Laskey McGrath  23:28  

Yeah. 

Christina Trotter  23:29  

And so the architecture, the houses, the way people live, maybe, you know, in a lot of places, people don't have individual houses, right? They're either, you know, connected row houses, or they're or they live in an apartment, or they live in a small village. I mean, everything is and or they live in somewhere that, you know, that's hundreds and hundreds of years old, maybe even older than that. So it's, I think it's great for them. But then, you know, for parents, I think, let's be honest here, like traveling with kids. It's stressful. Nothing like I said is going to go exactly to plan. So a lot of times, my husband and I are, like, on the trip, we're both like, ah, you know, and we're tearing our hair out or whatever. But then, like, for whatever reason, you get home and a few months later, it's like, Oh, my God, we took the greatest trip ever. It's like, you forget, you know, it's like childbirth, you know, I highly recommend just, you know, doing and then, not only that, but like, what are your goals? 

Christina Trotter  24:27  

So let's get back to the identity thing. I continue to struggle with that, and I think there's different identities we go through in life. And I'm a breast cancer survivor, so that's that's a different identity that that I had to struggle with. But like, you know, when you're traveling, that's something that's always been important to you, or it's something that you always wanted to do, you're fulfilling that for yourself. You know, so so as much as I talked about, let's do Disney and let's do these other things, you don't have to do that, if you think about it, like my kids, Belize or Costa Rica, or wherever you could have gone wherever. If I really wanted to take them on their first trip internationally, the obvious choice would have been like London or Paris or something, you know, but I didn't want to repeat a country that I'd been to. So I went to two new countries for me, because that's, you know, because I have a travel goal of going to 100 countries. And so, you know, that was 47 and 48 for me. So you can take your kids along for the ride. So don't give up your stuff because they're like I said, everybody's getting something out of the trip. 

Leanna Laskey McGrath  25:32  

Yeah, yeah. Well, I think also, there's an opportunity to take a look at, you know, if you step back and look at it from a macro level, like you said, like, what are my travel goals? Also, what are my travel goals for our family, for our kids? And kind of looking at that, like Disney, for example, might not be at the top of my list for me. But also, like you said, there's a window, and it's like, you know, do I want my children to have that experience? Is a question that we get to ask and decide for ourselves, you know, maybe, maybe not. But you know, I think there's an opportunity when we look at it intentionally is kind of what I hear you saying is like, how do you look at this in an intentional way and plan accordingly? Then we can choose and feel good about our choices of why we're doing something, whether that's, you know, because I want to add countries to my list, whether it's because I want my children to have this experience, or my partner wants, you know, to have this kind of experience, or has this goal and kind of, you know, how do we make sure we meet everybody's needs? We can do that whenever we step back and look at it and plan it together. I guess, like, what I would love to understand is Everyone's so busy, everyone's got so much going on, and so I think it's helpful to see the benefits and the value. But do you have any kind of practical tips or suggestions about how do I go about finding time to do this? I want to travel. I want to have these experiences. I want to take my kids to see these places. I'd love for them to have these, this experiential learning, but like when?

Christina Trotter  27:11  

Well, if it's something that you enjoy thinking about, then I would say the first thing to do is compile a list. You can do a travel bucket list, and you can have one for yourself. Your husband can have one. Your kids can have one, or you can if they're not interested in the exercise you do the one for yourself. And then think about one just for your family. Because, like I said, you know, it may be different. You may have different travel goals for each and then I would say, you know, think about the time that you have and the budget that you have, because that's really going to dictate what you can do. So you look at the school calendar and you figure out you know exactly how much time you know that you know they're going to have summers off, and you've got, you know, maybe a winter break, and various breaks throughout the year. And so if you understand the time chunks you have, and whether or not you and your spouse can take that time off, then you've got some windows of time, right? You need to think about things that you need to do, like, maybe you've got a family reunion that you really want to go to, or whatever. So get that stuff that you do every year, put that on the calendar, and slot those in first, and then think about any other sort of things that you might want to do, like a women's trip or, you know, like, moms need a break, go to a wellness hotel, you know, take a weekend or whatever, and do that. So those are some things that you can add to your list, but then actively put on the calendar, and then, you know, then there's bigger chunks of time, like I mentioned, the summer and whatnot. 

Christina Trotter  28:39  

So think about what do you want to do? Where are the places that are really important to you? If there's something that's important to you now at this time of life, you know, like Disney, you know, there, if there's something that there's windows, make those a priority. And then the other stuff you can sort of wait on. If you don't know how much something is going to cost, you can do some research on that. One of the things that I really would love from my clients, and that I'll be actively working on next year, is just understanding what their travel bucket list is. So many people have it in their head, but they don't actually have it on paper. But the people that tell me, like, what they really want to do, I keep a list of that stuff, and when I see something come out, like a good airfare or a good or I learn about a new thing, like, let's go to the the Disney example you're saying, you know, you're not sure that you were, you'd be that into Disney. Disney has a segment called Disney Adventures. You know how Disney is so perfect at planning experiences. They do small groups to different countries, and you get the whole Disney Experience, where they do everything end to end, and it's like adventure travel. You're not going to see Minnie Mouse on that, but it kind of helps meet the seamless, wonderful customer experience, you know. And it also gives you something you know, that you're interested in, where they like take the parents and they do a wine tasting on their own. And then the kids are all entertained by someone else, and they'll take them and like they may teach them how to fish like in the local so, I mean, there's, there's all sorts of cool things out there. So if you need, you know, but you need that list, you need to understand what you want to do, and then you need to figure out how to slot them. And the best way to make decisions right is to to get as much information as you can what's this going to cost? What do we have? You know? What do we have in terms of times and time and money, and then go from there? 

Leanna Laskey McGrath  30:26  

Yeah, makes sense. One of the things I was thinking about is how to make it easier, and that's one great example, when I am trying to juggle everything and feel like my plate is very full to try and plan a trip. It's a double edged sword, right? Because it's like, I get to think about these things that I'm excited about and look forward to them. And also there's like, the logistics of trying to figure everything out, and how are we going to figure out the schedule and and frankly, sometimes when I take a vacation, I'm just like, I just want to, like, plan nothing and just show up and it's done, and I don't think about it. And I think there are different options like that. And maybe that's where a travel agent or, you know, like you said, you help people plan things like would come into play. 

Christina Trotter  31:20  

Yeah. So I think there's a couple things. You know, some people are very much under the camp of, like, I love to print plan travel. This is what I want to do. And so I have so many people that say that they don't want to use an agent for that reason. What I would counter on that is, it is really fun to to plan where you're going and maybe where you want to stay, and the things that you want to do, what's not really fun is sussing out what the good tour companies are, or is this Marriott that I want to stay at, or is this boutique hotel near where I should be, and how does that relate to the activities I want to do? So all you know, they say the devil's in the detail. It takes, on average, 16 to 20 hours minimum to plan a trip. If you're doing, you know, if you're doing something International and you're, you know you're gonna you have to do accommodations, ground transportation, tours, passports, all, everything you know that's it's a lot of work. So that's another reason to use an agent, but also, like the relationships that we have with suppliers, so we have such an extended network of suppliers that we can work with. So maybe you go to a site and you find this boutique hotel that you love, but you know, you're just booking it. You're just so and so. Well, I'm a travel agent is usually part of a consortium where we have access to perks, so we have visibility into the same rates that you can have, as well as access to the same or better rates. And we can give you things like upgrades and property credit, or in the case of a cruise, we can give you onboard credit above and beyond what you can get on your own. We can get you early check in, late checkout, breakfast, comped. So, so anyway, so that's that's some reasons to use that. And even if you have to pay a service fee for a travel agent, I think you will quickly find the amount of work that it takes is well worth paying for. 

Christina Trotter  33:18  

But if you are still convinced you want to do something on your own, or maybe your budget is very compressed, that's fine. Go to Pinterest. Pinterest is an amazing source of trip ideas and itineraries, and so I have a pretty good curated list of places, by countries, by states, by major cities. So you can, you know, you can look at mine, or you can look at other people. So there's lots of people that are very active on Pinterest because it's just such a good visual platform to ideate and it's fun. So like, thinking in the beginning of 2025, what you want to do, if you're, like, I don't really have a good idea, go to Pinterest. Go have a you know, it's fun. Like, it's a good thing to do. And then you can send your board, or share your board with the travel agent. If you want to go that route, or if you want to self plan, you can do that, and that's fine too. And on my website, I also have things like, when you go there, I have a way to kind of go the self planning route, and then I have my travel services separately. So I'm happy to be a resource there too. 

Leanna Laskey McGrath  34:21  

Yeah, I always think about the option of the DIY doing it myself, or hiring an expert, hiring someone who does this for a living, like day in and day out. So I mean, I think there are obviously pros and cons to both. But the reality is, is that if I DIY anything like if I DIY a project in my home, you know, a renovation, or something like that, then I'm doing something, usually for the first time, or I've done it a handful of times in my life. So I wouldn't call myself an expert at doing that. Um. And so naturally it's going to take me longer. It's going to take me a whole lot more energy and effort. And then if I decided to outsource it to someone who does that for a living, they're probably going to be able to do it a lot quicker, get me the result that I want faster. And obviously it's going to cost more, most likely, but if I think about it in terms of how much time I save, then it really doesn't cost more. And I think especially as executive moms, in this season of our lives, I tend to prioritize my time more than just about anything. And when I have the option to outsource something or bring in an expert who does something for a living where, like, they spend all their time doing that so that I don't have to spend the as much time and energy doing something that I'm not practiced at. I mean, I've done it before. I've planned travel before, for example, right? But, like, it's not something I do all the time, but if I'm working with someone who, like, that's their job, then they're probably gonna be able to do it way faster than me. They're probably, as much as I hate to admit, going to find better things than I will, because they'll know where to look. And so I think there's just, you know, any time we're making a decision about, do we outsource something or DIY it? You know, those are just some of the considerations. 

Christina Trotter  36:20  

Yeah, and just to kind of add on that so, so one, the dollar amount actually may be less than you can do on your own. Like I said, you know when, as we're putting these together, we have access. Most of us, anyways, should have access to the rates that you can get. And then also in our system, we can see the some of these other rates that come with these perks. Sometimes it's, it's usually at least the same price. It's not necessarily, usually less, although sometimes it is. But then, you know, those perks obviously have a dollar value to it, so. And then, in terms of, like, a service fee, if an agent has one, and some do and some don't, like I do for some things and not everything. Like, if you know the hotel you want to book and you just want perks, book it through me, and I will get you the perks. And you can, you know, you know the price that you you could get. And that's the other thing. If you ever see something that's different, talk to the agent. Don't book it yourself. See if we can get you, you know, match the rate, if we haven't, and also get you the perks. So it's always worth it to ask an agent. I don't charge for that because I get commission, and it's an easy thing. It's when it's the things where people requires research or a lot of back and forth with a supplier that I charge for my time. And you should, too. So think about, you know, okay, so maybe it costs a few 100 bucks or whatever to use a travel agent, but you're planning this big trip, think about all the stress that you've removed. You've saved yourself all these time, you know, all this time, 16 hours. Like, what is your time worth to you? So sometimes it's literally the dollar amount, and sometimes it's the opportunity cost, or the, you know, the value of your time and how you prioritize that. And I know how much we love to do laundry and cooking and all the other things we have to do around the house and driving to soccer practice and stuff. Do you really want to, you know, be calling 20 times to get the best hotel rate or to to see if these rooms connect? Or can you guarantee that they connect? Because we need two rooms and so, oh, and if you're going to Europe, I will tell you that, you know, they're old buildings and nothing connects, so they're all different sizes and stuff like that. It's something that you really want to know, you know, because you're going to spend a lot of time, 

Leanna Laskey McGrath  38:32  

Yeah, well, is there anything else that you would want to advise people or recommend that we do as we're thinking about, how do I meet my travel goals? 

Christina Trotter  38:44  

Well, I think one thing that we didn't talk about, that I do think is important, is then you get into we, as long as as well as our spouse or our kids, have anxieties or health concerns, allergies, things like that. So that's the other thing. And you know, we get when we have kids, we tend to be at a season in our life when we also may have aging parents. And then, you know, we end up taking on the responsibility of planning a trip, not only for kids, but also for our parents. And, you know, maybe, maybe a sibling and their family. And so, you know, it's important to know what people's anxieties or fears are, and also any allergies or things that they just don't feel comfortable with. Because, you know, people have fears of flying, people have fear of heights, things like that. There's a lot of kids they may be afraid by, you know, loud noises and stuff. So whether it's you or an agent doing it, the more information that you think about, the better your trip is going to be. And here's a here's something I would say just in general, like when you think about the trip that you want to take, I have so many people that come to me and they say, Oh, my neighbor just got back from such and such a place, and so we want to go there. That's fine. You may go there, you may have a great trip. You may not have time to think about it. So that's, I'm not saying that's not always a good answer, but what I would say is, you know, think about where you want to go, and then think about, and really think about, what is the feeling when you while you're there and when you get home, what do you expect out of this trip?

Christina Trotter  40:21  

So if the answer is, we're all really stressed, then maybe a big adventure trip or a place where you're going to multiple countries is not the answer. Maybe you do need to sit on a beach, or if you want to do something internationally, but you also want to relax, then do sit on a beach somewhere else. You don't have to sit on a beach, you know, in Myrtle Beach, or wherever you know, you could, you can, you can shake it up a little bit. So think about that. Then you can actively work towards your goals as well. If you're really stressed out, but you know your spouse isn't, then maybe you plan a spa day and your spouse does something with the kids, you know. So you know, we don't all have to do all the same thing, then that's the other thing too. Like, there's so many people that do group trips, and they get really frustrated because some people want to do some activity and other people don't want to do it, or they don't want to pay for it, that's fine, don't, don't do it. You know, you you're already going on a trip together. You know, do what you want to do, and you know what you want to pay for. So be very clear about that, and I think you'll have the trip that you want. 

Leanna Laskey McGrath  41:28  

Yeah, I love that. And Christina, where can people find you if they are wanting to plan their next trip and need some help doing it? And also, maybe, can you just tell us a little bit more about the kind of services that you offer?

Christina Trotter  41:42  

Sure, sure, I do a few different things. So one is, if you have a hotel that you just are interested in finding out, what if any perks there are, I can do a simple booking. There's no charge for that. I can't do anything points related. Most travel agents cannot. But if you really want to use points, sometimes you can talk to us, and maybe we just put in an additional charge, and we can help you. I do end to end bookings. So if you do have a big trip you want to go to Asia or Europe or whatever, I can help you plan that. And then one of my passion projects, because, again, it's, it's something that I want to do, is I have a lot of soft adventure travel that I'm interested in. So one of my focuses for 2025 is also going to be, I'm going to do a group trip to Antarctica, and I'm starting to plan that and figure out, like, who's going to go, etc. And then also, like, river cruising is a is a big area of focus for me. So River and Expedition cruising as well as soft adventures. 

Leanna Laskey McGrath  42:42  

What are soft adventures? 

Christina Trotter  42:44  

So I'm not going to climb, you know, Mount Everest, but I want to go to Costa Rica, and I want to do a Night Safari, or I do want to do zip lining, or I want to, you know, hike this route, or whatever. So it's, things that most of us can do if you're if you're of average fitness level, and you're looking for something more than sitting on a beach, so swimming with whale sharks in La Paz or snorkeling things like that. 

Leanna Laskey McGrath  43:14  

Gotcha. Okay, so, like, I probably won't die from this, but it'll be thrilling and fun.

Christina Trotter  43:20  

Right. There are no guarantees in life, but yeah.

Leanna Laskey McGrath  43:23  

Wonderful. All right. Well, anything else that you'd like to share and your website will, of course, link in the show notes. Anywhere else that you would direct people to find you? 

Christina Trotter  43:33  

Sure, yeah, so Destined Globetrotter is my website, which we will put in the notes, but just a quick story behind that. My last name is Trotter, and my husband's name was Trotter, obviously, when I married him, and so I always say that I was destined to be a globetrotter, and so that's the that's the genesis of the name. But I have a lot of information on there for, like I said, self planning, as well as reaching out to me in the different services that I have. I also have a lot of stuff on planning, a travel bucket list, and lots of ideas on there. So if you're not sure where to start, that's a great place to start. I have a lot of US based stuff as well, as well as camping. You know, as you can tell, I'm obviously, I'm interested in anything travel related, so I'm more of a generalist. But the good news is, I've been to lots and lots of places, so I also have the experience too. But then the other places, I would say, too, is on Pinterest, I do have a lot of boards, and it's not just my stuff, it's it's other people's stuff. On places for when I'm traveling or I'm planning a trip for someone, I create these boards, and then finally on Instagram @destined_globetrotter. Yeah, I would love to to hear from folks so and one more thing I will add in to the show notes too is I've done a couple of articles for the Dallas moms blog around, like intentional trips to take with your kids, and so I'll give those to you too. 

Leanna Laskey McGrath  45:03  

Yeah, well, so many of us love to travel, so it's great to have a resource to be able to reach out to. So thank you so much, Christina, for all of your thoughts and wisdom about traveling. I know that for probably everyone listening, it's maybe fallen down the list of priorities potentially, and so hopefully, hearing from you will give everyone just kind of a renewed sense of excitement and passion of why maybe we were excited about travel in the past. 

Leanna Laskey McGrath  45:34  

You're welcome. I appreciate it, Leanna.

Leanna Laskey McGrath  45:37  

Perfect, thank you so much. All right. Well, thank you, Christina. All right, and thank you everyone so much for tuning in, and we will see you all next week.

Leanna Laskey McGrath  45:49  

Thanks so much for tuning in to the Executive Coach for Moms podcast. Please like, subscribe, or follow the show so you'll be notified when the next episode is available. I hope you'll join me again next time. Take care.