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Couples Travel with the Travel Mug Podcast Husbands · Travel Mug Podcast

• 0:00
  Hey everyone and welcome back to the Travel Mug Podcast.
• 0:04
  Today is a very special episode.
• 0:08
  Our husbands are joining us for the first time ever on the podcast.
• 0:15
  Uh, so now you will learn what it's really like to travel with us.
• 0:20
  Welcome to the podcast, guys.
• 0:23
  Thank you.
• 0:24
  Hey.
• 0:25
  Yay.
• 0:26
  Let's, uh, get started with you guys telling our listeners a little bit about yourselves, some background or anything you wanna share so that they can get to know you a get bit.
• 0:37
  Uh, Peter, I'm gonna nominate you to go first.
• 0:40
  All right.
• 0:41
  Yeah, why not?
• 0:41
  Well, it's a pleasure to be here.
• 0:42
  Yay.
• 0:43
  Uh, you know, I'm a long time listener and first time guest and yeah, a little bit about me.
• 0:50
  I was born in Halifax, lived in Cape Breton for a while though.
• 0:53
  I took my first, uh, plane trip when I was one.
• 0:56
  I think that's what my parents tell me.
• 0:58
  So that was my first, uh, trip.
• 1:01
  As far as travel goes, uh, from Halifax to.
• 1:04
  To Sydney.
• 1:04
  Ooh.
• 1:05
  Ooh indeed.
• 1:07
  All 25 minutes or 45 minutes, whatever it is.
• 1:10
  Yeah, exactly.
• 1:11
  So, you know, just born into it right away.
• 1:13
  But then moved back to Halifax to find work met my lovely wife, uh, halfway between Cape Breton and where she's from, which is beautiful.
• 1:24
  Clark Harbor, uh, That's right.
• 1:27
  Um, I, I work in financial crimes.
• 1:30
  I dabble in music sometimes.
• 1:34
  I, uh, enjoy traveling too, yeah, just like to get out and see new things, meet new people.
• 1:41
  That's pretty much me in a nutshell.
• 1:44
  All right, Ryan.
• 1:45
  Is it me?
• 1:46
  I am here against my will No, I'm kidding.
• 1:51
  I'm not.
• 1:52
  Sort of I'm also excited to be here.
• 1:54
  I was voluntold to be here, but I'm excited about it.
• 1:57
  So Right.
• 1:57
  I've been married to Jenn for, uh, little over 10 years.
• 2:02
  And so take that to, to say that I've been to Disney World more times than my childhood self would ever have imagined, correct.
• 2:11
  I'm probably better for it.
• 2:13
  Jenn and I grew up in the same little town on the south shore of Nova Scotia.
• 2:18
  of fun little fact that very few people would know and I only learned, and Jenn only learned within the last couple of years.
• 2:25
  I was one of the first people other than the hospital staff and her own immediate family who actually met her as a newborn after she was born in our little hospital here in uh.
• 2:42
  rural Nova Scotia, and we found that in a baby book that her what put Wow in her father's basement, I think within the last couple of years.
• 2:53
  , And it's, I mean, I guess a little about me.
• 2:55
  , I enjoy many different hobbies.
• 2:59
  I like to build things.
• 3:01
  we have a very old house.
• 3:02
  I don't know if Jenn has ever mentioned that on the podcast, but am sort of the chief renovation guy around here.
• 3:11
  Yep.
• 3:11
  Yeah, yeah.
• 3:12
  The CRO, uh, around here.
• 3:15
  I like that.
• 3:16
  Um, and I, I also dabble in music, , here and there and, uh, I've recently been reminded that I don't like shoveling snow that much.
• 3:25
  Hmm.
• 3:25
  Yes.
• 3:26
  yeah, Yeah.
• 3:28
  Yeah.
• 3:28
  Our parents, uh, Ryan and i's parents were friends and obviously close friends, at the time I was born, so his family, him and his brother, and, uh, his mom and dad, uh, visited my family in the hospital when I was born, so, Wow.
• 3:44
  That's a fun fact.
• 3:45
  That is, that is the funnest of the facts, I'm gonna tell you right there.
• 3:50
  Wow.
• 3:50
  I'm gonna', we're gonna psychologize all that Yeah.
• 3:53
  Um, so I guess the next question we're gonna dive into is, Ryan, we'll go to you first.
• 3:59
  So why do you enjoy traveling?
• 4:01
  Like, what do you get from it personally and what was your first big trip?
• 4:06
  Sure.
• 4:06
  Yeah, I, I think that, and this is.
• 4:08
  Possibly at risk of sounding like a canned response, but traveling for me, especially when I'm going somewhere totally new, so, so not Disney World, somewhere that's totally new to me is sort of this opportunity to step outside of my own little microcosm, especially if it's somewhere that has a distinctly different culture.
• 4:28
  and I'd like to consider myself sort of a lifelong learner.
• 4:32
  And when traveling somewhere new, I like to think of that as an opportunity to learn a little more about that part of the world and be sort of better informed for it and hopefully be a better sort of global citizen in the long run.
• 4:45
  You know, beyond that, I love a lot of the things that everybody seems to love about travel.
• 4:49
  You know, the sites, The arts and the cuisine, uh, all of that kind of stuff.
• 4:56
  And then sort of switching to the second half of that question about my first big trip.
• 5:00
  Unlike Peter, I don't think I, uh, a big trip.
• 5:05
  I don't think I got on a plane until I was probably maybe 11.
• 5:10
  And my first big trip was not a plane trip, but when I was about 10 years old, parents put all five of us, me and my three siblings in our, I wanna say 1992 Ford Aerostar van, and Hmm.
• 5:24
  drove us all the way from Nova Scotia to Florida, which I, I know all of us know how far that is.
• 5:30
  But, uh, for anybody listening who's not sure how far it is to drive from Florida to, or sorry, from Nova Scotia to Florida, I encourage you to look it up on a map 'cause it's not close.
• 5:40
  Different neighborhoods entirely.
• 5:42
  and anyway, I remember, you know, being in the backseat of that van eating way too many pixie sticks.
• 5:49
  I don't know if you remember those, just like a tube, a paper tube of sugar.
• 5:53
  Oh yes, I do actually.
• 5:54
  those, a lot of those on that trip.
• 5:57
  don't remember much about being in Florida, but I remember a lot about the backseat of that van Yeah.
• 6:03
  Very tired of the Rankin family by the end.
• 6:06
  For anybody who doesn't know the Rankin family, that's a, like a local-ish, , music family.
• 6:13
  We listened to a lot of the Rankins, , and I think we probably stopped at just about every Denny's on the eastern seaboard of the as one does.
• 6:20
  way to, yeah, so that's what I remember from my first big Excellent.
• 6:25
  Peter, what about you?
• 6:26
  Why do you enjoy traveling and your first big trip?
• 6:28
  So I can definitely, you know, I definitely want to echo what Ryan just said.
• 6:33
  You know, I've definitely like, you know, it's all about learning and taking in things.
• 6:38
  sometimes I just like go into the grocery store wherever I'm at and just seeing what they have, Yeah.
• 6:45
  you know, walk in, you know, you get off the plane, you're tired, you know, you get back to your, the area where you're staying and you get checked in.
• 6:52
  And sometimes, like when I first get anywhere, I just want to go to a grocery store and just see what there is for food, you know, oh, do they have, you know, these here?
• 7:03
  Or, oh, these are different, or, that's kind of like just the little things like that.
• 7:07
  And, and I really enjoy just seeing, you know, what people are wearing and how they're, how they're living their lives.
• 7:14
  Like, , for instance, when we were in Barcelona, the fact that they were all up till every hour of the day and most of the time not starting their lunch until, geez, I think it was like seven or eight or later, like lunch or supper, I guess.
• 7:29
  Yeah.
• 7:29
  Mm-hmm.
• 7:30
  they probably eat, I don't know when they eat lunch, but, um, They just siesta.
• 7:34
  Yeah.
• 7:35
  different.
• 7:36
  Yeah.
• 7:36
  , We went by and there was kids playing at 10 in the evening, you know, in a well that uh, playground obviously, but still like, just things like that that are, know, really different.
• 7:46
  Um, that's kind of one of the things I really, really like about traveling.
• 7:50
  Other than that, just being, you know, seeing how people get around.
• 7:54
  Just everything, just about how people live.
• 7:56
  Like whether it's, you know, oh, the cars here are smaller, or just little silly things like that.
• 8:01
  Or, taking the transportation there and, um, just kind of taking everything in.
• 8:07
  there's the sites, of course there's, , you know, the culture and everything else too as well.
• 8:11
  But I think, you know, just those little things to me, sometimes you, you know, you're, you're in a grocery store and you happen to see certain types of food that are like, oh, this must be popular here.
• 8:22
  It's, you know, and we don't eat that here.
• 8:23
  And, um, yeah, just stuff, little things like that kind of are the things that kind of really make me, me think a little.
• 8:31
  And then as far as like the first, so the first big trip, you know, besides my.
• 8:35
  My, uh, my adventure.
• 8:37
  when I Yep.
• 8:38
  Yeah.
• 8:38
  Besides that, um, the first real like trip, that big trip that I can remember, like we used to in Cape Breton, we used to go to the other side of Cape Breton, like in Inverness and, places like That is not what this is.
• 8:51
  and that was kind of leading up to, yeah.
• 8:53
  Um, you know, and then we took trips to PEI, which isn't that, you know, far off either from Cape Breton, but the first big one, and I'm gonna date myself here a little bit.
• 9:01
  , So I think the, we were in a van too.
• 9:03
  I think it was our 1986 or 87 Plymouth Van Minivan.
• 9:09
  Like, you know, one of the Dodge Plymouth kind of Mm-hmm.
• 9:11
  minivans that were really big in the eighties.
• 9:13
  And this was 1988, Ronald Reagan was still president.
• 9:17
  Um, Jenn, we can tell you about Ronald Regan after Yes, yes.
• 9:21
  Thank you.
• 9:22
  Yeah.
• 9:23
  , And we went through the states.
• 9:24
  So we went, we were, uh, we were gonna visit and we did visit, , my, uh, , mother's relatives that lived in Southern Ontario, but we decided to go through the states there, and I think on the way back too.
• 9:36
  uh, was, like I said, an either an 86 or an 87 Plymouth van.
• 9:41
  And it had no air conditioning and it was a, it was August Oh, a heat wave, oh.
• 9:47
  Ugh.
• 9:48
  it was, it was uh, like easily 30 degrees, but like 30, 31, 32, which would be like, you know, 90 something Fahrenheit most days for the high.
• 9:59
  , And we, we actually had to roll up the windows.
• 10:02
  I remember that we had to roll up the windows to keep the heat from getting in Oh.
• 10:06
  To the van.
• 10:08
  But even though we didn't have air conditioning, um, and I remember our dog, Buffy, she was a little Yorkshire Terrier panting, and I remember, you know, getting the maps out and, and my father was driving.
• 10:20
  I was the copilot and I was, I kind of had that, that was kind of fun.
• 10:23
  Like, I, gotta turn left here, you know.
• 10:26
  Um, anyway, we made it through, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont into, , New York State and then into Ontario.
• 10:35
  And that was, yeah, that was the first big trip.
• 10:37
  I remember, I remember Wayne Gretzky got traded from the Oilers to the LA Kings.
• 10:43
  That was a big one.
• 10:43
  Uh, there's this huge lightning storm, in southern Ontario as well.
• 10:48
  And I actually went and stayed with my friend Rob, who's in just outside of, uh, Toronto and, uh, Aurora, Ontario.
• 10:55
  And I stayed with him and we, consumed some beverages that we probably shouldn't have and had fun, you know, on my birthday there.
• 11:03
  Um.
• 11:04
  I won't say how old I was turning, but yeah, that was, that was, that was my first big trip, Excellent.
• 11:11
  kind of with my friend partly.
• 11:13
  It was cool.
• 11:14
  It was the first time I ever saw like a big city, so, you know, Toronto.
• 11:17
  , It was so, like, it was just surreal in that way and it, it really though I will say, this might be a question coming up, but not really probably, I don't think, I think I read them all, but Yeah.
• 11:27
  Yeah.
• 11:27
  Like the, it, it really cemented, I think in my mind though, that I wanted to do more of this.
• 11:33
  Like I Hmm.
• 11:33
  travel more.
• 11:35
  I remember my parents being quite intimidated, but I remember probably,'cause I was kid, I just remember being like, whoa, this is cool.
• 11:41
  Now I wanna see all the big cities.
• 11:43
  And, and that changed as I got older.
• 11:44
  But, um, yeah, that was my first trip, but it really did leave a, a big impression on me both because of the heat wave and also because of, The trip itself.
• 11:55
  all the new things.
• 11:56
  Yeah.
• 11:57
  Excellent.
• 11:58
  Yeah, I think like all of us are from like relatively small areas, obviously.
• 12:03
  Peter, you said you were, you were born in Halifax, but like growing up, spending time in Cape Breton and then the rest of us kind of on the South Shore, like it's, it was a big change to go from that to like seeing your first big city right, for the first time.
• 12:17
  Like that leaves a big impression I think, uh, on, on us.
• 12:20
  On all of us.
• 12:21
  I, yeah.
• 12:22
  Yeah.
• 12:22
  Uh, my mother too, she grew up in a like Grace Bay in Cape Breton.
• 12:26
  And I remember when we were going through Saint John New Brunswick, which isn't a big city, big No.
• 12:30
  And I remember her going, oh my God, this is so crazy.
• 12:33
  Like, she was like Wow.
• 12:35
  We even got to, yeah.
• 12:37
  She was like, see, she thought Saint john was just crazy.
• 12:39
  Bless her heart.
• 12:42
  All right.
• 12:43
  Let's switch gears to talk about traveling with us, because I'm sure the listeners wanna know what we're like.
• 12:50
  But let's start on a positive note.
• 12:53
  What, what, just what of your favorite trip memories, uh, with your wife?
• 13:01
  Ryan, I'll start with you.
• 13:03
  I think I have a lot of trip memories that I could probably call my favorite.
• 13:09
  'cause luckily, we've, we've traveled a lot and, uh, we've had lots of, lots of great memories and there's so many to choose from.
• 13:15
  Like, all the times that Jenn lights up as we're driving under the sign for the Magic Kingdom at Disney World.
• 13:23
  But rather than bore you with, uh, another story about Disney and make that a theme, um, I, I'll mention a different one that really stuck with me , that is very not Disney.
• 13:36
  In 2022 we were in Scotland for a friend's wedding.
• 13:41
  And so one morning, uh, which was our first day in an Airbnb on the Isle of Skye, so super remote, uh, we just made some coffee and we sat out on the second floor balcony of this sort of, , two story.
• 13:57
  Airbnb Just the two of us taking in the, uh, distant mountains, which I think are probably the, the black cullen mountains and sort of the rolling fields there and the roving sheep.
• 14:10
  I had never seen sheep just roving free anywhere.
• 14:15
  And despite the fact that I grew up in a very rural area, this was so different and it was so serene and so picturesque and so unlike anything I'd experienced before.
• 14:29
  And for some reason, that snapshot has really stayed with me.
• 14:34
  It's something I think about too often I've heard people talk about men and like the, what's your Roman Empire?
• 14:42
  Yeah.
• 14:43
  do you think about the Roman Empire?
• 14:44
  For me, it's like, how often do you think about that that day on the Isle of Skye?
• 14:48
  And it's more often than you would think.
• 14:51
  Oh, I love that.
• 14:52
  I, I just wanna like, give my side to that memory because it's really funny and I think it's like, just so interesting.
• 15:02
  But, uh, we shared that Airbnb, , with my best friend's parents and, that day, I think it was that day, we were supposed to, or we were going to, hike, uh, the Old Man of Storr.
• 15:16
  And so we were getting ready, we were waiting for my best friend's parents to get ready and my best friend and her husband to drive , from their Airbnb to our Airbnb and.
• 15:26
  So I was on that balcony reading and like chilling with Ryan because I was stressed out.
• 15:32
  It was like almost noon and, and nobody was ready.
• 15:36
  And I was like, we have wasted a morning, People.
• 15:42
  guys, come on.
• 15:43
  Like it is noon, we gotta get out there.
• 15:46
  So like, just like a totally different take on that memory because I was like forcing myself to relax because traveling with four other people was like stressing me out that they weren't ready to go at like, you know, by 9:00 AM.
• 16:01
  Ryan, I like your version better.
• 16:05
  Yeah, me too.
• 16:09
  It's true.
• 16:09
  That's what happened.
• 16:11
  And that's fair.
• 16:12
  And that gets to be your reality too, just because his is different.
• 16:15
  No, yours and that's okay.
• 16:17
  I mean, that balcony was like, the views were, were spectacular.
• 16:20
  So I, I can't argue with that, but.
• 16:23
  Excellent.
• 16:25
  Peter, what about you?
• 16:26
  Yeah, uh, I, mine's kind of in the same neck of the woods, kind of.
• 16:32
  One of them, one of 'em.
• 16:32
  I can, I can definitely, recall very well.
• 16:35
  It's sort of similar in a way.
• 16:36
  So it's Ireland, north of Dublin.
• 16:40
  And it was our first so we flew into Dublin.
• 16:45
  Can I just stop you?
• 16:46
  yeah.
• 16:47
  knew you were going to pick this one.
• 16:49
  I was already thinking it.
• 16:52
  It's one.
• 16:53
  It's one of my favorite ones too.
• 16:54
  Go, go, go.
• 16:56
  That's funny.
• 16:57
  So yeah, we were pretty tired.
• 16:59
  Um, you know, uh, as always like go, you know, on a red eye over to, Europe, anywhere.
• 17:05
  And so we got into Dublin, got a, our rental car drove for about, I think it was about 45 minutes or so.
• 17:12
  It wasn't long 'cause we didn't, you know, obviously wanna drive too long and.
• 17:17
  So we got it to our spot, which was really nice.
• 17:19
  It was a little room in somebody else's home, which was really private, but nice.
• 17:24
  And we laid down for a bit and I, you know, we, I think we definitely crashed, like, Yes.
• 17:28
  for a little bit.
• 17:29
  then I remember waking up and was, I think June in Ireland.
• 17:34
  And so the sun goes down pretty late.
• 17:36
  Not Iceland Okay.
• 17:39
  pretty late.
• 17:40
  And it was probably like nine something anyway, and I got up and I was pretty groggy, but I, I was like, I need to see something before the sun goes down.
• 17:47
  so I, I just told Meggan, I said, I'm just gonna go out for a little bit.
• 17:50
  Just go for a walk.
• 17:52
  Obviously don't have to come.
• 17:53
  She was, Meggan was just kind of, I think I probably woke her up actually.
• 17:57
  I do that a lot.
• 17:58
  That's probably one of the things I'm, yeah, that's one of my, my not so nice traits.
• 18:03
  Sometimes I just wake people up.
• 18:06
  Meggan.
• 18:06
  , And I was like, so, and, and at first she said, okay, you know, and then she said, no, you know what, I'm gonna go too.
• 18:13
  And so we ended up going for this little stroll.
• 18:14
  We didn't even go that far, but we, we heard Dinglings and I was like, you know, it sounds like cowbell, right?
• 18:20
  Except there's no music.
• 18:21
  It was just a cowbell.
• 18:22
  And I was like, you know, okay.
• 18:25
  Then we looked over and there was this field, and so the sun was setting and , there it was like, it was field with rolling hills, and these cows all just all of a sudden came up.
• 18:36
  I think they thought we were gonna feed them.
• 18:38
  Yes, I, I felt it like I was tricking them a bit, but, um, and they were just up over the hill and there was like a bunch of'em, and they all just kind of ran towards us, sort of, they could hear like a, there was a fence.
• 18:51
  Yeah, there was, which is great.
• 18:53
  Um, and they all just looked at us you know, kind of curiously.
• 18:59
  And then we got one of the coolest pictures.
• 19:01
  And not only just, you know, on our phones and, and whatever and our cameras, but also just I think mentally, Yeah.
• 19:07
  was going down, so it was a bit of a sunset.
• 19:09
  It looked like something you'd find on like a, a jar of butter or something.
• 19:13
  It was that like, it was like, Where the fuck have you found a jar of butter?
• 19:18
  I don't know.
• 19:18
  I, I always think, you know, Like the parquet box or Oh yeah.
• 19:22
  something farms, you know, with Okay.
• 19:24
  Okay.
• 19:24
  and, you know, we could probably sell it to the, We could, we could, big butter maybe or something, I don't know.
• 19:31
  But, um, but it was just, it was a beautiful moment it was, those things that you, you can't get, you know, it just happens, right?
• 19:41
  It's one of those things that just happens, which was great.
• 19:43
  And there was lots of other things we did that were planned that were great too.
• 19:46
  But that was one of those ones that I just didn't see coming, like literally just going for that little walk.
• 19:51
  yep.
• 19:52
  And yeah, like Ireland was kind of full of, there's a few of those things.
• 19:55
  Went into a bar and met this really cool Irish old bartender.
• 19:59
  That was kind of cool too.
• 20:00
  Um, but yeah, I think that was kind of a memory.
• 20:02
  I think both of us, Yeah.
• 20:04
  kind of, I thought we kind of shared in that a little bit and it was like, wow.
• 20:08
  And it was our first, first night there, so it was kind of cool Yeah, if, if, uh, I'll share that on the podcast for sure.
• 20:14
  It is one of my favorite pictures because it's just, it's just perfectly set and one you could never dream of, you know, making happen.
• 20:22
  It just has to happen.
• 20:23
  Hm.
• 20:23
  I definitely agree.
• 20:24
  One of my favorites too.
• 20:26
  so I guess we'll dig in a little bit differently.
• 20:29
  And Ryan, over to you.
• 20:30
  How would you travel differently without Right.
• 20:35
  Uh, so I think I don't do a lot of solo travel, which is to say that I do virtually nothing these days.
• 20:43
  Um.
• 20:44
  But if I was to, I think there would be ways in which my solo travel would be more spontaneous.
• 20:51
  Jenn is a real planner.
• 20:53
  And so I don't mean spontaneous in the sense that I would just spontaneously book the trip.
• 20:59
  I think, I mean that I would leave room the trip for spontaneity.
• 21:05
  I, I wouldn't schedule the whole day every day.
• 21:09
  because I, I think I like the idea of sort of just exploring a little bit, let, letting myself wander.
• 21:17
  So that's the biggest difference.
• 21:19
  And, and I would say that our travel together, Jenn and I has, has trended in that direction a little bit.
• 21:27
  A very little bit over the years we've been together because we used to try and cram an obscene amount of things into every day of a trip.
• 21:35
  And so I, lessons were learned Yeah.
• 21:39
  if I was going alone, I would maybe take those lessons even a little bit further.
• 21:42
  Yep.
• 21:43
  That's fair.
• 21:44
  And I, I'm, I, I mean, I've even seen Jenn evolve in terms of the way she talks about trips.
• 21:49
  From the start of the podcast to now, whether it is even scheduling downtime, that's still downtime and it's Yeah.
• 21:55
  of sort of being able to just understand that who knows what could happen in that spare hour.
• 22:00
  You don't have anything planned.
• 22:01
  So I think that that's, uh, that makes sense.
• 22:04
  And I used to be, I used to be heavy, heavy planner as well.
• 22:07
  Uh, Yeah.
• 22:09
  how would you travel differently without moi?
• 22:11
  Well, yeah.
• 22:12
  Okay.
• 22:12
  So, I was the opposite.
• 22:14
  When I was younger, if I would just get in the car literally, and if I had like four or five days off, if it was just me.
• 22:21
  Back then I'll, and I'll kind of get to where I'm at now too.
• 22:23
  But back then I would just drive, that's what I would do.
• 22:27
  I'd make sure the tank was full and I would just drive until I felt like stopping or stop when I felt like stopping Ugh, I'd have nothing planned.
• 22:36
  to sleep.
• 22:38
  And, and, and maybe, and I think there's, I think maybe there's some other questions, so I'll leave it for them.
• 22:44
  But that's what I would do.
• 22:46
  That's what I would do by myself, I think then.
• 22:48
  But now I do, like, there's been a little, you know, evolution too as well.
• 22:51
  Um, where now I, you know, if I was traveling by myself, I definitely learned a lot from Meggan.
• 22:57
  'cause especially like, it's nice to have a hotel booked, especially in the summers Yeah.
• 23:01
  not have to worry about where you're staying or potentially sleep in your car or whatever, you know, like that's definitely a, that's a bonus, right?
• 23:08
  Like, so, I would definitely do that.
• 23:12
  But like if I was traveling, by myself solo now, um.
• 23:16
  I would probably just not, I would probably just be a little lot less formal in the, in the way that, um, not that, and I'm not saying Meggan is formal, she's not.
• 23:23
  But I, I am super, I would just probably be, I would just go to the grocery stores, like I said earlier, and see what they have there and probably buy some un nutritious cereal or something for breakfast, something packaged.
• 23:36
  And I would probably not eat as well, but I would just eat like, on the fly a lot.
• 23:41
  Like, I would just be like, you know, I would probably just go into the grocery store or the corner store just about every time and then maybe hit a cafe up or something like that and have a drink or a coffee.
• 23:50
  But, um, I'm probably a little less like formal like that.
• 23:54
  Like Restauranty, you mean?
• 23:56
  yeah, like Restauranty, I'm, I think I'm, yeah, exactly.
• 23:59
  Like, , I think that's probably the, the probably would be the difference now.
• 24:02
  But I would book things now in advance, so, Hey.
• 24:06
  Good.
• 24:06
  that.
• 24:07
  I, I feel like early days, Peter is the stuff of Jenn's genuine nightmares.
• 24:12
  Yeah, I would never, but it was also the stuff of my nightmare.
• 24:17
  We did go on a road trip together in 2005.
• 24:19
  Him, myself, and our friend Andrew, and we went to New York and we did have the, uh, we stayed outside of New York.
• 24:25
  We did have that hotel booked, but driving there, we just drove until we were tired.
• 24:30
  And Peter's like, I guess we should find somewhere to stay.
• 24:33
  Oh, the heart palpitations were just, I'm like, no.
• 24:36
  gotten myself into?
• 24:38
  Um, so we've definitely came more in the middle, but still definitely I agree with him.
• 24:43
  Like I'm the one who prompts the restaurant eating, 'cause I enjoy Hmm.
• 24:47
  like going out to a meal and he's just much more, let's eat a sandwich on the fly, which I do as well.
• 24:52
  He just probably would do very little of it.
• 24:55
  Mm-hmm.
• 24:55
  Yeah, I enj and I enjoy, like I, you know, I do enjoy it.
• 24:58
  Most of the time when Meggan picks out something or you know, finds something, I'm like, oh man, that was really good.
• 25:03
  Like, so it's not like, but just for me, I think I just probably wouldn't put as much of the Mm.
• 25:07
  like Yeah, kind of, I'm a little lazy when it comes to stuff like I mean, researching, researching restaurants is, you know, a significant undertaking really.
• 25:18
  But obviously as regular listeners know, it's something that Meggan and I both really enjoy is the food.
• 25:24
  And so, um, we, we do put that work in.
• 25:27
  And indeed.
• 25:29
  so let's, we'll keep this going on couples travel.
• 25:33
  So what is one thing or however many things that, uh, you think people should understand about traveling as a couple?
• 25:45
  Ooh.
• 25:45
  Uh, all right, so putting my therapist hat on.
• 25:48
  Um, no, I'm kidding.
• 25:50
  he's not a therapist.
• 25:51
  Guys don't, no, It's also, it's it, it's also just one of his past times.
• 25:56
  Yeah.
• 25:58
  Armchair therapy.
• 25:59
  Uh, no, I'm kidding.
• 26:00
  Just the way the question was phrased, things that you, you wish people understood.
• 26:05
  Sounds very ominous.
• 26:07
  And I, I guess to be fair, traveling is one of those situations that can go from smooth and easy to very stressful in the blink of an eye.
• 26:16
  And actually I could, I won't tell a story, but I could tell a story about trying to rent a car in Inverness in Scotland.
• 26:21
  And the whole day, they've heard that story.
• 26:23
  Listen, listeners have heard that story.
• 26:25
  Yeah.
• 26:25
  Our, our bad day.
• 26:27
  Yeah.
• 26:27
  we'll, we'll jump over that.
• 26:28
  Yeah, Ryan and Jenn's really bad day.
• 26:30
  But, so for me, when we're traveling together, it's important that I'm aware of not only how I'm feeling about how things are going, but also how she's feeling, sort of what she's expressing in her body language, how.
• 26:44
  You know, energetic or tired, she appears to be, and think it's important when traveling, especially with, your partner to be flexible and sort of open to compromise.
• 26:57
  Right.
• 26:58
  Not being too stuck into your, your plans 'cause sometimes things do have to change, , for any number of reasons.
• 27:06
  And just to sort of, one of the biggest things I've learned is to be understanding of each other, when things do sort of start to go wrong, whether it's something that was or was not within your control.
• 27:19
  So, I like that.
• 27:21
  Yeah, I think that's definitely true.
• 27:23
  And I was just thinking like what I've learned, I guess I, I don't know if you remember like, when we planned our honeymoon, and that's kind of like the quintessential trip where I'm like, oh, I've planned too much.
• 27:33
  Like I, I, I have made a mistake here.
• 27:36
  Um, and I also don't know if I consulted you on what you wanted to do on the honeymoon or not.
• 27:43
  I, I don't remember.
• 27:45
  And it was 10 years ago, so like, maybe I did, but I think that I mostly planned that entire trip.
• 27:50
  And you were like, where are we going?
• 27:52
  What are we doing?
• 27:53
  So I think that I have learned to ask for more input from you.
• 27:58
  That's fair.
• 27:59
  That's fair.
• 28:01
  All right, Pedro, what about you?
• 28:02
  Yeah.
• 28:03
  Uh, Ryan's answer is really good.
• 28:04
  'cause like, literally, like, that's a big part of what I was gonna say too is, is just learning to.
• 28:11
  you know, gauge how the other person's feeling, respecting their feelings, you know, if they're tired or, , because like you can get worked up sometimes, you know, either Meggan or I can get worked up over things and sometimes the other person's not feeling it as much, but, but there is like, a point I think where you do have to sort of, kind of make compromises or, and I think sometimes like there comes a point maybe in a lot of trips, especially if it's like a two week trip or something where maybe, things things get to the point where they get a little testy, you know, something can happen.
• 28:42
  Uh, I think it happens, you know, for most people.
• 28:45
  And I think it's just, yeah, just recognizing that that's something that's maybe on its way or happening and, and kind of dialing it back a bit and just realizing, hey, you're on vacation, you know, Yeah.
• 28:56
  you're here to have fun , so you might not get to do everything you wanna do.
• 28:59
  I, you know, I, I might have a few things on my list that are different from Meggan's and hopefully we try to, you know, get both of our, the big stuff off our lists, but there could be a few things on each of our lists that we might not be able to get around to.
• 29:11
  But as long as we're open about sort of what we want to see, what we're really excited about, and kind of the communications there, I think we can both kind of knock the, you know, check the big things off, right?
• 29:20
  That are the most important.
• 29:22
  So we don't come back and go, ah, I wish we could have, ah, but Yeah, and ah, you know, all that I agree.
• 29:29
  I agree.
• 29:30
  Definitely.
• 29:31
  I guess I have to say like, my answer is probably very similar to Ryan's Yeah.
• 29:34
  It's just like literally learning, you know, when you, and I think the longer you're with somebody or the better you know them, I think it, it gets better.
• 29:41
  And I will say one great way to get to know somebody besides living with them is traveling with them.
• 29:46
  Mm-hmm.
• 29:46
  Yeah.
• 29:47
  Yeah.
• 29:47
  I definitely, yeah.
• 29:49
  Uh, communication and compromise.
• 29:52
  I mean, I think those are good in, you know, general relationships, but definitely also while you're traveling.
• 29:58
  Yeah, I agree.
• 29:58
  I think the thing I've learned, uh, quickly before we move on that, you know, as traveling as a couple, is we also don't have to do every single thing together.
• 30:07
  When Hmm.
• 30:08
  Barcelona recently, I went and got a massage by myself.
• 30:11
  He didn't wanna go for a gelato, he wanted to chill.
• 30:14
  I walked down the street, he knew where I was.
• 30:16
  We had texting capabilities, so I wasn't like out in the wild, but like I went and did those things and that was okay too.
• 30:23
  Like, it's okay to take some time to yourself.
• 30:26
  Yeah.
• 30:27
  Yeah.
• 30:27
  for Yeah.
• 30:28
  I love that.
• 30:29
  So let's talk about redos.
• 30:33
  If we could redo one trip together, which would it be and why?
• 30:40
  Peter, I'm gonna nominate you to go first this time.
• 30:42
  I.
• 30:43
  Yeah, that's a really good question.
• 30:45
  You know, going back to my of drive the car, I didn't mention this, but I used to like to drive the car to see how like much I could get on the one tank of gas too.
• 30:55
  And, and not Meggan really loved that.
• 30:57
  Um, It's very stressful.
• 31:00
  watching the needle.
• 31:01
  Um, yeah, so, uh, so there's that too, but, so like going, and that goes back to those days.
• 31:08
  We went on a road trip to Montreal and you know, Montreal's a great city.
• 31:13
  But I don't think either of us were in the right space.
• 31:16
  Like, but I think it was mainly me.
• 31:18
  I think that I was sort of more on the, uh, in my sort of get in the car and just, you know, not plan anything.
• 31:26
  Um, is even when we first got into Montreal that time, it was in the middle of the, uh, Saint-Jean.
• 31:31
  Uh, Baptiste, uh, Baptiste day parade.
• 31:35
  Yeah.
• 31:35
  Parade Yeah.
• 31:35
  Yeah.
• 31:36
  It was like, It was chaos.
• 31:37
  busy and why is there marching band?
• 31:39
  is this normal in, in, um, in Montreal?
• 31:42
  But, um, it wasn't.
• 31:45
  So, like there's just nothing really planned, you Mm-hmm.
• 31:48
  know?
• 31:48
  So it was, and then we sort of sat in our room and, we didn't really have any kind of a plan at all.
• 31:53
  And so I think not only was it a trip I would do over again, especially now, I think that was sort of like Peter's learning, probably big learning point, um, in, in Peter's life of travel where I started to, um, I to learn, you know, I need to, I need to plan a few things here and I need to maybe put gas in the car more often, stuff like that.
• 32:14
  Yeah.
• 32:14
  Yeah.
• 32:15
  I, you know, I will say, just to build on that, there was a trip we did in 2012 and I pretty much planned a whole thing.
• 32:22
  It was another road trip.
• 32:23
  it was Peter's redemption trip.
• 32:25
  It, it was literally a trip where I, uh, I planned the whole thing and I was like, you wait, you, you wait and see.
• 32:31
  You're gonna love this trip.
• 32:32
  Um, and I think it was, I think it went over It did.
• 32:36
  I was perfect.
• 32:37
  Yeah.
• 32:37
  No, you did such a great job.
• 32:38
  And, and you're right like that trip to Montreal, like we did have somewhere to stay.
• 32:43
  And we did find things to do, but it wasn't like it would be now.
• 32:48
  Like we just Hmm didn't have like restaurants we wanted to go to.
• 32:52
  We hadn't looked anything up.
• 32:53
  We didn't have an area.
• 32:54
  The hotel was in a crappy area even like, it wasn't in the thick of things like we'd love to be now.
• 33:00
  So yeah, it was a learning, a learning, I'd say trip for both of us.
• 33:04
  hmm.
• 33:05
  All right, Ryan, what is your redo trip?
• 33:12
  Right.
• 33:12
  So I think if I was gonna redo a trip that we've taken, I would probably do a selection of our honeymoon.
• 33:22
  So, so our honeymoon had us fly to Iceland, spend a couple days there, fly to the south of England, spend a few days in London, actually seven Yeah.
• 33:34
  Think.
• 33:35
  Um, and then taking excursions for, to all the sites from there, you know, the Roman bath.
• 33:40
  So we go to Bath, we go to Stonehenge, we go to Salisbury.
• 33:44
  Then we did five days in the north of France, primarily in, in Paris.
• 33:49
  And so I don't know if I need to do the Iceland leg again.
• 33:54
  We'll probably go back to Iceland.
• 33:55
  But I think what I'd like to do is redo our honeymoon, but split it into multiple trips.
• 34:00
  And the reason I say that is.
• 34:02
  By the time we were on the France leg, We were exhausted.
• 34:06
  We were, we were seeing things that are world renowned, amazing things in the Louvre like, oh, Mona Lisa.
• 34:17
  That's cool.
• 34:18
  neat.
• 34:18
  And we're, we're at Versailles.
• 34:20
  Like, eh, it's all right.
• 34:21
  You know, nice gardens, I Yeah, Right?
• 34:25
  is like, what I remember is literally standing in the Hall of Mirrors going, I don't care.
• 34:30
  I don't care.
• 34:32
  Like I'm so tired, I just don't care.
• 34:36
  Yeah.
• 34:38
  right.
• 34:38
  And, and so I would love to have a redo of the, the England portion of that, because I just, I, I have this weird love affair with, uh, England.
• 34:49
  I, have described it as like Nova Scotia will always be home, but when we got to the UK on our honeymoon, it was my first time there and I immediately felt this innate sense of belonging.
• 35:06
  Cool.
• 35:07
  Was sort of this different feeling like home is here, but I felt this internal belonging.
• 35:12
  Anyway, so I'd love to go back there and, and do all kinds of things and I suspect we'll go back to the UK many times, um, or I. I hope we will.
• 35:19
  But the France thing, I just want a chance to try it over again because I think we, we messed it up by trying to do so many things on the tail end of a very long trip.
• 35:28
  that makes Hmm.
• 35:29
  really tired, like just completely Yeah, I, we, I had over planned, um, and it was like the, yeah, the, we were there the last five days of the honeymoon and then, , it was like, it was the near the end of October.
• 35:45
  So like the weather also wasn't like great.
• 35:48
  It was like kind of cold.
• 35:49
  Um, and yeah, I think that we were just kind of over it at that point.
• 35:54
  It was the longest trip that we had ever taken together.
• 35:58
  And like we had like just bought a house and gotten married all within like A three month period, and I think that we were just like burnt out.
• 36:06
  Yeah.
• 36:06
  Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 36:09
  Yeah.
• 36:10
  I'm sure you'll get back for some redos, uh, and those, and we'll redo Montreal I'm sure someday as well.
• 36:17
  So next question, Peter, what's something you, wish that I would just go with the flow about when we're traveling?
• 36:27
  no, that's, that's another really good question because I feel like you already do, like, I don't, I feel like you are pretty open, know, like, I know we have stuff planned, but I think we're kind of both such on such the same wavelength that I don't really feel like that happens too often.
• 36:45
  Like we're, you know what I mean?
• 36:47
  Yeah, that's a hard, like, that's a tough one.
• 36:49
  I, I, I gotta be honest, I can't actually think of anything that really hits that I would say you need to go with the flow with.
• 36:56
  It's just like, I can think of one.
• 36:58
  Meggan's the perfect traveler.
• 36:59
  No, no, I can think of one.
• 37:02
  I can think of one in particular.
• 37:03
  So.
• 37:05
  am not as spontaneous as Peter.
• 37:07
  And not that he's like Mr. Spontaneous, but he has more, joie de vivre than me.
• 37:13
  And so when we're out and about, like, let's take Iceland for example, and I was sick on our first trip, so I will give myself a little bit of a pass there.
• 37:20
  However, as you both know, there's a postcard at every turn in Iceland.
• 37:25
  So you could literally stop anywhere and take a picture and see something beautiful.
• 37:29
  And he was just like, it was overwhelming for his senses.
• 37:32
  And he's just like, let's pull over here and like, let's, like, let's, and I was just like, do we need to pull over again?
• 37:39
  But he was, but he was exactly right though.
• 37:41
  Like everything was beautiful, but I just wasn't feeling well.
• 37:45
  And then on our second trip, I tried to be better and . I mostly was, but I would say if there was anything, I would just say that he's more spontaneous with those types of things and Hmm.
• 37:56
  a little bit more buttoned up when it comes to spontaneity, I would say.
• 38:01
  So I'll answer that one for you Well, I will say though, um, in Iceland though, yes, Meggan was feeling a little under the weather, so , I think that's just one of the rare occasions where Hmm.
• 38:13
  Yeah, but I was like a squirrel in Iceland though.
• 38:16
  That is Yeah, Like literally.
• 38:17
  Yeah.
• 38:18
  that's fair.
• 38:18
  I mean, it's beautiful.
• 38:20
  Yeah.
• 38:20
  Yep.
• 38:21
  What about you, Ryan?
• 38:23
  This, this is a tough question for me, uh, for sort of a similar reason to what Peter said.
• 38:29
  'cause I think, I mean.
• 38:31
  Jenn at this point in our traveling lives has gotten to being pretty go with the flow on anything that it's reasonable to go with the flow on.
• 38:43
  but I will say like just sort of continuing down that pathway of like, like allowing for a little more spontaneity in things like, um, just how we get from point A to point B.
• 38:57
  Not for the big portions of the trip, but like when we're on foot somewhere, and I'll give you an example.
• 39:02
  When we were in London on our honeymoon, We, you know, we would typically have just taken what's the most efficient way to go from point A to point B, but at one point we wanted to go, um, from one spot in southwest London to another spot in southwest London.
• 39:17
  And right in the middle of it was this giant cemetery, I mean, giant cemetery, Brompton cemetery.
• 39:23
  We could have easily just taken whatever route the mapping, if we had it at the time, would've told us to take or like the most logical sidewalk route.
• 39:33
  But I think I, I had said, well, let's go see what this cemetery is all about.
• 39:38
  And this was long before Jenn was crazy about ghost tours and haunted things.
• 39:43
  , Maybe this played a part of it.
• 39:44
  I don't know.
• 39:45
  Um, but we went through Brompton Cemetery and I would like to think that now we would almost always choose that kind of a path.
• 39:54
  Like what's the most interesting path to go from point A to point B when we're pedestrians without being totally ridiculous.
• 40:04
  Hmm.
• 40:05
  Interesting.
• 40:06
  Yeah.
• 40:07
  There you go.
• 40:08
  Just a little food for thought.
• 40:11
  Yes.
• 40:12
  Uh, so let's talk about annoying travel habits, 'cause we all have them.
• 40:22
  Let's, talk about what you think our most annoying travel habit is and what you think your most annoying travel habit is.
• 40:30
  Meggan, maybe we should do this one too.
• 40:33
  Maybe, maybe.
• 40:35
  All right.
• 40:36
  I'm gonna nominate Ryan to go first.
• 40:39
  I, I think this is one that is getting better with Jenn.
• 40:45
  and this is not really something that happens as much during travel as it does, uh, as we come up to impending travel.
• 40:56
  Jenn has a long history of worrying a lot about timelines, little details.
• 41:03
  It's the reason we are the first people at the gate the airport, I mean, two and a half hours before the the first.
• 41:14
  Okay.
• 41:16
  with relative frequency, higher frequency than, Not.
• 41:20
  it should be.
• 41:21
  , We, we are perpetually early, and it doesn't really annoy me anymore.
• 41:26
  It's just part of the way we, we travel, is by being really buttoned up on the, the stuff that matters in terms of getting from point A to point B, like being at the airport super early, getting through security as early as possible if we're taking, another type of transit while we're on the trip.
• 41:47
  Being there like really early.
• 41:49
  Super punctual.
• 41:50
  So it's the sort of thing that started as an annoying travel habit that's just sort of become our habit.
• 41:56
  And so I'm, I'm not annoyed by it, uh, anymore and I think she has relaxed over time as well.
• 42:03
  There's less of that.
• 42:04
  It feels weird for me to say what my annoying travel habit is, and I am genuinely interested to hear what Jenn might Let's kick it over to her.
• 42:14
  If you don't know, then.
• 42:15
  I'll say that.
• 42:16
  I think also in the lead up to the trip, historically I have been not that involved in travel planning, and sometimes that's is not an exaggeration at all.
• 42:29
  Like I sometimes I've done virtually none of the planning.
• 42:32
  Sort of like Jenn alluded to when she talked about our, our honeymoon, she wasn't sure if she had asked me about it at all, but it's sort of a two-way street where, you know, she really takes charge of the planning and I'm just over here, like, I guess we're going on a trip.
• 42:45
  Cool.
• 42:46
  Um, and so I'm, I'm trying to be better about that.
• 42:49
  You know, we're planning a trip, uh, hopefully to Copenhagen and, you know, I'm sure we'll plan trips beyond that in the future.
• 42:56
  So I'm trying, I'm trying to be, uh, more involved in that kind of Mm-hmm.
• 43:02
  Mm-hmm.
• 43:03
  I would ag I would agree.
• 43:04
  I think I would agree that.
• 43:06
  And, and now I'm like asking you for your input.
• 43:10
  And then it, I'm not always like getting input or getting enough input, maybe.
• 43:16
  You've definitely gotten better.
• 43:17
  You did choose the hotel for Copenhagen, so that's great.
• 43:22
  Um, but I definitely, ah, thumbs up for all around.
• 43:26
  Um, I definitely agree with you that the, that my most annoying travel habit is the fact that I must be at the airport like three hours early for a domestic flight.
• 43:37
  I wish I was not this way, but I am.
• 43:43
  Such is life, man.
• 43:44
  It's all, it's all good, Peter.
• 43:48
  Yeah.
• 43:49
  I will say too, just to chime in on that, you know, I don't mind being to the airport early, going someplace, especially when I'm all like revved up because like a lot of times I just like to go there and have a few drinks in the lounge, but that's just me.
• 43:59
  Um, so I like to get through security so I can have like a glass of wine or beer Mm-hmm.
• 44:03
  or something.
• 44:03
  Yeah.
• 44:04
  Yep.
• 44:04
  Yeah.
• 44:04
  , But I, yeah, it's a good question.
• 44:06
  The only thing I can think of is, I, I just would get, I would be annoying, I think, because I would get Meggan up at really early times when we were traveling.
• 44:16
  Like, I'd be like the, the next morning we would get there.
• 44:19
  I'd be like, the sun, if the sun just peaked up, not even the sun if it just got slightly light out I'd be like, oh, we gotta get up.
• 44:28
  We gotta, you know, oh, we gotta do things.
• 44:29
  Like, I would just be like, just like up wide-eyed and rightfully so, Meggan would be like, oh my God, I just wanna sleep a little bit here.
• 44:40
  What are you doing?
• 44:41
  You know, and rightfully so, , and so what I found annoying and what she found annoying was both, I found it annoying that she didn't wanna get up and she found it annoying that I was getting her up.
• 44:50
  Um, I think we've kind of met in the middle and I think we sort of get up around the same time.
• 44:54
  I will say I probably still get up a little early.
• 44:58
  I try not to wake her up now though, like, but before I would be literally, like, I'd be like, I'd be Like a parent with a newborn child, like, like when will they wake up so we can play.
• 45:13
  especially like the first day there, like Yeah.
• 45:16
  full day Yeah.
• 45:17
  in the morning.
• 45:18
  Oh man, I've, I'm just so revved to like, And not that I'm not, I am also revved.
• 45:24
  I'm just not as revved as early.
• 45:27
  Hmm.
• 45:27
  No, and rightfully so.
• 45:29
  And, and so I think maybe it's just because we've been living together for so long, we sort of get up around the same time-ish.
• 45:35
  Now I'm a little bit more early, but we've kind of.
• 45:38
  You know, Yep.
• 45:40
  Hmm.
• 45:40
  that way.
• 45:41
  So, that's, that's, mine anyway.
• 45:44
  Like, that's really the only thing I can think of.
• 45:46
  , 'Cause everything else, like, feels pretty good.
• 45:48
  We, we do a lot of the planning together.
• 45:51
  Meggan does more of the, I think the more of the minute planning, like more of the like things that, that the, it's like you can go into Airbnb, everything's nicely done, but there's the little things that I think Meggan does.
• 46:01
  The, like, the little things that are, are big things, but are, are, they're not little things, but you know what I mean?
• 46:08
  Like, they're the nice touches.
• 46:09
  I Mm better at that than me.
• 46:10
  But, um, I think, yeah, we're pretty, we're on the same page and I hmm.
• 46:14
  her up nearly as much as I used to.
• 46:16
  No.
• 46:17
  but not as much.
• 46:18
  yeah.
• 46:18
  I have to say like the getting up way too early for me.
• 46:21
  Like when I, especially on trips, you're exhausted after a while.
• 46:23
  Mm-hmm.
• 46:24
  And then I would say my annoyance at my own self is, when, uh, I get anxious, when we're going to transportation, if we're going to catch the subway, if we're going to do this, like, I'm anxious as Hmm.
• 46:39
  there, like, which side do we need to be on, which whatever.
• 46:42
  Like those kind of things.
• 46:43
  I, I annoy myself with my anxiousness over smaller details, which we will figure out.
• 46:49
  Oh, and, and Meggan might overthink the GPS sometimes when we're driving.
• 46:53
  But other than that, I think it's, definitely, you like double checking the GPS it?
• 46:58
  him to turn it the wrong place and he's like, I'm gonna trust the GPS Oh yeah.
• 47:02
  I've done that.
• 47:02
  Yeah.
• 47:03
  I've been like, you turn here and he is like, no.
• 47:05
  Uh, you don't.
• 47:06
  yeah, yeah.
• 47:07
  Exactly.
• 47:08
  days I'll say, oh, I'm gonna trust the GPS and then splash into a lake or Uh, um, No, I think, hopefully not.
• 47:15
  Yeah.
• 47:15
  That, that would be bad.
• 47:16
  no, I, I usually, I, I try to use common sense too, Yeah.
• 47:19
  Yeah.
• 47:20
  Yeah, for the most part, I think those are small at all of us getting along.
• 47:26
  Oh my gosh.
• 47:28
  I want to kind of finish up this section by asking you what is one thing that traveling together has taught you about our relationship?
• 47:42
  , I would say it's, I, you know, I would recommend, you know, traveling, obviously if you enjoy traveling, travel, so do that first.
• 47:50
  If you don't enjoy it, don't.
• 47:51
  But, um, but I think what traveling does is it's sort of, teaches, it's taught me anyway, , traveling with somebody else, it's how to enjoy things with somebody else.
• 48:02
  And kind of going back to like making, some compromises, what we talked about earlier.
• 48:07
  . I think it makes you traveling, obviously makes you, I think to me anyway, makes you a better person because you get to see the world, you get to see all the different, um, cultures and all the different way people live and, and all the different things in the grocery store.
• 48:19
  But other than that, I think it also teaches, you know, you how to, um, how to get along with the person you're with, give and take.
• 48:27
  But, the biggest thing is just how to, you know, I think experience all these new things with somebody else.
• 48:33
  So, and somebody, you know, who, who you have a lot in common with and they, and,, Meggan sometimes will pick things out that I might not have picked out or to, to go and see or, um, you know, whether it's to eat or, or, or something to, to see.
• 48:46
  And I'm like kind of maybe going ah, at the beginning, but at the end I'm like, oh my God, I'm so glad that I'm with somebody else who can, you know, uh, add to my trip, you know, because if I was there by myself, I wouldn't be going to these restaurants or just be going to the grocery store, or I might not be seeing some of the things that I would normally go to.
• 49:06
  So, um, I think that's the big thing for me is just like having that, uh, you know, that other special person there with you that can, add to the, to, to your life where you might not have even maybe saw, you know, where to go next or what to do.
• 49:20
  And maybe I just would've sat inside or, yeah.
• 49:23
  You know, I, I think that's really special.
• 49:25
  And I think when you, think once I think I figured that out, you know, it definitely made our trips just that much more enjoyable For sure.
• 49:34
  And just seeing , Meggan enjoy things that she really likes, even though I might not, it might not have been my first choice, but that makes me just as happy.
• 49:41
  So, yeah.
• 49:43
  Oh, precious All right, Ryan.
• 49:46
  All right.
• 49:46
  Well I'll try to follow that up.
• 49:48
  , I think when I think about, um, traveling together, it feels like it's sort of pulls your relationship into tight focus because at home, like you can go off and do your own thing very easily.
• 50:04
  Maybe if, I mean, if you work outside of the home, you're apart for probably long periods of time, right?
• 50:10
  There's this forced separation that happens and with, travel, you sort of really bring that into tight focus and you sort of learn, or I've learned how we each handle stress.
• 50:20
  I've learned what kind of things stress each of us out, and what kind of things we both handle more gracefully.
• 50:27
  Um, sort of what roles we fall into, both when traveling and, and otherwise, like who is, who is the primary planner, who's a better planner, who's, uh, a better navigator when we get places.
• 50:39
  All kinds of those different things that I guess in those cases are sort of specific to, uh, travel or, or can be, but all of those sort of things you learn about, aptitudes in each other as individuals.
• 50:52
  And, I think that, and I, I feel glad that it went a positive way, um, for us.
• 51:00
  But I feel like traveling together can be sort of a referendum on the state of your relationship Hmm.
• 51:06
  you know, it puts you in all these situations where you're forced to confront your compatibility with this other person.
• 51:12
  Yeah.
• 51:13
  And it can be sort of a window to understanding whether you actually enjoy experiencing life together.
• 51:20
  And luckily for Jenn and I, I would say that has definitely come out on the positive side.
• 51:26
  Um, and it seems like, that's also the case for Meggan and Peter 'cause you Yeah.
• 51:30
  it, uh, in the same way that, that we do.
• 51:32
  But it's just sort of taught me about those kind of things, like how we are compatible, and what sort of things affect us in different ways when we're sort of put under the microscope as a. As a pair.
• 51:47
  Um, yeah, that I really like that.
• 51:49
  It's, it's like putting a piece of IKEA furniture together.
• 51:52
  It's, it's, it's, it's a test sometimes.
• 51:56
  Yeah.
• 51:57
  Yeah.
• 51:58
  He.
• 51:58
  Now, before we get to a special section, I do wanna ask what's on your travel bucket list.
• 52:03
  So if there's somewhere you would like to go that you haven't got to yet, that's kind of high up there for you.
• 52:09
  Peter, what do you say?
• 52:11
  I'd really like to get over to Southeast Asia, a part of the world I haven't been, um, you know, I love Europe.
• 52:19
  But Southeast Asia, you know, maybe, South Korea, Vietnam.
• 52:24
  Cambodia.
• 52:25
  Like I've, we've watched a lot of, and I know you guys do too, like a lot of, uh, you know, travel vloggers and, and, and, you know, you see those parts of the world and they're so far away from here.
• 52:35
  So like, you know, to take like a one or two, uh, week trip is, can be, you know, kind of speaking to, to Ryan's like stress tests and on relationships and stuff.
• 52:45
  Like, that's a lot of traveling and it's not a lot of, time to do things.
• 52:48
  So, but, uh, you know, at some point I definitely wanna take a little bit more time and would love to do that, Yeah.
• 52:54
  Um, I think Meggan would too, hopefully.
• 52:56
  Yep, but, uh, yeah, you know, um, that's sort of on my bucket list, so I know it's not one, you know, area, but you know, I just wanna see everything in that part of the world and get, I think the people there seem really friendly and genuine and I just wanna, wanna get out there and just see the sight and meet people and just, yeah, that kind of, that part of the world.
• 53:17
  I'm in.
• 53:18
  All right, Ryan, what's on your bucket list?
• 53:21
  Well, I mean, so many things really, you know?
• 53:25
  Um, I'd love to hike Kilimanjaro and I'd love to go to Patagonia.
• 53:31
  And see that sort of rugged, um, Teoría del Fuego kind of area.
• 53:37
  But two, two things I think are right at the top of my bucket list.
• 53:40
  Like the two things that I really wanna make sure I do, one of them is Japan.
• 53:45
  And I think my sort of ideas around wanting to go to Japan someday started when we watched, uh, a Canadian TV series called Departures from Yep.
• 53:57
  Scott Wilson, Justin Lukach, two buddies go traveling around the world.
• 54:01
  And, um, they spent, uh, some time in Japan, both the big cities of Japan and then the rural, um, far flung portions of Japan.
• 54:10
  And it was actually those rural portions of Japan that really sort of captured my imagination and built this sort of mystique up for me about the people there and the architecture and sort of the, what I see as sort of the mystery of that.
• 54:26
  Japanese culture, that makes me want to go there and spend maybe more than a normal amount of time and sort of immerse myself in it a little and, and really, um, try to understand what this thing is that I've built up in my mind.
• 54:42
  And the other one that, uh, came to mind immediately is France, and specifically the south of France.
• 54:48
  We've been to the north of France, like I mentioned about our honeymoon.
• 54:51
  But, , a few years ago, a work colleague,, gave me a book by Peter Mayle, who was a British businessman turned author.
• 55:00
  It's called A Year in Providence.
• 55:01
  It.
• 55:02
  Quite well known, and I think a film was made about it.
• 55:04
  But he and his wife, , in their, like their senior years, moved to a tiny commune, , in the south of France in Provence.
• 55:13
  And, and he wrote about it.
• 55:14
  And when I read that book and the several sequels to it, it sort of, it again, it really captured my imagination about what this little part of the world was.
• 55:23
  And ever since then, I've been sort of captivated with this idea of that little portion of, of France and, and what it would be like to visit and experience it for myself.
• 55:32
  So those two places are kind of right at the top of my bucket list.
• 55:36
  Excellent.
• 55:37
  Hmm.
• 55:38
  Okay.
• 55:39
  I also wanna go to Japan, but I wanna go to Tokyo Disney.
• 55:43
  So we're gonna have to do both of those things.
• 55:46
  Yeah.
• 55:46
  you stop it.
• 55:48
  Shocking.
• 55:49
  Uh, so we're gonna do some rapid fire questions.
• 55:54
  So we're gonna ask the question.
• 55:55
  The answer's gonna be like five words or less.
• 55:59
  No nuance.
• 56:00
  Just rapid it fire.
• 56:02
  Jenn.
• 56:02
  Jenn and I learned this on another podcast when we got asked Rapid fire qu questions, and we gave like long answers.
• 56:08
  She's like, No ra, this isn't what Rapid Fire is.
• 56:12
  Okay.
• 56:13
  On a scale of one to 10, how intense are we as travel planners?
• 56:20
  10 being very intense, one being the least intense Peter, 7.2, alright.
• 56:30
  Sorry, point of clarification, how intense are you, the individual or how intense is the schedule you plan?
• 56:37
  Uh, rude.
• 56:37
  Uh, me as the individual.
• 56:40
  Uh, 8.7.
• 56:42
  Love that.
• 56:43
  Okay.
• 56:43
  that.
• 56:44
  Alright.
• 56:45
  Um, what is your least favorite part of travel?
• 56:49
  Peter?
• 56:51
  the airports and the, , economy, uh, Hmm.
• 56:54
  seats flying.
• 56:55
  Hmm.
• 56:56
  Okay.
• 56:56
  Yeah.
• 56:58
  Ryan.
• 56:59
  Red eye flights Hmm.
• 57:01
  Okay.
• 57:01
  Yeah.
• 57:02
  Agreed.
• 57:04
  Who handles stress better?
• 57:07
  You or your spouse?
• 57:11
  Peter?
• 57:13
  Oh man.
• 57:15
  I'd say it depends on the situation.
• 57:17
  Yes.
• 57:18
  political, but Nope.
• 57:19
  You're right.
• 57:20
  Yeah.
• 57:21
  Depends on what it is.
• 57:22
  Run outta gas me., Yeah, I know this is a longer All.
• 57:25
  um, yeah, done.
• 57:27
  yeah.
• 57:27
  Done.
• 57:28
  Cut your mic.
• 57:29
  Yeah, Ryan.
• 57:32
  when traveling me.
• 57:34
  Yeah, that's true.
• 57:36
  Um, place that has surprised you the most, Peter.
• 57:42
  That's a good question.
• 57:44
  See, I already used up all my words.
• 57:45
  Um, uh, I wanna say Iceland, but not really.
• 57:50
  'cause I liked it, so I don't know.
• 57:52
  Um, yeah, All right, have no idea.
• 57:54
  Like, nothing's really surprised me.
• 57:57
  Ryan.
• 57:58
  The Isle of Skye.
• 57:59
  favorite place you have traveled, Peter.
• 58:03
  Iceland, I'd have to say.
• 58:04
  Yeah.
• 58:06
  Yeah.
• 58:07
  Ryan.
• 58:08
  uh, Southern England.
• 58:10
  Uh, who is more likely to get us lost?
• 58:14
  Peter I'm gonna have to go Yep.
• 58:19
  with Meggan on that one.
• 58:22
  Ryan.
• 58:24
  Uh, it's not me.
• 58:25
  Yeah, that's true.
• 58:26
  Yeah.
• 58:28
  And I have to ask the last one'cause I think this is hilarious.
• 58:32
  Who packs better?
• 58:34
  You or one of us?
• 58:36
  Peter.
• 58:38
  Oh, Meggan, you pack better for sure.
• 58:41
  What?
• 58:41
  I over pack terribly.
• 58:44
  Nope, no nuance.
• 58:46
  Real rapid fire.
• 58:49
  but you pack really way more neater.
• 58:51
  That's it.
• 58:52
  Mm-hmm.
• 58:52
  Yep.
• 58:53
  Ryan.
• 58:55
  Uh, she is little Jenny packing cubes, so Is that where we call I got a new nickname today.
• 59:02
  yeah.
• 59:04
  Oh my gosh.
• 59:05
  I'm the worst packer.
• 59:07
  Oh goodness.
• 59:08
  Well that was like super fun.
• 59:11
  You guys have been amazing sports.
• 59:13
  Thank Thank you so much for agreeing to do this and, and talk about this.
• 59:17
  And I have to say, like, I, I learned a lot about each of you, um, and I definitely, uh, Peter, we're on the same page with all of your answers pretty much.
• 59:27
  So Oh, amazing.
• 59:29
  I know, I know.
• 59:30
  So thank you both so much for being here.
• 59:32
  You can find us, the Travel Mug Podcast on social media at Travel Mug Podcast, our website travel mug podcast.com.
• 59:39
  And if you like, what we're doing here buy us a coffee link is in the show notes.
• 59:43
  It does help support the show.
• 59:45
  Or you can leave us a review on Apple or Spotify and share the show with a travel loving pal.
• 59:50
  And until next time, we'll talk to you soon.
• 59:52
  Bye Bye everyone.
• 59:54
  bye Ryan and Peter.