Scott Barronton (00:00)
As 2025 comes to a close, we've been taking some time to reflect on our travels from this year. Although we had the privilege of visiting a lot of places for us, the trips are not as much about visiting as many places as possible. It was about connecting to the places that we visit and often by connecting with the local. We walked through small towns in Italy,
revisited familiar destinations like London by doing things we had never done and slowing down to enjoy a dream hotel. We had conversations about things we wanted to do on our trips that really shaped how we would plan and experience destinations this year. So instead of focusing on one destination today, we're taking a step back and looking at the year as a whole. Places we visited with the new twist
new places that have taught us new lessons on how we travel that we want to share with you, and alternatives to some of the most traveled destinations.
Speaker 2 (01:03)
We're Scott and Melissa, The Sunshine Travelers.
Speaker 1 (01:06)
We're all about exploring the world and sharing the journey with you. Whether you're a seasoned traveler, dreaming of your next adventure, or just here for the stories.
Speaker 2 (01:13)
No matter where you are on your travel journey, we've got first-hand experiences, tips, and plenty of inspiration from some of the most amazing places on Earth.
Speaker 1 (01:23)
So buckle up and get ready to travel with us.
Scott Barronton (01:30)
When I look back at our trips from this year, what really stands out to me is how intentional we became with finding ways to connect with the destinations that we would visit. The question that we kept asking ourselves has shifted to what kind of experience do we want to have when we're visiting? So let's start with places that we had been before, but the experience this time was totally different.
So I can tell you a few that immediately come to mind. ⁓ One of them is our trip to Alaska. We had been to Alaska before on a road trip and this time on a cruise. And one of our day excursions was flying over five glaciers and then going to eat at this remote Taku Lodge.
And while we had seen a couple of glaciers last time, was just like, was the highlight of this trip. And then getting to fly over them in that seaplane and see them from above, was just, it really was incredible and amazing. And then that trip was also like the other one to Alaska, but different about having dedicated family time that wasn't rushed. Because when you're on a cruise, you can have long breakfast or long dinners and
just be together in a different kind of way where you're not rushing from thing to thing.
And so then Scott, we went to a couple of places this year that are completely different than they were before because of political changes. So I want you to share with those because I think, one in particular holds special meaning, but that was very cool because I had never been to those places. Yeah. So this year we went to both Berlin and Hong Kong and
The last time that I was in those, they were very different ⁓ from a political structure. we'll talk about Berlin first because I was there when the wall was there. So the last time that I was there, there was a wall that circled the Western part of Berlin. And so this time that wall's gone.
we even talked about it in the episode is like, it took me a while to get my bearings. not only had it been a long time, but a lot of the things that we were seeing the hotel where we were staying, like none of that was familiar to me. And the real reason why is because those places were in East Germany. And, ⁓ even though we had gone into East Berlin for the day,
I was focused on getting out of there. I didn't want to be trapped in East Berlin. And so, I just didn't remember any of those sites. So it was great to go and see that with a fresh perspective, a fresh set of eyes, and see it now as a thriving and bustling city. Yes. A very, very neat city, a very clean city. I mean, we enjoyed that thoroughly and I enjoyed seeing it.
from your perspective, especially at that checkpoint, Charlie museum and you saying, I clearly remember this as a early teen, right? and then Hong Kong, was somewhere you were super excited to take me back to and do some of the transportation, but what had, changed about Hong Kong? in Hong Kong, when I was last there, it was a British territory. And so now it's been returned to China.
And it's part of the Chinese government system. so, you know, I don't think a whole lot had changed about Hong Kong itself.
It really reminded me of what it was like when I was there, 20 years ago. but there's the whole question about, that a different country? And we'll get to that later. but, so those were two places that we visited this year that the first time that I went there many years ago, they were in different situations.
So we've been to London dozens of times, but there was a couple of things that made our trip to London different this time. And a few of them that are just kind of top of mind for me was staying at the Lanesboro Hotel. That was a bucket list stay thanks to our Platinum AMEX Hotel Fine Hotels and Resorts program. And a surprise to you.
Yes, that was definitely a surprise because you had kind of held that back a little bit about where we were staying. And I'd asked you a few times and you wouldn't tell me. And matter of fact, you went through and made sure that you did it all on your card so that I wouldn't have visibility to it.
also on that trip, we worked with Go City to promote the Go City all-inclusive London pass, which was fun because we got to do a number of things and we tried to pick new activities that we hadn't done in London before.
We created our own Ted Lasso walking tour of Richmond. we had done a little bit of research and found the places where they did filming. but at that time there, no one really had created a true walking tour of Richmond. I think there are some out there. We just didn't find them. We saw the sunset view from the shard, which, you mentioned.
On the episode about the Patronus towers, how much you'd love a great view. And so we got to do that.
And finally, we visited Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. And I have to admit, that's a little bit of a letdown because I thought that was the Globe Theatre. And I guess I should have known that something like that wouldn't still be standing. But at least it gave us a good idea of what the original Globe Theatre was like. Yeah. And the things that stand out to me, I think, in that one...
were like after we walked around Richmond a little bit, there was also a market and it was a nice day and people were everywhere. Like we like to see when it's a nice day and we just walked and walked and walked. We also used that Go City Pass to go to the Royal Naval College and a docent was about to do a tour and was like, you want to join our tour? And we learned so much.
And we're going to talk about like doing a tour. That was something that was completely free. We had access to places that you could only go with a docent. And so that was just kind of a fun, like where we weren't like, no, because we have to go do X, Y, and Z before this day is over. So it was kind of nice to not have that over scheduling. So we could just say yes to some unique things. And I think we even learned this year that even if we do have stuff planned,
It's okay to say yes to diving deeper somewhere, even if it means that you miss something.
So another place that we revisited was Barcelona. We did it in a whole different way, I would say. So last time we were there, it was on a cruise. We had an overnight, but we didn't spend the night in the city. we connected with a local this time through a food tour who taught us something that we definitely weren't expecting at all. And so that was taking a sangria making class in Barcelona.
So what stood out to you, Scott, about that experience? Well, we had heard that the people in Spain don't drink sangria. So that was one of things someone had told us before going. so we got a chance to ask him about that. And he confirmed that, yes, that modern day people in Spain don't drink as much sangria.
that it's more of a historical tradition. And so what he did is he shared that tradition with us and why they would drink Sangria. And believe it or not, Spain used to not have really good wines. And so it was important to need to dress their wine up with fruits and other alcohols that would help it to go further and...
be more refreshing and things like that. And so that was an interesting point that we learned in the sangria class, not to mention he gave us the recipe that we could come home and make our own sangria. Yeah, because one of the things he pointed out was if you get sangria at a restaurant, unfortunately these days it's probably going to be from some kind of mix because what they were finding was you might have good sangria here,
and it not be so good here, or you might go back to the one that you loved and bartender might have a different recipe because these recipes came from grandparents and were kind of passed down. So you're not going to have a consistent product. So unfortunately, in order to get that consistency, it started coming from a mix. And so when we went to restaurants this time, we tried some different vermouth. And then like you said, we had our, we have our sangria recipe now.
And I'm going to admit, I thought that previously Sangria was a red wine, specifically a Spanish red wine with some Sprite and cut up fruit. And I thought that was the definition of Sangria. And it wasn't that At all.
So this brings us to advice that we would share with you that has really changed how we travel.
We've had some experiences this year that has really changed the way that we travel and the way that we look at travel. And we just want to share some of those with you.
So we've been doing this for a while, but I think the more we do it, the more we realize how important it is to do this. And it is book a tour with a local. And we would say the smaller the group, the better. So that you can ask them questions about the place, about themselves, their life, their family, whatever comes up. Not in an intrusive way, of course, but...
It just gives you a whole lot more access. And of course, the size of the group and the cost and that kind of thing depends on where you are, but that's what we would recommend. And book a food tour if you can.
So related to what we were talking about about Barcelona, but you can learn so much about a culture through the food and the traditions and the customs and what they share with you about that. And if the tour is not a food tour specifically and you have the opportunity, ask your guide to take you somewhere.
for a meal, but take you somewhere that they would take their family, where they would take their mom. That's some advice that we got that we have shared on an episode. And then invite them to eat with you. and of course, buy their meal. But that's where you really get that connection. Have them, what would you order? Order for us. And I think that has been some of our most
rewarding experiences like several of those come to mind. And we've got a few others and the key here is these are all working with locals. So we remember Dodie and Lumbok and the bonding that he and I had over a meal where we were talking about sambal and I like sambal. I didn't know that
Their sambal could be even more spicy than ours, but it is. And he talked about how he liked to make his own at home. And so we, we really talked a lot about that. We had Nish in KL or Kuala Lumpur. And this is the guy who told us, I can't take you where I would take my mom because that place is just too spicy. I'll take you somewhere that I would take my brother. And so.
we sat down over a meal with him. we told the story about, said he was vegetarian, that day. And we were like, okay, fine. You don't have to eat meat. But I think what he really meant was he was fasting that day because he didn't eat anything. But we sat down over a meal and he shared with us, you know, some of the Malaysian food and, and introduced us, to a new dish that we really enjoyed.
Then we had Paul in Penang and she shared with us her cultural heritage at that Taoist temple. And she spent a lot of time there, not just walking us through the temple, but sharing a little bit about the culture. know, Melissa, you mentioned and talked about how this Taoism has almost been erased from China.
and that people from China have to come to Malaysia to even learn about it. And so, that was Chinese heritage that has been erased from China. And so now they have to go outside of China to learn and experience that.
And in addition, she talked to us about how traditions, including food, are changing as the older generation start to fade away. in Penang, you have the people who specialize in these particular dishes, and they don't like specialize in a category of foods. No, they specialize in a particular dish.
And you would go to a particular hawker stall just for that person's version of this dish. And as the younger generations come up, they don't want to participate in that. They don't want to do that. And so what's going to happen is over time, some of these particular dishes that people are so fond of are just going to go away or they're going to, they're just never going to be the same,
somebody might try to recreate it, but they're not going to do it exactly the same way that this person did every single day of the year for the last, four to five decades. And so she shared a little bit about that. And then we talked to Seamus in Ireland and he shared with us his passion for helping people experience the, region around Donegal.
more intimately by creating experiences on bikes and getting out into the open air and seeing and tasting the salt in the air and filling the wind against your skin. And of course you're going to run into some rain. it is in Ireland and just having those types of experiences to visit a place more intimately than just
maybe trying to fumble your way through them.
So Scott, of those that you mentioned, only one of them was specifically a food tour and that was with Paul and Penang. But like you said, in a couple of the other cases, we connected with our guide over food by just inviting them and saying, please take us somewhere, please order for us. But what would you say is your top food experience from 2025? For me, it's got to be the food tour in Penang.
I think mostly because we had talked to Colin and Meg so much about how it's part of the Malaysian culture, the food is. And so I was excited to experience that for myself. So if I picked through any of these and we did some amazing things, like in Iceland, we tasted the fermented shark, right? In Singapore, you gave me that nasty ice cream made with durian, but the one experience that
I think it's going to stay with me is that food tour with Paul in Penang. And you were really excited for this. It was fun to watch because you just, of all the things, you're like, this is the tour that I'm really excited for. And so I enjoyed, just having you look forward to that. So let's switch gears just a little bit and let's share a few moments from the new places we visited or regions in some places.
where maybe we had been before, but we went to a different area that might be lesser known to other people and what we experienced differently. Well, I talked about Iceland and we didn't do that as a trip on its own. We did as a stopover on the way home from London and Icelandair makes it super easy to do going from the UK or Europe or to the UK or Europe. And although we only had four days,
there were experiences that really stood out. So what would you say stood out to you from that long weekend that we spent in Iceland? So what's so interesting is, you said that's a short trip. That was four days. It was a long weekend, but so many little moments stood out. Hands down, the top experience was seeing the Northern Lights. We didn't know, obviously, if we were going to see them or not. We were there for four nights.
The first two nights, nothing. The third night, we were sitting at dinner and you said, hey, I think I might see something. Ran outside and sure enough, everybody else did too. And it was just absolutely phenomenal. Not something that you can plan for. We did do this as like a mini road trip. So we had a car and we drove and we could kind of do this on our own. And we had marked a lot of places, all these different waterfalls and beaches and different things.
And while we saw a lot of things, we stopped at a lot of waterfalls and there are a lot of things that we skipped, but I do feel like the places that we went to, it wasn't like we felt rushed. So one waterfall in particular has a long set of stairs and we walked to the top and then it had a little hike. Well, I mean, you could probably do that hike for hours and days and whatever, but we walked a little bit, took pictures, went to Diamond Beach a couple of times.
It was, it was close to the hotel where we saw the Northern Lights, but we saw it in the evening. And what was so interesting about that and getting to revisit it that way is that you don't think about, but as the tides change, we know because we live at the beach, but it was so interesting to see it in two different lights as well. but then just little things too. we walked up to another place that had these amazing overlooks and we ate
I guess they called it the lava pizza. was like a black crust pizza, I guess, and taking photos at the church and just little moments like that, that even though it was a short trip, just stand out so vividly to me from that trip. another aspect of our travel is experiencing new places in what might consider a highly traveled destination. And a good example is our road trip to Northern Ireland and Donegal.
We really slowed down and went beyond the familiar sites where everybody goes to Dublin and Galway and maybe down to Kerry, Those are very familiar places, but in this trip, we had an opportunity to go beyond. And that was, I think one of the things that really stood out and gave me a love for a whole new area inside of Ireland that even though we had a week there,
It's not enough. I need to go back. would you say are your top highlights from Ireland or top places that people need to visit or give a chance? Well, I'm going to be honest here. I had always thought of Northern Ireland as this dangerous place with car bombings and the like. And that's not at all what Northern Ireland is like today. Maybe it was at some point in the past and we won't diminish that or pretend like it wasn't, but
Today, it is very different. And so we really enjoyed our trip to Belfast. It was clean. It felt very safe. And we had a great time as we were there.
So we even commented as we were checking out the hotel and leaving Belfast to the guy who was checking us out and how surprised we were about that. And he was like, yeah. He said, even now it's almost like it's flip-flopped. They have a lot more crime and different things in Dublin. It's lot more touristy. We walked around at night and things were lit up and they were having a big music festival, but we could have spent a couple of days there. We had some great Indian food.
And I was super surprised about Belfast. I didn't know what to expect, I guess, but really surprised and we enjoyed that a lot. I remember driving there and you're like, ⁓ we just entered into Northern Ireland. And so you would have thought there would have been a checkpoint there or a border crossing or something. And there was nothing. It was just a sign like we had driven into another county.
And that was interesting because so Northern Ireland is still a part of the UK, whereas Ireland is not. Right now it is interesting because then you do have
the pound instead of the Euro in that area. and I'm trying to think, and I guess the speed limits and, and, some of those things, but other than that, you're right. The other aspect is this hidden gem called County Donegal. And so we had gone there for a travel creators conference. And so we're learning about this place.
that really isn't very well known. And there's so much rich history, culture, and just beautiful landscapes that beg to be explored. And so, like I said, I feel like I have to go back there and I have to spend more time. Not that I won't do, I have to do it. Yeah. I mean, they have cliffs that are actually taller than the cliffs of Moher. Just so many experiences and so many opportunities.
to go there and experience what they have to offer. And we got just a glimpse of that. So I'm with you, Scott. we definitely need to go back. One thing that I also loved about Ireland, ⁓ Northern Ireland in particular. So we had also picked out a few things from the Game of Thrones because a lot of the filming was done there is that you can just ⁓ park and kind of roam some of these areas. So we went down to Kilbane Castle.
They have a very small parking area. The road says no buses. So it didn't have a lot of tour groups. There weren't many people there. And you can just kind of wander around. We spent a lot of time wandering there and taking pictures near Port Stewart. We went to the Muson Down Temple, which is also part of the national registry that they have there. And people were walking their dogs and it's kind of just made into a park now and you can just wander. And I think that's what I love about that.
is that we tend to spend more time at places like that than I think maybe we had intended to. Also the Giants Causeway, we ended up not doing the bus route and the big tourist information center because we actually got there a little bit later, but we ended up taking a little hike and being able to see more of that. So I would highly, highly recommend that you also rent a car when you go to these places,
so that you are kind of free to do your own schedule as well instead of just being, okay, I'm in the city now I'm going to go on this tour and be rushed from place to place, walk down this road. Okay, now hurry up and get back on the bus. And we didn't have any of that. And it just gives you a chance to just step back and take your time. And if you don't get to see everything, we didn't do, I guess what would be like the famous swinging bridge. Okay, we skipped that, but we can do that next time or.
but we have vivid memories and special memories of the places that we did go.
We also want to talk about a couple of new experiences that have totally changed our ideas about travel. And so this year we did a few trips that have us rethinking our ideas of what types of travel that we really enjoy. And I'd say the first one was our walking tour through Umbria. So not only did we experience a different region, because most people there are going to go to Tuscany, we had a very different way of experiencing it.
where we walked between cities. And this really just allowed us to slow down. We took in all of the sights, the sounds, and then interacted with the local culture. And for me, like really seeing that Umbrian countryside in a very intimate way. You sometimes we talked, but just sometimes we walked in silence. We passed farms. Sometimes we felt like we were walking through them. A tractor might pass by. We walked through vineyards.
One morning, on the way out of town, we visited a grocery store and picked up some lunch supplies and then ate them by a stream. We watched a wedding unfold one afternoon as we got to our destination for that night. We sat in the piazza and had an apparel spritz and just enjoyed watching them come out of the church and take off in the car. And you actually went over and kind of took some pictures from a distance.
And I'll also never forget one of the mornings I went into a little shop, we needed a few things for lunch and I got some focaccia. Thought I was ending up with a whole sandwich. Ended up with just the focaccia from Anana. And when we ate that for lunch, you said, this reminds me of my own grandmother's, the cold biscuits that would be left over that I would eat as a child.
And we just sat on somebody's wall on the side of our, path we were taking and just ate that. And that was just so neat because you were just like, this tastes like a cold biscuit, And so it was just such a neat memory that you otherwise, I mean, you just wouldn't have it wasn't a touristy restaurant. It was like the local little place. so anybody who's thinking about this, they do move your luggage from place to place. You just have to walk there.
to the next location and we're going to do more of this. I'm getting my foot healed and we're going to do a lot more of this, but it was, it's definitely a new way that we like to travel and we're going to do more of. then secondly, we took two cruises this year and you may be like, okay, whatever. But, we've had some really enjoyable cruise experiences over the years, but
The two of us really never imagined ourselves as cruise people and probably aren't. If you think about people that do the same three night trip over and over again, but this year we did two different cruises and we did one as a family cruise to Alaska. And like Melissa said, we got chances to enjoy long dinners together. We took in shows on the ship.
And then we also danced the night away. Well, at least we did that last night of the cruise. But, you know, this was just a really enjoyable time for us and the way that we got to see some of the locations that we wouldn't have been able to see had we been on land. And then we also did our 21 day cruise.
that went from Hobart, Tasmania to Singapore. And on that trip, we met so many amazing people and went to a lot of really great places like the Great Barrier Reef. And so this has inspired us to take on a new challenge. And our goal is to travel on all of the world's largest cruise lines, doing some of the most unique itineraries that they have to offer.
Because part of the appeal for us is going to places that would be difficult to go otherwise, like Scott said, to Tasmania, into Glacier Bay. In the past, we've been to Gibraltar, Monaco, places that would be like, okay, it would be hard to get to that or be like way out of the way if you had all your luggage. And so I think that's the big appeal to us is dye itinerary.
And then the experience of it's also more of a restful way to travel. Yeah, you might go, go, go. And from what we've talked about, you can tell that we still were able to connect to a person in some of those destinations.
And so wasn't just about seeing, okay, we saw this landmark, We have that story and the connections that we made. So I also laughed because I told Scott, it was just like, okay, at home, what do you do? Eat dinner, watch TV, work on the podcast, that kind of thing. But here Scott is on the cruise. He's got, okay, they've got this activity and that activity. We can meet these friends that we met and get a drink. And so it's just, it's, it's just really funny. Just, it's like home Scott and cruise Scott.
Well, here's a few final thoughts that we wanted to hit off as rapid fire questions. And I'll start out with asking you, Melissa, what is something that you heard on a trip this year that has really stuck with you? So we have mentioned the,
the destination expert that was on the cruise. And we mentioned a few things. He had a lot of wisdom, I think, and we appreciated the fact that he was like talking about the destinations and he wasn't trying to sell you anything. And, he's done a lot of travel, but he kept making the point. And he would say this at every presentation of each cruise port that we were going to go to, He would say,
When you go to these places, they aren't trying to make you comfortable. This is their home. They are making it comfortable for themselves, for the people that live there. And so Scott, think to piggyback on that, you have said on the podcast, different places, to try to encourage people. When you travel international, don't try to make it, well, this isn't like home and this is different. And I know, I mean, I know sometimes we're like, this reminds me of, but don't try to...
diminish the way that they live or change it, or they should do that. Like sometimes we try to say, well, if they did it this way, you know, it'd be better, but just being, it is what it is and trying to just appreciate that. And I think connecting with a local helps you to do that. I wonder, we talked about that we didn't go to the Batu caves because they're refurbishing it and they're putting an escalator in.
And it makes me wonder if they just totally changed that experience based on people saying, I can't walk 200 steps. Right. And so now this place that's been there for hundreds of years, is going to have an escalator on it. And it gets changed. Yeah. And sometimes you feel like, that that's a shame to
to change it, to make it. Now, if they did that for their own people and to make it better for their own people, then by all means they should. But I'm hoping that they didn't do it to pacify tourists. So Scott, what is a moment from our 2025 travels that you will never forget? I think it's got to be riding on the back of those motorbikes
going to the waterfalls in Lombok. he says he's going to go get us transportation. We're thinking maybe like a car or a van or something like that. And these two guys show up on motorcycles and we just hop on the back and they take us up this, road. I felt like we were going.
pop a wheelie so many times and maybe flip over backwards. And, it's just those type of experiences where you just laugh and you're like, what the heck are we doing? But you do it anyway. Yeah. You just didn't have time to think about, think about that. Yeah. I will always remember that.
Well, what are some moments that we almost didn't get to, but we're so glad that we actually did them. So we hadn't booked anything in the port city of Eden. I had seen that, was whale watching. It was just something we didn't book. A lot of people are like, you can do Eden on your own. You don't really need to book anything. And kind of at last minute, you were like, you know what? There's a whale watching boat. Let's just book that.
And my goodness, that was so incredible. What we got to experience was two whales right there by the boat for over an hour and not even submerging themselves. And then, of course you feel like, okay, they always say this, this never happens. But I mean, I think in this case it's like, okay, this never happens. Cause they had planned to, well, we could go off and see if we could find more.
No, we're going to sit right here and just and watch these whales. And so that was kind of a last minute thing. Also, when we went on the Alaska cruise with our family, we were going to head on back home. They were doing the land extension to go up to Denali for a couple of days. And I don't know, a couple of months before you were like, you know what? I don't want to, I don't want to miss that. And it took a little bit of doing the, we couldn't still book the train and this and that.
So we figured out the logistics, but just having that extra time with them, going to the North Pole, Alaska, and just doing some of those things. But we also got to see the peak of Denali just like plain as day. And so that was just a wow as well. We also almost didn't go to Ireland either. We planned to go.
And then we were like, you know what, we just can't make this work. And I found a great flight deal and we were just like, you know what, let's just do it. We'll figure it out. You worked a lot during that time while I went to the conference. But I think that became a very meaningful trip to us. So I'm glad that we did that as well. And then one other thing, and it wasn't almost didn't do, but one other thing we hadn't talked about was my volunteer trip to Paraguay.
with Habitat for Humanity. And that was just a fantastic experience because you do connect with a local there. Like not only do you have the local, our local person that was with us the whole time and then took us to dinner and took us to a couple of cultural things, you really got to see, mean, Paraguay was very unexpected. And out of that, it has caused you to want to figure out how to do that. And so,
has now influenced our travel for the upcoming year, returning to Kenya, but in this volunteer capacity as well. And I just wanted to say too, that if you're listening to this and that's something that you're interested in, there are actually a few more slots on that trip. And so if you just want to, if you hear this and you wanna shoot me an email, melissa at sunshinetravelers.com, I will...
send you some information on that, just, put Kenya volunteer trip. And there's also going to be an opportunity to extend that and do a little bit more safari. And so that was just a great experience. So I highly recommend you figure out how to do some kind of volunteer travel, even if it's not a whole week or whatever.
Well, we also want to celebrate some milestones from the year, as well as how many countries we did get a chance to visit and how many continents and where did we end the year up? So I feel like this is pretty huge because we actually ended the year and that's hard to believe this. We've both been to six out of seven continents. And we'll hit that seventh in February, just a few weeks. Woohoo!
I always felt like it was just always like Australia. Have you been to Australia? People would ask. No, we haven't been to Australia yet. And, and now we have, which is just funny to say it's surreal. It was also fun because we got to, visit. Well, I actually visited a lot this year. because when I went to Paraguay, we also had to go to Brazil and I went to, ⁓ Argentina, which you had been to Argentina. but then when we did Australia.
Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, which is now China. I mean, that's a lot of countries. And so we didn't have anything really. So we kind of found all the paper they give you on the ship and the bingo marker and kind of made some little makeshift signs, which was fun.
So Scott, you ended up at, we're going to say 41. I'm going to let you explain that in a second. I ended up at 34. So I still have a ways to go. There's still places in South America and Asia that you have been to that I have not. My 34 countries though, you guys, is only 17 % of the world. So we've barely scratched the surface and we barely scratched the surface even in those countries, but it's fun to keep a tally. But it is also fun to just think about how
big the world is and just the differences of the world too. And some of my 41 countries that I've visited have been over and over and over again. So it definitely feels like that I've been to more than that, but there is one on the list that may be a little bit controversial. And we've talked about that already is that Hong Kong, the last time I was there, this was a British territory. And
today Hong Kong's part of China. So my Been app says that I've only been to 40, but I would think that it would be 41 because I was there when it was British and now I've been there when it's China.
I know it feels like you get cheated, so, but now you can say, well, I've been to China, but it's kind of the same as you go to the Dutch Antilles, and it's counts as part of So there's a country that I've been to that doesn't exist today. So do I get to count that? Been doesn't know anything about that. Which one? East Germany.
So I'm somewhere 40 to 42 countries. So let's just say there, even though that app says I've only been to 40.
So the app says that I've only been to 40. So you guys let us know. Have I been to 40? Have I been to 41? Or have I been to 42 countries? I'm interested to hear what your feedback is.
So as we head into 2026, there are some incredible adventures that we are definitely looking forward to. So Antarctica, more safari and more. We're going to share about more of those coming up in the next episode. I definitely have some things on my list. But what I think I'm most excited about is continuing to tell the stories that help you feel confident when traveling, curious.
and connected as well. Our mission continues to be to help you travel more and better. So tips and strategies to help make your travel budget go further, whether that's how you allocate it, using points and miles.
reward systems, it's packing, and we're still learning things along the way as well. So navigating the planning, navigating the booking, and just being intentional during your trip. And also we want to reiterate that if you want help,
Besides just listening to this and do it on your own, if you want help with some of that planning, you can also reach out to us because that is something that we can also do.
Well, we're incredibly grateful to everyone who's listened, shared an episode. Please go out and share these episodes with your friends and family. Or if you've reached out to us this year, thank you for being part of this journey with us. And our listeners favorite destinations continue to be Italy and the Caribbean. But just remember we have so many more different places and destinations for you to hear about.
And we want to encourage you to go and travel beyond that familiar place. And we really do love hearing from you how our advice helps shape your trips, helps make them better, encourage you to book something that you may not have known about because of something that you heard here. One example that I can share is my friend Virginia. She booked a trip upcoming for her son's birthday for the train into the Grand Canyon.
which was a special trip that I had planned for you. She didn't even know that you could do that train until she heard our episode. So I'm super excited to hear how her experience goes. And then I also heard from several of you, I sent out an email on Black Friday, just encourage you to mindfully spend. know you get, people get bombarded with buy this, buy this, buy this, but do you really need that stuff? Should you spend that money on travel or should you support local? And I got...
quite a few emails back from people. And I'd just love to hear from you about any of those things. So you can always reach out to us via email. Scott at sunshinetravelers.com Melissa at sunshinetravelers.com. Send us a DM on Instagram. So there's lots of ways that you can reach out and we love just hearing from you.
As we wrap up this year of travel, what stands out most isn't how far we went or how many places we visited, it's how intentional we became. By slowing down, connecting with locals and staying open to moments that we almost skipped, we found experiences that stayed with us long after the trip ended. Those quiet conversations, the shared meals and unplanned detours
are what remind us of why we love to travel in the first place. Looking ahead to 2026, there's some incredible adventures coming, but our focus remains the same. Sharing stories and strategies that help you feel confident, curious, and intentional when you travel. Whether you're exploring somewhere new or seeing a familiar place differently, our hope is that this podcast helps you to travel more and to travel better.
Thank you for being a part of this journey with us. The world is full of sunshine and surprises, and we can't wait to keep exploring beyond the familiar together.
Speaker 1 (41:44)
Well that's it for today's episode. Wherever you're listening from, we hope we've added a little spark to your travel dreams today.
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and join us on Instagram or Facebook at Sunshine Travelers Podcast. Remember, that's Travelers with one L.
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And if the stories, tips, and adventures we share bring a little sunshine to your week, you can even buy us a cup of coffee now. You'll find the link in the show notes.
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And of course, share this episode with a friend. Adventure is always better together.
