For the second year in a row, travel-lovers convened in 17 cities to confab about career breaks at MeetPlanGo.  In MSP, I was annointed chief host and bartop-washer, and was again humbled by our attentive guests and talented panel.  Such events become a blur—even before the after-party.  Yet many observations remain vivid…

• The mature and restless

Who’s going to show up?  You never know til they walk in.  I was surprised by two skews:  Young and hungry; and older and restless.  The youth have toured and yearn for more—while relishing the decades that await them like mysterious paths.

The older crowd surprised me.  Theory:  The economy has severed strings in some golden parachutes and retirement remains uncertain.  Yet they trust their final years aren’t all work, save, fret—but also include ample travel and leisure.

One dominant demo in the career-break crowd runs female, 25-40, single, and educated.  They were there too.  But they were surrounded by diversity–confirming that you’re never too old to rock and roll, and never too young to aim high.

• So many stories, so little time

I so wish there would have been time to chat with every guest.  But the hours disappeared like, well, sands in an hourglass.  After the group had dispersed, I found myself virtually alone at the bar, snarfing a midnight supper and reflecting over (and into) a glass of Zinfandel that, as Sly sings, “Everybody is a Star.”  To wit…consider:

• One young fashion student graduates soon.  Her dream is to get to New Zealand, see the land known as “Godzone,” and become a period-costumer for movie-makers.
• One couple has realized retirement isn’t yet around the corner.  So they’ve started up an online business that allows them to work on the move; they just happened to be in town.
• A young photographer surprised me by being able to share affection for the islands of St. Vincent and Bequia.  Stateside, I’ve met no other person who’s spent time on both of those West-Indian gems.

• A panel with poise and punch

Big ups and thanks go out to my panel, an impressive crew who willingly gave of their time, knowledge, and passion.

• Leif Pettersen remains a walking, talking travel encyclopedia—with 47 countries under his belt, to say nothing of his Lonely Planet books and successful blogs.
• Julie DuRose charms with yarns and pics of love lost in faraway lands, friends found everywhere, and the singular bliss attained when globe-hopping.
• Kara McGuire embraces her role as money mentor, and shares insights about everything from credit card bests to retirement angst.  Her big BreakAway lies ahead, but she DOES use all her vacation time—and…who knows?
• Finally, Layne Kennedy dazzles with chronicles and photos from the world over.  As if to remind us that good photography is more eye than gear, he proudly announced his new book, Snap, shot entirely with an iPhone and apps.

Snap?  Appropos!  The career-break tribe has been buzzing about Meet, Plan, Go for a year.  And then, Snap!  It’s over.  Like a BreakAway itself; these things can take years of patience and months of planning.  And then, Snap!

But the way of life carries on.  The memories live on.  And the stories have endless characters, but no ending.

Thanks again.  Keep the faith.  And happy sails.

When Julie DuRose speaks at our panel of five at Meet, Plan, Go MSP next Tuesday (10-18-11), you can expect stories of escaping academia, exotic foods, and solo travel. As a women.  In outlandish lands.  With nary an itinerary.  Not only did she survive, she thrived—and can’t wait to fly away again.  (See bio below.)

These traits alone make her a perfect panelist.  But her clever demeanor and gift of story will light up the room, and enlighten fellow dreamers and schemers.  The world is ready for her book, Wake Me for Meal Service.  But alas, we’ll have to wait until it’s finished, published, and perfect.  With her talents, the wait won’t be long.  And after that?

My best guess is we’ll be needing a go-away party—to wish her Godspeed before she embarks on a book tour, or perhaps more urgently, another big BreakAway.

So see her while you can.  Meantime, thanks to Julie for taking on the 11Q challenge.  Take a read.  Soak in her courage.  And please join us at Honey on Tuesday night.

• Biggest getaway challenge

My then partner (and travel-mate) and I are both planner types and have a head for details and problem solving, so the multi-country itinerary was not a big deal at all. What was difficult, though, was agreeing about what all to save (or not save), and what to get done (or leave unfinished) – which lead to the challenge of picking a date. This was likely more about the fundamental ways we were incompatible, though, than it was about the nature of the tasks at hand. (May you all have an easier time of it!)”

• Grandest arrival

My father & stepmom bought us two nights at Le Meridien in Kuala Lumpur over New Year’s. We went from backpacking through leech-infested jungles to sipping European wines in fluffy white bathrobes. I hadn’t seen a bathtub in months, and this one was magical.”

• Favorite place

When I was riding my motorcycle through Alaska, it was Alaska. When I was in New Zealand, I thought it was New Zealand. When I was in Bali, it was Bali, and when I was in Rajasthan . . . well, you get the idea. The only place I didn’t think was worth the trip was Invercargill, whose claim to fame is that it is the southernmost city in the world. That was pretty much the most exciting thing about it, too.”

• Logistical nightmare

Buying five train tickets as a woman traveling alone in India was a three-day project. You can pay a travel agent to help you with things like this, of course, but I don’t find that nearly as satisfying or memorable. (Oh, and whenever possible, take the train.)”

• Most meaningful moment

“Most” is again an impossible designation, but I often think about a time when a young Cambodian man got on his scooter and rode through the streets looking for me to apologize that his father had displayed anger in the restaurant where I had just eaten. We had never met before.

I also think a lot about the grand hospitality I received over the course of a year, and in particular, this amazing couple in Anchorage that shared their home and their lives with us for three weeks, and included us on a trip into the Arctic.”

• Worst disaster

I can’t think of any “disasters” really, but my (initial) traveling companion and I fought a lot – and often publicly, since our “homes” were basically on our backs. (There is definitely a loss of privacy on the kind of trip I took.) At the tail end of a particularly long – and silent – flight, it became apparent that the man next to us had no idea that we were even together. That felt like something of a disaster at the time, if only on a relationship level.”

• Serendipitous experience

Serendipity is the rule when you give yourself over to travel. One of my favorite moments of serendipity was meeting two amazing guys from Dayton, Ohio, near the Taj Mahal. I was putting out a table fire at the time, but that is a long(er) story.

You know, it got to the point that whenever something went wrong – when I got horribly lost or sick, or my vehicle had broken down, for example – I was overcome with this wonderful kind of calm anticipation about what remarkable thing or person was waiting for me just around the bend.”

• Strangest encounter

Firing an AK-47 in Phnom Penh, I suppose, or a forbidden taxi ride through Bangkok when the city was on fire and under lockdown in April of 2010.”

• Requisite health dilemma

You name it: Jellyfish attack in Indonesia, dysentery in India, Chikungunya in Thailand, bedbugs in Cambodia . . . Each time I needed medical care, though, I was profoundly amazed at how much easier, more accessible, and more pleasant it was then any healthcare experience I’d had back “home.”

• Profound take-away

For “profound,” you’ll have to buy the book.”

Re-entry vibe.

Honestly? America feels like a forced labor camp – except the “labor” is willingly participating.”

Julie DuRose When Julie quit her teaching gig at The Ohio State University to travel the world for a year, she let her appetite guide her. She shucked oysters at the Russian River; picked cranberries in the Arctic; tried stingray in Malaysia; ate jellyfish in Singapore (that was revenge); popped oven-roasted tarantulas in Cambodia, and ate fruit she’d never heard of – jackfruit, salak, rambutan, and the sexiest of all, the delicate mangosteen. All of it surprised her, as did the hospitality of her fellow humans. From Carmel to Anchorage to Kona, HI, throughout New Zealand, India, and S.E. Asia, she never imagined how many folks would be part of her extended travels – not to mention her life thereafter.

Julie DuRose is former chef and current M.F.A. candidate in nonfiction, currently writing a memoir entitled Wake Me For Meal Service. She lives in St. Paul, though she dreams of Myanmar.

Kara McGuire has one of the coolest jobs around:  She gets to write about money. No, not Donald Trump and the VIX index, but helpful info for the average checkbook bungler.  On Tuesday, October 18, Kara will participate in our Meet Plan Go career-break panel. If a money’s a main obstacle that keeps you from flying away, you’ll want to be there.

• Spot-on reportage

Kara clips coupons.  Kara has three kids under the age of eight.  Kara knows how many Americans are one month away from losing their house.  But within the last month, she’s also offered readers real, relevant articles like…

1. Think twice before saving for college
2. Women minding the money
3. Slash your grocery bills

She’s also a proponent of schools that get off their abacus and teach our young’uns how to be better with a buck.  Just think:  Had we promoted that sooner, maybe this dang debt crisis wouldn’t still be such a massive bummer.

• Yet Kara’s BreakAway awaits

Last we talked, Kara came clean with a secret:  She’s yet to take her career break.  (Egads!)  Yet she loves to travel,

It’s not so easy with two careers and three kids, but we try to set aside travel money every year—athough it can be the first savings to get tapped when the unexpected expense shows up.”

So, Kara, unlike most Americans, do you at least use all your vacation days?  She laughs,

Oh yes.  And when we travel, we might spend a day at a four-star resort, and then camp—to extend the budget and time away.  But with a family now, sometimes vacations become visiting grandparents and such.  The good news is that, sometimes, that takes you to faraway places like Massachusetts.”

• Save your hard questions for Kara

So please, join Kara, me, and our three other panelists.  And ask Kara the taxing questions.  She’ll have a savvy answer—and you’ll be one step closer to your big break.

On October 18, career-break dreamers and veterans alike will gather simultaneously in 17 cities nationwide for the 2nd annual Meet,Plan,Go!

In each location, a savvy panel will provide the punch, while a local host will run the circus.  In Mpls, that’s Me.

• Who are these crazy people?

One of them is true travel guru, Jeff Jung.  I mean, this guy not only globe-hops like the Energizer Bunny, he also blogs like the best and creates amazing videos to help folks get going (among other things).  Surf his world to see just how righteous a sabbatical site can be.

Despite his travels and tech tasks, Jeff found time to collect the short stories and faces from the other 16 hosts.  It’s a captivating crew—with surprisingly NOT that much in common—ranging from youngish to oldish, from solo to family, from selfless volunteers to shameless vagabonds. Please meet just a few…

• Sonia, in DC exemplifies the “back to work breaker.”  That’s right:  She’s proven it’s possible to have a career, run away, and come back to work again.  Encore!
• “Soloist” Lisa Lubin, in Chicago, shoots a helluva photo and clearly eats well when she embarks on solo sojourns.  She takes no short-cuts and savors every bite.
• And then there’s my fellow “multiple breaker” and dear friend, Sherry Ott—who’s also one of the mad visionaries behind MPG.  For a cathartic treat, get lost on her site.

I could go on and on.  But the far more fascinating option would be to wander around some of these suave sites.

Good luck and Godspeed to my fellow hosts—and thanks, Jeff!

• On the freeway, dude in the pick-up behind me talks on his cellphone, snarfs a sandwich, and tailgates like we’re attached until I leave the lane.
• Downtown, woman in high heels texts while j-strutting through frantic traffic.
• At the supermarket, suburban Momma barks at her bluetooth while ignoring her kids and budging to the front of the 10-item line (with 22 groceries in her cart).

Just another day, right?  Does anybody ever catch up, slow down and smell the fall colors any more?

5 ways to stop rushing

1. In the morning, upon waking up, stay in bed a while, and decide to do something (that isn’t on your to-do list) soothing that day.
2. Mid-morning, go outside for a walk, bike ride, or any other exercise bit.
3. At lunch, before you munch, give thanks, and remember the many that are hungry.
4. In the afternoon, when you’re feeling sleepy anyway, take a silence break—meditation, catnap, siesta; doesn’t really matter what you call it.
5. Before bed, unplug and play some mellow music, or just listen to some if you’re musically challenged.

As for me, the days that I don’t do some of those things (among other ‘habits’) are the days that feel lost—no matter how much I accomplished.

Seems modern-day survival relies on speedy multitasking.

But how much of that obsession actually amounts to anything?  How can we so value productivity yet admit we dislike our jobs, go deeper in debt, and suffer from crippling unemployment?  Wouldn’t it be great to recalibrate our collective priorities?

Maybe we’d use our time differently.  Maybe we’d take our time—literally—now and then.

Big-time BreakAways can wait.  But small-time breaks always await—and demand far less energy than they give back.

Ever wanted to ask a bunch of experts about how and why to BreakAway?  Well then, please join me and four fun, savvy smarties when we meet up for a few hours on October 18.  We’ll gather in Honey, a sweet club by Nye’s in Minneapolis, from 7-9, with doors and cheap sips starting at 6.

The event is called MeetPlanGo (this is Year 2) and it’s happening in 17 cities nationwide.  Wow!  Please meet your impressive panel…

• Julie DuRose: chef-turned-nomad who ate her way around the world for a year–half of it solo after a breakaway break-up–and lived to write about it;
• Layne Kennedy: acclaimed photographer who has shot everything from pink dolphins in the Amazon to Inuits in Greenland–for LIFE, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated and more;
• Kara McGuire: mother of three and author of an award-winning personal finance column in the StarTribune who knows a thing or two about saving money; and
• Leif Pettersen: a freelance writer, insatiable traveler, slightly caustic blogger and semi-professional wino who is a regular contributer to Lonely Planet.

And, of course, yours truly…

For details and registration, click here.  Hope to see you there!

Survey sez…

• 32% of parents play computer games with their children every day
• 80% described this as quality time

Source:  PopCap Games

Screen living continues to turn us on.  If 80% of parents say Guitar Hero kicks butt over Guitar Lessons, then bring on Milli Vanilli.  If two out of three play games daily with their children, then bye-bye badminton.

Hey, who can blame the ‘rents?  Our best diversions may have been Donkey Kong, Rockem’ Sockem’ Robots, or perhaps a bike.  As one dad snickered to me when I was barking about our kids’ digital jones,

C’mon.  You’re just jealous ‘cuz they have cooler stuff than you did.”

No doubt.  Still, there are still countless “cool” alternatives awaiting those open to off-screen quality time with their kids…

11  Quality Time Alternatives to Playing Computer Games with Your Children

1. Take guitar lessons and play that thing.
2. Bake a cake.  (Box will do.)
3. Go to outdoor sports event and get noisy.
4. Play cards, backgammon, checkers, or chess.
5. Light a bonfire, with plenty of flaming marshmallows.
6. Chase; young kids love it.
7. Read things out loud.
8. Play catch.
9. Dig out their old 3D toys.
10. Make hand-made cards for faraway friends.
11. Fish.

What’s your idea of quality time?  What would you add to the list?  I’m listening…

Downtowns are supposed to be places where we can walk, gawk and escape our routine.  Make some celebration.  Stumble on an odd adventure.  And feel the beat of the streets.  When traveling—whether to New York or to Tokyo—who doesn’t wander, eyes agog, to take it all in?

• Diversity ≠ danger

I took this picture in the spring of 1981.  After an all-night Greyhound ride from Chicago, I awoke in Minneapolis and took my first stroll down notorious Block E.  The Prudes That Be said it was squalid and scary—and thus eventually tore everything down to erect a mall that has failed.

To me, Block E buzzed with verve and authenticity; even the signage sings, if at times a raunchy tune.  So I hung out there now and then.  After attending Game 7 of the 1987 World Series, I ended up in Moby Dick’s and witnessed astonishing elation and conviviality.

• Now the Hard Rock crumbles…

23 years later, the soul-less, mammoth mall that replaced Moby’s and all the rest is now nearly empty.  Hard Rock will close by the end of the month.  Generic chain joints like Applebee’s, Hooters, GameWorks, and Panchero’s are already gone.

Perhaps the saddest twist of fate is this:  The new owners who bought the building have big plans of tearing this iteration down to erect a $200 million casino and hotel.

If this is progress, call me old-school.  Like dog poop that you step in and then spread it all over, the porn and strip joints they shut down have simply moved a few blocks to other locations; at least they used to be mostly on one block (which anyone could avoid and where cops and bouncers were abundant).

You could get “a whale of a drink” at Moby’s and get a dang-good-and-cheap “filet de boeuf” at 2 AM at Best Steak House.  If the new owners get their way, you can feed your gambling addiction and their pockets instead.

• Pictures preserve memories, if nothing else

Like all good career break and travel advocates, I’m also an unprofessional photographer.  Today’s news reminds me why.  There’s nothing fancy about this image.  Yet it becomes more precious as the years pass—both because it rouses inimitable memories, and because it preserves a vanished scene.

Do you have a list, written or not, of things you want to do before you…expire?  If so, that’s your bucket list, a term that everybody seems to detest, but gets more usage all the time anyway.  I’m here today to state that YES!  Why not?  Keep a dang bucket list, if only in your cranium.  There’s power in that thing.

And it seems like recently, the bucket list phenomenon has dumped on me many ways; here are a few…

• The rock show.

I’ve found myself at two concerts this summer because, in part, friends had decided that seeing U2 and The Jayhawks were on their bucket list.  So what if I’m not a big fan of either?  A great time was had by all and my buddies accomplished a life goal.

• “The bucket list lie.”

Soul brother blogger Jonathan Fields disses the list and insists that a “list of one” (just for today) is a better way to go.  He gets swamped with hundreds of weighty responses.

• “Bucket List,” the movie.

While on my last career break (spending 69 days in the West Indies with my family) we watched this fine movie.  Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman offer moving performances as terminally ill elders, and it served to remind me that I was lucky to be drinking from that blessed bucket at that very moment.

• All to say…

I hope your bucket list has not been thrown out with the trash.  After all, the only way you’ll GET what you want…is if you KNOW what you want.

That’s true whether it’s as simple as a $25 concert at 1^st Avenue, or as complicated as island-hopping for most of one winter in a place where the starfruit falls off the tree and the Calypso music echoes over the bay.

Speaking of career breaks, for sure the only folks who achieve one are the ones who keep the faith, no matter how irrational.  These things take time—sometimes decades—to actualize.  But belief beats the alternative:  Giving up.  While the story is still being written.

Even during dark days and droughts, the bucket can be half-full, right?

About a month ago, the New York Times offered a “Practical Traveler” article, “Planning the Perfect Vacation.” As a recovering perfectionist—and talented vacationer—I found the article to be both insightful and unfortunate.

• Are vacations a dying art?

So many people barely bother to vacation any more.  They’re too busy.  Can’t afford it.  Hate planning.  Or just let it slip away, like so many (dare I say) responsibilities.  Many who do manage to sneak away do so for just a few days; the trend remains for shorter breaks.  And “staycations” have gone mainstream.

That staycation may be a brilliant way to use the PTO days and unwind.  But really, who has mastered the challenge of staying home yet avoiding chores, routines, email/SM/TV/smart phone and all that?

Sometimes countless hours on a hammock with a view or a book might be what the Doctor of Well-Being would prescribe.

• Great ideas; too bad we need ‘em

Still, a high-profile story like this reminds us to step back and think about our little BreakAway.  Great tips like “Relish the anticipation” remind us that foreplay and faith offer part of the fun.  “Make your time count” means stop sight-seeing; start relaxing.

And of course, “Ditch the smartphone” asserts that less screen time is so much more calming—and that the term “weisure” has landed in our vocabulary to describe the regrettable trend of working while resting.  Yuck!

• Hardest working, least happy

Surveys, books, and one’s own travels continue to confirm that Americans are among the hardest-working people on earth, yet are also among the unhappiest.  That’s a complex disorder to fix, but there are ways each of us can fight that funk.

Like, take your vacation already, before another sweet summer fades away!

It’s my opinion that nobody ever regrets opening their minds to the gift of free time.