#wildcatadventures

[thewildcatadventures]

Traditional home in Northern Thailand llama style. Here our Llana Thai hosts show us how Thai Tabacco is rolled with tea leaves.

[thewildcatadventures]

Chiang Mai and it’s foothills of the villages of Mae Rim are welcoming destinations to all people. There is an open spirit and a love for hospitality. I was lucky enough not only to experience this in the hotels, but also in the villages, at the night market or the street vendors, at the elephant sanctuary, the llana Thai home visit, and with the monks at their temples. I truly left Northern Thailand with a love for its people, food, culture, and animals.

[thewildcatadventures]

Welcome to Wildcat Adventures

Hi! Welcome to my travel site, WildCat Adventures, where I am living life in love. Love of travel, love of romance and love of adventure!  For as long as I can remember, my passions have been people, travel, adventure and love. So it only makes sense that I am a travel professional who makes travel dreams come true everyday!          

My father, born in Indonesia, always kept my family traveling around the world after meeting my mother on a cruise to Bermuda. He was the head maitre’d on Holland America Line cruises and my mama-Cat (Cathy) was a passenger. <3 They fell in love and created two international traveling women. 

I, am one of those lucky women born into travel with love.

I have been in the luxury travel industry for three years but I’ve been traveling to exotic destinations since 1992. I believe that travel is living life in love, and when done correctly, offers once-in-a-lifetime experiences and a priceless return on life. To me, travel is like a journey full of romance or a quest for adventure. Travel teaches us, and leaves us, with lasting memories of AHmazing experiences with people you love the most! (the ‘AH’ moments)

In this blog, I’ll share my personal travel experiences, as a newly engaged travel advisor, living life in love. Each week, I’ll post photos, videos and recommendations of my top exotic destinations, romantic beach getaways and wildcat adventures. In between, I’ll write about on how my new love and my first love and passion for travel, share space in my life. Stay tuned!

WildCat Adventures, through Odyssey Travel, promises you a custom adventure with touches of luxury- an epic journey inspired by your wildest travel dreams and designed with my passion for travel, romance and adventure. I have the knowledge, access and professionalism that you are looking for in a trusted advisor and travel confidant. Enjoy my new blog!

Living Life in Love,

Jessica

To collaborate with Jessica on your next epic adventure or romantic beach getaway, send an email to [email protected] or call 904.570.3000

[thejeskimo]

The Next Stage in Life and the End of The Jeskimo

Tonight I could not sleep. Maybe because I haven't written in quite a while.  I have been working hard fulfilling my daily duties as a travel advisor. I am taking on more business than I ever thought about two years ago. I am working remotely with a group of people from an award winning travel agency, Largay Travel, who support me professionally and personally. That makes all the difference. I am grateful. When I am grateful, I reflect.

Three years ago, I found myself in St. Augustine, Florida. Single, broke and fabulous. I started a blog focused on what I thought I was going through, and called it my “quarter-life crisis.” Three years ago, I sat down and got honest about where I was and where I wanted to be in life. I wrote this down and posted it on this blog for anyone who cared or could relate. The response was filled with support from friends of all ages from all over the world. My answer then is the same as my answer today. I am free. So tonight, what do I do with this freedom? I write. 

Yes, still single and fabulous but today happily living more within my means and passionately pursuing a line of work that makes me happy and fulfilled. The reason I think this blog worked personally was mostly because I reflected. The result was small steps I took for three years to become that person professionally. With lots more work to do personally in my ever changing life, I find myself back in the same place, St. Augustine Beach… where my story continues.

This is the start of a whole new adventure on a path unknown but completely shaped by my motives and moves from three years ago with no one to blame, if it all comes crashing down, but myself.  

I realized today, in a Facebook post about whether I should fire my dad as my client, that the best way to reach people is to align my daily issues in life as they seem to be somewhat universal; at the very least relate-able. I also learned and practice the art of letting it go- specifically when it comes to family and the ones you love most. In general, I want to reach people through life issues that millennials, or any generation for that matter, are facing today or have faced at some stage of their own lives. The dad post seemed to hit home in the same way the quarter-life crisis theme was so relate-able. And just like what I learned from my visit to Walt Disney World last week; you need to tell a great story to get them hooked.

These are the stories of my life as a millennial travel advisor. Let’s call them wildcat adventures.

“The Jeskimo; a blog inspired by travel, style and success” was built on my quarter-life crisis. In this new blog, you will find stories of my daily practice and eventual mastery of being a millennial in the world today. Everyone has a story, I'm just writing mine.

This social media saturated world is pretty obsessed with themselves. Narcissistic one may say. Which works out well for me and my favorite art of expression, writing, and my favorite topic, myself. :)

The thing I find the most interesting about the results of four years of writing The Jeskimo blog and my social media practices, is how many people pretend to not care, like or comment yet they are all watching. Whether I see this through my Google analytic data from my blog or when I see people in person, I found those who don’t comment online; usually have something to say about my posts in person. Social media gives people a way to love, hate or annoy; But at the end of the day, they are reading, for whatever reason, and possibly reflecting on themselves. The difference between my writing three years ago and now, is that then I used my blog to inspire only me. My hope this time around is that I inspire people to do more for themselves to be happier in their own skin and lives. To reflect on what they need to be free and take steps to get there every day. I will do this through my own stories- living proof that where ever I go, there I am but oh man, what an epic journey!

On that note, this marks the end of The Jeskimo, but it's legacy will always remain here.  I am so proud of the foundation it laid for my next stage in life and excited for what this crazy world has to offer.

I'll be writing on a new and fresh blog/website combination, where you will be able to find resources to help inspire your own lives through meditation, reflection and travel experiences. I look forward to sharing my wildcat adventures with you and hopefully a whole new group of inspired readers. The link is coming as I expect to launch sometime in Spring of 2015.

Signing off from the sunshine state...

xoxo

Jessie

a.k.a The Jeskimo

[thejeskimo]

Wildcat Adventures in South America & Ashley's Last Contact

Last night I realized I haven't had any communication with one of my best friends in life in over 12 days! And my real friends know how I like to stay in contact, even with a FB message or text pretty often.  Ashley is my friend and confidant but she is my number one client as a travel advisor, and she is currently traveling South America on an epic journey that is sure to be changing her life. As much as I miss her in my present, I am reminded of why I choose to make travel my life. It changes you, challenges you and transforms you into someone you never knew you were capable of being. For this reason, I am happy for my friend and a little of me is dying inside knowing that today she might be in my FAVORITE little coastal town of Paratay, Brazil (pronounced Para-Chi).

As a travaler first, this thought brought me back to an adventure with my family that is one of my favorite memories in life. When my dad and I linked up to meet my sister in Sao Paulo, Brazil, we had know idea what driving the Brazilian coast to Rio de Janerio was all about. We just decided to do it and take the "scenic route" off the highway and along the coast. Something my mother, if she was alive, would never have let us do. Pictured here are some shots from the aggressively windy, elevated and unpaved roads when you venture off the dutra (highway) in Brazil. When our GPS told us that we were on an "unknown" road and I was extremely car sick, we knew this was going to be interesting but there was no turning around after an hour into the mountains. We edged up to a steep, rocky road and decided my sister's 4 cylinder Sentra wasn't going to make it. As my dad backed up, I sat up and saw the edge of the cliff we were on! For fear of falling off the mountain to trees below, my family got out of the car to examine and make a plan for a next step. I jumped into the front seat and powered the car up the hill, over the boulders and turned it around. I forever will remember this moment as the time I save my dad and sister's lives, well kinda. Either way, when we drove down the road and we saw the ocean! And a little town! Life! From there we drove another hour down a main paved road to the amazing colonial town of Paratay. The cutest stores, outdoor dining, cobble stone streets and views of mountains and ocean for days. This is where my friend Ashley is.

As a travel advisor second, Ashley is the mascot of my career. If you have any questions about what kind of trips I like to create or what a "Wildcat Adventure" might be, here is an excerpt from Ashley's last contact and this email meant the world to me.

"I loooooove Argentina. OMG. The people are gorgeous and soooo friendly. i met a supermodel of a man. Argentinian doctor. Our souls connected, it was magical. The girls i m with are awesome as well. We are from different locations all over the world but get along great. Mostly the 4 single girls and our new female group leader. Its nice to have female comradery again. I am in Montevideo, Paraguay right now. There was a crazy storm here. My flight from Salta to Buenos Aries was delayed for a day and the ferry to Paraguay almost capsized like 10 times. Power was going out and things falling off the wall and breaking. It was like titanic, no joke. One of my favorite things i did so far was horseback riding in Argentina. Close your eyes and picture it and thats exactly what it was like. Breathtaking landscape. After that we went back to this vineyard mansion and had an enormous BBQ! Unlimited wine and steak."

I'll close this post with my belief statement. Something I've worked on all year and everything in this post is proof of what I stand for.  I believe travel is living life in love. It is a quest for adventure, teaches us, and leaves us with lasting memories that bond the most important pieces of life that, for me, are family & great friends, time, personal growth and relationships. My personal brand is Wildcat Adventures and through Largay Travel I promise you a custom adventure with touches of luxury- an epic journey inspired by your wildest travel dreams and designed with my passion for the love of travel & living the life. 

To collaborate with me on your next epic journey, send me an email at [email protected]

[thejeskimo]

Check out my guest blog post on "The Largay Advisor Blog" and Experience NYC with Adventures by Disney

[thejeskimo]

Today i was a tourist in #newyorkcity #theexperience #exclusiveaccess #iheartny #wildcatadventures

[thejeskimo]

People here are special! 🌴🚣💁 #fireisland #wildcatadventures #ohhaayyy #fourthofjuly (at Fire Island Pines Harbor)