A shift in direction

November 3, 2016 By

I’ve felt a changing in the winds regarding my career for a while now. So much has evolved in the blogosphere from The Early Days. Blogging was about story- and truth-telling…about making real online connections. Now in the days of Instagram, Twitter, Facebook etc. it’s not about great writing, it’s about a quick fix. The Instagram stars are the beautiful people who give a snapshot of their beautiful life with beautiful pictures.

When we decided to move to Utah, I knew I wanted to shift out of that space. My first love has always been writing about travel. My jobs after college were as a publicist for SkiUtah and Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort as I worked with travel writers from across the country. I was the travel editor for a local magazine for a number of years and freelanced as a writer for a national travel publication distributed by the Utah Travel Council. I reconnected with both of these magazines upon moving here. The first was eager for me to contribute; the second was in the process of disbanding because the UTC had recently decided to dissolve their print publications, a huge mistake in my opinion. Much of the world has switched online but there is still a place for print.

While in Park City limbo, I was frustrated because I wanted to delve into my next path but didn’t have the time to pursue anything (driving kids 25+ hours/week will do that). It’s funny because life seems to happen when you least expect it.

Last February, we were at our Johnson Family Reunion at Estes Park when my sister-in-law Tammy casually mentioned I should connect her friend, Erynn, who ran a popular family travel blog, Tropic of Candycorn, and travel company. Erynn and I started following each other’s social media accounts and planned to meet when we moved to Utah early-summer. And then our move was delayed.  When we finally arrived here in August, Tammy invited us to her famous outdoor move night so I pinged Erynn to see if she’d be there…and we met. That woman makes me look like a homebody and has lived around the world with her husband and four kids.

Photo: Erynn’s Clan at Mashpi Eco Lodge

A couple of weeks later, she contacted me to see if I’d be interested in a part-time operations position with Mosaico Travel Services and I started this week! Essentially, I’ll be arranging custom travel for their high-end  (A-list and celebrity) clients to Central and South America and Antarctica. I’ll be doing operations and travel writing to start, with the hope of moving into sales once I learn the business and as they expand globally. And yes, travel will hopefully be involved.

I’ll be working from home, the hours are flexible so I’ll still be able to juggle Mile High Mamas and other freelance positions.

I’m super excited and the kids are, too; I caught Hadley googling “Five star hotels in South America.”  That girl is setting herself up for a lifetime of disappointments when reality hits but here’s to a fun new adventure!

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