Hello and welcome to Travel + Explore & Play with Sallee Jay, I am your host.
I am excited to share that I have started a new travel series on Instagram! Below is the Run of Show for my first guest and close friend Rachel Nava. Please be sure to head over to IG and check it out.
Head over to @salleejay on Instagram for the full video.
Sallee Jay: Hello and welcome to Travel + Explore & Play with Sallee Jay, I am your host. Thank you all so much for joining me on our first live travel episode.
I have so many dreams for my business and salleejay.com, one of which is to have my own travel show, so what better way to start then with a web series.
This series of interviews and blogs will be conversations with friends, family, and acquaintances, sharing amazing travel experiences here in the United States and abroad.
Kicking us off, we have a very special guest, one of my best friends in the world Rachel “I’m A LINDA” Chacon Nava. I guess I should not have said your full government name here! Lol
Rachel is hands down one of the kindest and most giving people that I have met, which plays a HUGE part in her travel to Ireland.
She is a wife, dog mom, auntie, superb sister friend and so much more! She also works very hard, and did I mention how kind she is!! I mean heart of gold. I feel like this is going to be a lot of fun and we are going to learn something new about each other tonight.
Before we get into the Ireland trip, I have some questions so the “Jays” (subscribers) can get a sense of who you are and how we became connected!
Sallee Jay: How did we meet?
Rachel: We met when I got assigned to an accounting position with OMI. We were in the same department and while I don’t think we necessarily hit it off right away, but over time, we became more than work acquaintances and developed a very real friendship.
Sallee Jay: Where is the furthest place that you have travelled?
Rachel: The furthest place I’ve traveled to is Ireland. Prior to that, it would be Mexico!
Sallee Jay: How many countries have you been to?
Rachel: I’ve been to 3.5 - Mexico, Iceland, Ireland and Canada ( that’s my .5…LOL)
Sallee Jay: Where is your dream travel destination that you have yet to visit?
Rachel: Where do I even begin…..I guess I’ll go with Paris. I mean, I have plans to travel to Scotland and England with a friend in the next couple of years - getting married and moving to Texas and then COVID really put those plans on hold….I keep saying that I want to take an overnight/day trip from England to Paris when we go. I dreamt - like a literal dream - many, many years ago of going to Ireland and I made that happen. More recently, I’ve had that same dream but this time it was Paris….I’m going to make that happen!
Sallee Jay: Group Trip / Solo Travel /BaeCateion and why?
Rachel: All of the above!! I’ve had many group trips - from short weekend girls trips and co-ed trips to the mountains, a 20+ co-ed group trip to New Orleans, a 10 person all ladies trip to Puerto Rico, 3 of us gals in Ireland…. They were amazing and really helped build friendships. I also love going away with my honey….it’s necessary to get out of your normal surroundings and the responsibilities that come with that life and just refresh. I also strongly believe that solo travel can and will change your life. I’ve unfortunately not had a lot of opportunities to do that - my mama was big on me always having someone with me just because - you know…..safety in numbers….
Sallee Jay: What is the greatest lesson that you have learned to date from travel?
Rachel: That no matter where you go, people will be rude and kind and they will ignore you or help you…and that no matter what, you will find your joy if you just allow yourself to experience other cultures, foods, customs….
Sallee Jay: Live in one place or move around a little?
Rachel: My dream used to be to own an awesome RV so I could just go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted. But as I’ve gotten older and settled down a bit, I like having a home base to return to after an adventure.
Below is a general outline of the conversation flow.
So tell us how you met Shanna and Lori?
I met Lori back in 2000 after getting hired at a company she worked at. This group of gals would all go out on Thusday nights for happy hour and karaoke. We hit it off right away and became fast friends. I met Shanna through her husband Neal….who I met while waitressing. I also played pool out of the same bar I waitressed at and I asked him one night to join my team. He agreed and I think after one session, he convinced Shanna to join and the rest was history!!
Outside of the purpose at hand, why Ireland?
I have no real idea. I have just always felt this pull to go there. Like I said earlier, I literally had a dream of me being there and I just knew that I had to make it happen. Maybe it’s because I am mesmerized by the folklore - leprechauns, faeries, magic. I’m also a huge fan of Viking stories and I was pleasantly surprised by all the Viking history there is in Ireland. I just always knew in my heart that it was a magical place and that I needed to be there.
How long do you propose someone takes to plan a trip like this?
Well, let’s see….I believe we started the plan in May and the trip was in September - so just a few months - surprisingly. I’m more impressed that we did such a great job of keeping it a secret!!
What is one thing everyone absolutely must see or do while in Ireland?
This is tough as it’s different for everyone. If you love books, do not miss Trinity College Dublin. If you’re into TV shows or movies, the Dark Hedges and Giant’s Causeway (Game of Thrones fan here…)in Northern Ireland are a must. If you like some history along with a few pints, Sean’s Pub in Athlone is the oldest pub in Ireland. If you’re into castles, throw a stone in any direction and you’ll hit one. (Book, castle, movie, history nerd here….) Let me leave it at this….everyone must absolutely just allow themselves to live in the moment and enjoy the Irish experience.
How did you like the food?
I absolutely loved it!! Okay, most of it. I got used to them looking at me funny when I wanted scrambled eggs or looking funny at the bacon that was limp….and I never did get a taste for the black sausage (OMG). But I had some of the best fish and chips there, multiple servings of Guinness Irish Stew, Bangers and Mash. I had heard a lot of stuff about Ireland not having a very interesting variety but I’ll tell you what, I was NOT disappointed!!
Tell us about the international car rental expereince and driving internationally.
Okay….I drove one day and popped a tire when I swerved to avoid a lorry that I thought was in my lane and I hit a curb. So I’m not a fan. On the bright side, we were stranded for a couple of hours in a beautiful little town with a cafe right across the street where I had the best hot chocolate ever. Shanna and Lori did great. It was a rocky start…literally. Ireland has narrow roads with beautiful lush plants all along the side….and those beautiful, lush plants cover rock walls….very easy to ding/dent/scratch your vehicle. We actually didn’t use a traditional car rental agency….we rented someone’s personal vehicle. It cost about the same as a rental agency but 100% would not recommend - the car had no jack, not spare and we ended up having to pay for the tire because there was no coverage for that type of situation.
How does one even go about planning a secret proposal?
Very, very carefully. I didn’t really know Jeff very well at the time but Lori played pool with him. Shanna had mentioned that they had talked about marriage or something like that - and the idea just popped into my head. So I had Lori talk to Jeff one night at pool and that really started the ball rolling. He was in immediately!! There were so many things to get taken care of - he has a daughter that he needed to get care of while he was gone, his passport was expired, he was waiting on a big check from a client….I mean….if there was something to get in the way, it got in the way….but we made it work There were a lot of texts under different names so Shanna wouldn’t accidentally see my name pop up!! Jeff got into Dublin a day ahead of when the proposal was going to happen and went to the venue that it was going to take place at to talk to them - Whelan’s Pub in Dublin is a live music venue that was featured in the movie P.S. I Love You - one of Shanna’s favorite movies. There’s really a lot to this story - love, tragedy, loss, new love. I might cry.
Did you have a contingency plan, incase something went wrong?
We really didn’t. It was probably pretty naive of me but after everything we went through to get Jeff a flight and a hotel and have it be affordable….I was just so confident that nothing would go wrong. Fortunately, I was right this time!
Packing must have’s!
Layers - the weather can change from one minute to the next. I had lightweight long sleeve shirts, a lightweight wind breaker/rain jacket, and jeans. Comfortable shoes - you will walk a lot!! Definitely need a travel converter charger for your electronics. Most important, don’t forget to pack your sense of adventure!!
Sallee Jay: So, there you have it folks, our first episode under wraps! Thank you again Chacon.. I mean Nava – damnit, I am going to get that down one day! You have always been so incredibly supportive of me and my family. I am honored to have you pop my web series cherry and to have you involved in the evolution of salleejay.com. You are light and love and I am so very blessed to have you in my life.
Do you have any last thoughts for the people?
Rachel: Get out there and travel! Whether its to town next door, five states away or overseasa, get out and see the world and meet all the people! Experience life, braoden your hoirzons and figure it out!
Sallee Jay: Thank you again for joining me. Be sure to stay tuned for our next guest. As always feel free to check out all content, I can be found @salleejay on most major platforms, you can ALWAYS find me on IG. Check out the site and all the blogs, my most recent trip to Africa was pretty epic! If you enjoyed this content be sure to like, share and subscribe and until the next time, remember to Travel + Explore & Play with Sallee Jay.
Peace