As some of you may or may not know, I was recently contacted by SOYJOY and invited to join a panel of bloggers that will focus on helping the community find ways to bring more joy into their daily lives. Can you guess how I will be helping the SOYJOY community bring happiness and adventure into their lives?

Through TRAVEL, of course!

As of January 1, 2012, I’m happy to say that I am now an official “JOYTESTER” for the 2012 SOYJOY campaign! I’m also proud to say that I’m currently the one and only travel blogger on board! It really means a whole lot to have Pause The Moment chosen to represent such a great cause as well as a company that promotes healthy and active living. If you couldn’t already tell, I’m totally psyched about it!.

I feel that the JOYTESTER position is perfect fit for me considering that over the course of the last four years, I have strived to inspire others to get out there and travel! I’ve also made a point to show people that travel doesn’t always have to be expensive. I don’t need to tell you how much joy travel has brought into my life, do I? Just take a gander at My Travel ABC’s and you’ll quickly understand what I’m talking about.

The JOYTESTERS:

My fellow bloggers or “JOYTESTERS” who I will be working alongside include:

• Jenniferof ShesAFitChick.com
• Janae of HungryRunnerGirl.com
• Courtney of SweetToothSweetLife.com
• Jahaira of ChatteringGem.com

The Challenges:

Throughout the course of 2012, I will be taking part in 3 Joy Challenges. As a matter of fact, I’m currently working on my first challenge as we speak. Stay tuned for more on my 2012 Joy Challenges!

Have you ever had a SOYJOY? If so, what’s your favorite flavor?

The Mission:

My mission for 2012 is to help YOU travel. I want to teach you the in’s and out’s of what I do and how I do it. I want to share my travel tips and general travel knowledge with you as well as show you why travel doesn’t always have to be expensive.

Announcing Travel Tuesday Q&A!

Starting next Tuesday 1/24/12, I will be uploading a weekly video segment on YouTube called “Travel Tuesday Q&A“. By doing so, I hope to be able to not only assist prospective travelers in planning their trips but also to help experienced travelers by answering their travel tips related or destination specific questions. Let’s face it, even if we’re experienced travelers we still have a lot to learn from each other!

How we can help each other:

Prospective Travelers:

Whether you’re a prospective traveler looking for some insight on your first big trip or just a vacationer looking for tips for your next weekend getaway. WE CAN HELP EACH OTHER!

How? You simply forward over your travel related questions and I’ll pick a few of the best questions to answer. Some of your questions will be answered and when a fellow prospective traveler submits a question and the video is released, you may be able to chime in and offer some insight/ tips based on your knowledge of the topic by leaving a comment on the video.

Experienced Travelers:

If you’re already an experienced traveler, here’s how we can help each other: You may have a lot of tips for keeping safe while traveling in Tanzania, while I might be able to give you some tips on how to save money on your next trip to the Greek Islands.

We need to put our minds together and share our knowledge with each other in order to make our future travel experiences that much more enjoyable.

Travel Related Questions:

The questions in the Travel Q&A will be “TIPS” based for the most part and some will be destination specific. Some example questions would be:

• How to keep your valuables safe in a hostel?
• How to avoid ATM fees while abroad?
• What are the best techniques for passing through airport security with ease?
• How to find cheap accommodation in Santorini?

My question to YOU (the fans, prospective travelers and fellow experienced travelers out there) is the following:

What specific issues or destinations do you want to learn more about when it comes to travel?

Conclusion:

I’m trying my best to gather enough questions to create 52 Travel Tuesday Q&A Videos (1/week). REMEMBER: The more questions I get, the more I can help YOU travel this year.

Interested in submitting a question or two to my Travel Tuesday Q&A? Click here to contact me and send over those Q’s!

In the meantime, don’t forget to Subscribe to my YouTube Channel so that you never miss out on any of the action.

Please leave a comment below with your questions and/or feedback.

Boston Globe Travel Show 2012

The 2012 Boston Globe Travel Show

The Boston Globe Travel Show 2012 will be held at the Seaport World Trade Center on February 10 – 12th, 2011.

What to expect

“Learn about new and exciting travel opportunities — budget vacations, cruises, tours, adventure travel, weekend getaways, exotic destinations, luxury escapes, vacation rentals and more — and book trips at INCREDIBLE savings, right on the show floor! With more than 250 exhibitors expected to participate, the 2012 Boston Globe Travel Show is sure to have something for everyone!” - Boston Globe

Travel Deals, Giveaways and More

There will be all sorts of travel deals and giveaways at this years 2012 Boston Globe Travel Show. Check out the special giveaways HERE.

Entertainment

There will be cultural based culinary stages, live animals from Zoo New England, New England Aquarium’s Touch Tank, an Ice Skating Rink, and speeches from some of the worlds top travel experts. Travel expert guests include Pauline and Arthur Frommer, Rudy Maxa, Travel Writer Max Hartshorne from GoNomad, and more!

Click here for the complete stage schedule.

Dates/Times

Prices

Adult Ticket: $10. Purchase your Tickets here. Children 18 & under admitted free with parental supervision.

AAA Travel Show 2012 New England

The 2012 AAA New England Travel Show is the largest travel show to ever come through New England.

When It’s Happening

The 2012 AAA New England Travel Show will be held at Gillette Stadium (indoors at Putnam Club East) in Foxborough, Massachusetts from March 2 – 4th, 2012.

What You Can Expect

• Exclusive AAA Travel Discounts for Members and non-members.
• Save on cruises, tours, drive vacations and other vacation packages
• Learn more about amazing destinations across the globe including Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska, Canada, Las Vegas, Orlando and many more
• Plan and book your next vacation with AAA’s experienced and highly knowledgable on-site travel counselors
• Easy access from the highway and FREE PARKING!

Travel Deals, and AAA Travel Show Specials

There will dozens of great travel deals and giveaways at this years AAA New England Travel Show. Amazing Show specials coming! Please stay tuned.

Exhibitors

Check out the AAA Travel Show’s enormous list of Exhibitors!

Presentations

Check out this years Schedule of Presentations

Dates/Times

Prices

Tickets are $5 for AAA Members and $10 for Non-Members at the door. Purchase your tickets in advance online and save $2 OFF admission.

1. Most Beautiful Article:

In my opinion my most beautiful article is definitely the pictorial from Greece titled: Top 15 Photos from Greece. Just looking back on it now reminds me of how incredibly beautiful the islands of Greece really were. I’ll never forget cliff jumping with my friend Nick in Milos, Eating 2 Euro chicken gyros stuffed with french fries, and watching that picture perfect sunset on Santorini. I’ll certainly be heading back there again in the future, that’s for sure.

2. Most Popular Article:

My most popular article at the moment is titled: The Best Travel Blogs to Follow in 2011 and there’s a good reason for that. Not only did I include some of the best travel blogs out there at the time of writing it, but I also added my personal thoughts on why I think you should follow them as well. I put a lot of thought into each and every blog that I chose for the list and I also did my best to highlight the characteristics that I enjoy about each travel blogger. I have to admit that it also helps that many of the bloggers that were mentioned in the article shared it with their readers, so that certainly helped make it my most popular post to date.

3. Most Controversial Article:

Most controversial article? Hands down it was A Trip to Chiang Mai’s Tiger Kingdom, no doubt about it. I won’t get into the reasons because then this 7 Links article will then turn into a “controversial article”. ;) With that being said, I still highly recommend you check out our post from our day at Tiger Kingdom!

4. Most Helpful Article:

Our most helpful article to date has to be – How to Avoid Being Scammed in Hanoi, although looking back makes me realize that the tips that I wrote about avoiding scams in Hanoi actually apply to Vietnam as a whole. I have received a ton of emails thanking me for writing that article. There’s some really great tips in there that will save time, energy, and the sanity of anyone who is planning on visiting Vietnam in the near future.

5. Most Surprisingly Successful Article:

I’d have to say I was most surprised by the success of the article titled: The Pyramids, the Sphinx, and the Hassle! I admit it was a pretty damn entertaining post and all, but to become the 4th most popular post on Pause The Moment? Hmm, verrrrrry interesting!

6. The Article that Didn’t Get the Attention it Deserved:

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBbOBP-YjkE

I’d say my most underrated post to date is my Weekend Trip to Death Valley National Park. For some reason, people just didn’t pick up on it. I not only created my best video to date as far as filming/editing goes (IMHO), but I also published an incredibly informative post that takes you from the East side of the park all the way to the Western edge all while taking you for a virtual ride through the park via some of my favorite photos of all time. This article certainly didn’t get the attention it deserved…

7. The Article that I’m Most Proud of:

You know, I feel as if a lot of travel bloggers out there hold back on writing about a lot of the negativity that comes along with travel. Let’s face it guys, traveling isn’t always “another day on the beach”. There’s those 30 hour buses with no toilet on board, missed flights, overly pushy street salesman, touchy people, and how can we forget about the good ol’ scam artists along the way? We all have those bad days on the road and we all experience negative things along the way. I hated to have to be in the predicament that I was in out in Siwa, Egypt but at the same time I couldn’t help but write about my not so “happy go lucky” experience. With that said, I think I’m most proud of my story titled: A Scary Day in the Sahara.

This article has not only been one of my most popular articles to date, but it’s also a story that won me a cool $100 in the “Best Travel Tale Contest” over at Wandering Trader. I think it’s time that we all expose the positives AND the negatives of travel… Whattya say?

Pass it on!

Here are the 5 Travel Blogs that I’m nominating for the Tripbase 7 Links Project:

1. Brock from BackpackwithBrock.com

2. Rob from StopHavingaBoringLife.com

3. Dean from TheRoadToAnywhere.com

4. Gareth from Tourist2Townie.com

5. Leif from RunawayGuide.com

Rules:

To all of the bloggers nominated above, the rules for the 7 Link Project can be found here. Please be sure not to nominate someone who has already previously been nominated. You can see the current list of nominations here.

The AAA Travel Show 2011 is the largest travel show to ever come through New England and considering the winter we’ve had so far there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t be attending this spectacular event.

We all need a break from all of this snow and freezing temperatures, right? If you can’t get out of here now, you’ll at least have the opportunity to plan a trip for your immediate future. Think of it as something to look forward to and something to get you through the rest of this vicious winter of ours.

When It’s Happening

The AAA Travel Marketplace Show will be held at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts from March 4 – 6th, 2011.

What You Can Expect

• Exclusive AAA Travel Discounts for Members and non-members.
• Save on cruises, tours, drive vacations and other vacation packages
• Learn more about amazing destinations across the globe including Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska, Canada, Las Vegas, Orlando and many more
• Plan and book your next vacation with AAA’s experienced and highly knowledgable on-site travel counselors
• Easy access from the highways and FREE PARKING!

Travel Deals, and AAA Travel Show Specials

There will be all sorts of travel deals and giveaways at this years AAA Travel Show. Fill out our survey at the AAA Travel Show and be entered for a chance to win an 8-day trip for TWO to London & Paris including airfare!

This years show will be chock full of amazing travel specials and other surprises including:

Royal Caribbean International

Up to $100 onboard credit per stateroom on select ships and sail dates when booking an oceanview cabin or above, plus 50% reduced deposit and other exclusive offers!

Celebrity Cruises

Save up to $400 per stateroom on select sailings! PLUS ask about exclusive AAA member benefits!

Up to $300 onboard credit* on select sailings! Plus receive 50% reduced deposit* AAA members save even more! Ask for details.

TNT Vacations

Save $100 per booking!

Amazing all-inclusive charter vacation value! 7 nights from $899 PER PERSON*

Walt Disney World®

$50 DISNEY Gift Card* when you book a qualified 3-night or more vacation at Walt Disney World® or Disneyland® Resort.

Busch Gardens / SeaWorld

Come get up-close and personal with the furry, feathered ambassadors from SeaWorld and Busch Gardens!

Receive a free gift when you buy your tickets today!

Best Western

Receive even more from your AAA membership!

Join the AAA/CAA Preferred Best Western Rewards Program and you’ll be rewarded when you stay at any Best Western worldwide!

Don’t forget to check out the full list of the AAA Travel Show 2011 Specials.

Exhibitors

Check out the AAA Travel Show’s enormous list of Exhibitors!

Dates/Times

Prices

Tickets at the Door are $5 for AAA Members and $10 for Non-Members. Purchase your tickets in advance online and save $2 OFF admission.

The Boston Globe Travel Show 2011

… is back again at the Seaport World Trade Center running from February 11 – 13th, 2011.

Liz and I attended this show last year and although we weren’t super impressed with the overall event I still believe it deserves a mention considering it’s really the only travel show (that I know of) that comes to Boston each and every year.

What you can expect

“Learn about new and exciting travel opportunities — budget vacations, cruises, tours, adventure travel, weekend getaways, exotic destinations, luxury escapes, vacation rentals and more — and book trips at INCREDIBLE savings, right on the show floor!” – Boston Globe

Travel Deals, Giveaways and More

There will be all sorts of travel deals and giveaways at this years Boston Globe Travel Show. Giveaways include a 6-night trip for 2 to Cape Town, South Africa with accommodations at the Royal Legend Safari Lodge which is conveniently smack dab in the middle of the Timbavati Private Game Reserve. Trip courtesy of South African Airways and Lion World Tours. That’s not all, there’s a whole list of giveaways located over here at the Boston Travel Show Specials.

Entertainment

There will be cultural based culinary stages, live animals from Zoo New England, New England Aquarium’s Touch Tank, an Ice Skating Rink, and speeches from some of the worlds top travel experts. Travel expert guests include Pauline and Arthur Frommer, Rudy Maxa, Travel Writer Max Hartshorne from GoNomad, and more!

Click here for the complete stage schedule.

Dates/Times

Prices

UPDATE: GET YOUR TICKETS FOR FREE using the following code at checkout — “BOSPR11″ (without quotes). Purchase your Tickets here.

Enjoy!

We want to know who YOU are!

We’ve had so many new visitors checking out our site within the last month (approx. 3,000 Visitors!). We really want to connect with everyone by communicating on our Facebook Fan Page, conversing via comments on our site, and we’re also open to answering any questions that you may have for us. But, before we do that…

We’re curious to find out who YOU are? Feel free to leave us a comment below explaining who you are, how you found out about us, and be sure to ask any questions that you may have for us regarding our trip, travel advice, or simply anything else that’s on your mind.

If you don’t feel comfortable leaving a public comment below be sure to Contact us via E-mail by clicking on the Contact button located at the top of the website.

We’ve been featured in this week’s edition of the Bridgewater Independent Newspaper. (online version and in print)!

To see our featured article in the latest edition of the Bridgewater Independent Newspaper (online version), click on the newspaper below:

What do you think about our article? Feel free to drop us a line in the comments below.

We’ve got news, and lots of it!

Today marks exactly three weeks until we depart from Logan International Airport headed straight for Cairo, Egypt. Scary, yet extremely exciting at the same time! It seems that since we realized we had one month left, the time has just absolutely flown. These last few weeks might go a little slower for me considering I just finished up my last day of work this past Friday. I’m psyched to now be able to say that I have officially entered into early retirement. Liz on the other hand decided that her last day of work will be June 1st. My opinion? I think she’s just trying to show me up.

Okay so on to some other news. You might have noticed that there has been quite a few changes going on around here at PTM. For those who still have yet to figure out what exactly I’m referencing when I say “PTM”, just think about it for a second. (ahem… Pause The Moment).

Anyways, here’s what’s NEW!

1. The Featured Photo Album Section — A  brand new Featured Photos section that will host our latest and greatest photos form our trip. Where is it? It’s that photo collage that sits right under our Pause The Moment Logo at the top of our site. Click on it to view our latest photos! While you’re at it, check out some of our photos from our previous travels to Dublin, Dubrovnik, and Alicante just to name a few!

2. Our Packing Lists — Yes, we’ve finally posted our official packing lists and we’re getting ready for the daunting task of actually packing all of this gear into our backpacks. Seemingly stressful for Liz, and for me? Actually… not so bad! My bag weighs in at a fairly light weight of 25lbs.

3. About Us — The all new About Us section is oh-so-sweet! Here, you’ll find our bio pics with a short and descriptive blurb that sums us up in less than 11 words. Below our bio pics we explain our reasoning for this trip of a lifetime and we even share a little bit more information about our mission.

4. F.A.Q. Section — This is an area where we answer all of the questions that we’ve been asked over and over each and every time we tell someone that we’re “going traveling”. The first question we always get is “Where are you headed?” Since this was the #1 question that we’ve been asked over the course of the last year, we actually decided to dedicate an actual blog post to this question alone. Interested in seeing where we’re headed on our around the world trip? Find out the answer HERE.

5. Become a Fan on Facebook! — You can now become a Fan of Pause The Moment on Facebook! To do so, click HERE OR click “Like” on our Facebook Widget that is located on the right hand side of this site!

If you have a question that you’d like to ask us, feel free to contact us! If we think your question is F.A.Q worthy, we’ll add it to our list!

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What do you think of our site so far? Would you recommend that we add/remove any of our current features? Feel free to leave a comment below with your thoughts.