Episode 3
Mindful Travel and Meaningful Connections: Alcohol-Free Adventures with Michelle Plante
Summary:
In this inspiring episode, Grace Simmons chats with Michelle Plante, a travel advisor and pioneer in alcohol-free luxury travel for women. Michelle shares her journey to sobriety, her passion for creating meaningful travel experiences, and the transformative power of travel. From Boston to Costa Rica, Michelle’s focus on mindful connections and personal growth shines through as she discusses her luxury alcohol-free retreats and how travel can inspire change and self-discovery.
Guest Bio:
Michelle Plante is a travel advisor and a recent pioneer in organizing luxury alcohol-free trips for women. A dedicated member of the Wellness Tourism Association and the Transformational Travel Council, Michelle blends luxury, adventure, and wellness to create experiences that allow women to connect, thrive, and be their best selves.
Key Topics Discussed:
- Michelle’s journey to sobriety and how it led her to curate alcohol-free travel experiences.
- The importance of setting intentions for meaningful and fulfilling travel.
- How to find joy and connection while embracing an alcohol-free lifestyle.
- Michelle’s favorite self-care practices for wellness, both at home and during travel.
- Highlights of Michelle’s upcoming alcohol-free luxury retreats in Costa Rica and India.
Key Quotes:
- "It’s not about what you can’t do when you’re sober—it’s about the thousands of incredible things you can do."
- "Travel isn’t just about seeing new places; it’s a way to grow, connect, and rediscover yourself."
- "Set your intentions before you travel. Knowing how you want to feel afterward can transform your trip."
Takeaways:
- Sobriety can unlock a new perspective on travel and life, offering deeper connections and meaningful experiences.
- Setting clear intentions before a trip enhances its purpose and allows travelers to appreciate it fully.
- Simple self-care practices, like prioritizing sleep and disconnecting from devices, contribute to overall wellness while traveling.
Resources Mentioned:
Michelle Plante’s website: michelleplante.com
- Alcohol-Free Luxury Trips in 2025:
- Costa Rica: TBD
- India: TDB
Instagram: @michelleplantetravels
Connect with Michelle:
You can find Michelle on Instagram at @michelleplantetravels or visit her website for more information on her luxury retreats and travel advisory services.
Transcript
Hello, travelers. My name is Grace
Speaker:Simmons, and this is the Random and
Speaker:Wonderful Podcast. Settle in and listen
Speaker:to stories of wanderlust and
Speaker:transformation as you gain tips to
Speaker:inspire your next travel experience. The
Speaker:Random and Wonderful is brought to you by
Speaker:the Amethyst Palaba Hut, LLC.
Speaker:Hello, everyone, and welcome to the
Speaker:Random and Wonderful. Today, my guest is
Speaker:Michelle. I'm really excited for you all
Speaker:to meet her. And I'm going to let her
Speaker:introduce herself, and then we'll get
Speaker:started. Thank you, Grace. So excited to
Speaker:be here. Hi, guys. It's so good to see
Speaker:you. My name's Michelle Plant. I live in
Speaker:Kansas City, Missouri. I'm
Speaker:sober, period. That's what I'm excited to
Speaker:talk about. I love wellness. I love
Speaker:travel. I was recently connected with
Speaker:Grace through a friend, Rena. And I
Speaker:know that she's all about wellness and
Speaker:travel, so just really looking forward to
Speaker:having a good conversation today. Yes.
Speaker:I am excited. So let's get into--
Speaker:first off, your first declarating
Speaker:statement was, I'm sober. How have
Speaker:you found this new, I guess,
Speaker:chapter of life?Were you always sober?
Speaker:No. Or do you always plan to be that way?
Speaker:Or how did you get for that to be
Speaker:your welcoming statement?Oh, my
Speaker:gosh. Well, I've just been really excited
Speaker:about it lately, and I'll share why. I
Speaker:have not always been sober, but it's been
Speaker:nearly six years. And I use the words
Speaker:sober and alcohol-free interchangeably.
Speaker:So I might be saying alcohol-free or
Speaker:sober. And there's this
Speaker:thing called intuition. And I kind of had
Speaker:an idea at some point that I would
Speaker:stop. Like, I used to joke and say that I
Speaker:would stop blacking out, and I quit
Speaker:drinking when I was 29. So I kind of
Speaker:always knew. It wasn't intentional,
Speaker:though. I just woke up with a really
Speaker:bad hangover one day, like I had many
Speaker:times. And I said, never
Speaker:drinking again. And this time, thank
Speaker:goodness, it stuck. And so I've just
Speaker:been really, really excited about it.
Speaker:Well, congratulations on your six years.
Speaker:Thank you. Yeah, I love it. So one of the
Speaker:things, especially when it comes to
Speaker:traveling, right, you want to jump into
Speaker:the fun and. I don't know, merriment of
Speaker:being in a new place. How do you
Speaker:balance that?Like, how do you
Speaker:maintain being sober, being alcohol free,
Speaker:and actually enjoy your trip?Because some
Speaker:people feel like, you know, even if
Speaker:you're needing to relax or something,
Speaker:like alcohol is a part of that relaxing
Speaker:or social behavior. How do you
Speaker:distinguish and set those boundaries?
Speaker:Totally, 100%. And, you know,
Speaker:travel is my profession now, and
Speaker:I love helping people have really
Speaker:intentional trips without alcohol.
Speaker:And for me, that's getting
Speaker:super settled into the place. So that's
Speaker:taking a second, not feeling rushed. I
Speaker:love going to parks anywhere and
Speaker:visiting. I just got back from Boston and
Speaker:Boston Public Garden was so beautiful. I
Speaker:hung out there for like two hours, but it
Speaker:just, it took a minute, you know, as,
Speaker:as I started to travel.
Speaker:More and feel more comfortable. I
Speaker:learned that there's so much to do. Like,
Speaker:it's not about what you can't do. It's
Speaker:there's thousands of things to do
Speaker:when you're sober. Yeah. So traveling
Speaker:is your profession. Can you dive a little
Speaker:bit more into that?How do you conduct
Speaker:these trips and why is travel that
Speaker:leading vehicle for you?Oh, man, it's the
Speaker:best thing ever. It is. I mean, I'm
Speaker:not going to disagree with you. No.
Speaker:And I will share, it took me a while to
Speaker:get here. I worked in a Fortune 500
Speaker:company for a long time before, you know,
Speaker:finding the confidence to
Speaker:pursue a passion. And
Speaker:so I work as, you know, a lot of people
Speaker:call them travel agents. I refer to it as
Speaker:a travel advisor. And
Speaker:I love just, I'm obsessed with
Speaker:hotels. Like I'm obsessed with hotels,
Speaker:I'm obsessed with flights, I'm obsessed
Speaker:with learning about other cultures. I
Speaker:also love learning aboutother cultures'
Speaker:wellness practices. So I'm really
Speaker:into it, like Japan, I just love.
Speaker:And I've learned that through
Speaker:travel, we can also experience
Speaker:transformation and have this
Speaker:beautiful personal growth
Speaker:experience while traveling. And
Speaker:so for me, travel, like
Speaker:it's obviously fun, but it's also like
Speaker:this path to where I get to better
Speaker:understand myself. And I've really
Speaker:enjoyed that. Yeah. Going back to what
Speaker:you said, actually, about the the parks
Speaker:and finding wonderful parks. So
Speaker:one of my favorite stories when I was in
Speaker:Portugal was I was supposed to be
Speaker:wandering and going somewhere else and
Speaker:happened to just stop by this park. And
Speaker:like you said, you ended up spending like
Speaker:two hours, three hours just
Speaker:being there, right, in the park and just
Speaker:relaxing and just immersing yourself in
Speaker:that peace. SoI
Speaker:think people limit themselves sometimes
Speaker:when it comes to the things that you can
Speaker:do. And for some reason, that always
Speaker:equates to active or activity or
Speaker:something grand. And just being
Speaker:still and in the moment is also
Speaker:beneficial. Yeah, that's so beautiful.
Speaker:I'm so glad you shared that. And that's
Speaker:so cool because, you know, you're in this
Speaker:beautiful country and still one of the
Speaker:highlights was spending time in a park,
Speaker:just being in nature. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
Speaker:I love that. It's so beautiful.
Speaker:Michelle, what are-- what's like a a
Speaker:favorite travel story that you can share?
Speaker:Oh, my goodness. I just
Speaker:really find so much
Speaker:beauty and
Speaker:self-exploration through travel.
Speaker:It's like hard to pick one. You know,
Speaker:when people are like, what's your
Speaker:favorite movie?Actually, what's your
Speaker:favorite movie is like an easier
Speaker:question. All right, while you're
Speaker:thinking, what's your favorite movie?Joe
Speaker:Dirt. Okay. That's
Speaker:so good. Or the sweetest thing. Well, I
Speaker:could keep going, but I I spend a lot of
Speaker:time in Mexico, so I I love going to
Speaker:Mexico. I love street food. So just
Speaker:where I can just have a lot of street
Speaker:food. But usually a lot of my favorite
Speaker:trips are the ones where I put my phone
Speaker:away. And I have been doing less and less
Speaker:of that, but there will be a trip in the
Speaker:future. But recently I've really been
Speaker:enjoying trips where I travel with
Speaker:people. I used to travel solo a lot and
Speaker:now I'm starting to travel with people
Speaker:and I'm just finding so much more
Speaker:connection and community in that way.
Speaker:Okay. Is that because it's through your
Speaker:business or these are other trips that
Speaker:you plan?Both. Okay. Yeah.
Speaker:YeahWhat about you, Grace?I want to hear
Speaker:about a trip that you love. So
Speaker:usually I talk about my-- Portugal is
Speaker:probably like a high for me, and Iceland
Speaker:is usually my favorite because that was
Speaker:my first one. But I went to Mexico this
Speaker:year, actually, and I was in San Miguel
Speaker:de Allende. Yeah, I was going to bring it
Speaker:up. That's where I did have my phone for
Speaker:a week. Yeah, I could see it. Like,
Speaker:I love a beach. I love being near
Speaker:the water. I'll take a river, OK?I love
Speaker:being near water. But somethingkept
Speaker:pulling me to go visit this place. I saw
Speaker:it on like a a travel show, and I
Speaker:wanted to go there. Like
Speaker:So I was staying in the central, and then
Speaker:I got to walk a little bit outside to, I
Speaker:guess, like an old fabrics factory or
Speaker:where that used to be. So it's a little
Speaker:bit outside of the town. It's probably
Speaker:like a good 20-minute walk one way. But
Speaker:typically, I think I'd try to like get a
Speaker:taxi or an Uber, especially if I'm going
Speaker:outside of the the city area. But just
Speaker:walking through and you can kind of see
Speaker:like the different layers between being
Speaker:in the city that's super crowded and
Speaker:populated. You go out a little bit and
Speaker:you start to go into the community. You
Speaker:can see the schools, the homes, a little
Speaker:bit more residential. And then go out
Speaker:further to, I mean, what is another kind
Speaker:of a tourist spot. But even that walk was
Speaker:absolutely beautiful. And then again,
Speaker:I, in my mind said I was going to spend
Speaker:like one or two hours there. And I felt
Speaker:like the path, the hallways just kept
Speaker:leading to another room. And this is a
Speaker:very artistic collection. And so
Speaker:there were galleries, there were just
Speaker:different people who were showing off
Speaker:their little, they had little shops and
Speaker:little posts and whatnot. There was a lot
Speaker:to entertain your eyes
Speaker:walking around in there. So that I
Speaker:thought was really fun. It was quite a
Speaker:reward for making that little track and
Speaker:walking back. But yeah, I think that was
Speaker:kind of a favorite moment, like, yeah,
Speaker:let me let me see what's going on down
Speaker:there. That's awesome. That sounds
Speaker:amazing. Yeah, San Miguel's the best.
Speaker:Cool. I'm so glad you shared that. Thank
Speaker:you. Wait, so have you been to to
Speaker:San Miguel?Yes. I went
Speaker:for some serious healing. So
Speaker:I went to a house
Speaker:pretty much where-- I mean,
Speaker:the short version is that I was going
Speaker:through a breakup, OK?And
Speaker:I was like,I need help. And so,
Speaker:you know, friends connected me with
Speaker:friends, and it's pretty much just like a
Speaker:couple who supports you. Like, OK, it
Speaker:sounds weird when I explain it now, but
Speaker:it wasn't. It was like perfect. And I had
Speaker:met that woman a couple months before, so
Speaker:it was just pretty divine, if you will.
Speaker:Yeah. So I turned my phone off. It was
Speaker:over Christmas. I had skipped Christmas
Speaker:that year too, because it was just like,
Speaker:it was very clear, you know, it's never
Speaker:about the breakup. It was just about
Speaker:everything else that presents itself when
Speaker:you're going through that. And so I was
Speaker:like, okay, I'm ready to
Speaker:shed a lot of this. So I just
Speaker:turned the phone off. I probably read
Speaker:like a couple books. I didn't bring any
Speaker:of my own. They only, they had a lot, so
Speaker:I just read books and then I
Speaker:journaled for days at a time and cried,
Speaker:of course. But I obviously got to
Speaker:explore a couple of days, and they would
Speaker:just drop me off, and I would just walk
Speaker:around without a phone, like, boop, boop,
Speaker:boop. You know, like, where am I going?I
Speaker:had no idea. They're going to pick me up
Speaker:in two hours. I hope I can get back.
Speaker:Yeah. So it felt like a true adventure,
Speaker:but it was really cool. Yeah, it's a
Speaker:beautiful, beautiful city. If there is a
Speaker:time where I kind of put my phone away a
Speaker:little bit, there are these things called
Speaker:getaway-- they're like little mini
Speaker:cabins. And they're like
Speaker:converted trailers. And so it's just a
Speaker:cute little-- they've got like one or two
Speaker:bedrooms, something like that. But they
Speaker:are a community of these little
Speaker:wooden cabins or trailers. It's like the
Speaker:extent of camping that I think is my
Speaker:limit, right?You still have access to all
Speaker:the amenities, flowing water, but you're
Speaker:in the middle of nature and they give you
Speaker:a little lock box to put your phone in
Speaker:and justEnjoy being there and the
Speaker:entire idea like there's like, we have no
Speaker:Wi-Fi. Again, we have no Wi-Fi. Just
Speaker:enjoy yourself. But the way they've
Speaker:designed it was just to take a wonderful
Speaker:break. I think it was like my start of
Speaker:what a personal retreat is,
Speaker:how needed that is, you know, just to
Speaker:take a break. I still long for I need to
Speaker:do that again. And I find like, oh, I'll
Speaker:go somewhere else. And San Miguel was
Speaker:actually supposed to be my finally
Speaker:fulfilling that, like, I need a personal
Speaker:retreat, but. I think that was definitely
Speaker:something I want to do again. Be in the
Speaker:quiet, put your phone away. No
Speaker:Wi-Fi. No Wi-Fi. Well, that's
Speaker:cool. And you have that-- yeah, you have
Speaker:that to go to whenever you know the time
Speaker:is right. You'll be prepared. You'll know
Speaker:exactly where to go and when. That sounds
Speaker:awesome. Take me with you.
Speaker:Essentially, I tell so many people about
Speaker:it, and I'm like, I don't understand why
Speaker:it's been years since I've been back.
Speaker:It's all involved. I'm sold.
Speaker:It's great. Can you tell me a lesson or
Speaker:some experience that left a you know good
Speaker:impact on you?Whoo.
Speaker:Thousands. I mean, I use--
Speaker:I believe that every person is a teacher
Speaker:in our lives. So I'm always trying to
Speaker:learn a lesson. And
Speaker:my experience is that you will keep being
Speaker:presentedwith the lesson
Speaker:until it kind of clicks. And
Speaker:so, whew, I
Speaker:think, I mean,
Speaker:honestly, this is like very
Speaker:vulnerable and embarrassing, but it's
Speaker:about having healthy relationships with
Speaker:men like that. It's not something
Speaker:I share a lot about, but
Speaker:so here we are being random and
Speaker:wonderful, but- Here we are.
Speaker:It's, yeah, I had to learn that lesson a
Speaker:long time, and now I'm in a super healthy
Speaker:relationship with an incredible man. And
Speaker:it took me a second,
Speaker:but it was worth it. And of course, like,
Speaker:I'm still learning. But that was
Speaker:something I had, you know, spent a lot of
Speaker:time and energy on. I like that
Speaker:phrase. Everyone is a teacher. Yes.
Speaker:Because one of the things I really try to
Speaker:encourage is making sure you share your
Speaker:story. because other people benefit, like
Speaker:that's the entire reason why this podcast
Speaker:exists is because so many people have
Speaker:incredible stories to share,
Speaker:advice that maybe they don't realize is
Speaker:advice. They're just sharing their
Speaker:experience and another person's like, oh
Speaker:my gosh, I was going through that and I
Speaker:was wondering about that or I was
Speaker:struggling with that. And you never know
Speaker:what people have gone through and how it
Speaker:can help you depending on where you are.
Speaker:So I'm glad you were
Speaker:vulnerable and shared that. Well, thank
Speaker:you, Grace. I felt safe to do so. And I
Speaker:love that that's what you're doing here
Speaker:because it hasn't been until
Speaker:very recent where I've, you know, felt
Speaker:confident in sharing about my sobriety.
Speaker:Like, people, you know, over time
Speaker:have made me feel like it's this bad
Speaker:thing, like, oh, you had a problem. I'm
Speaker:like, what?Okay, it doesn't even matter.
Speaker:Like, I just made a decision for myself.
Speaker:And I've found that through sharing,
Speaker:I feel better. Like I feel
Speaker:more excited about it. And that's how I
Speaker:just rolled up here. I was like, I'm
Speaker:sober. Like my, it's my favorite thing
Speaker:about myself. And so I'm glad you can
Speaker:take that back with you, that every
Speaker:person is a teacher because too, I've,
Speaker:you know, I've been to a couple, you
Speaker:know, like personal development seminars
Speaker:or or whatever over the years. And like,
Speaker:One of my favorite is like when the
Speaker:speaker will be like, okay, picture
Speaker:someone you are so angry with.
Speaker:And I'm like, yeah, like I'm, I'm
Speaker:mad. And then like, I'm like, oh my God,
Speaker:I need to like text them like whatever.
Speaker:And the speaker will be like, that person
Speaker:is a precious child of God.
Speaker:And I'm like, umm
Speaker:come on. Yeah. I'm like.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Why'd you brow me up?Like, I'm
Speaker:like, okay. What do you do now?
Speaker:But it always like sinks like
Speaker:so deeply, so like
Speaker:every time. And I'm like,
Speaker:and that has been a really beautiful
Speaker:lesson for me too, Grace, is just like
Speaker:having that belief and, and treating
Speaker:people like that and
Speaker:seeing the value that everyone can
Speaker:provide in your life, like whether it's
Speaker:tangibly or not, and most of the time
Speaker:it's not, and just being open to that.
Speaker:Yeah. I was talking to somebody about how
Speaker:travel has been a great teacher of like
Speaker:emotional intelligence, where I think
Speaker:traveling, especially when I started
Speaker:doing solo travel, was because I
Speaker:initially was like, I'm trying to prove
Speaker:that I can do this on my own. And then of
Speaker:course there was a learning experience,
Speaker:which is just like, you justNeed time
Speaker:alone. That's different. And even on that
Speaker:experience I connected with so many
Speaker:people there and
Speaker:learning how to. really
Speaker:communicate, right?Get in touch with your
Speaker:actual feelings and digging in and
Speaker:learning those lessons in a way where
Speaker:it's like, hmm, other people are
Speaker:children of God, right?Like other people
Speaker:have entire lives and we happen to meet
Speaker:on a few points. And I don't know, it it
Speaker:definitely helps your perspective, how
Speaker:you engage with other people, how you
Speaker:think about certain situations. Yeah,
Speaker:that's a needed reminder. Yeah.
Speaker:At what point did you connect travel and
Speaker:emotional intelligence?I
Speaker:studied emotional intelligence for my own
Speaker:help. A couple years ago, I was going
Speaker:through a really rough time, and I could
Speaker:not figure out why I was so
Speaker:frustrated and
Speaker:angry and hateful towards myself. But it
Speaker:was also coming out at other people, and
Speaker:I couldn't really put those two things
Speaker:together. And so after
Speaker:my first trip to Iceland. It
Speaker:was just like a an awakening. So,
Speaker:okay, let me go back. Before the first
Speaker:trip was skydiving. Skydiving is like my
Speaker:life saving, get yourself together, sis.
Speaker:So during that internal, just
Speaker:internal hate seriously, and that was
Speaker:coming out of other people and there were
Speaker:things that were outside of my control
Speaker:and I could have, I needed to change, but
Speaker:there was no reason for me to feel the
Speaker:anger that I was feeling. And so with
Speaker:going to therapy and trying to rebuild
Speaker:and find myself again and reconnecting
Speaker:to the church, I've never stopped, but
Speaker:like actually being present with my
Speaker:church and actually being like, Hey God,
Speaker:sorry, we have not had an honest
Speaker:conversation in a long time, my bad. All
Speaker:of that. And when I was in Iceland
Speaker:then I started thinking about
Speaker:how I could dig into who
Speaker:I am and my emotions and actually like be
Speaker:honest about what I was feeling and be
Speaker:truthful about why was I feeling
Speaker:frustrated. And the frustration came from
Speaker:I felt like I didn't have control. And so
Speaker:going on a solo trip is like, all right,
Speaker:now you have control. What are you going
Speaker:to do, right?I'm so
Speaker:glad. This is amazing. Yes, keep going.
Speaker:And so you're like, all right, here we
Speaker:go. And II learned
Speaker:great things from it. I learned to you
Speaker:know be clear in what I wanted to say and
Speaker:be respectful of my own boundaries
Speaker:and let people know what those boundaries
Speaker:are, because how are people supposed to
Speaker:know?So that is kind of the
Speaker:tie-in. So then when I came back, just
Speaker:for me to learn a little bit more of
Speaker:myself and then help people put into
Speaker:words what I had learned, I started
Speaker:studying emotional intelligence, and
Speaker:there's so many different componentsthat
Speaker:your emotions affect and can
Speaker:impact. And if you don't have a good
Speaker:handle on any of them, like your
Speaker:finances, to social, to friends, to
Speaker:food, your emotions can impact all
Speaker:of that. And so if you aren't aware of
Speaker:it, I think that's like the foundation
Speaker:for me is my emotional intelligence as
Speaker:well as my spiritual health. Those two
Speaker:needed to be nursed back to health.
Speaker:Whoo, amen. Yeah. I mean, I'm so
Speaker:happy to hear all of that because how
Speaker:easy would it have been for you to
Speaker:continue going down the path of
Speaker:self-hatred and outbursts
Speaker:and not clearly checking in with
Speaker:yourself. And you make-- it's a hard
Speaker:decision to pay attention to your
Speaker:emotions. It's not easy. It is not.
Speaker:And it sounds like you've made so much
Speaker:progress to where you're having
Speaker:conversations internally and externally
Speaker:You're able to identify and establish
Speaker:boundaries. And you're like, I'm back.
Speaker:Like, I'm good. That was weird. Like,
Speaker:we're here now. So I'm
Speaker:just so happy to hear that that is really
Speaker:inspirational, because I feel like
Speaker:it's so worth
Speaker:the discomfort
Speaker:of going through those really
Speaker:challenging experiences of, like, going
Speaker:in. It can be hard. Yeah.
Speaker:It is. And thankfully, it's worth it.
Speaker:Though that was weird, is legit a feeling
Speaker:that comes up every once in a while.
Speaker:Like, why was I so-- wow,
Speaker:all right. I don't know who she was. But
Speaker:yeah, it was something that needed to be
Speaker:dealt with. Yeah, Yeah that's awesome.
Speaker:Really cool that you can share that. Um
Speaker:What is some advice
Speaker:that you would give a traveler to
Speaker:help them appreciate their
Speaker:trip?So like when they get back, how do
Speaker:they appreciate what they've gone through?
Speaker:Yes. Set intentions like
Speaker:first. And sometimes
Speaker:what you're looking for may not
Speaker:even be a trip in the first
Speaker:place. So it's like, I feel like,
Speaker:you know, I'm obsessed with this and I
Speaker:just feel like a lot of times people are
Speaker:like, oh, I need a vacation. I'm like, do
Speaker:you need a vacation or do you need rest?
Speaker:Or do you needto check in?Do you
Speaker:need a new job?Do you need a new
Speaker:relationship?Or do you just need to sleep?
Speaker:Umm Maybe you just need to sleep, you
Speaker:know, like before you go. And it's like
Speaker:with anything in life, when people are
Speaker:like chasing, chasing, chasing, you
Speaker:know, like saying, this will make me
Speaker:happy. And people project that onto
Speaker:vacations too, and trips. Like as soon as
Speaker:I get back, things will be fine. Yeah
Speaker:And I'm like,That'd be really cool.
Speaker:I don't think it's the case. I think when
Speaker:you set intentions and you say, you know
Speaker:this last trip that I went on to Boston
Speaker:with my boyfriend was to celebrate his
Speaker:birthday. And I was like, the
Speaker:intention here-- and you can do this like
Speaker:with friends or with your partner or with
Speaker:yourself, you know journaling and just
Speaker:saying, I want to explore the
Speaker:history, I want to eat a lot of seafood,
Speaker:and I want to be super present with my
Speaker:boyfriend, I don't want to be lame or
Speaker:whiny or just you know belike an annoying
Speaker:girlfriend, like if like my feet hurt or
Speaker:whatever, like I just want to really
Speaker:honor him and make him feel
Speaker:really special because it's his birthday
Speaker:weekend and just remind him how cool he
Speaker:is. And of course we
Speaker:did. And something I always try to think
Speaker:of before going on a trip too, is how do
Speaker:I want to feel after?You know, when I get
Speaker:back, do I want to feel inspired?
Speaker:Do I want to feel rested?Do I want to
Speaker:feelexcited?Do I want to
Speaker:feel maybe a little nostalgic for that
Speaker:trip?And planning that, like having the
Speaker:vision for the entire time, in my
Speaker:experience, has been really helpful when
Speaker:it comes to traveling. I like that.
Speaker:Setting your intentions before you go is
Speaker:so key. Yes. YesVery much. Yes.
Speaker:Yeah, yeahWhat's your favorite self-care
Speaker:practice while you travel?Ooh,
Speaker:waking up early and sleeping.
Speaker:If a hotel has a bath, man, I am in
Speaker:that bath.
Speaker:Yeah. Yes. Like, that is important for
Speaker:me. And, you know, just little things
Speaker:that I do at home, I'm really proud of
Speaker:the progress I've made when it comes to
Speaker:my daily rituals and wellness. And it's
Speaker:nothing crazy. Like, I'm just going to
Speaker:say, it's really simple. But even things
Speaker:like, I don't get on
Speaker:my phone or my computer in my
Speaker:bed. Like, they don't go in
Speaker:my room. And when I'm traveling, my
Speaker:phone does not stay next to the bed.
Speaker:Like, it's, you know, whatever in the
Speaker:bathroom or on the little
Speaker:desk. And I do the same with my computer.
Speaker:Like, just those devices don't belong in
Speaker:the bed. And so my brain knows that bed
Speaker:is for sleeping. So I think-- I don't
Speaker:know if anyone else does that, but I
Speaker:really like that. I do, too.
Speaker:Prioritizing sleep and removing those
Speaker:devices from near your your bed. Yes. So
Speaker:that you focus on sleep 100%. 'Cause I'm
Speaker:trying to wake up early and see
Speaker:everything, you know, like it's a full
Speaker:day. Yeah, I come back and I just want to
Speaker:pass out. Like let's do it again
Speaker:tomorrow. Like this was so epic. I'm
Speaker:trying to see everything. I want to know
Speaker:everything. I like that.
Speaker:Awesome. All right, before I wrap up, do
Speaker:you have any questions for me?
Speaker:OohWell, I'm so curious about the
Speaker:skydiving experience. Oh, yeah.
Speaker:So, OK, skydiving. Yeah.
Speaker:My cousin had her graduation in
Speaker:Florida, and she was like, hey, my
Speaker:gift to myself is I want to go skydiving.
Speaker:And I was like, oh, yeah, let's do that.
Speaker:Just agreed to it. And of course, later,
Speaker:after I hung up the phone, I was like,
Speaker:why did I agree to that?It's something I
Speaker:wanted to do. However, I don't know if I
Speaker:was ready yet, you know?And of course,
Speaker:I'm trying to, like, psych myself out.
Speaker:I'm watching videos. I'm reading
Speaker:everything. At that time,
Speaker:the job that I was in, it was this
Speaker:administrative job that was around the
Speaker:time where I was just like, I hate
Speaker:everything. I hate my coworkers. I'm
Speaker:hating this day. And I was looking
Speaker:forward to that being like a nice escape.
Speaker:But like you said, if you don't deal with
Speaker:the mess before and
Speaker:you try to hope that a trip is going to
Speaker:somehowWipe everything clean.
Speaker:You're in for a very rude awakening. And
Speaker:so going through all the things that I
Speaker:was going through, it really became like,
Speaker:OK, you need to make a decision.
Speaker:Either you want to live and take on
Speaker:whatever life has given you, or you give
Speaker:up. And I was really at a point where I
Speaker:was trying my best not to admit,
Speaker:but I think mentally I had given up on
Speaker:everything. I didn't really see the point
Speaker:of. Being here, I didn't feel like I was
Speaker:contributing anything. I didn't see what
Speaker:a future with grace in it would look
Speaker:like. And I was like, I mean, I'm just
Speaker:here, you know?And so her very random
Speaker:invite was like, all right, sure, I
Speaker:guess. And so we went skydiving.
Speaker:And the whole buildup is like, you know,
Speaker:we're going through this training, and
Speaker:both of us like, mm-hm, mm-hm, you know,
Speaker:we're ready. And we get in the plane, and
Speaker:we're both like, yeah, yeah, we're good,
Speaker:we're good. And they open the door, and
Speaker:we were like, why did we do this?Yeah.
Speaker:rushing fast, and we were like, huhWhy?
Speaker:Why Who signs us up for this?And the
Speaker:first couple people went out, and they
Speaker:were all jumping. And you see them, and
Speaker:they're just like, oh. And we're like,
Speaker:oh, my God, OK, here we go. But we
Speaker:were doing tandem jumps. I think that was
Speaker:our first jump, of course, so where
Speaker:you're attached to someone else. And that
Speaker:is a whole thing of loss of control and
Speaker:trust, because you are attached to
Speaker:someone who knows a lot more of what's
Speaker:happening than you do. And
Speaker:soMaking sure I'm listening and all that
Speaker:good stuff was like, okay, I just need to
Speaker:make sure I don't panic, I don't worry,
Speaker:whatever. We get out to the edge, and you
Speaker:have to do like this little curve to fall
Speaker:out of the plane, and we do,
Speaker:and we are falling. And
Speaker:I remember just screaming
Speaker:for what felt like 10 minutes. I don't
Speaker:know how long we were falling, but I was
Speaker:screaming for a minute, like I inhaled
Speaker:and continued to scream, and we're just
Speaker:falling, and I'm just like, oh my God.
Speaker:But that and that moment, it kind of
Speaker:reminded me of like, yeah, so back to
Speaker:that question, do you want to live and
Speaker:enjoy your life or are we giving up?
Speaker:And I kind of stopped screaming. I just
Speaker:opened my eyes and I'm looking at the
Speaker:earth rushing towards me. And I just
Speaker:thought, this is so beautiful. All of
Speaker:this is so beautiful. I. I'm
Speaker:seeing the, you know, we're in Florida,
Speaker:so there were a couple of like little
Speaker:lakes around. So there's like mix of like
Speaker:blue and green and there's the blue sky
Speaker:that we're in. And it just, the way it
Speaker:encapsulates the earth. And I was just
Speaker:like, this is so gorgeous. There's no
Speaker:way, there's no way that I put me on this
Speaker:planet to just give up as I
Speaker:have. And I decided I really wanted to, I
Speaker:wanted to enjoy this life that I've been
Speaker:given, this gift of a life that I've been
Speaker:given. Yep. And so as we're
Speaker:falling, I had stopped screaming. I'm
Speaker:actually like trying to look through my
Speaker:goggles and see everything. And the
Speaker:parachute opens up, and you know, now
Speaker:we're just gliding down. And it was such
Speaker:a feeling of like, I was so
Speaker:small, but I didn't feel
Speaker:insignificant. I felt like
Speaker:small in a way that I belonged
Speaker:here. There was something completely
Speaker:outside of me, and I was trying so hard
Speaker:to take on everything. It wasn't
Speaker:necessary. It wasn't necessary. I just
Speaker:needed to chill out, just as I was doing
Speaker:while we were gliding down. Just be,
Speaker:right?And so, yeah, just being able to
Speaker:see the Earth from that view is
Speaker:incredible, first off, but also just a
Speaker:great lesson of, like, there are so many
Speaker:things beyond what you think you can
Speaker:control and what you're trying to make
Speaker:perfect. And when it doesn't happen, you
Speaker:get depressed, you get upset, you get
Speaker:frustrated. So yeah, we landed. There
Speaker:were tears in me and my cousin's eyes,
Speaker:and we were both just like, that was
Speaker:amazing. You know And we're ready to go
Speaker:back up, of course. But after that, I
Speaker:think just that thought of like,
Speaker:I don't need to control everything. I was
Speaker:here. I was given life for a purpose,
Speaker:and I don't want to waste it. And so
Speaker:something that I have written, like all
Speaker:my mirrors, I'm choosing to live, I'm
Speaker:choosing toEnjoy this life. No
Speaker:matter what comes, no matter what
Speaker:adventure I have been suited up with for
Speaker:today, I want to enjoy that life. And for
Speaker:me, it's evolved into the way I
Speaker:travel and being mindful, incorporating
Speaker:wellness. But yeah, that skydiving trip
Speaker:was a jump start to what decision do you
Speaker:want to make?So beautiful. Mm-hmm
Speaker:That was a lot really special.
Speaker:SoYeah. Before we go, Michelle, could you
Speaker:please let us know, first off, what are
Speaker:you working on or what's coming up for
Speaker:you?And then where can we find you?
Speaker:Yeah, for sure. Grace, just thank you
Speaker:again. Like, that was so, so, so special.
Speaker:Like, I'm going to-- yeah, that
Speaker:was just really special. Thank you so
Speaker:much. And
Speaker:I'm working on, right now, creating group
Speaker:trips for women who are also
Speaker:alcohol-free, are sober curious.
Speaker:So in January we're going to Costa
Speaker:Rica and in March we're headed to India.
Speaker:And these trips are focused on
Speaker:luxury, adventure and Wellness and just
Speaker:having mindful connections in community.
Speaker:They're really focused on experiencing.
Speaker:the destination from a local's
Speaker:perspective, but also having like really
Speaker:nice accommodations, like that balance.
Speaker:And I'm really excited about
Speaker:that. And yeah, it's going to be
Speaker:really special. Looking forward to doing
Speaker:a lot more in the future, just giving
Speaker:women an opportunity to connect and get
Speaker:to see the world with other like-minded
Speaker:humans. I know I'll add like
Speaker:your website and your app and all that,
Speaker:but where's a good place to find you?
Speaker:Instagram. Michelle Plant Travels.
Speaker:Awesome. OK. Love what you're doing. Keep
Speaker:going. Really excited. Same to you. I
Speaker:think that's a wonderful opportunity that
Speaker:you're giving people instead of them
Speaker:having to look for it or or try to make
Speaker:it on their own. I like that you're
Speaker:offering it as as your group trip. I
Speaker:almost wore my Costa Rica shirt. I'm a
Speaker:little upset. It's sitting out. I
Speaker:was going to wear it. That's awesome.
Speaker:Oh, Michelle, thank you so, so much for
Speaker:being a guest and sharing your story and
Speaker:your work with us. I'm so glad to have
Speaker:had you as a guest. Me too. Thank you so
Speaker:much. Hey there,
Speaker:Grace here. I hope you enjoyed today's
Speaker:episode and gained some useful takeaways.
Speaker:Thank you so much for listening and
Speaker:staying until the end. Don't forget to
Speaker:rate the show or share it with some
Speaker:friends. Have a wonderful week. Take care
Speaker:and remember. Be bold, be curious, be
Speaker:ready to tell your story. You never know
Speaker:who needs it. Bye bye.
