For McCool Travel’s 73rd travel profile, I am pleased to present Anita Oliver and Richard Nash of No Particular Place To Go. They have been full-time world travelers for several years and shared some wonderful experiences and travel tips with me.
Anita and Richard’s bio:
“We met at a “kegger,” partied with enthusiasm for a few years and married in 1980 producing our only heir in 1983. We’re both graduates of the University of Montana (Richard with a degree in political science and history and a career in human resources and Anita with a degree and career in Pharmacy) and followed jobs and opportunities across Montana to California, Idaho, and Texas. In 2012, we totally reversed our focus in life from acquisition and the career treadmill to travel and exploring the world. We sold everything and are following a dream as retired nomads to see as much of the world as we can.”
Anita Oliver and Richard Nash, No Particular Place to Go
Hometown…
Richard proudly claims Missoula, Montana as his hometown while Anita can’t really claim a hometown but grew up in both Southern California and Montana.
Always in my luggage…
Compression bags to sort and organize clothes & maximize space, a yoga mat (we cut one of the thin lightweight mats into 5 sections that perfectly fit in our suitcase so we always have a padded surface for stretching and floor exercises), and scotch tape, rubber bands, and clothespins. OK, that’s more than 3 but these come in so handy for a multitude of purposes from keeping window curtains shut, to fixing battered maps and wrapping things tight.
3 favorite home-away-from-home places…
A favorite travel memory is…
experiencing the weeks preceding Semana Santa and Easter in Antigua, Guatemala and seeing the beautiful alfombras and deep devotion of the people during the weekly processions
3 favorite travel brands…
- Osprey which designs great backpacks
- E-bags which makes the best, well-thought out suitcases
- Chacos or Tevas for their functional and comfortable walking sandals/shoes that last forever (or until you just can’t look at them anymore!)
3 money-saving travel tactics I use are…
- Avoid airfare whenever possible by traveling on buses, shuttles, tuk-tuks, boats
- Slow down and negotiate weekly or monthly rents by renting an apartment
- Eat most meals at home and explore the local stores and markets for new foods to try
- Keep looking for deals. We followed up on a cruise sale and ended up paying less than the plane tickets would have cost plus 11 nights lodging and meals.
- Housesitting when it works with our plans.
3 ways that I have fun while traveling are…
- meeting new people
- researching and learning about destinations
- planning new travels and writing about the things we see and do in letters and our blog
8 word (or less) travel mantra…
“Let’s go to …” which always starts a round of discussion.
favorite non-travel website (besides your own)…
The Huffington Post which has everything we need to keep connected to the “real” world and other posts to help us disconnect too!
most memorable souvenir…
Hundreds of photos we take and upload to Dropbox. These take us back to a place or event and we don’t have to pack or carry them.
favorite cheap eat…
popcorn. Whenever we have a kitchen and a big pan we make popcorn the old fashioned way. It’s a great snack and, occasionally, a pretty filling dinner when we’ve had a late lunch.
recent discovery…
the island country of Curacao and the places that are well off the tourist trail.
I am fortunate to have met…
People who remind us again and again of the things that are truly important and how lucky we are: Lena, a gracious, hard-working lady who lives in Peru who lost everything she owned to the Shining Path and, after becoming a political refugee in the US, lost everything again when her status was revoked and she was deported. Mario, a teacher in Guatemala we met at the public school where we taught English who showed us parts of Guatemala we never would have seen and talked about growing up hungry in a family of eleven. Jim and Monica who founded an NGO in Nicaragua where we volunteered to feed malnourished children and teach them English which increases their educational options and future opportunities. There are other amazing and generous people we’ve met and we look forward to meeting many more…
I would like to meet…
we look forward to meeting many more…
Thank you very much, Anita and Richard.
Follow Anita Oliver on Facebook, Richard Nash on Facebook, and both on No Particular Place To Go.
Check out McCool Travel’s previous profiles. McCool Travel presents tips from travel experts in our 5 Minutes interview series—featuring travel industry giants, super frequent travelers, and adventurous persons. Previous 5 Minutes post: Dyanne Kruger.
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Thanks for including our interview in your blog. Some of your questions really helped us think about what makes travel special for us.
So nice to hear that. Thank YOU for your contribution.