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Being a financial examiner means you juggle a lot of different pieces. It's a balancing act between regulations, deadlines, and not to mention your personal life.
This podcast is here to help you manage it all. Custom-designed for the professionals who are on the frontlines, we’re here to help you navigate supervision .
But we know you're more than just your job. You’re managing tight deadlines, traveling, and balancing the demands of your work with the rest of your life.
Each episode is designed to keep you informed, empowered, and supported—not just as an examiner, but as a whole person. We’ll dive into the business and the personal to help you manage stress, find balance on the road, and keep growing in your career.
This is the place you can connect with other examiners who understand your challenges, get the support you need, and thrive in both your role and your life. Stay in the loop, stay supported, and let’s navigate this together.
Melissa Sanchez (00:00:00):
Here's something that I pack that is not something that people normally think about is I pack a trash bag, an empty trash bag. When I arrive at a hotel, I unpack and then my suitcase is empty and I put my dirty clothes as I wear them into the suitcase. Then I will lay that trash bag on top because if I haven't worn, it gives a separation. And then when I get home, I'm like, okay, these on top are clean. I can hang them back up.
Kareeme Tucker (00:00:27):
You're listening to In the Loop, where we empower financial examiners with the insights, support, and community to thrive in every part of their role. I'm Kareem.
Derek Storms (00:00:38):
And I'm Derek.
Kareeme Tucker (00:00:40):
Hey Derek, how are you doing?
Derek Storms (00:00:42):
Good. How are you doing?
Kareeme Tucker (00:00:44):
I am doing well. I'm excited for today. How was your evening? How was your - It's
Derek Storms (00:00:51):
Good. It's good. So I have to tell you something. A couple of weeks ago, we bought a camper, a little pool behind camper, which I thought was actually so good timing for this episode. We're going to be talking about travel. So we bought this camper and I need to create a spot for it out here at my house. So I have moved two tons of rock just to lay this stuff down. I'm exhausted. I'm just telling you I'm so tired. I bet. But I've got it ready. I can pull my camper in and get it all hooked up. I'm super excited for it, but I thought it was fitting perfect for this episode, this travel episode, learning some different tips and tricks about travel, like the camper, right? That's a perfect
Kareeme Tucker (00:01:32):
Episode. Yeah. Derek, you are so full of information. First to learn you have a tiny house. Now you have a camper. Is it like a tiny camper house? I've got so many questions. Did it even make those?
Derek Storms (00:01:46):
It's 23 feet. Yeah, 23 feet. Single slide out. It's got some bunk beds for the daughters. So she had to have two of them. She couldn't just have one bed.
Kareeme Tucker (00:01:55):
Absolutely. She needs her space.
Derek Storms (00:01:57):
Yep. That's right. That's right. So yeah.
Kareeme Tucker (00:02:01):
Have you all planned out your first place that you're going to travel to yet? Have you planned your first travel location yet?
Derek Storms (00:02:07):
Have a list, so I would have to get that from them, but they definitely have a list.
Kareeme Tucker (00:02:11):
Okay. Okay. Listen, Britton, I know you're going to win this. I know she's going to win. Whatever she says, she's going to go, "Listen, that's so exciting. I've always wanted to travel in a camper or an RV and just kind of see the US. It's great to travel all over the place and outside of the country, but there are so many opportunities and places in which we can go and see here within the US. And speaking about travel, I am so excited about today's guest, OMG. Melissa Sanchez is who we have for today. Folks, if you are looking to travel, if you have traveled, if you're looking for some tips, today's episode is the episode you want to tune in for. Today we have Melissa Sanchez. She is an ASTA verified travel advisor. She's also a certified travel coach. I didn't even know that there was any such thing.
(00:03:02):
How exciting, right? And she's the owner of Spell Bound Vacations, LLC, which is based in New Jersey. Hey, Melissa. That's tri-state. I'm from New York originally. With over 16 years in the travel industry, she specializes in family and emptiness travel. Woo-hoo, that's me. Can't wait to hear the tips. A Massachusetts native, Melissa is married to her college sweetheart, a mom of two, and a grandmother of one. See, I would've never thought that after meeting her with two dogs rounding out the family. And so without further ado, in the loop family, let's welcome our guest today, Melissa Sanchez.
Melissa Sanchez (00:03:42):
Thank you so much for having me, Kareem and Derek. I'm excited to be here. Thank you.
Kareeme Tucker (00:03:47):
Thanks, Melissa. Hey, I got to ask you to have you.
Derek Storms (00:03:51):
What are your two dogs? What kind of dogs do you have?
Kareeme Tucker (00:03:53):
Yes.
Melissa Sanchez (00:03:55):
So I have Roxy. She is almost seven years old. Her birthday's next week. She's a beagle mix. And then I have Bolt, who is our 11-year-old lab mix.
Kareeme Tucker (00:04:08):
Nice. Okay.
Derek Storms (00:04:10):
Awesome. Awesome. Now I have to ask, do they travel with you?
Melissa Sanchez (00:04:14):
Majority of the time, no. However, when we are going back to Massachusetts, they will come with us a lot of the times if we're doing that. And that's about a three, three and a half hour drive for us.
Derek Storms (00:04:25):
Gotcha. Yeah, I have two small dogs, a little farm dog. He just runs around all over the place. And then we have a French bulldog and he's our buddy, so he's always with us. We try to travel with him as much as we can.
Kareeme Tucker (00:04:39):
I have a miniature snauser, and then I have my daughter's dog who when he visits, which he thinks he lives here, he's elaborate. He's a double doodle. And so yeah, when we travel to each other's homes or if we travel out of state, sometimes we bring them with us because they just love riding in a car. But I've not experienced traveling with them in the airplane yet or anything yet. But we do get a chance to travel with our fur babies and I love it.
Melissa Sanchez (00:05:02):
Yeah, and a lot of people do. A lot of people do travel with them.
Kareeme Tucker (00:05:05):
Yeah. Personal travel and business travel. Let's go ahead, like you said, Derek, let's get started and let's talk a little bit about life on the road. If you want to kick this off, Derek.
Derek Storms (00:05:14):
Yeah, for sure. Many of us that were regulators at one time or are regulators, we spend a lot of life on the road. I mean, we're out there doing examinations. And so hopefully you can give us some tips, some tricks, some things that we didn't know about or some new advice that can help us make travel a little bit easier. For those people who travel consistently for work, what's the biggest mistakes you see travelers make? And are there any kind of easy fixes for them?
Melissa Sanchez (00:05:42):
A couple of the major things that I see travelers, mistakes that travelers make is not familiarizing themselves with the city that they're going to be visiting. It's, oh, I'm going. For example, I was in San Diego just a week ago for a conference and not looking at what's around the hotel because you are going to have opportunity to leave the hotel, even if it's just to grab a cup of coffee in the morning because you don't want to keep going to the hotel coffee bar. But if you step outside and you have no idea where you are or how to get to that coffee shop, then that's something to just familiarize yourself with what's in the area of that hotel. Another mistake I see is people waiting for the last minute to book things. So if you know that you're traveling and you know I have to be at this conference in San Diego at the end of May, get your flights booked.
(00:06:39):
Get your hotel booked. Take care of it because honestly, especially now, you're only going to see those prices go up. So just do it, get it done, and that way you have the comfort of knowing it is all set.
Derek Storms (00:06:54):
Definitely. So you're talking about familiarizing with the city. What are some easy things you can do? Is there Google searches? Are there websites? Are there certain things that you recommend? Do we call you and be like, "Hey, I need you to schedule my trip," or what do we do here?
Melissa Sanchez (00:07:09):
I mean, there's a couple of different things. Yes, Google search, Google Maps, those are great resources. You can have them right on your phone. A lot of cities are going to have tourism websites. You can go onto their websites and see what's going on. You can reach out to the hotel, the concierge or the front desk at the hotel before you arrive and just ask them, "Do you have any recommendations for the area? Can you tell me, is there. I've got free time this afternoon, but I only have a couple hours, so I don't have time to..." Again, I was in San Diego. I don't have time to go to the zoo for the day, but maybe they can suggest an art museum down the street that you can just take a break. So those are just a couple of things that you can do before you arrive to get the lay of the land.
(00:07:56):
You
Kareeme Tucker (00:07:56):
Can look that stuff up while you're in the airport waiting for your flight.
Melissa Sanchez (00:07:59):
You can. Absolutely. It's not something you don't necessarily have to do it weeks in advance. I do recommend though, if you do have enough free time, it is smart to reach out to the hotel because they'll have great recommendations. Their concierge will know what's in the area, what to avoid. Hey, this restaurant has five stars online, but it has five stars because everybody gets pointed there, but the mom-and-pop shop down the street, that's the one you should really check out. Ooh,
Kareeme Tucker (00:08:27):
That's a great point. Ask for where do the locals go? That's a great
Melissa Sanchez (00:08:30):
Point. Where do the locals go?
Derek Storms (00:08:33):
Awesome. So what are your top tips for making frequent work travels feel less exhausting and more manageable? You've kind of already talked about getting ahead of the game here, but is there anything else we can do? Because you're on the road a lot, you're tired, you just kind of want to get home sometimes, but how do we make these a little less exhausting and more manageable over time?
Melissa Sanchez (00:08:55):
So I think one of the things that I do is I keep a couple of bags pre-packed. I have my charger bag pre-packed. So not only does it have the cords for my phone and my watch and your laptop or whatnot, but it also has, I keep a portable charger in there too. Even though I may have a portable charger in my carry-on or my purse, I also keep one in that bag. So that way I know I just grab that bag, throw it in my carry-on. The stuff is already there. I don't have to think about it. I don't show up at the hotel thinking, oh shoot, I forgot my phone charger. I
Derek Storms (00:09:37):
Have to tell you, I've been doing this for 14 years and I've never had to do that. And I'm always scrambling for that phone charger like, oh, did I get enough? I want bonus phone chargers. I'm always scrambling for this, the bathroom supplies and all of that kind of stuff. Man, what a brilliant little tip to just kind of take the stress out of that right away. And
Melissa Sanchez (00:09:59):
It does. And that's the other thing I was going to say is the bathroom bags, right? Pre-pack your bathroom bags. I mean, honestly, at home, you're not using your travel toothpaste. You're not using your travel size shampoos. Have those already pre-packed. Again, just a grab and go. For women, there's a lot of companies now, stores now where there are the travel size lotions that you use on your face. All of those things, you can get all of those in travel size. You are not using those at home. Every once in a while, obviously you'll want to go, take a look at your bag, make sure you're not running out of anything if you need to restock. But those are two things that I constantly have packed so I can just grab and go and I don't need to think about it.That's
Kareeme Tucker (00:10:47):
A great point. I keep my toiletry bag packed so when I return from a trip, if I recognize that I am a little low on something, then I make sure that I make it my mission that, okay, I need to add toothpaste to this or I need to add more mouthwash or something so that before my next trip, I'm already prepared. So I like that preparedness prior to going on your trip. I love that. Yeah.
Derek Storms (00:11:10):
I mean, we're talking about packing.
Kareeme Tucker (00:11:12):
Right. That's what I was going to say. She talked about making sure that you have your toiletries in pack and your go-to about ensuring that you have your charger readily. A second one, I should say, a secondary charger already in your bag and ready to go. But if you had to pack for a week-long trip using only a carry-on, what would you say would be some of your must-have items? Or what should be some of our must-have items?
Melissa Sanchez (00:11:36):
So that's really hard for me.
Kareeme Tucker (00:11:39):
Okay. Well, we already know that we must have that charger. That's a must-have,
Melissa Sanchez (00:11:44):
Right? Right.
(00:11:46):
You want your bathroom bag, and keep in mind in that bathroom bag, especially if you're flying with only a carry-on, remember the size, three ounces in liquids. So you're not carrying your full-size shampoos and whatnot if you are flying. However, if you are driving, obviously that's a different story if you're driving somewhere and you feel like you want those full size. So it depends on whether or not you're flying or driving, what you would put in there. I mean, for me, I always have to, when I'm doing carry-on size, I have to cut down on the amount of shoes that I bring. I know.
Derek Storms (00:12:21):
That's my problem too. I mean, come on. You got to find a solution for us. Come on.
Melissa Sanchez (00:12:27):
You need to have a pair of shoes that are versatile and comfortable because the last thing you want is that you've been walking around all day in and out of meetings, walking around facilities all day, and you go back to your room and you have blisters. And the only other thing you have are your workout sneakers. So something, a pair of shoes that are comfortable that are versatile, I would recommend doing that if you're doing a carry-on. And then I would recommend if you're doing a carry-on only is pieces as in clothing that are also versatile, things that you can kind of mix and match because you're not going to be packing three blazers in your carry-on bag. Maybe you're only packing one. Well, I know, but we're talking carry-on, right? Right, right.
Kareeme Tucker (00:13:16):
You're right. You're right. You're right.
Melissa Sanchez (00:13:18):
So you want to make sure items that you can mix and match. And I know I have things, pieces of clothing that honestly, I never wear on a regular basis. They're pieces of clothing that I only travel with when I'm going to conferences or meetings, and they mix and match. Maybe it's only two pairs of pants. Well, not for a week, but three pairs or four pairs. But I've got multiple shirts and they all go with the blazer that I have with me. So those are some things that you can think about maybe having just a couple of pieces that you only take when you travel.
Kareeme Tucker (00:13:55):
And so what are the travel gear or packing hacks that seasoned travelers swear by, but most people don't know about? So you've given us some great tips, right? Make sure your outfits or the items that you pack are versatile. And I have to remember that I have a trip coming up soon, so I need to pack lightly because it will be a carry-on. So I'll keep that in mind. Are there any other travel gear or packing hacks that seasoned travelers swear by, but most people don't know anything about? A
Melissa Sanchez (00:14:18):
Lot of people swear by, and I wouldn't say people don't necessarily know about this, but a lot of people swear by packing cubes because
Kareeme Tucker (00:14:25):
They
Melissa Sanchez (00:14:25):
Feel -
Kareeme Tucker (00:14:26):
I'm people. I'm people.
Melissa Sanchez (00:14:28):
So packing cubes is a good one. And there are packing cubes that now this adds a little extra work when you actually get to your destination, but it allows you to pack more the packing cubes that you can suck the air out of, right? The vacuum packs.
Kareeme Tucker (00:14:42):
Yes.
Melissa Sanchez (00:14:43):
The vacuum packs. So if you need to pack in your carry-on and you need three different blazers for the week, something like that is a good option. However, keep in mind when you get to your destination, you are most likely going to need to iron every piece of clothing that you have in there. So it's a give or take. It's a great option to be able to pack more, but it's not that much fun when you're ironing everything the morning you need to leave or the night before. So just something to keep in mind. I would say that's probably a big one is those packing cubes and keeping. But here's something that I pack that is not something that people normally think about is I pack a trash bag, an empty trash bag.
Kareeme Tucker (00:15:27):
Is it for your dirty clothes?
Melissa Sanchez (00:15:28):
Well, I don't put my dirty clothes necessarily in them because when I arrive at a hotel, I unpack. I put my clothes, I know there's a lot of people who just pull from their suitcase and - No,
Kareeme Tucker (00:15:37):
I'm an
Melissa Sanchez (00:15:37):
Unpacker too.
(00:15:39):
I unpack everything completely. I put them in the drawers, I hang things up, and then my suitcase is empty and I put my dirty clothes as I wear them into the suitcase. Then I will lay that trash bag on top because if there's clothes I haven't worn, it gives a separation. And then when I get home, I'm like, okay, these on top are clean. I can hang them back up. But let's say you're in a destination that's nice, it's warm, it's sunny, you do have some free time, you've brought your bathing suit with you, you jump in the pool. We all know that when you're trying to dry something like a bathing suit in air conditioning, it really doesn't dry very well, right? Not at all. You may have something that's damp. So that can kind of also be a secondary shove your damp stuff in there instead of having all of your clothes damp by the time you get home.
(00:16:29):
So that's one of the little tips that I give my clients that you wouldn't necessarily think that you want to travel with a trash bag with you, but that's why. That's brilliant because -
Derek Storms (00:16:38):
I'm always struggling with the clean clothes, dirty clothes thing. Right. And you're like, "What do I do? How do I do it?" And so man, that's brilliant. I've never thought about that.
Kareeme Tucker (00:16:47):
I love that because I was just putting the dirty clothes in the bag and then sometimes it makes the suitcase a little bit more puffy if you don't have. But I like to just layer in it. And a great tip on putting the damp swimsuit, because I'll tell you embarrassingly, so I would take my swimsuit and I would take the hair dryer in a hotel room trying to dry it out.That takes time. Time that you could be out exploring the city that you're in. Who has time to do all of that? But that's a great hack. Great hack.
Derek Storms (00:17:13):
I want to follow up real fast because I started doing this a few years ago. It was probably four or five years ago of actually unpacking when I get to the hotel. Is there a benefit? Is that a personal preference? Why do you do it? I started doing it a couple of years ago. I've enjoyed it, and it just makes the experience a little bit better for me. But any thoughts or ideas on the unpacking when you get to the hotel?
Melissa Sanchez (00:17:35):
Sometimes you don't have to iron things if you've taken them out. If you've packed nicely and you're not using vacuum bags, you don't want to leave your suit jackets or your pants or your blouses just folded up in your suitcase for the week or even the long weekend. Take them out, hang them up. Plus it gives it more of a homey feel, especially if you travel all the time and you're always in a hotel room. You don't want to be literally living out of a suitcase. So it gives you the ability to see your things. Okay, here's the draw that I have my pants and shirts in. Here's the draw with the undergarments. I have my dresses hung up over here. It gives it more of a home feel versus just pulling things out that will be wrinkled after three days, even if they weren't wrinkled on day one.
(00:18:23):
That's
Kareeme Tucker (00:18:24):
A great point. I know for me, I do all of it. I unpack initially for all of those reasons, but the other piece is I want to see what I have. I may have felt like I wanted to wear this dress on Tuesday, but maybe Tuesday came around and it's a little bit cooler now. I could see the full, a different outfit. Maybe I want to pair it differently. When you talk about versatility, maybe I want to pair the shirt with a different pair of pants and seeing them hung up, now I may have a different opinion. So I love that. And it just keeps the room neat.
Melissa Sanchez (00:18:51):
Agreed. It does keep the room a little bit neater. And I'm also somebody, depending on where I'm going, I pack kind of a little bit in advance usually when I'm traveling. I will actually forget what I put in my pack. So if I'm unpacking, I'll be like, oh my God, I forgot I packed this shirt. Great, here we go. We can add that to the list of things, especially if let's say you're touring or observing something during the day, but in the evening you've got a dinner or you've got an event you have to attend and you have to bring multiple outfits for one day. It lets you have everything out in front of you. So
Kareeme Tucker (00:19:29):
As business travelers, I would say Derek and I probably. Well, let me not speak for Derek because he's a world traveler and if he isn't now, he will be with his camper now. But I mostly travel for business. And so what would be one of the things that most business travelers pack that they really actually don't need? And does that fall more along the lines of just packing way too many blazers, just keeping it simple and keeping the versatility? I think
Melissa Sanchez (00:19:55):
It's the over-packing because when I travel for business, I tend to overpack. Again, the conference I was in San Diego, I brought four blazers with me. I was literally there for four days. Why did I need four blazers? But in my head I was like, "Well, this goes with both of these, so I might need this." So I think it's the over-packing, the overthinking. And again, especially if you are doing inspections or something along those lines during the day, and then maybe you have a client dinner in the evening, that's where that versatility of clothing comes in. And maybe the blazer's the same, but maybe you're just changing your pants and putting on a pair of heels that you didn't have on during the day. So I think it's the overpacking and the overthinking of how many outfits I don't need four blazers for a four-day conference.
Kareeme Tucker (00:20:49):
That is me. I think you're right, the overthinking. We think it's better to have more than less. Not necessarily. Right. So we talked a lot about packing, and so that's the before we get to the airport. Let's talk a little bit about airports, getting to the airport, flights, and other ways of commuting. So for frequent flyers, what are your best airport efficiency tips from the security lines to boarding to avoiding delays? What would be some tips that you would recommend for airport efficiency? So
Melissa Sanchez (00:21:22):
I would say number one is stick to the two-hour and three-hour rule. Two hours arriving at the airport two hours before your domestic flight, arriving at the airport three hours before your international flight. Those are kind of the rules of thumb. And I know a lot of people would be like, "Oh, my flight's at 5:00 AM." And if we've learned nothing over the last few months between staff shortages and canceled flights and airlines shutting down two hours before your flight's supposed to take off, you want to make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get through security, to get to your gate, to stop and have a cup of coffee if you're early. I am always early to my flights. Another thing is that TSA pre-check clear global entry. So I have global entry because I travel internationally a lot, and that helps you return to the US.
(00:22:18):
However, included in global entry is that TSA pre-check. So it includes that. If you're not traveling international, straight up TSA pre-check is definitely the way to go. I don't know pricing off the top of my head, so I'm not going to get into that part of it. However, it is an inexpensive option for the convenience that you get. I know global entry is good for five years and then you have to renew it. For both global entry and TSA pre-check, there are interviews, fingerprints, that sort of thing. It's essentially a background check that they're going to run on you, but it is so worth it. If you don't want to go through all of that, if you're like, "Ugh, I don't want to deal with all of that." You have CLEAR, which is another option. CLEAR, you can potentially sign up for right at the airport before your flight.
(00:23:07):
There's a separate line. Sometimes there's a combo line, TSA and CLEAR, depending on the airport you're in, but it's literally like a facial recognition. You'll put in your information and you can sign up for CLEAR. All of these things have a fee associated with them. So there is different fees that you would need to use. One of the other things, and this is new and not every airport has it, and not every airline supports it, but there's touchless entry. Now, I fly United majority of the time out of Newark Airport. It's something that it'll be offered to you if it's available for the airline you're flying, the airports you're flying through. If you opt in, again, it's another completely separate line. Now you have to have TSA Pre-Check or Global Entry to do this or to have it offered to you, but it literally is facial recognition.
(00:24:01):
And every time I've used it at Newark, there is no line. You walk up, maybe there's two people in front of you, they do your face, go through security, and you're through. So those programs, if you are a frequent flyer, absolutely worth exploring and seeing which one is the best fit for you. And
Derek Storms (00:24:19):
Just to be clear, and we have some relatively new and younger examiners that haven't flown so much, TSA pre-check and clear, what does that do opposed to not having it? What is that real fast? It
Melissa Sanchez (00:24:33):
Gets you through that security line faster. I mean, that's the number one thing. That's what you're looking for. It gets you through quicker. The lines are shorter. So let's say your security line is 30 minutes long. Potentially your TSA pre-check or your clear line, maybe it's 10 minutes, maybe it's five, depending on the time of day and the day of the week when you're traveling, all those factors come in. But it is a shortened wait.
Derek Storms (00:24:58):
Absolutely. I mean, I've seen that at the airports just flying over the years. Pre-check, clear, all of that, man. Those lines are so much shorter. It does have a fee that comes with it, but if you don't like waiting in lines, it is worth the fee and it's relatively affordable over a year cost. So definitely something I would encourage frequent flyers or travelers to explore because it is a huge benefit if you're able to get in. Yeah,
Melissa Sanchez (00:25:26):
Agreed. Now
Derek Storms (00:25:27):
We've talked about the airports and getting through the lines and all of that. Do you use any of the services to get through the airport lines?
Melissa Sanchez (00:25:35):
Yes. So we have global entry as a family, my entire family. And as I mentioned, global entry, while it includes the TSA pre-check, it also includes a shortened line when you're returning to the country if you've been traveling internationally. So you look sometimes those entry lines coming back into the United States and you're like, "Oh my God, I'm going to be here for another five hours." Not when you have global entry right through. So we have that because we do travel internationally a lot. Both of my kids have it, my husband has it. We used to have clear along with that global entry/TSA pre-check. We no longer do, but I actually have to say I loved having all of them because it made it even a quicker line because a lot of times the clear line is even shorter than the TSA pre-check line. So when I had both, I was like, "Ooh, this is even faster." And then I also, as I mentioned with United Airlines, I have the touchless.
(00:26:32):
So again, super quick getting through. It was an option that popped up. And it's funny, it was actually an option that popped up from my husband first and he was like, "Do you have this?" And at first I was like, "I don't even know what you're talking about." I had no clue when it came up a few months ago. And then it popped up on mine the next time, I think it was February or something along those lines when I traveled. And it's again, just like if you have TSA precheck, it's going to show on your ticket that you have it.
Kareeme Tucker (00:26:57):
You brought up a great point. I didn't realize that global entry includes TSA pre-check. And so all along I had TSA pre-check, which for many who don't know, TSA pre-check can only be used within the US. Can only be used throughout the US for those airports that accept it. But if you have global entry and it includes both, that's like a bonus, being able to have both things. Still
Melissa Sanchez (00:27:21):
Only within the US, but it's entry back to the United States. Whereas TSA Pre-Check is like when you're boarding your flight, the global entry part of that helps you when you're returning back into the United States from an international travel.
Derek Storms (00:27:36):
So we all have been there. We get to the airport, we're hungry. We're thirsty. Are there any tips or tricks? Are there favorite places? Well, how do we manage the cost of the airport food and all of this stuff? Or do you just pay it and get your favorite sandwich? What is your tips on eating at the airport? And
Kareeme Tucker (00:27:58):
Before you answer that, remember our audience, a lot of our audience are examiners. So they have a tight surplus of funds that they're using for this travel. But go ahead, Melissa. Sure.
Melissa Sanchez (00:28:09):
I mean, depending on the time of day, and again, budget-wise, being budget-friendly, you can certainly pack some snacks with you. For me, it's going to depend on how long the flight is. Most of the time I just suck it up and I'll just buy something when I get to the airport. But I know there's a lot of people who don't want to do that. One important thing to keep in mind is liquids though. You cannot go through security with more than three ounces of liquid. So don't pack yourself your cup of coffee and your thermos or your bottle of water because it will get taken from you. You can bring an empty water bottle, however, and majority of the airports are going to have water filling stations. So once you get through security, if you have a longer flight or you'd like to have your water with you on board, you can do that.
(00:28:58):
I know a lot of my clients or a lot of times if I'm flying like a red eye flight flying overnight, I have a longer flight, bring that empty water bottle through security. That's
Kareeme Tucker (00:29:07):
3.99 and get the water that way.
Melissa Sanchez (00:29:09):
Exactly. So you can do that. Again, food-wise for me, if I have an early morning flight, I will just kind of grab that Starbucks. And most of the time the Starbucks in the airport, the lines may be long in the morning, but you can pre-order on the mobile app and then pick it up versus standing in that long line. But yeah, you can definitely bring food through. It's just those drinks you need to be careful of. So
Derek Storms (00:29:34):
No restrictions on the food through security or anything like that? We can pack our favorite.
Melissa Sanchez (00:29:40):
I would think about what you're bringing. To be perfectly honest with you, nobody wants you opening your tuna or your egg salad sandwich on the plane. Or
Kareeme Tucker (00:29:49):
Your
Melissa Sanchez (00:29:49):
Salmon,
Kareeme Tucker (00:29:50):
Don't do it.
Melissa Sanchez (00:29:51):
Think about what you're bringing and the people around you. There are no microwaves. You're not going to be able to heat anything up. So you know That turkey sandwich, that bag of chips, all that all good. But yeah, keep that in
Kareeme Tucker (00:30:06):
Mind. A roasting pan of food, Derek, and passing it around.
Melissa Sanchez (00:30:10):
I will tell you.
Derek Storms (00:30:11):
I'll write that down. I'll make sure I don't do that next
Melissa Sanchez (00:30:14):
Time. I did have a flight once where a family came on and it looked like kind of multi-gen. There were probably eight to 10 people. They came on with an entire pizza and plates and handed each kid a slice of pizza after we took off. And you know what? People were like, "What are they doing with the pizza?" Guess what? Their kids were happy. There was nobody crying. Yeah, you carried a pizza on board, but who doesn't like the smell of pizza?
Derek Storms (00:30:45):
Everybody was jealous. Let's be honest. Everybody else was jealous. Why didn't I think of that?
Kareeme Tucker (00:30:51):
I like the pack snacks too. I always like to carry in fruits and nuts and baggies, or maybe I'll bring some veggies, some carrots, and I'll have that in a baggie depending on the flight time. If it's midday, I'll carry that and at least I can nibble on that in case the food court lines or what have you are long. Or if I just don't have time, if I have a tight transition between connections, then I'll at least have that to nibble on, to carry me through till I get to my destination or until I get on the plane.
Melissa Sanchez (00:31:17):
I do want to add though, with the mention of nuts, you need to be really careful with nuts on flights. Some of them have banned, peanuts have banned certain nuts because of allergies. So if you're looking at nuts, just take a look at your airline and make sure that it's allowed. And that's another good tip really with anything. Make sure whatever you want to bring in your carry-on, look at the airlines and what's allowed and what's not allowed to be brought on board.
Kareeme Tucker (00:31:50):
That is a good tip. I never thought about that. Okay.
Derek Storms (00:31:54):
Melissa, we've talked a lot about the airlines. What about the reward points, the credit cards, those kind of things? If we're frequent flyers, if we're doing this a lot, should we be signing up for these things? Do you have any tips or tricks on this kind of stuff?
Melissa Sanchez (00:32:13):
Sure. I absolutely think you should be signing up for these things. So it's going to depend. I'll use again myself for an example. I live in Northern New Jersey. Newark is the airport we fly out of the majority of the time. It is a United Airlines hub. So I can get to practically anywhere from Newark, New Jersey. So for my business, I have a United card and whatever I charge on that United card, I'm getting miles for that goes right into my United Mileage Plus account. So just to back up a little bit, I'd say whatever airlines you fly, even if you only flown them one time, sign up for their points, their miles program, whatever it might be. Delta, it's Sky Miles, United is Mileage Plus, sign up for it. Because sometimes even if you, again, only have flown that airline once or twice and you normally fly a United, sometimes you can share points, you can move them around.
(00:33:16):
Along those same lines, you don't necessarily have to have that United Airlines business card. You could have, say, a Chase Sapphire card or a Capital One Venture card where you're earning points there, and those points can be translated into airline miles or hotel points. Something to keep in mind though, a lot of these cards, they do have fees. There were different levels of them and you earn different things on different levels, but I definitely think they are worth it for hotels and airlines. And I would recommend if you have the ability to, try to stick to the same airline and the same hotel chain, because what that can do is let you build up those points and those miles to earn upgrades, earn maybe a couple free hotel nights that you can use in the future. So I definitely recommend, if you are allowed to do that, I would recommend doing it.
Kareeme Tucker (00:34:23):
I love that because even with building up your miles, you can use that towards personal travel and apply that to personal travel. Or if you're traveling for business, maybe apply it to an upgrade potentially. And some of those, and I love the fact that you don't have to have a credit card from those companies to sign up for many of their reward points, which is definitely a bonus if you're wanting to be debt-free and not have a bunch of credit cards lingering over your head.
Melissa Sanchez (00:34:48):
Yeah, you don't need the credit card because each of them, it's just linked to the company. So the hotels too, Marriott with their Bonvoy program, Hyatt, Hilton, they all have their own rewards programs. You do not need to have their credit cards. When you stay there, you'll have a number associated with either your airline account or your hotel account. And when you're booking, just make sure that number is getting put on your reservation. And then that way you can earn those miles or those points.
Kareeme Tucker (00:35:23):
Yeah, I love to do that. Great advice. And sometimes you can even link, if you happen to have the card, you can even link it when you mentioned Starbucks earlier. So I have a Delta card, so I linked my Starbucks account to it. So not only do I get rewards when I travel via Delta, but I linked it to my Starbucks. So if I use Starbucks, I'm getting miles or points or whatever for that as well and can be. So I love that. Hey, especially if it's something free, I'm here for the free point signup. That's no real obligation for me. Great tips. Great tip.
Derek Storms (00:35:57):
I've got at least one more thing about the airports that I really want to talk about. I just learned about this, so I'm super excited. I didn't even know this was a thing. Airport lounges, what are they? I didn't even know. I've been doing this for 14 years here and I didn't know it was a thing. What are they? Are they worth it? Can anybody go in? How do they work? What is an airport lounge?
Melissa Sanchez (00:36:21):
There's a couple of different types of airport lounges. There's the ones that are linked to the airlines. So if you're flying United, if you're flying Delta, there is an airport lounge. However, not everyone is allowed in, even if you were flying on their airlines. Really? So it's true. There's a couple of different ways that you can get access. One is a credit card. If you have a certain level, because again, there's all these different levels because they want to make sure they're getting what they want out of you. But depending on your level, if you have, again, I'm going to use United because that's what I have personally, but depending on the level I am with the fee I pay each year, I could potentially have United Airlines lounge access. There are one-time access passes that you can purchase many times, not all the time, but many times as an upgrade to your flight.
(00:37:16):
So once your flight's booked, you can go back in there and you can pre-purchase your wifi or sometimes depending on what class you're flying in, you could pre-purchase your meal maybe or something along those lines. Many times there's the option to add in a one-time lounge pass, which is really nice. However, the other type is there are also these lounges that are not associated necessarily with the airline, but they could be associated. For example, the Capital One venture card is associated with what's called a priority pass. And there are lounges when you go up to them, you'll see we accept United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Priority Pass holders or whatnot. And then you can enter those. Not every airport has lounges. Some only have lounges for certain airlines. A great one that we did for our son a few years back, he was flying through Doha and he had a really long layover there.
(00:38:21):
So we purchased him the lounge access. There was a separate website. We were able to purchase this lounge access. This lounge access, not only did it have the food and the drink and someplace to relax, it also had showers, which a lot of the bigger ones will because if you have longer layovers or you've been flying overnight, your next flight's not for a few hours, you want to freshen up, you will have that option. So Derek, you asked, is it worth it?
Derek Storms (00:38:51):
Yeah.
Melissa Sanchez (00:38:52):
They are worth it. They are worth it. And you have to make the decision on what type of access you want. Do you want just that one time access? Do you want to have a credit card that gives you the access? And what level of access do you actually want? So there's a lot of layers to it, but it's totally worth it.
Derek Storms (00:39:15):
I know I have a trip coming up that's got a couple of layovers there and back. I'm totally looking at the lounge access. I'm going to check this out. And Kareem, I'll let you know how it goes, but I love doing - Listen,
Kareeme Tucker (00:39:27):
I'm going to be checking them out as well. I have travel in a couple of weeks. I'm getting ready. I'm excited
Melissa Sanchez (00:39:32):
About it. Yeah. So take a look. If it's an add-on for you, just go into the app and usually it's in the same places where you could purchase your wifi or whatnot. You may find there's a pass there. Not always, not always, but you may find it there.
Derek Storms (00:39:47):
All right. We got to know, are you a seat aisle or middle seat person?
Kareeme Tucker (00:39:51):
Meaning window seat, aisle? Window seat,
Derek Storms (00:39:54):
Yeah. Sorry.
Melissa Sanchez (00:39:55):
So it depends. It depends on where I'm flying, how long the flight is and who I'm flying with. So that's sort of a, I could be sitting anywhere answer. If I'm flying with my husband, he's over six feet tall, so he always does the aisle. And depending on where we're flying, I may gamble and choose the window and hope no one sits in the middle or I may just choose that middle seat. If we're doing the whole family together, my son and my husband would've gotten the aisle seats and my daughter the window probably, and me the middle. If I'm doing an overnight, if I'm flying a red eye or I'm flying to Europe, more often than not, I will choose a window seat. I like to have the wall to lean against. I'm able to sleep on a plane, so I like to have that.
(00:40:40):
So it depends. I hate the middle, but I will do it if I have to.
Kareeme Tucker (00:40:44):
When I used to travel for work as an examiner with one of my colleagues, he's tall. He's probably about 6'2" as well. And so he would always do the aisle and he would say, "Come on, Kareem, sit in the middle." And I'm just like, "Dude, I like the aisle as well. I have long legs." But sometimes I take one for the team and do the middle aisle for one of the directions. But I'm an aisle seat all the way. But I agree with you. If you're having a longer flight, that window seat is everything. You can go right to sleep immediately, at least I do. Before they even say, buckle your seatbelt, I'm buckled in and my head is down and I'm taking a nap.
Melissa Sanchez (00:41:17):
Agreed.
Kareeme Tucker (00:41:19):
Yeah. Well, we've talked a lot about flying, right? So now we finally get to our destination. So Melissa, what would you say? What's the best way to stay healthy and sleep well in hotels when we're constantly changing locations?
Melissa Sanchez (00:41:33):
So there's a couple of things. I'm an incredibly light sleeper. Everything wakes me up. One of the things that I do in the room is I really make sure that those blinds are closed as well as they can. No little cracks in the middle. Exactly. I'm with you
Kareeme Tucker (00:41:52):
There.
Melissa Sanchez (00:41:53):
Making sure it's closed. I actually cover a lot of the little lights in the room. You don't realize until you shut the main light off that there's an alarm clock over here that is super bright in your face, right? Yes. The wifi box has a blue light glowing behind it. All of those little things, I literally will go in the bathroom. I will take the small towels or the facecloths and I will walk around the room and I will cover all those things. My husband thinks I'm insane, but it bothers me. The light pollution in the room, if you can call it that.
Kareeme Tucker (00:42:34):
It impacts you're asleep, you're full asleep. It does.
Melissa Sanchez (00:42:37):
It does. I mean, I know a lot of people like the eye masks, earplugs, depending. I try not to have a room near an elevator or an ice machine.
Kareeme Tucker (00:42:50):
OMG, great point. So
Melissa Sanchez (00:42:53):
If you had the ability to make that request to be further down the hall, although I did have clients recently who had a room that was the very last room at the end of the hall. And for whatever reason, housekeeping was putting everything at the end of the hall. So every morning they would come out of their room and the carts would be there and they were like, "What's happening here?" I think that was a one-off, but if you can request location, I like to request away from the elevator and away from the soda ice machines.That's
Kareeme Tucker (00:43:25):
A good point. Along with that, do you have any limits on the floors that you'll stay on? Because some folks are worried about getting a room beyond a reach of a firetruck's ladder. Do you have any concerns or do you have a preference on the floor that you stay on? I'm probably one of those people. I've never
Melissa Sanchez (00:43:41):
Even thought about that. So now I'm going to think about that. Can the firemen get to me? No, I genuinely, I don't. It's not something that I think about. If I'm traveling someplace where I know it may have a great view depending on. Last year I was at a conference in Salt Lake City. It was beautiful. The mountains out and about. It might be nice to be on a slightly higher floor so you have a beautiful view. But the bottom line is how much time if I'm at a conference or I'm doing inspections or I'm doing something along those lines, how much time am I actually in that room? So when I'm on a business trip, I am not as picky as I might be if I was traveling personally.
Derek Storms (00:44:22):
I've got to know, and this is for everybody, what temperature do you keep your room at, man? I am like 62 degrees or whatever the lowest is. I want to see my breath in the morning. Personal question, what temperature do you guys keep the
Kareeme Tucker (00:44:36):
Room at? I'm 68. I'm 68 in the house all day. It doesn't matter what season we're in. I like it cool. And when folks come into my house, they're always like, "You got to bring a blanket to come to Kareem's house." Well, be prepared. I keep blankets around and socks if you need them, but be prepared because I'm going to be comfortable. So I like my hotel room to be nice, cool, and crisp, at least 68. I don't like it higher than 68.
Melissa Sanchez (00:45:01):
Yeah, I usually keep it about that 68 number. Although when I was in San Diego last week, it was set to 66 and that was fine. We didn't play around with it at all. But usually about that 68 mark. I like it to be cooler at night, but I don't want to be freezing when I come back to my room at the end of the day, but I want it to be nice and cool for sleeping. So 68 seems to be a really good number for me for that.
Derek Storms (00:45:29):
Awesome. Any safety tips, hotel safety tips, anything that you've got for us?
Melissa Sanchez (00:45:34):
My first tip is sort of just travel in general. Safety is be aware of your surroundings. Pay attention to where you are. Pay attention to where you're walking. Whether you're getting in an elevator or you are just going to that coffee shop down the street, just keep an eye on your surroundings. Don't be flashing all your stuff all around when you're walking through the hotel lobby. Be a little bit conservative on that side. In your hotel room, I actually had an incident years ago, and this was internationally, not domestically, where I had the do not disturb sign on my door and we were getting food unbeknownst to us. We were at a conference and they were giving us a gift and they entered the room anyway and I was in the room. It was really nerve-wracking. So one of the things is I always say at night, put that do not disturb on.
(00:46:28):
But also there's usually either a chain or the little latch that kind of flaps out. So if you open the door, it won't open all the way. I will usually do that, especially as a woman traveling by myself. I definitely like to keep those safety features in place.
Kareeme Tucker (00:46:48):
No, I like that. All great practical tips, and it makes sense. I do all of those things. I'm like, "I am scary, Sherry. I don't want to be scared traveling anywhere." And so all the things, and the awareness, right? Just be aware of your surroundings. That's so key. If you're on the elevator and you get off and someone seemingly, they get on behind you, they didn't press a button, you get off, they get off with you and they're following you. Don't go walk into your room. Be aware of your surroundings. Even if it means okay, get back on and pretend like you got off on the wrong floor.
Melissa Sanchez (00:47:19):
Whatever makes you feel comfortable and know where your room is. When you get off that elevator, just make sure you know which direction you're walking in. So your first day there, pay attention to where you're going. I know where a lot of times we're excited or we're tired or we just are like, "Just get me to my room." And then the next morning you go downstairs to get coffee, you come back up and you're like, "Where was my room? Which way am I walking?" So again, it just goes back to knowing your surroundings, knowing where you are, paying attention to where you're walking and where you're going.
Kareeme Tucker (00:47:51):
So when you speak about safety, and this is a little bit. Well, it goes along with safety. Do you ever use the safes in the rooms when you travel, whether it's domestically or internationally? And are they really actually secure?
Melissa Sanchez (00:48:02):
I think they are. Yes. If it's locked and you can't open it, there is security who can come up and use a key and open it. But as overall, yes, I do use the safes. I do think they're secure. I will put things like passport, your wallet in there. If you're traveling, my laptop doesn't always fit in there, so it doesn't always end in there. But if you're traveling with an iPad or something that's smaller like that, put that in there. I definitely think it's a good thing to do. And not everything always fits in there because they're not that big. So your laptop might not fit, but most everything else that you feel like you want to secure should, or your jewelry. I have a little jewelry box I travel with, and I tend to not travel with expensive jewelry, but if you are traveling with something, your wedding rings, let's say you're going down to the pool, put your wedding rings in there.
Kareeme Tucker (00:48:56):
So smart. Now listen, we've talked about getting to the airport, traveling there, getting on a flight. We talked about hotels. Let's talk about some food. So eating on a road can be a little bit rough, right? So what are some of your best tips for finding decent food and staying energized while traveling?
Melissa Sanchez (00:49:16):
Well, I'd say if you're driving and we're not flying, let's say
Kareeme Tucker (00:49:20):
We're - driving with his camper.
Melissa Sanchez (00:49:23):
Driving with your camper. Camper is a little bit different, but let's say you're driving from New York to Boston. It's not too far of a drive, but it's long enough. So my suggestion is don't do a drive-through. Stop. Even if you still feel like I want to go to McDonald's, right? Get out of your car, walk inside, order, and don't eat while you're driving. Sit down, have that, stretch your legs a little bit. Just kind of get that blood running. Even when I'm doing the drive from New Jersey to Massachusetts, by the time I get to Massachusetts, my legs are killing me. My muscles are tight, my back hurts. Anything longer than that three hours, I need to stop. I need to take a break. So if you're driving, that would be one of my suggestions is take that break. Keep a bottle of water in the car with you.
(00:50:20):
Even if you're like, "Oh, that's going to mean I'm going to have to stop and use the restroom multiple times. So what? You know what?" It's an extra stop to stretch your legs. Maybe it takes you 10 minutes longer to where you're going, but it just gives you a little bit of a break. It keeps you hydrated. And that's the same thing with flying. If you can, like we discussed, bring that empty personal water bottle through security and fill it up so you have water on the flight, or you can buy that $27 bottle of water at the airport. And pay attention just because you're traveling doesn't mean you have to go out of your routine. If you eat breakfast every morning when you're at home, eat breakfast when you're on the road. Schedule it in if you have to. If your meetings start at 8:00 AM, get up at 6:30 so you have enough time to shower and eat breakfast.
(00:51:11):
Because if not, by the time you get to lunch, you're so hungry and famish, you're going to eat whatever is put in front of you. You're going to overeat. You're going to make poor choices because you're going to think, God, that burger and fries is amazing. Whereas when you're home, maybe you would've chosen that grilled chicken sandwich with the fries, but you are so hungry, it doesn't matter what's in front of you. So stick with your routine. If you are not normally a snacker, don't eat just because you're stressed out being someplace or grab something that's healthier. Grab yourself a drink because maybe you're not actually hungry. Maybe you just haven't drank enough water throughout the day.
Kareeme Tucker (00:51:47):
And if you drink water with a straw, that will help you feel like you, I don't know, for whatever reason, it just helps my digestion better and it makes me feel fuller longer. Maybe it's just in my head, but I love to sip water through a straw. And you're right, sometimes you're not hungry. You're just needing to do something to keep you busy. So with that being said, and we've got just a few more minutes, but I am curious, do you have any tips for using a hotel gym in a good time to go? With all that snack, good eating and all those things when you get to your destination, I like to work out normally when I'm home, but when I go to the hotel gyms, sometimes I don't work out there as often as I should. But what do you have as tips that we can use going forward for the different hotel gyms?
Melissa Sanchez (00:52:27):
So admittedly, I don't work out when I travel.
Kareeme Tucker (00:52:31):
Okay. Okay.
Melissa Sanchez (00:52:32):
And I work out at home. I don't work out when I travel. However, I do have a lot of colleagues and clients who love that. The one thing you have to think about if you are going to work out is the extra clothing that you're bringing with you, right? Because you're bringing your workout clothes, you're bringing an extra pair of sneakers, you're bringing all those things. So back to that carry-on. Are you traveling in just a carry-on? And do you have the ability to pack all these extra outfits?
Derek Storms (00:52:59):
Yeah, that's my defining moment of, am I going to work out or not? Can I pack it? Can I pack the clothing, the shoes, all of that? At the end of the day, if I'm like, it doesn't fit, I'm not working out.
Melissa Sanchez (00:53:12):
And look at your schedule too, because if your schedule has you going from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM between meetings and dinners and all of that kind of stuff, be realistic. We all want to say, oh, I'm going to get there. I'm going to go. I'm going to walk on that treadmill for a half an hour. Are you really? Are you really? So mornings and later in the evenings, those are going to be the busiest times in those gyms because those are those people who really are going to work out when they're there. They don't have time to do it midday. However, midday is going to be when it's less crowded most likely, right? Because everyone's off doing their thing. So I would say before you decide that you are going to work out when you're on vacation or traveling for business, are you really?
(00:54:01):
Be honest with yourself. And do you have the space? And look at your schedule and do you have the time? We all have the best intentions. So many of us who work out at home have traveled with our sneakers. I've brought my stuff on a cruise ship. Let me just tell you, there was no working out on a cruise ship.
Kareeme Tucker (00:54:19):
Working out to the food, to the restaurant, that was about it.
Melissa Sanchez (00:54:22):
Lifting my hands from the plate with the fork. Yep.
Derek Storms (00:54:26):
It's taken years to just come to terms with I'm not doing it.
Melissa Sanchez (00:54:31):
And it's a hard thing. It's hard for people to admit, especially if that is your daily routine. And I do recommend trying to stay with your daily routine as much as you can, especially if you do travel a lot. But you really truly have to be honest with yourself. Is it worth packing all of these extra things? Because day one you might work out, but are you going to on day four?
Kareeme Tucker (00:54:51):
That is a great point. Well, listen, Melissa, we usually like to wrap up our episodes with fishbowl questions. Derek is a pro at it. I'm going to let him. He loves to conclude with some fishbowl questions and then followed by a pizza question. So get to thinking about your favorite pizza place. But Derek, I'll let you pull it and see. Go ahead. Tell Melissa a little bit about our fishbowl questions.
Derek Storms (00:55:14):
We try to ask, you gave us a lot of really good information in today's episode. We really appreciate it, but we want to get to know you just a little bit also. So we're just going to ask some random fishbowl questions to get to know you a little bit here. So real quick, just pick one. What do you do after a long day? Coffee, tea, or energy drinks? Or how do you get your day started?
Melissa Sanchez (00:55:38):
None of the above. When it's cold out, I will have a cup of tea in the morning when I get up. But if I need a pick-me-up, I need some caffeine, I'll grab a Coke.
Kareeme Tucker (00:55:48):
See, I don't drink soda. So when I used to drink soda, I don't know that I've ever had it early in the morning. I'm a tea girl, and now more recently I've become a coffee girl, so I love coffee. But yeah, I like that. Okay. The Coke gets you going. Okay.
Derek Storms (00:56:03):
I think I already know this question, but are you an organized, super organized traveler or more of an organized chaos type traveler?
Melissa Sanchez (00:56:12):
95% of the time I am an incredibly organized traveler.
Derek Storms (00:56:17):
So do you pack for your whole family? Do they make you pack for them?
Melissa Sanchez (00:56:20):
Well, they don't at this point in their lives. However, I admittedly, and my husband probably doesn't want me to say this, but depending on where we are going, I will lay out the outfits I want him bringing with us. Because sometimes I like to coordinate. So I'll be like, "Here's your clothes." I don't know, you'd have to ask him.
Kareeme Tucker (00:56:43):
If he hasn't stopped you from doing it, he likes
Melissa Sanchez (00:56:45):
It. He has not. He has not. There you
Kareeme Tucker (00:56:47):
Go. He likes it.
Derek Storms (00:56:49):
All right. All right. You know you've been traveling too long when. Go ahead and finish the sentence.
Melissa Sanchez (00:56:55):
So I have a limit. I will only be away from home for two weeks. And this came from a year when I traveled every single month of a year and found it was just insane. So I know I've been on the road too long. One, if it's more than two weeks straight. And two, I start to feel that itch of I just miss. I miss my dogs waking me up at 5:30 in the morning, which on a normal day I find totally annoying. I miss just sitting. And honestly, a lot of times I work from home. I miss that sort of solitude. When I start missing the solitude, I'm like, okay, it's time to go home.
Derek Storms (00:57:39):
All right, Melissa, last question we ask all of our guests. We're keeping a list and creating a list that we'll put online for all of our examiners. What is your favorite pizza place? This is anywhere in the world. Name, city, and state or location.
Melissa Sanchez (00:57:56):
Okay. So my favorite pizza place is a little, I guess what we would probably call a hole in the wall spot called P&D Pizza. It's in Oxford, Massachusetts. So not a town that a lot of people have gone through. However, it is an exit off the Mass Pike. So if you're ever driving through, you're craving some pizza. My favorite is the Hamburg Pizza.
Derek Storms (00:58:24):
Is it a deep dish, flat, or a thin crust? What is it?
Melissa Sanchez (00:58:29):
The crust, it's a very airy crust. That's the best way to describe it. I mean, I'm in New Jersey where the crust is fairly flat, right? It's really hard to describe. Pizza, we have never had any place else. And we have done, just a side note, when we traveled to Greece and Italy with our kids, we made a point we had pizza everywhere we went when we were there. I have never had pizza like this pizza.
Kareeme Tucker (00:58:58):
Like P&D in Oxford. Okay. Yeah.
Melissa Sanchez (00:59:01):
It is so good. It's like a sort of thicker, but it's very airy.That's the best way for me to describe it. And it's crunchy. It's just
Kareeme Tucker (00:59:11):
Really good. Just everything. See, now you've got my interest piqued and I'm like - I love
Melissa Sanchez (00:59:15):
It. I love it. And that's where I grew up. So that's my
Kareeme Tucker (00:59:17):
Hometown
Melissa Sanchez (00:59:18):
Pizza place. And it's been there. Gosh, I couldn't even tell you how many years.
Kareeme Tucker (00:59:23):
Yeah. I love it. Forever. Listen, Melissa, you have to tell the folks, how can we follow you? How can they contact you? Because like you said, not only are you a travel advisor, but you're a certified travel coach. How can the people find you? How can they follow you? Give us your social media handles.
Melissa Sanchez (00:59:39):
Sure. So I think the best thing social media-wise is on Instagram and it's spellbound_vacationsllc. So you can find me there. I mean, you can visit my website, spellboundvacations.com. And I'm also, you can check out my podcast, theme parks and passports. And And so you can check that out for a little bit more leisure travel information. And I'd say those are probably the three best spots where you can find me.
Kareeme Tucker (01:00:10):
I can't wait to check that out. I'm going to Disney in a couple of weeks, so I definitely will be listening to your podcast for some tips and tricks. Absolutely. And all of the things. How exciting. You will
Melissa Sanchez (01:00:20):
Find them.
Kareeme Tucker (01:00:21):
Okay. Well, I'm excited. Well, Melissa, we thank you so much. Guys, you all have heard it here. Melissa Sanchez of ASTA Verified Travel Advisor. She has been great. We thank you so much for joining us on today's episode and give us some travel tips for not only our examiners, but folks in the industry and just for anyone who wants to travel both business-wise and personally. We want to thank you so much for joining Derek and I on today's episode of In The Loop. Derek, you have any final thoughts before we conclude with Melissa?
Derek Storms (01:00:55):
Melissa, thank you very much. I learned a lot and I'm definitely going to check out those hotel lounges or those airport lounges. I'm super excited about those.
Kareeme Tucker (01:01:04):
Derek, we got to compare notes. Let me know. Yes, all great tips. I wrote so much stuff down. I don't know which one to start with first. I'm definitely checking out global entry because I'll have some international travel soon, but yeah. All right. Well, thank you all and stay tuned to the next episode of In the Loop.
Derek Storms (01:01:23):
Thanks for listening to In the Loop, brought to you by CSBS.
Kareeme Tucker (01:01:26):
If you want to connect with other examiners and learn more tips for the role and job, don't forget to follow us so you never miss an episode.
Derek Storms (01:01:34):
We'd love it if you'd spread the word by sharing our podcast with another examiner. See you next
Kareeme Tucker (01:01:39):
Time.
Derek Storms (01:01:45):
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