We are here to teach and share!

If we could show you how to visit that one place on your bucket list, would you? Better yet, what if we could show you how to check off a new place every year?

The answer is yes, and it’s closer than you think. You don’t need to be rich or retired to travel. We’ve spent more than 30 years exploring together by planning ahead, saving a few dollars a day, and remembering that adventure doesn’t always need a passport. Sometimes it starts in your own city, a short flight away, or on a ferry you’ve never taken.

Local

Sometimes your best places might be in your own backyard. We lived in Indianapolis for years and would often visit the museums, the attractions and more. What is in your city or state that you are neglecting?

Near or far

Sometimes an exciting weekend could be just a short (1-2 hour) plane ride away. Look for non-stop flights and sales. Once there, rent a car, or better yet get an Uber or Lyft to your hotel and walk around, exploring.

Cruises

Not all are on the oceans. There are ferries that can take you to a location, river cruises and more.

Traveling is the ultimate adventure, and teaching others makes it even better!

I love to teach. I love talking with people, and I love that moment when something clicks: when a trip that seemed impossible suddenly looks doable. (That’s the whole idea behind our dollars-a-day calculator.)

It started early. My parents weren’t afraid to travel, and they passed that on to me. We went to Disney, to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, up into Michigan, to family in Chicago, out to St. Louis and down to New Orleans. I used to look up at the airplanes in the sky and wonder what adventure the people inside were heading off to.

These days a plane is just how we get there. On a cruise, the days at sea are nice, but the ports are the magic. The magic is in the places themselves: slurping noodles in Tokyo or munching on buttery croissants in Paris. We’ve done both, and we’d happily do them again.

And yes, the name. Traveling Tummy is about eating where the locals eat, at home as much as away. Here in Tampa we have a favorite Ethiopian restaurant and a couple of local Japanese places (not chains) that we keep going back to.

A tip: at a Thai or Indian restaurant, when they ask how spicy you want it, don’t say “medium” or “hot.” Say “Thai medium” or “Thai hot.” More often than not, the kitchen adds more than heat: more flavor, more spice, and something closer to the real thing. Plenty of Greek or Chinese restaurants taste the same, but when you find the one that cooks it the way they do back home, you can taste the difference.

That’s how we travel, too: try different things, new flavors, different spice palettes. We’d rather give each other memories than gifts. So pack your bags, loosen your belt, and come along. Warning: side effects may include uncontrollable wanderlust and food comas.

Our Travels: Reflecting on our cherished journeys, filled with memories from distant lands.

We’ve been married for more than 30 years, and we’ve spent them seeing the world together. Here we share those travels, from the big trips to the small detours, and we’ll keep adding more as we go.

Jim is the photographer, and the one striking up conversations with strangers, curious about how other cultures live. Teresa is adventurous and fearless, with an eye for the unusual that her camera always seems to catch.

See all our travels · More about us