Age Boldly: Need a vacation from your vacation?

Plus, if you love wine--here's how to join a grape harvest in Portugal or buy the best bottles.

Author

The Jeannies at NextTribe
June 12, 2025

Over in Scotland, Jeannie Ralston is having a blast with an intrepid group of women. Today, they’re at arguably the most famous lake in the world—Loch Ness. They didn’t see Nessie, but they did get up close and personal with the next best thing—highland cows, or as they say over there, Heelan Coos.

Left: Jeannie and frequent traveler Penny Reisig getting their feet wet in Loch Ness. Right: Jeannie feeding a shaggy and very hungry Heelan Coo.

Today in Austin, Jeannie Edmunds went to our local coffee meetup to loan a pair of hiking pants to Karen Kreps. Karen is another YES woman from NextTribe. When one of the travelers on our Africa trip (which starts next week) had to drop out at the last minute and wanted to sell her spot, Karen said “Yes, I’ll take it!” That’s what we love about you NextTribe women. Stepping up, stepping out, grabbing life.

Jeannie and Karen will be roommates on our Africa trip, which includes a trek to see the gorillas, chimp tracking, and a short safari.

This Week’s New Reads

Travel: The Joys of Overdoing It on Vacation

There are relaxing vacations, and there are times to go hard and see everything possible. Learn about the joys of the latter.

Discovering the Douro Valley: Portugal's Wine Paradise

Touring the Douro Valley offers an unforgettable immersion in amazing landscapes, the art of wine-making, and next-level hospitality.

And speaking of wine…here’s an article from 2019 with a few wine-buying apps that are still very helpful. We’ve got one more wine app to suggest. We hosted a virtual event a few years ago with a Canadian wine expert Natalie MacLean, author of Wine Witch on Fire. You can download her app right now: click here for Natalie MacLean! 

The cool thing about Natalie’s app is you can point your phone’s camera at a wine label and a review will pop up!

Having Trouble Picking Out a Good Wine? There’s an App for That!

Picking whites, roses and reds is easier—and more fun—thanks to tech. Download a wine app and find a great bottle. Cheers!

Happy trails!

Jeannie Ralston, CEO + Jeannie Edmunds, Chief Operating Officer

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