NextTribe | Jeannie's Monthly Journal

Finding My Voice

For much of my life, I never thought I had any real “style.” My friends were always the fashionable ones. I’d borrow clothes from them, but no one ever asked if they could borrow mine. My husband of 29 years had a brilliant aesthetic eye, and he was the decider on all our interior design.

After I got divorced and moved into an empty house alone, I remember feeling at a loss because I didn’t really know how to decorate. What did I like?

Finally (and just in the past couple of years) I feel confident in answering that. I’ve found what works for me—both in fashion and furniture—what makes me feel good. I even held my own when I began living with another man who—also an artist—had a well-developed sense of space, color, design.

I’m telling you this because I’ve just launched a collection of travel gear and clothes that I recommend. I feel a bit like an imposter, acting like an “influencer.” But then I remember that travel and packing are things I’m actually good at. And maybe, just maybe, something I suggest can help you (plus, if you take a look now, you may find something to request for a Mother’s Day gift.)

In the next few weeks I’ll start sending out periodic emails of My Favorite Things. I think that’s what’s I’ll put in the subject line! So watch for it and see if there’s something you like. I’m also in the process of creating packing lists for every trip we host—including Ireland and our Gorilla Safari. So if you’re traveling with us, I hope to make it easier for you to close your suitcase!

Another New Development

Along with not having a style (or at least not knowing it), I have never been very artistic. On many of our trips, we offer small classes to gin up your creative juices—sculpting in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico or tile making in Portugal. I enjoy them immensely but haven’t been that blown away with what I create.

I guess I needed the right inspiration, and I got it this past weekend on our Asheville NextTribe trip. We took a collage class with a wonderful artist in the River Arts District. Oh my! I became obsessed. It was like everything else dropped away and I could only think about layering colors and creating shapes. I made three small collages in two hours—one on the left to express how I felt that day (expansive, happy); the middle one is for my mom, whose actual 96th birthday was that day, and on the right is something I gave to my dear Mike—who I think was genuinely impressed.

It’s wonderful to discover this new passion at 64. And that’s why we often include art and creative sessions on our trips—in Italy and in Greece for example—so that even people like me who don’t think they’re artists can enjoy creative expression. I want to make a collage for everyone now! Ha ha.

Wow! Just Wow!

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I still can’t get over how cool it is that the women who went on our Vietnam trip last year (who didn’t know each other before they got to Hanoi) are so bonded that they had a three-day reunion in Arizona in April AND plan a yearly one from here on out, AND they can’t wait that long so they’ve planned a glamping getaway this summer!

They are truly a traveling tribe—and still so open-hearted! They really make an effort to get to know the travelers on our other trips. I saw this myself in Morocco in January when several of the group traveled with me. I never imagined when I started NextTribe that I would have a hand in creating so many new friendships. Sooooo satisfying.

Still Time for Scotland!

I’m heading to Ireland at the end of the month and then off to Scotland on June 9th. Ireland is sold out, but I still have space on the Scotland tour because of last-minute cancellations. One week from now, May 9th, I have to give all our hotels a final head count. We’re offering a $500 discount if you sign up by then to fill the last spots.

Hope to see you down the road…

Jeannie Ralston, CEO and Co-Founder

P.S. Want to know what kind of women travel with us? Check out this video I made that explains it all.

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