Jayme Madson – Marketing Supervisor

The places I’ve visited:

South Africa, Botswana, Mexico, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Puerto Rico, Hawaii (Maui & Kauai), St. Croix, Bahamas, St. Thomas, St. Johns

My favorite travel destinations:

Akaroa New Zealand – Although I loved every place I visited in New Zealand, Akaroa is definitely my favorite because of its scenic location and laid back pace.

Kauai, Hawaii – Rainforests, waterfalls, warm weather and lots of sunshine – it doesn’t get much better than that.

The year I started in the business:

2009

The year I joined Travel Beyond:

2009

My most memorable moment:

I have two:

Sky diving in Australia. Jumping out the side of a tiny airplane was definitely a memorable moment! I still can’t believe I actually jumped.

My first game drive in Botswana. I had an idea of what to expect on safari (I guess that comes with working at Travel Beyond), but was completely overwhelmed and amazed by what it was actually like on safari. Being right there, so close to the animals in their natural habitat, and so far away from home was such a memorable experience for me. I will never forget what I saw that day and how I felt at that particular moment in time.

My most embarrassing moment:

On a family trip to Hawaii many years ago my parents booked a snorkeling expedition off the cost of Maui. I wasn’t very interested in snorkeling as I don’t particularly enjoy being that close to fish; so, when my parents booked this trip, I made sure they knew that I was perfectly content staying on the boat. Apparently, this was not okay with my father because half way through the day, he picked me up and threw me into the water with a pair of goggles and a snorkel. At first, I was okay tredding water, but as soon as I put the snorkel on and dipped my head under, I lost it. There were huge black fish all around me, inches from my face. I instinctively started trying to get away, and apparently was also screaming, which caused all of the crew members on the boat to rush to the side where I was swimming to see what was going on. Before I knew it, I was scooped out of the water and placed back on the boat, only to realize that I had been at least 100 feet away from most of the other snorkelors who had ventured in closer to the reef, and instead, had been thrown in right by all of the little kids who were swimming with their parents.