A Fireside chat with Michael W. Travels

Welcome to a new Sunday series that will be a bit like a fireside chat. I count it a privilege to be a part of an amazing group of Travel bloggers here at BoardingArea.com. But just how well do you know “your” BoardingArea writers? Are you reading all the blogs you should be each day? This series will help you get to know them one by one. Now on to this weeks chat.

This week it is hard for me to stay objective (my goal with these fireside chats). Before I ever started blogging I became a HUGE fan of Michael’s blog. You see MW’s blog is different from any other blog you will ever see. He goes places that boggle the mind. He covers topics that intrigue me and make me want to see (if I am brave enough to go there) and on top of all of the kind of “dad” I would be so proud to be (if I had kids). You see why I am such a HUGE fan of MW’s blog. Now let’s get to know Michael W.!

Rene – Hi Michael thanks SO much for sitting down by the fireplace and chatting with me. So as I talked about, you are a very unique blogger. What has moved you to blog and why did you pick BoardingArea as the home for Michael W. Travels?

Michael – Hey Rene, It’s a pleasure to be here on this chilly evening in NY. Your first question is an excellent one. I actually just celebrated my 2nd blogging anniversary and in those 2 years I have posted at least once, every single day. For quite some time I tossed the idea around of creating a travel blog but was never motivated enough to do so. Then I was grounded from travel for a bit of time due to my wife being pregnant with our now 21 month old son Lucas Miles. I wanted a way to stay involved in the hobby that I love- travel, so Michael W Travels was born. I wasn’t sure how serious of a project this would be and at first considered just posting a photo a day but I quickly realized that that wasn’t going to cut it for me. I started covering pretty much anything (travel related) that appealed to me and went from there.

Why BoardingArea? Soon after I started the blog, I got friendly with various bloggers through Milepoint, Twitter and leaving comments on blogs. Some of these bloggers happened to be on BoardingArea. I decided to set my sights for the top and hoped to one day be a member of (what I feel is) the best group of bloggers out there. While many on BoardingArea are business travelers focusing on miles and points, I saw a place for me to fill a void. I have pretty much NEVER flown for work and while I do collect miles & points and use them to travel to amazing places, my posts do not focus on that aspect.

Rene – This is why I so hope readers look at ALL the fireside chats. Why? The variety of bloggers on BoardingArea are so impressive and you stand out like no other. Sure there are gift card guru’s, there are 1st class only bloggers and then there are those for everyone else and also those willing to go outside the box. I see MW Travels as a home for all of these and more.

On to my next question for you. Just what is UP with all these jumping photos. I mean, I have never EVER seen anyone jumping all over the planet. Where did this idea come from and why do I find myself wanting to see you jumping EVERYWHERE you go?

Michael – I am cracking up right now! Jumping has evolved and really become part of the way we travel or should I say part of the picture taking process. Jumping is not something I started or would claim to have thought up. I used to be relatively active on the travel site Virtual Tourist, posting photos and tips from my travels. I guess these were, in some way my first “blog entries” before having a blog. Another member, JumpingNorman sent me a message asking to use a photo that I had taken in Budapest at a traditional dance show. Norman jumps and collects photos of others jumping all over the world. I didn’t think much of it and told him to go ahead and use my photo. I then started to look around at his awesome collection of photos and decided to start jumping too. At first it felt a bit awkward but it seemed to always bring a smile to the faces of people walking by. We’ve even seen others try jumping after seeing us in action. A few months back Lucas started attempting to jump and there are many times where we take a camera out and he will immediately say jump!

Rene – I have to tell you, I have seen almost a billion photos of people all over the world, but none of them make me smile the way you do jumping where you do. But on to other things. So many bloggers seem to be topic specific. ( I mean you know Frequent Miler is going to talk gift cards, and you know I am going to talk Delta ). But your blog is so different. You cover so much more and please take this in the right way, as a NYC blogger, you are NICE :-). So, what can readers expect to see from MW Travels when they come for a visit?

Michael – I’ll take your comment as a compliment but just to set things straight- MANY, possibly most New Yorkers are nice! (Especially the ones from Brooklyn!)

I love travel so much that I could never just focus on one thing. The thing for readers to understand about Michael W Travels is that you will never know what to expect. I might write about trip planning one day, some travel- related news the next, you’ll also hear about offers from airlines & hotels, some miles & points, contests on how to win free trips (I’m still looking for a big win). What I’m trying to say is just stop by and see for yourself!

Rene – That is what I am looking for and I am sure other are too. There are 1000 cookie cutter blogs to read each day and see the same thing. At your blog that will not happen. That is what makes me want to read Michael W. Travels!

Michael I want to thank you so much for taking the time to sit down and chat with me. I smile each time I read your blog and can not wait to see your “jumping” logo pop up on the BoardingArea home page so I can see what is next.

Michael – Rene I want to thank you for inviting me to the fireside for a chat. You know it’s getting a bit chilly here in NY so it was a great way to warm up and allow your readers to get to know me, just a little bit better.

I also want to thank you for all of the kind words that you had to say about my blog. It’s great to hear that my blog can bring a smile to your face. If I can bring a smile to the faces of a few others and also help keep them informed and enthusiastic about travel, then I consider myself a success.

You can follow Michael W. Travels on his blog, as well as on twitter or  Facebook or google+. Next week we get to talk to another great “BA” blogger who will touch your heart!

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