Hi, I’m Karee and I’m addicted to traveling. New places, new discoveries and experiences, new people. I love it all. As a journalist, I travel to gather my stories, write them, and send them to destinations across the internet.
Along the way, I collect photos and videos of my journeys. It’s part of the addiction. I can’t help but capture the moment, knowing it needs to be shared with the world. If not the world, then at least my family. And if not them, then me. A captivating photo captivates me. Besides collecting photos, I collect stories. I hear behind-the-scenes accounts about people and places that don’t find a spot in my articles but deserve to be told. There are so many interesting people and places in this world!
That’s what Voices & Vistas is for. It’s my place to share the stories–both in words and images–of the people and places that impressed me. Maybe they were briefly mentioned in my articles, maybe not, but either way, they deserve a little more limelight.
There’s the German groundskeeper at Schwetzingen Palace in Germany. He’s worked there so long he has all the keys to all the hidden doors and took us through the rarely visited centuries-old attic, climbing steep wooden ladders, to give us a private viewing of the Versailles-like gardens below. His stories were fascinating.
And the award-winning chef in Santa Fe, New Mexico, who works such scientific magic with his food, I still can’t figure out how he did it.
Do you know why the restroom at the Scottsdale OdySea Aquarium keeps getting voted one of the best in the U.S.? I do. (Spoiler: you’re eye to eye with the sharks while you wash your hands.)
I want to share those stories with you.
Who am I?
At home, I’m wife to Rodney, my high school sweetheart and husband of more than three decades. I’m a mom to six kids, four of whom joined our family through international adoptions. As they grow up, move out, and begin their own lives, our home is the hub where our family gathers, and I love that so much. We live out in the country on a beautiful piece of heaven on earth, and when I’m not traveling, there’s no place else I’d rather be.
At work, which is also at home (refer to the above), I’m a serial entrepreneur with a degree in marketing and a mind that’s constantly dreaming up new business ideas. Raising six kids has kept most of those ideas safely tucked away in my mind, but I did find the time to start, grow, and sell two successful businesses over the years.
I discovered my love for writing after selling the second business and found myself itching to begin something new. What I thought would be a simple “hobby blog” about our family travels turned into an opportunity to work with many different brands and tourism boards, taking us on some fantastic press trips and family adventures.
My articles are now regularly syndicated via the Associated Press wire and MSN, as well as many other news outlets, which, frankly, still blows my mind. Who gave this girl a voice and an outlet to use it? I don’t know but I’m here for it and am glad you found me. And if you have stories to tell, send me a message—I want to hear yours, too!
Karee