Each of us has a story about a travel adventure gone wrong–lost tickets, cancelled flights, luggage delayed. But even these mishaps, missteps and missed connections do not deter us from enjoying our trips. At our October 27th, meeting we heard two speeches and enjoyed Travel Topics based on the meeting theme of “Travel Gone Wrong.”
“The Bahamas – A Dream Destination”
Our first speaker, Avis Russell, shared highlights of The Bahamas with colorful slides. Her speech was filled with enthusiasm and fun facts. The Bahamas is an archipelago of nearly 700 coral islands. Around 30 of the islands are inhabited. The Bahamas sits in the West Atlantic Ocean, 100 kilometres south-east of Florida in the United States and 80 kilometres north-east of Cuba. The islands are generally flat and low-lying.
Avis introduced us to the food and the beauty of the Islands. We learned about Junkanoo in Nassau, the street parade with music, dance, and costumes in December and January. We also visited Little Exuma one of the smaller islands with the beautiful white sand Tropic of Cancer Beach and the opportunity to swim with pigs.
“Top 3 Ways to Get Stopped from Getting on your Flight”
Our second speaker, Lisa Bennett, shared her humorous speech on travel gone wrong and also included the lessons she she learned from each experience.
Number one: You lost your passport and the international customs officer won’t let you board your flight from Paris to London. Crying doesn’t help. Instead head to the Embassy to get a replacement. Lesson learned, travel with a photocopy of your passport which will make the replacement process much faster.
Number two: You are travelling with your husband, a toddler and a baby. You and the baby make it through security screening just fine. However, your husband with the toddler isn’t able to clear security because his shoe set off all the alarms. You and the baby have already boarded the plane, but your husband and toddler have not boarded yet. The plane takes off without them. Lesson learned, make sure your neighbor or a friend has a spare key to your house.
Number three: You are expecting your partner to be arriving home soon from a two week trip to take care of the kids so you can attend an off-site training event. Homeland Security calls about a problem at the airport because your partner tried to take something suspicious through airport security. Answer their questions truthfully, even if it means your partner might be delayed for several days. Lesson learned, have backup childcare options available.
The Table Topics Master at the meeting, Vernitta Brown, posed several questions about travel mishaps. We had fun solving the problems she asked us. How would you answer these questions?
What would you do if all of your valuables including your passport, your phone and all your clothes were locked inside the rental car and the key was missing? What would you do if your flight was delayed and then cancelled for your Fourth of July holiday? What would you do if you were stuck in a foreign city for two weeks with no money and you needed to get on a flight to go home? What advice do you have to share to help us when travel has gone wrong?
Join us for our next meeting on November 3 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm Pacific (-7 UTC). The meeting theme is “Secret Locations” Toastmaster, Helen; Destination Master, Lisa; Speaker, Meghan; Travel Topics Master, Crystal.
Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink
Looking forward to hearing your Travel Stories!
Helen Josephine,
Travel Talkers Toastmasters
Travel Talkers Toastmasters 
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