About Us

          MaryJo Fister and Greg Bush enjoy traveling off the trails and discovering the hidden treasures.  We look for places to eat, stay, and things to do that are not common.  Going off the beaten path – finding the unusual, the unique, for the best price - is what we love to do.  

       Greg has traveled extensively in Europe, while MaryJo found places in the USA to visit with her 5 children. Looking for inexpensive and unique ways to entertain ourselves was challenging and fun.   For example, did you know there was a drive through safari park in north western Ohio?   Further, Greg has experience with the travel industry.   MaryJo is a National Board Certified Social Studies teacher.   In addition to our text, photographs, and videos of the places we visit, we will be bringing back a recipe or two that is typical of the region.   We will research interesting places to see and various activities in the areas we visit that will be both affordable and fun for the average family whether they have young children, growing teenagers, or are empty nesters.  We’ll be visiting such places as museums, art galleries, amusement parks, gardens, historical sites and engaging in adventure activities such as white water rafting, zip lining, diving, snorkeling and hiking.

       In the year since we started this venture, we have traveled over 50,000 miles!  We’ve used planes, cable cars, trains, buses, bikes, rafts, incline, canoes, pontoons, sky bridges, foot power, horses, carriage, cars, and swimming.  We have seen deserts, rain forests, mountains, tessellated pavement, the Sydney Opera House light show, huge fruit bats, sunset in the Outback, deep gorges, a curtain fig tree, wild wallabies, bear, elk, and bayous.   We hand fed kangaroos and wallabies!   We ate for the first time, camel, kangaroo, emu, crocodile, lemon myrtle, black sesame ice cream, damper, quail ravioli, hamburger noodle soup, turducken, and baked octopus.  We sampled Chinese wine and maple whisky.    We’ve met many interesting and kind people from all over the world.  We dug for fossils, mined gold and gems, and fished in the Gulf of Mexico.  It’s been an awesome year, and we’re looking forward to another one!

       We are looking forward to sharing experiences with you, and you sharing experiences with us.

       We have 3 contributing writers:  Don Belzowski, Benjie Baskin, and Angela Indovina.  Don is an expert on the Everglades.  He knows the plants, animals, and waterways.  He has taken many beautiful photographs of the area while kayaking, fishing, and hiking. Benjie “retires” every year to an exotic and exiciting locale, making him a real global traveler.  He lives in the Keys and kayaks for fun.  Take advantage of their expertise and knowledge in the “On The Wild Side” section of our website.  Angela has traveled all over Florida and the Northeastern U.S.  She enjoys fine wines and whiskeys and seeking out unusual places to dine and drink.