Messages from Zephyr Alumni

March 17, 2010  /  By: Allan

I received two messages from Zephyr Alumni recently I wanted to share with our blog readers. The first was from Tony Santucci, who most recently traveled with us to Tanzania, and who referenced a Yahoo News story titled Study: Happiness is Experiences, Not Stuff.

The gist of the article is we humans tend to receive greater happiness from engaging in experiences, be they a trip around the world or a dinner with friends, than we do buying material items. Now to me, that seems obvious. It was interesting, however, that the difference stems in part from our tendency to second-guess our purchases of "stuff" (Did I buy the right HD Television?) and our lack of second-guessing when we purchase "experiences".

The conclusion from an adventure tour operator? Don't wait! Book your next vacation now and you'll love it forever after!

The second came from Eddie Lee, another well-traveled Zephyrite, who sent me a message via Facebook in Facebook-style lingo: "nxt mon tony bourdain no rez en provence. 2200. travel channel!"

Apparently Tony Bourdain, host of the show No Reservations on the Travel Channel, will next be producing a show on his travels to Provence where he "becomes enamored of Provence's culture and cuisine". The show airs this coming Monday at 10:00 PM Eastern/Pacific.

Eddie sent this message to me and several other Zephyr alumni because we will all be in Provence together next month on Zephyr's Biking Adventure. The only thing I fear about watching Tony's show: he probably didn't get on a bicycle!

Posted In: Business of Adventure Travel