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Jesusland with Joelle Kidd
When I was 18 years old I found myself, accidentally, at a Christian music festival in New Hampshire. It was called the Inside Out Soul Festival. I was invited to a weekend music festival and thought it would be fun. It wasn't until I got there that I realized what I was getting myself into.
It was a learning experience for me. It was the first time I had really experienced Christian pop culture and the machinery behind it. All around me I saw people wearing t-shirts with the Taco Bell dog saying 'Yo Quiero Jesus'. I heard music that sounded like the hits I was hearing on the radio, but the messaging in the lyrics was very different.
Fast forward a couple of decades and I came across this new book called Jesusland: Stories From the Upside Down World Of Christian Pop Culture. Joelle Kidd has put together a wonderful piece of work that takes us back to her youth in the early 2000's, a time period when Christian pop culture started to really make waves. The book talks a lot about efforts from political figures over the decades to infiltrate communities with specific messaging.
I hope you enjoy my conversation with Joelle Kidd.
Visiting Williamsburg, VA
With next year being the 250th anniversary of the founding of this country, I think it’s fitting for us to make a trip back to Virginia. Our 10th state hosted so many historically important events in the timeline of the United States. From some of the first colonies to pivotal battles in the Revolutionary and Civil War, Virginia has been front and center for so much of our history.
But there’s more than history in Virginia. There’s theme parks, outdoor recreation, breweries, delicious food and so many opportunities for fun. This week we are heading to the Williamsburg area. I say area because my guest today not only represents Williamsburg, which is a pretty popular tourist attraction already, but he also represents some of the surrounding areas.
With me this week is Edward Harris. He’s the President and CEO of Visit Williamsburg
But there’s more than history in Virginia. There’s theme parks, outdoor recreation, breweries, delicious food and so many opportunities for fun. This week we are heading to the Williamsburg area. I say area because my guest today not only represents Williamsburg, which is a pretty popular tourist attraction already, but he also represents some of the surrounding areas.
With me this week is Edward Harris. He’s the President and CEO of Visit Williamsburg
Visiting Green Bay, WI
I have a friend that’s made an effort to visit every baseball stadium in the country. He’s pretty close now. I think he only needs 4 or 5 more and he’ll have it. One of the reasons he loves this quest is that it gives him an excuse to visit cities he wouldn’t otherwise go to.
I get what he’s saying. I have this goal in life to run a half marathon in every state of the country. I’ve checked 7 off so far. I can’t say I would’ve traveled to Idaho if it weren’t for a race. Sports tourism is a thing. People travel all over the place to see landmarks or their favorite teams. And the areas surrounding these venues get to benefit from all of the visitors.
This week’s conversation is taking us to Green Bay Wisconsin. A city that is best known as the home of the Green Bay Packers. And while thousands of people travel there during the football season, the area has so much to offer throughout the year. It’s landscape is beautiful and there is so much natural beauty there. You’ve got the Bay of Green Bay and the Fox River that provide water adventures and unique opportunities to see the landscape. There’s family friendly fun in theme parks and a remarkable food scene as well.
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but small towns are in. People are bypassing major cities for vacations in smaller towns and cities. Green Bay should be up at the top of your list for your next vacation. Though, if you hate the cold, you might want to wait until next summer. With me this week is Nick Meisner. He’s the VP of Marketing for Discover Green Bay
I get what he’s saying. I have this goal in life to run a half marathon in every state of the country. I’ve checked 7 off so far. I can’t say I would’ve traveled to Idaho if it weren’t for a race. Sports tourism is a thing. People travel all over the place to see landmarks or their favorite teams. And the areas surrounding these venues get to benefit from all of the visitors.
This week’s conversation is taking us to Green Bay Wisconsin. A city that is best known as the home of the Green Bay Packers. And while thousands of people travel there during the football season, the area has so much to offer throughout the year. It’s landscape is beautiful and there is so much natural beauty there. You’ve got the Bay of Green Bay and the Fox River that provide water adventures and unique opportunities to see the landscape. There’s family friendly fun in theme parks and a remarkable food scene as well.
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but small towns are in. People are bypassing major cities for vacations in smaller towns and cities. Green Bay should be up at the top of your list for your next vacation. Though, if you hate the cold, you might want to wait until next summer. With me this week is Nick Meisner. He’s the VP of Marketing for Discover Green Bay
Visiting Baltimore County, MD
This podcast has taken me all over the country. We’ve even had discussions about trips you can take through Europe and other places. But sometimes the coolest spots to hang are right under your nose. Truthfully, one of the reasons I wanted to start doing Delightful Destinations was to learn more about some of the areas right near me that I didn’t know much about.
In my time living in the Baltimore area, I’ve spent most of it living in Baltimore County. For those of you listening that don’t know the area, Baltimore County essentially wraps around Baltimore City and extends up toward Pennsylvania. It’s a massive expanse of land that offers a lot of different resources. You have the more urban feel that’s adjacent to the city, and you have a lot of rural land filled with farms, horse training facilities and beautiful areas to experience the outdoors. Not to mention the hundreds of miles of shoreline on the Chesapeake Bay.
I think Baltimore County is an untapped resource for a lot of folks in the area. As I said, when you live somewhere, it’s easy to overlook what you have at your fingertips. So, I hope today’s conversation will offer some insight into special areas of Baltimore County that people need to check out.
Joining me today is Tom Yorke. He’s the Chief of Tourism for Baltimore County.
In my time living in the Baltimore area, I’ve spent most of it living in Baltimore County. For those of you listening that don’t know the area, Baltimore County essentially wraps around Baltimore City and extends up toward Pennsylvania. It’s a massive expanse of land that offers a lot of different resources. You have the more urban feel that’s adjacent to the city, and you have a lot of rural land filled with farms, horse training facilities and beautiful areas to experience the outdoors. Not to mention the hundreds of miles of shoreline on the Chesapeake Bay.
I think Baltimore County is an untapped resource for a lot of folks in the area. As I said, when you live somewhere, it’s easy to overlook what you have at your fingertips. So, I hope today’s conversation will offer some insight into special areas of Baltimore County that people need to check out.
Joining me today is Tom Yorke. He’s the Chief of Tourism for Baltimore County.
It Can't Rain All The Time: A Discussion About 'The Crow' With Alisha Mughal
Do you ever talk about your favorite things through top 5 lists? Like, you have your top 5 tv shows, or top 5 songs, etc. No? Just me? Cool.
When I look back at my favorite movies and soundtracks, you'll find The Crow in the top 5 of both categories. The film still makes me feel emotions I didn't think possible. It's such a heavy film to me even 31 years after its release. Maybe watching it brings back grief from the loss of Brandon Lee. Or maybe The Crow is packed with emotional content and themes. To this day I still tear up at one particular moment in the film (which we discuss in the podcast). What's wrong with me?
In the latest installment of the Pop Classics series, Alisha Mughal has taken on the task of taking us on a deep dive of the classic film. Her book 'It Can't Rain All The Time' is available now and I think any movie fan will enjoy it.
In this episode we discuss the history and folklore about The Crow, how you can find similarities with the John Wick universe, how incredible Brandon Lee truly was and so much more.
Visiting Lutsen Mountains and Snowriver Mountain Resort
If you’ve been a listener of this program than you may have heard me mention before that I grew up in New England. I spent the first 18ish years of my life in New Hampshire. When I got to high school, snowboarding became a huge part of my life and personality. It was what my friends and I loved to do all winter long. I was happiest when I was on a mountain.
My favorite thing to do was get to the top of the highest peak at any ski resort and just look around at the world. These are images that, even though I saw them nearly 30 years ago, I still have burned into my memory. I think snowboarding was what really made me fall in love with nature and the outdoors.
When you live in New England you have pretty easy access to some world class ski resorts. And of course everyone always hears about Colorado and Tahoe. Basically it was always New England or the Rocky Mountains. When you talk about the Midwest, it was always about corn fields and how flat it is. Ski resorts weren’t exactly top of mind. Let’s change that story today.
We’re taking a look primarily at two wonderful resorts in Wisconsin and Michigan. They are part of the Midwest Family Ski Resorts properties. They actually have three, but we’re only going to focus on two. Lutsen Mountains and Snowriver Mountain Resort. With me to open my eyes about skiing and snowboarding in the midwest are Greg Fisher, the chief marketing officer, and Charlotte Skinner, she’s the chief financial officer and chief operating officer.
My favorite thing to do was get to the top of the highest peak at any ski resort and just look around at the world. These are images that, even though I saw them nearly 30 years ago, I still have burned into my memory. I think snowboarding was what really made me fall in love with nature and the outdoors.
When you live in New England you have pretty easy access to some world class ski resorts. And of course everyone always hears about Colorado and Tahoe. Basically it was always New England or the Rocky Mountains. When you talk about the Midwest, it was always about corn fields and how flat it is. Ski resorts weren’t exactly top of mind. Let’s change that story today.
We’re taking a look primarily at two wonderful resorts in Wisconsin and Michigan. They are part of the Midwest Family Ski Resorts properties. They actually have three, but we’re only going to focus on two. Lutsen Mountains and Snowriver Mountain Resort. With me to open my eyes about skiing and snowboarding in the midwest are Greg Fisher, the chief marketing officer, and Charlotte Skinner, she’s the chief financial officer and chief operating officer.
How The Y2K Era Changed The World With Colette Shade
In the same way that we use B.C. and A.D. to describe time and eras, I think we should have a new way to describe pre-2000 and post-2000. The world started to shift in ways that were never imaginable when we entered into the 21st century. We never got our flying cars and hoverboards (well, REAL hoverboards). Instead we got social media, fake news and consumerism at insane levels.
I want to continue my pop culture run this week with a conversation with author Colette Shade. She's written a really interesting book called 'Y2K: How the 2000's Became Everything (Essays On The Future That Never Was).' As someone who was 18 as the clock turned to January 1, 2000, it was fun to take a trip down memory lane. I read this through the lens of 'if I knew then what I know now' and some of the things really blew my mind.
I hope you enjoy our conversation and I highly suggest her book.
Visiting Wilmington, DE
About 10 years ago I decided that I wanted to run a half marathon in every state. I had run a race in Nashville and then done another in San Diego. During my run in Southern California I had this epiphany that running a half marathon was a great way to see a city and the areas around it. Over the next few years I visited a variety of states from Idaho, Pennsylvania and Wyoming. They all had a different beauty and charm. But one of them really stood out, and that was my weekend in Wilmington Delaware.
Yeah, I was surprised too. No shade on Wilmington, or Delaware, but it was always a city that I had driven through to go north or south up the 95 corridor. I’ve driven through Wilmington countless times and never had the thought to stop. But when I was running through the streets and trails I realized how incredible Wilmington is.
In this podcast we’ve discussed the history that a traveller can find all along the north east coast or mid-atlantic region. Wilmington and the Brandywine Valley are no different. There’s an incredible amount of history there as well as some over the top and ostentatious estates that date back to the 1800’s. And I say ostentatious with love. These estates are remarkable and stunning.
Today I’m speaking with Jennifer Boes. She’s the executive director for the Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau. There are so many great options for ways to explore and discover the Wilmington area. I hope you enjoy our conversation.
Yeah, I was surprised too. No shade on Wilmington, or Delaware, but it was always a city that I had driven through to go north or south up the 95 corridor. I’ve driven through Wilmington countless times and never had the thought to stop. But when I was running through the streets and trails I realized how incredible Wilmington is.
In this podcast we’ve discussed the history that a traveller can find all along the north east coast or mid-atlantic region. Wilmington and the Brandywine Valley are no different. There’s an incredible amount of history there as well as some over the top and ostentatious estates that date back to the 1800’s. And I say ostentatious with love. These estates are remarkable and stunning.
Today I’m speaking with Jennifer Boes. She’s the executive director for the Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau. There are so many great options for ways to explore and discover the Wilmington area. I hope you enjoy our conversation.
Visiting The Omni Homestead Resort and Spa
One of the things I’ve really loved about doing this podcast is discovering the hidden gems. Sometimes it’s a particular attraction in a city I’m already familiar with, like a museum or something. And sometimes it’s a beautiful, and historic resort, that’s tucked away in the mountains of Virginia.
On this week’s episode we are heading to let’s say north central Virginia into the Allegheny Mountains to discuss the Omni Homestead Resort. The Homestead has been getting visitors long before it was ever a thing. The hot springs in that part of Virginia have been an attraction for locals for probably thousands of years. The waters were believed to have special powers. But it was in 1766 when someone finally put a building on it.
The Homestead has gone through a lot of changes over the last couple centuries, but that hasn’t taken away from its charm. The spa is second to none and it’s family friendly atmosphere has brought generations of visitors back for visits over and over again. There’s an elegance to it that I feel like you only see in movies. But you could see it in person at the Homestead. It was a real pleasure to learn more about this legendary destination.
With me today is Lynn Swann. She’s the director of marketing and communications for the Omni Homestead Resort and Spa. I hope you enjoy our conversation.
On this week’s episode we are heading to let’s say north central Virginia into the Allegheny Mountains to discuss the Omni Homestead Resort. The Homestead has been getting visitors long before it was ever a thing. The hot springs in that part of Virginia have been an attraction for locals for probably thousands of years. The waters were believed to have special powers. But it was in 1766 when someone finally put a building on it.
The Homestead has gone through a lot of changes over the last couple centuries, but that hasn’t taken away from its charm. The spa is second to none and it’s family friendly atmosphere has brought generations of visitors back for visits over and over again. There’s an elegance to it that I feel like you only see in movies. But you could see it in person at the Homestead. It was a real pleasure to learn more about this legendary destination.
With me today is Lynn Swann. She’s the director of marketing and communications for the Omni Homestead Resort and Spa. I hope you enjoy our conversation.