Meet Jasha Foster | Road Trip Queen & Travel Blogger

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jasha Foster and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jasha, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I never really had intentions to start a creative career, it just sort of happened and I’ve never looked back!

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to see the world. My parents didn’t like to fly, so instead, we took road trips every summer. Those road trips are some of my favorite memories that I will cherish forever. Then, I grew up and became a teacher and had a longing to visit all the places my students were learning about. My husband and I were able to start traveling and really loved it. At the same time, I was also able to bring first hand travel experiences into my classroom to share with my students.

Once we had our own children, we began traveling even more. If our boys were learning about a historical landmark or an interesting location, we tried our best to take them there to see it in person. We also set a big goal to get our boys to all fifty states before they leave for college!

Some of my fellow colleagues began calling me “The Road Trip Queen” and encouraged me to start a travel blog. I was hesitant at first and wondered who would really even care about our adventures. But then I thought to myself, “What if I did start a blog and shared ‘real-life’ travel ideas and tips?” Because, let’s be honest, traveling with kids is never perfect! What if I included budget friendly lodging and activities and took all of our pictures on an iPhone? Would that encourage other mamas or families to get out there and embrace the unknowns of traveling with their kids? I wanted to create a place where families could go to find real-life adventures, with low quality photos, but high quality memories!

At first, I was surprised at how many people were reading my blog! I love planning adventures for my family and this love for travel has opened up so many doors for me and it has created several online conversations and friendships around the globe! I cannot wait to see what the future holds and I hope you’ll follow along on our journey!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Besides being a travel blogger, I’m also a 2nd grade teacher! It is not always easy trying to maneuver two careers, but I credit being a teacher to our love of learning, exploring, and traveling. We are blessed to have several school breaks during the year. And we make sure to take full advantage of those breaks and travel whenever we are not in school.

I want others to know that you can still travel and see our amazing country, even on a teacher’s salary! My main goal with my travel blog is to share our travel memories, tips, and itineraries with others. I love getting ideas from social media, but I want everyone that follows along on our adventures to see the real side of traveling and road tripping, not just those picture-perfect and often photoshopped images. The world is full of amazing adventures and I want to encourage anyone that loves to explore to get out there and live life to the fullest. It’s okay to stay in budget hotels and make picnic lunches on the road. You can still capture fantastic memories on your cell phone, you don’t have to have a professional camera or photographer with you!

I have learned that planning out the details is key to staying on budget and having a great time. I spend a lot of time researching our destinations and include those details in my travel blog. We’ve experienced it all on our travels, the good, bad, and ugly… we’ve had major vehicle issues, travel delays, bad weather, and even sick kiddos. I try to provide tips for all of these incidents that are bound to happen. I just really want the world to know that we are a real-life family, with rowdy boys and day jobs, just like many of our readers. We love to share our adventures to hopefully encourage families like ours to get out there and explore while you have the chance!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I think if I were to recommend a destination in Colorado to anyone, it would be Rocky Mountain National Park. While there are so many places around the state to explore, I feel like RMNP has something for everyone!

I would suggest staying in Estes Park, especially at the historic Stanley Hotel. The quaint main street in Estes Park has places to eat that will fit any appetite. The streets are also line with the most adorable boutique shops and it’s only about a five minute drive to one of my most favorite National Parks in the entire country.

Rocky Mountain National Park is a hikers paradise, but if you’re not an avid hiker, you can enjoy the sights and wildlife right from your vehicle on the iconic Trail Ridge Road. You can also enjoy the park during any season! Summers seem to have pleasant, warm temperatures during the day and cooler temps arrive with afternoon rain. The fall is stunning with crisp air and changing colors. Blankets of snow often cover the area during the winter, and to me, everything always feels a little more magical in the snow. And in the spring, you will see nature coming back to life and more wildlife making an appearance after a long winter.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to give my husband, Jereme, a shoutout for his constant support in my travel dreams. He’s always up for an adventure and happily goes along with all my plans, no matter how crazy they might be!

Website: https://roadtripqueens.blog/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/road_trip_queen/

Image Credits
Lisa M Hall Photography