Blogger spotlight: Midlife Road Trip

It's safe to say that we knew a lot about Rick Griffin and Sandi McKenna, the duo behind Midlife Road Trip, before we had ever met them. In fact, you might refer to us as a couple of cyber stalkers. You see, Rick and Sandi are renowned for their hilariously entertaining weekly twitter chat referred to as N.U.T.S. (a Not-so Unusual Therapy Session). It's an hour-long chat that centers around themes of travel, food, and fun. It was through N.U.T.S. that we were able to virtually connect with Rick and Sandi and share our love of adventure and exploration. We've been friends ever since.

Rick and Sandi weren't always the powerhouse duo that make Midlife Road Trip. Before they launched their inspirational narrative together, they led very separate lives, each part of loving families (no, they're not married to each other), working ordinary jobs. Unexpected maladies gave each of them the impetus to jump beyond their comfort zones and into the world of travel.

Rick developed a life-threatening illness. Sandi's father fell dangerously ill. These two people, states apart, were forced to pause and reflect on their lives and assess their goals. Rick spent a great deal of time in the hospital thinking that all he wanted to do was be able to see the Grand Canyon with his daughters. Sandi's father urged her to conquer her fears and see the world. These dances with mortality spurred Rick and Sandi to consider success from a new angle. This was the foundation upon which Midlife Road trip was built–that it's never too late to commit to what is meaningful in life. 

Not long after this decision, the duo met on Twitter and launched the Midlife Road Trip brand (or, as they lovingly refer to it, “The Little Engine that Twitter Built”). Both of them had backgrounds in broadcast television, so making the jump to internet videos was seamless. Rick and Sandi took to Twitter and YouTube like fish to water. They credit their success to one another. 

“Sandi is the brains of the outfit,” Rick happily admits. “She's the one who keeps me focused and encouraged us to really use social. It's because of her that I even got on Facebook.”

Says Sandi: “Rick is so even-keeled. He keeps me sane and helps me push my boundaries. He changed the way I think about a lot of things.”

Seeing these two friends together gives you instant insight into a perfect working dynamic. “We laugh all the time,” Sandi notes. “There are times that we crack each other up and we laugh so hard that we have tears down our faces.”

Rick agrees. “We're almost exact opposites and that tends to help balance us out,” he says. “There's also the mutual respect that we have for each other.”

While Rick and Sandi have found balance on many adventures together, one of their most recent journeys took them on a trip into the past. Their storybook adventure found them exploring their ancestors. Sandi says she chose to explore her family's history because she's a “nosy person” who always wanted to know everything. “I'm interested in the way people think and I wanted that connection with my family,”  she says.

What they might not have expected was a common link. Rick and Sandi discovered that they both have roots in Ireland, and the running joke between them is that they might in fact be related. They hope to continue to search into their families' pasts with a trip to Ireland. We're excited to see what they discover while there. (Is it bad that our fingers are crossed that they find out they are distant relatives?)

Rick and Sandi have so many travel stories that they love to tell, but each has one trip in particular as a fondest memory and a representation of core values.

For Sandi, this trip was a jaunt to Fire Island off the coast of Long Island, New York. “It's just simple fun,” Sandi says. “An island without cars, TV, or any other distractions. You get everywhere by boardwalk and carry everything you need in one of the communal red wagons.”

For Rick, the best trip ever was his excursion to Sedona and the Grand Canyon, the trip he finally took with his two daughters and wife. For him, this was the chance to build memories with his family and to see the world in front of him. It was a trip that ignited his passion for travel and the realization that he could make his dream a reality. 

About taking those trips of a lifetime, Rick says: “Do it. Make it a priority. Don't wait until you're on your deathbed to say, 'I wish I would have.'”

Rick and Sandi, our travel blogging colleagues here at the Expedia Viewfinder, certainly practice what they preach. Whether this dynamic duo of Midlife Road Trip is driving across Eurasia for charity, scaling the world's highest sea cliffs in Hawaii, or visiting America's most patriotic small towns, they constantly are living life to the fullest. Their passion for life is infectious and we're better people for knowing them.