Meet Jess and Tina
Welcome! We're Jess and Tina, best friends since being paired together in the dorms at Grand Valley State University in 2000. It was there, during one of our "get-to-know-you" marathon conversations, that we learned we both had a desire to travel, and for some reason (that neither of us particularly remember) we were fascinated and captured by Prague. It was an easy decision to make a pact to one day travel there together. Although we had the stars in our eyes, and lofty dreams of all that it would be, we were also realists and knew the travel would have to be properly planned and saved for...but we had NO idea that it would be TWENTY THREE years before it actually came to fruition!
Jess- lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan and is married to her love, Edwin. She is a step-mom, a grandma, a cat-mom to 3 feisty kitties, an unbelievable auntie (per Tina), and a bibliophile. She doesn't live to work, but instead, works to live. She utilizes her large amount of annual vacation time to travel here, there, and everywhere and is always planning her next trip-which DEFINITELY include more Rick Steves Tours!
Jess caught the travel bug at a young age. She grew up taking annual roadtrips across the U.S. to visit family members and see "the sights". Over time, this evolved into the need to see and learn more about places and people. During college, she and Tina began traveling domestically together, and she studied abroad in Italy-the perfect place for a photography major!
As a photographer Jess has always had an eye for capturing the beauty in everyday places and objects, and she hopes you enjoy the photographs that she chose to represent our trip.
Tina- lives in Benton Harbor, Michigan with her husband, 3 daughters, and 2 pups. She loves spending time with her family & friends, camping, being near any body of water, and traveling in two ways-the first, to nourish her own soul and being; and the second, to see places through the awestruck and unbiased eyes of her children.
She grew up without the means to travel, but always had the desire to learn and experience more from the world. She works in education, and believes that giving children opportunities to see and hear about different places and cultures will undoubtedly unlock a need to connect with more than their own surroundings, thus bringing more understanding and community to our world.
She has been a fan of Rick Steves for many years, and cannot wait to add more tours to her travel belt!
Jess caught the travel bug at a young age. She grew up taking annual roadtrips across the U.S. to visit family members and see "the sights". Over time, this evolved into the need to see and learn more about places and people. During college, she and Tina began traveling domestically together, and she studied abroad in Italy-the perfect place for a photography major!
As a photographer Jess has always had an eye for capturing the beauty in everyday places and objects, and she hopes you enjoy the photographs that she chose to represent our trip.
Tina- lives in Benton Harbor, Michigan with her husband, 3 daughters, and 2 pups. She loves spending time with her family & friends, camping, being near any body of water, and traveling in two ways-the first, to nourish her own soul and being; and the second, to see places through the awestruck and unbiased eyes of her children.
She grew up without the means to travel, but always had the desire to learn and experience more from the world. She works in education, and believes that giving children opportunities to see and hear about different places and cultures will undoubtedly unlock a need to connect with more than their own surroundings, thus bringing more understanding and community to our world.
She has been a fan of Rick Steves for many years, and cannot wait to add more tours to her travel belt!