[singlepic=1646,250,,,right]Since we launched the site last year, we have made many great connections through the power of social media (facebook, twitter, blogging). In fact, networking online has been our main source to finding great material and inspirational stories to share with you. After all, we do focus on the wonders of travel!

And even though we feel we have great ties with these virtual relationships, it is always wonderful to still network in person and to meet some of our virtual friends face-to-face. And that’s what we have been doing this week in San Francisco!

As Sherry Ott makes her way around the country visiting with friends and family since her return from Vietnam in November 2009, we decided to take advantage of her return to San Francisco (where she once lived) to network with many of our contacts. And the pay off will be passed on to you.

[singlepic=1647,200,,,left]Part of our goal for this year is to connect more with career experts to bring you the best advice on transitioning careers during your break. We’ve already introduced you to The Sabbatical Coach, Clive Prout, and we will also be working with Tara Russell, who offers life/career coaching and long-term travel planning through her company Three Month Visa. What was supposed to be an introductory coffee meeting turned into a four-hour brainstorming session where we developed many great ideas for collaborating together. We are very excited about some of the ideas that were born and can’t wait to share them with you.

We also met with some of the staff from Lonely Planet at their US headquarters. For travel geeks like us (and you), Lonely Planet is the Holy Grail of travel guides. It was great to put some faces with the brand and we love that they are behind our efforts of bringing the idea of career breaks (and gap years) to the US. We look forward to that relationship evolving as well and the benefits that it will bring you. Thank you Andy and Laura for taking the time to meet with us!

[singlepic=1645,150,,,right]For many years, Sherry has been listening to the Amateur Traveler podcast, hosted by Chris Christensen. She was even interviewed by him back in September 2007 about solo travel as a woman. If you’re not familiar with the Amateur Traveler, Chris interviews travelers about the destinations and stories they’ve encountered on the road and share tips that you would not always learn from a guidebook.

Chris has been very supportive over the years, so we couldn’t visit the Bay area without finally meeting him. He was so kind to meet up with us despite the fact that he is wrapping up his final days at his day-job to focus on Amateur Traveler and other travel efforts full-time. The three of us shared our plans and goals for the year and focused on how we could support each other to make them a reality. It’s great to have him on our side as a sounding board and to also hold us accountable for reaching our goals (which, again, benefits you in the end).

[singlepic=1648,200,,,left]We are also excited by the opportunity to collaborate in the future with Renee Blodgett, co-founder of Traveling Geeks and We Blog the World. Her enthusiasm for travel and bridging cultural understanding is infectious and we’re hoping she can help bring a bigger audience to Briefcase to Backpack!

We’re looking forward to connecting with more people throughout the year and offering more advice and inspirational stories for you. Let us know if you ever want to connect face-to-face in NYC and tell us what you’d like to see on Briefcase to Backpack!