St. Louis Panelists

Scott Hartbeck
Scott is dedicating the next few years to making more of his travel dreams come true. Scott loves to eat, drink, & laugh while trying to see the local side of life in cities he visits. A life-long St. Louisan and Blues hockey fan, he has backpacked Europe four times and is ready to take his game to the next level by traveling and working ‘round-the-world in 2012.

A perfect travel day for him includes seeing the tourist sites, eating at an out-of-the-way locals spot, watching a sporting event with hometown fans, and drinks on a rooftop lounge overlooking the city lights. One thing Scott never forgets to pack is his sense of humor.

Website: The Shirt Off My Backpack | Twitter: @OffMyBackpack

Stephanie Sappington
In October 2006, Stephanie left with her family to go on a round-the-world backpacking trip. They traveled to 15 countries in 11 months and camped for a good part of the way. They took their 2 daughters, aged 12 and 14, whom they had been homeschooling. In fact, the main reason that they homeschooled was so they could travel more during the school year.

They called it The Ultimate Field Trip and got to view platypuses, koalas and kangaroos in the wilds of Australia, and hiked miles to see seals on the beaches of New Zealand. They learned a lot of history in the temples of SE Asia, where they got to pet wild tigers, and the cathedrals and castles of Europe. They read The Odyssey while cruising on Greek ferry boats, and worked on the Pythagorean Theorem while cruising from the Isle of Samos – which was the home of Pythagoras. If they had a chance to go again, they certainly would!

Megan Seper
While contemplating a cross-country move, Megan Seper discovered the blog of a couple on a round-the-world trip and immediately realized that traveling and not working sounded like much more fun than working and not traveling. Once her husband, Adam, was on board with the plan, they set to work planning and saving for a year-long trip that ultimately took them to 89 cities in 11 countries.

Now back in St. Louis and working in her previous career as an attorney, Megan continues to plot ways to feed her addiction to street food and penchant for wandering through markets and bazaars. She loves practicing yoga and making pottery and has a dorky fascination with all things geology-related.

Twitter: @wanderyearmeg

Warren & Betsy Talbot
Warren and Betsy of Married with Luggage left the US in 2010 for a trip around the world just after hosting the first Meet, Plan, Go! event in Seattle. They took 2 years to save the money and sell everything they owned, and they quit their jobs and set off for the open road.

Warren and Betsy just finished their first year of travel, and you won’t believe how much it cost (or didn’t cost!) them. You can find out how they saved in their upcoming guide www.DreamSaveDo.com as well as check out their monthly expense reports at www.RTWExpenses.com. Long-term travel is more accessible and affordable than you can imagine!

Website: Married with Luggage |Twitter: @warrentalbot | @betsytalbot

Meet Your Host: Adam Seper

After a life-changing year-long RTW trip that saw them visit 89 cities and 11 countries across 4 continents, Adam Seper, along with his wife Megan, are back in the city he was born and raised – St. Louis, MO. While travel is his second love (next to his wife, or course), he is passionate about many other things, including live music, sports, cycling, hiking, pizza, beer, and sour candy.

Most of his time is spent writing and working on his site, World Travel for Couples, which is dedicated to budget, long term travel with a partner and has city and country guides for all the places they have visited. Adam also does freelance work for BootsnAll, and is a new weekly columnist there as well, writing a series about RTW and extended travel, published every Wednesday.

Website: World Travel for Couples  |  Twitter: @aseper  |  Facebook: World Travel for Couples