ENTER THE GIVEAWAY! :

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Your best travel souvenirs aren’t magnets, they’re the habits you bring home. We’re taking “G for Gather” and turning it into a real plan for warmer, easier hosting, especially outdoors. We start with gardens because botanical gardens and arboretums teach you how a space can slow you down, tell a story, and make people feel grounded. From memorable garden visits to lessons picked up from people we meet on the road, we share how we’re translating travel inspiration into our own yard in Waco, one small decision at a time.

Thank you to Slap Ya Mama for sponsoring this episode and for the generous
GIVEAWAY - ENTER NOW!

https://kingsumo.com/g/3zj0oe1/the-roamies-with-slap-ya-mama

PREVIOUS EPISODES and MENTIONS IN THIS EPISODE:
Episodes 171-175 Starts at: https://www.buzzsprout.com/263670/episodes/10427895
Bucharest Gardens Episode 224: https://www.buzzsprout.com/263670/episodes/14820594
Burgie House and Arboretum: https://www.buzzsprout.com/263670/episodes/15845252
Clark Gardens in Mineral Wells, TX: hhttps://www.buzzsprout.com/263670/episodes/15845252
Slap Ya Mama
Belize episodes 251 + https://www.buzzsprout.com/263670/episodes/17392667
A is for AirBnb
Decluttering starts with Episode 46 + : https://www.buzzsprout.com/263670/episodes/3413764
Robyn Chubey: https://www.instagram.com/life_of_glow/

Robyn’s Book Gasther Together: https://amzn.to/4tAqgSR

Then we get practical about the project that’s becoming the heart of our outdoor hosting: our historic late-1800s gazebo renovation. We talk about what’s finished, what’s still in progress, and the big lesson we’re learning the hard way, deciding whether you’re restoring original history or replicating an old look with new materials. If you’re renovating anything, this part will save you stress, time, and money.

From there, it’s all about simple outdoor entertaining tips that actually work: create one clear focal point, lean on lighting for instant ambiance, serve food that can sit and still taste great, and keep the drink station easy. We also go deep on gumbo culture, from dark roux and the Cajun Trinity to the very serious potato-salad-in-the-bowl tradition. You’ll hear a sneak peek from author Robin Tubi (Gather Together) on recipes that “weather well” outside, plus an interview with Jack Walker from Slap Your Mama on how a family gas station prob

Please support our show by shopping through Eagle Creek: https://alnk.to/gVNDI6N and/or feel free to donate to:
http://paypal.me/TheROAMies

And it means the world to us when you subscribe, rate and share our podcast.

Alexa and Rory
The ROAMies

Follow us at:
http://www.TheROAMies.com
@The ROAMies: Facebook and Instagram
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Family travel can look like a plane ticket and a view, but most of the time it looks like a familiar driveway, a shared grocery run, and a conversation you don’t rush. Rory and I are living that right now. We’re always “gone,” but a huge part of our roaming is simply going home to our parents, building time together into our travel life.

Fueling and Fulfilling our Flavor Fetishes is Fillos who sponsored this episode.

Visit them at fillosfoods.com and @fillosfoods

We dig into why family is more than a nice idea. It’s the foundation we stand on, and eventually the foundation we start to pour for the people we love. We also get honest about what sharpens that perspective, including grief after losing my sister and Rory’s cancer journey. From there, we connect the same F words guiding our travel to what’s happening inside our historic 1916 home renovation in Waco: a shifting pier and beam foundation, the patience of letting cracks settle, the need for flexibility and flow, and even frugal choices like rescuing reclaimed wood to keep the story and save money.

Then we’re joined by Daniel Caballero, president of Fillos Foods, to talk about a family founded brand built from Cuban and Latin American traditions. We get into what sofrito really is, why shelf stable beans and lentils matter for busy days, and how “walking tamales” became a surprisingly perfect on-the-go meal for hiking, travel days, and quick dinners at home. If you care about meaningful travel, healthy convenience food, and building a life that connects the road to home, this one is for you.

Also mentioned in this epsiode:

Episodes on Emergency Preparedness - Episodes 94 - 100

Episodes on Which National Parks to Visit Which Time of the Year Episodes 256 - 259

Our Episodes on Big Bend National Park Episodes 273 - 277

Our Latest Music Video with Swedish Duo Markus and Michaela

Skip Lee Ralls
FaceBook: Mindscape Metal Works
• LinkedIn Skip Ralls
• Web: http://mindscapemetalworks.art/

Subscribe, share this with a friend who misses their people, and leave a review so more travelers can find the show.

Please support our show by shopping through Eagle Creek: https://alnk.to/gVNDI6N and/or feel free to donate to:
http://paypal.me/TheROAMies

And it means the world to us when you subscribe, rate and share our podcast.

Alexa and Rory
The ROAMies

Follow us at:
http://www.TheROAMies.com
@The ROAMies: Facebook and Instagram
YouTube and X.

What if a mountain town could recharge your body and rewrite your routines back home? We head to Glenwood Springs, Colorado for a girls’ getaway that becomes a masterclass in sustainable energy—powered by hot springs, hydropower history, and a community that treats wellness like a way of life. From laps in the world’s largest hot springs pool to intimate mineral circuits at Iron Mountain’s World Springs, we explore how heat, water, and minerals calm the nervous system, ease pain, and spark creativity.

visitglenwood.com

Iron Mountain Hot Springs

Yampa Spa

The Glenwood Springs Resort

Staying at Hotel 1888 puts the pools at our doorstep and opens the door to the onsite athletic club where locals and travelers train side by side. A barre class with new friends, a Pilates reformer session that converts us into tower devotees, and quiet balcony moments reshape how we think about motion, recovery, and rest. We compare kid-friendly soaking at the main resort with Iron Mountain’s adult-only section, peek at their upcoming international saunas, and share practical tips on what to bring so your soaking day is stress free. Food is part of the story too: a stroll down 7th Street’s “Restaurant Row,” three standout ice cream shops, and a supper club Brussels sprout dish we can’t stop trying to recreate.

Getting around is refreshingly simple and affordable. Ride Glenwood’s free bus loops the spots you want, one-dollar on-demand rides fill the gaps, and budget-friendly regional routes from Aspen, Eagle, Grand Junction, or Denver make arrival painless. Then we turn the trip into take-home energy: 3D history frames that inspire us to tell our home’s story with old plans and photos, reclaimed materials used as art, a humble black makeup towel that makes nightly routines kinder, and a patio rocking chair that feels like instant calm. We leave with stronger habits, better recovery tools, and a clear truth: energy isn’t an accident you find on vacation—it’s a ritual you build every day.

If this journey sparked ideas for your next getaway or your next week at home, tap follow, share with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a quick review so more travelers can find the show.

Please support our show by shopping through Eagle Creek: https://alnk.to/gVNDI6N and/or feel free to donate to:
http://paypal.me/TheROAMies

And it means the world to us when you subscribe, rate and share our podcast.

Alexa and Rory
The ROAMies

Follow us at:
http://www.TheROAMies.com
@The ROAMies: Facebook and Instagram
YouTube and X.

D is for Colora-DOors :)
From cave entrances and grand hotel thresholds to hot springs and historic streets, we explore the literal and metaphorical doors of Glenwood Springs—then bring it home with a master craftsman who’s turning a door into a table and inspiring new life in our own 1916 fixer-upper.

MENTIONED in this episode:
visitglenwood.com
https://www.glenwoodcaverns.com
speakeagle.com

Connect with Skip Ralls / Mindscape Metal Works:
• Facebook: Skip.Ralls
• Facebook: Mindscape Metal Works
Skip Lee Ralls
FaceBook: Mindscape Metal Works
• LinkedIn Skip Ralls
• Web: http://mindscapemetalworks.art/

Mindscapemetalworks@gmail.com

Some places don’t just welcome you in—they change the way you walk back out. Glenwood Springs did that to us. We crossed grand hotel thresholds with presidential lore, ducked into vapor caves that once drew visitors just to see Edison bulbs glow, and rode a gondola to a mountaintop park where a gravity coaster let us choose our own speed. Between the laughter and the chill on our gloves, we kept circling the same idea: travel is a series of doors, and every one of them opens something new.

We sit down with Lisa Langer from Visit Glenwood Springs to map the town’s origin story—rivers rerouted to cradle mineral waters, a “Grand Dome of the Rockies” built to court the world, and the curious current that connects hot springs, rail lines, and resistance. The King’s Row cavern tour turns geology into theater: 3,000 formations, a UV-lit shimmer, and the slow patience of water shaping a room over thousands of years. A muddy hike to Doc Holliday’s memorial adds grit and myth, while Hotel Colorado’s corridors layer in Roosevelt’s balcony speeches, Al Capone’s retreats, and the enduring legend of a certain teddy bear.

Then we bring the theme home, literally. Our friend, master blacksmith and metal artist Skip Rawls, invites us into his forge where 1,800 degrees turns stubborn metal into meaning. He shows us how a weathered oak door becomes a dining table—steel-banded edges, hand-driven rivets, offset legs that make your eyes pause. Art, he says, is a doorway you want to open. From large-scale public works to custom staircases and furniture, Skip’s process is a study in trust, failure as feedback, and the joy of building pieces that people gather around for years.

We wrap with simple, practical ways to make your own thresholds speak: clear the path, warm the light, add something living, create a pause point, and let a single intentional detail set the tone. Ready to step through a new door this week—maybe even build one? Press play, travel with us from caves to coasters to the forge, and tell us which threshold you’re opening next. If this story moves you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review so more curious travelers can find the show.

Please support our show by shopping through Eagle Creek: https://alnk.to/gVNDI6N and/or feel free to donate to:
http://paypal.me/TheROAMies

And it means the world to us when you subscribe, rate and share our podcast.

Alexa and Rory
The ROAMies

Follow us at:
http://www.TheROAMies.com
@The ROAMies: Facebook and Instagram
YouTube and X.

Steam rising off the world’s largest hot springs pool. A sunrise balcony at Hotel 1888. Naturally formed vapor caves beneath the Rockies.

In this Colorado episode of The ROAMies Podcast, we head to Glenwood Springs for what started as a girls’ getaway and turned into a full-body reset and a reminder that travel can reshape how we live back home.

Plan Your Trip

Visit Glenwood Springs https://visitglenwood.com
Glenwood Hot Springs Resort https://www.hotspringspool.com
Instagram & TikTok: @glenwoodhotsprings
We toured the property with Aly Ackley, Resort Sales Manager, and explored Hotel 1888 (the boutique 16-room hotel inside the original 1888 bathhouse), the world’s largest hot springs pool, the Athletic Club, and the Lodge.
Our spa interview was with Melinda, owner and steward of Yampah Spa.
Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park https://www.glenwoodcaverns.com

We tour Glenwood Hot Springs Resort with Aly Ackley, Resort Sales Manager, learn how 122-degree geothermal water from the Yampah spring is cooled and maintained for everything from lap swimming to pure relaxation, and hear how the resort blends rich history with modern wellness.

Then we go underground at Yampah Spa & Vapor Caves with owner Melinda, where naturally occurring mineral vapor caves filled with sulfur, magnesium, potassium, and lithium offer a one-of-a-kind experience focused on recovery, relaxation, and restoration.

We compare soaking styles, talk hydration and cooldown strategy, and share how to decide between Glenwood Hot Springs, Yampah Spa, Iron Mountain Hot Springs, or Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park depending on your travel goals: play, pamper, or reset.

If you love mountain towns, wellness travel, and experiences that follow you home, this one’s for you.

Then something unexpected surfaced: color as medicine. Glenwood’s mineral aqua, canyon rust, slate-white ridges, evergreens, and bold sky blue became a toolkit for life at home. Instead of chasing trends, we asked what feeling we need more of—calm, courage, clarity, growth—and used small, intentional shifts to invite it in: a mineral-aqua mug, a canyon-red throw, a sky-blue screen, a capsule wardrobe built from trip hues. Travel can fade unless we carry it forward; color makes memory tangible.

If this journey sparked ideas for your next soak, reset, or room refresh, tap follow, share with a friend who needs a warm-water weekend, and leave a quick review so more travelers can find their way to Glenwood’s healing waters.

The information shared in this episode, including discussions about mineral vapors, hot springs, and potential wellness benefits, is for informational and entertainment purposes only. We are not medical professionals, and nothing in this episode should be considered medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with your physician or qualified healthcare provider before beginning any new wellness practice, especially if you have underlying health conditions.

Please support our show by shopping through Eagle Creek: https://alnk.to/gVNDI6N and/or feel free to donate to:
http://paypal.me/TheROAMies

And it means the world to us when you subscribe, rate and share our podcast.

Alexa and Rory
The ROAMies

Follow us at:
http://www.TheROAMies.com
@The ROAMies: Facebook and Instagram
YouTube and X.

Thanks to William Roam for sponsoring this episode! williamroam.com

A single day in Bath reshaped how we travel—and how we unwind at home. We mapped a rail-first route through the UK, hopped off in this honey-stone city to dodge London traffic, and discovered how a smart stop can ripple through daily life. Between a whimsical dinner, a tiny yet brilliantly lit hotel room, and a slow morning perched above the River Avon at Pulteney Bridge Coffee, we gathered more than photos. We left with design ideas, a new recipe to test, and a deeper commitment to bathing as a nightly ritual.

Walk with us past the Roman Baths, Bath Abbey, and the Royal Crescent as we share practical planning tips: when to rent a car, how to maximize a short stay, and why walkability matters. Then we head indoors, where a simple tub stopper becomes a secret weapon for on-the-road recovery, and warm soaks set up better sleep through the cooling effect. We talk subtle scents, plant-forward ingredients, and travel-ready formats that make a bathroom feel like a boutique hotel without a single renovation. Small luxuries—bath salts, a non-aerosol shaving cream, a calm candle—create a mood you can pack and recreate.

We also chase the most unexpected souvenir: a chocolate avocado matcha cake that turned into a home project, proof that the tastiest memories are the ones you remake. Along the way, a museum poster echoes the art in our bathroom, stitching Bath’s streets to our own walls. That’s Roam to Home in action: let cities inspire rituals, let design guide lighting, and let water reset your pace so your nights are calmer and your mornings clearer.

If you’re ready to turn travel into lasting comfort, press play. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs better sleep, and tell us the one ritual you’ve brought home that changed your day.

Please support our show by shopping through Eagle Creek: https://alnk.to/gVNDI6N and/or feel free to donate to:
http://paypal.me/TheROAMies

And it means the world to us when you subscribe, rate and share our podcast.

Alexa and Rory
The ROAMies

Follow us at:
http://www.TheROAMies.com
@The ROAMies: Facebook and Instagram
YouTube and X.

Looking for a smarter way to travel and a richer way to live when you get back? We’re launching Season Eight with A for Airbnb, sharing how a long road trip through Finland and Norway transformed from a checklist of sights into a string of homes. From a lakeside house with a wood-fired sauna in Puolanka to an RV in the Inari village, from the Arctic Circle at Rovaniemi to Norway’s brooding fjords, we used Airbnbs to slow down, meet neighbors, and absorb the quiet routines that define Nordic life.

Along the way we chased the northern lights near Levi, learned why Finnish apartments feel so peaceful, and discovered how to spot the small details that make a stay effortless: strong Wi‑Fi, laundry days, clear entry instructions, local tips, and respectful house norms. Historic Kittilä surprised us with an artist-host who kept stories alive along with salvaged wood and open-hearth cooking. Oulu and Turku balanced old-town charm with modern coffee culture and kid-friendly spaces. The big takeaway wasn’t a single perfect property; it was how the right stay turns a map into a neighborhood and a night into a lesson you can use at home.

We also flip the script and talk about hosting. Back in Waco, our 1916 fixer-upper doubles as an Airbnb where guest nights help fund restoration. We share our playbook for five-star experiences on both sides: how to filter and book smarter, how to be a great guest who communicates and respects the space, and how hosts can elevate comfort with small, thoughtful touches like printed Wi‑Fi, bedside charging, clear guides, and a warm welcome. Subscribe now, share with a travel-loving friend, and tell us: what’s the one feature that makes a place feel like home to you?P

Parikkala
Puolanka, Finland
Rovaniemi
Inari
Karisjoke
Balsfjord Kommune, Norway
Kittilä
Oulu
Turku
Waco, TX - https://www.airbnb.com/h/historicwaco

Please support our show by shopping through Eagle Creek: https://alnk.to/gVNDI6N and/or feel free to donate to:
http://paypal.me/TheROAMies

And it means the world to us when you subscribe, rate and share our podcast.

Alexa and Rory
The ROAMies

Follow us at:
http://www.TheROAMies.com
@The ROAMies: Facebook and Instagram
YouTube and X.

Think Texas has no mountains? We open the map and prove otherwise with a deep dive into Big Bend’s peaks, canyons, and night skies—and we brought the region’s top insider, Robert Alvarez of Visit Big Bend, to guide the way. From the first “don’t speed in small towns” lesson to the last stargazing tip, this journey is built for travelers who want to plan well and wander slow.

www.VisitBigBend.com

We break down the real differences between Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park so you can match your trip to your style. The national park delivers paved access, the Chisos Basin, the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, Santa Elena Canyon, and family-friendly trailheads. The state park trades polish for solitude: high-clearance roads, rugged terrain, and some of the best mountain biking in Texas. Robert shares how to time your visit around the Chisos Basin renovations, why the Rio Grande can surprise you, and where to chase fossils, history, and birds—including the elusive Lucifer hummingbird in the Christmas Mountains.

If logistics make or break your trips, you’ll love the practical run of tips: top off your gas before the gate, download offline maps, lock your phone to Central Time, and choose your vehicle wisely. A sedan can reach the headliners, but a high-clearance SUV or guided Jeep tour unlocks Balanced Rock and backcountry gems. We talk safety without fearmongering—pack more water than you think, respect sun and distance, give wildlife space—and we make room for wonder. Sotol Vista, the Marathon star party, and dark-sky pullouts turn the Milky Way from a photo into a memory.

Ready to design a trip you’ll actually savor? Press play, then tell us your first move: sunrise in the Chisos, a river day along the canyon, or a night under the brightest sky in Texas. If you’re enjoying the show, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review—it helps more travelers find their Big Bend.

Please support our show by shopping through Eagle Creek: https://alnk.to/gVNDI6N and/or feel free to donate to:
http://paypal.me/TheROAMies

And it means the world to us when you subscribe, rate and share our podcast.

Alexa and Rory
The ROAMies

Follow us at:
http://www.TheROAMies.com
@The ROAMies: Facebook and Instagram
YouTube and X.