Bon Voyage: Celebrating Nancy O’Brien’s Retirement
After a years-long career with Poe Travel, our beloved Nancy O’Brien is setting out on her next great adventure: retirement. We sat down with Nancy for an interview about her time at Poe...
Nancy O’Brien at Iguazu Falls in South America during a Poe Travel trip with Abercrombie & Kent (photo courtesy of Nancy O’Brien)
POE TRAVEL: Congratulations on your retirement! What year did you start working with Poe Travel? What was life like in the travel industry then?
NANCY O’BRIEN: I started working at Poe in 2006, but I should have been here much earlier. We didn’t have computers when I first started, and we had to look up fares in “tariff books.”
Even earlier than that, my first experience being a travel agent was at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, where I met JOHN WAYNE. I was completely tongue-tied and could only say, “JOHN WAYNE” in disbelief. He wasn’t nearly as impressed as I was. Life was simpler then, and we used a teletype machine to send messages overseas. That was in 1972.
PT: Tell us about some of your favorite Poe Travel trips that you traveled on throughout the years.
NO: It is almost impossible to narrow down my favorite trips, but probably when I went gorilla trekking with Africa House Safaris. David Sugden, our friend and intrepid traveler, asked if I wanted to go gorilla trekking in Uganda. Needless to say, I JUMPED at the opportunity. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as gorilla trekking until then, but seeing the Silverback Gorilla in his natural habitat was beyond comprehension. Truly it was a life-changing experience.
Next would be Greece and Turkey. Then Brazil, because I knew very little about South America and was astonished by the diversity in cultures, terrain, people, etc. I took a three-week trip with Abercrombie & Kent to Brazil and as I look back on it, I learned more about Brazil than I could have possibly learned on my own.
But then there are the Galapagos Islands, Machu Picchu. . . Like I said, too numerous to mention!
PT: What about some of the best experiences you’ve arranged for clients over the years?
NO: Also too numerous to mention! Ha!
One of the funniest things happened ages ago while I was taking a group to Greece, one of my favorite places in the world. I was SO excited to show them the Acropolis, Delphi, Olympia, and other incredible sites, when one of the participants said, “Just how many more rocks do we plan to climb?!”
That’s when I realized everyone doesn’t enjoy the same destinations as I do. It was a valuable lesson.
PT: What’s your favorite destination in the world?
NO: Phew that’s hard to say because I’ve seen so much. I LOVED Paris, Istanbul, Athens, Rio de Janeiro, and Nairobi. . . Like I said, Greece will always be one of my favorite places.
PT: If you could take your family anywhere, where would it be?
NO: My grandson wants to go to London, which we will do. But nothing can compare with Africa. EVERYONE needs to visit Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, etc.
Travel, especially in the eyes of young people, offers an education no one can get if he/she stays only in the USA. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE traveling in the USA, but my first trip to Cannes, France, was at age 15 to visit my uncle, aunt, and five cousins. That trip opened my eyes to a whole new life, and I have enjoyed travel ever since.
PT: Are you looking forward to retirement? Do you have travel plans or aspirations, or other hobbies you might want to indulge in?
NO: Yes, I’m looking forward to retirement. I mentioned taking our grandchildren to London, but I’m looking forward to doing NOTHING! I also love to drive and plan to take many driving trips around Arkansas and the USA. I have already headed out recently to see the spectacular autumn foliage in our state. I have not traveled much in Northeast USA and want to experience the history there. Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Maine, Vermont, etc.
PT: How will you look back on your years at Poe Travel?
NO: The experience of working with Fred Poe was PRICELESS. Fred was a force of nature of which there will never be another. I LOVED THAT MAN. I loved planting flowers in pots on his rooftop condominium. I loved talking with him. My husband loved him and was with Fred in Vancouver when he died.
One of the many funny stories about Fred comes from when he thought we needed geography lessons at Poe. He scheduled weekly geography classes, and when he gave us a “test,” we all FAILED! Fred was NOT amused and set out to teach us the world, which we all loved (and appreciated in the end).
Fred, Ellison, Margaret, Mildred, Retta, and the many other lovely people at Poe have been extremely good to me, and I will never forget my experience here. In 2006, I had breast cancer, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, and to be honest, I was at a loss of what to do. Ellison suggested I come to Poe and file brochures, which I did. I was an emotional wreck, and that experience gave me direction and a goal, which I don’t think I could have come up with on my own. I will always be indebted to Poe for giving me “a soft place to land” at a very difficult time in my life.
I love you all!