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Julie conover and mark jennings:

your hosts on passport to adventure

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow mindedness."
- MarkTwain

The Passport to Adventure series plays an important role in promoting global understanding and tolerance in America. Our mission is to stimulate interest in other lands, peoples, and cultures and to ignite a passion for travel and discovery in our viewers.

Meet Julie Conover - Host, Producer, Writer, Adventure Traveler

It must be something that is "just in your genes". I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up, I really didn't care about getting married and I don't remember ever wanting to be a mother. The only thing I always knew was that I had to see the world. For me it is not a want, it's a need. It is my passion. Not to scale the highest peaks, or challenge my physical endurance, but to understand the people and diverse cultures of the world.

At age twenty three, after saving money for several years, I set out on my first adventure. I took my beloved Bianchi (a bike, not a guy), an open ticket, a few AAA road maps, and headed off with no real itinerary. A girlfriend eventually flew over to meet me and we spent six fantastic months bicycle touring through Europe. We slept on beaches in Greece, got locked out of Youth Hostels in Germany, sailed the Italian Riviera, peddled over the Swiss Alps, managed to smooth out our wrinkled clothes enough to enjoy a fancy evening in Monaco and partied with the locals at the "Running of the Bulls" in Spain. It was one of the best times of my life. I thought this six month adventure would get the travel bug "out of my system" as they say, but all it did was launch a lifelong quest.

I spent the next eight years as a stock broker in Southern California making just enough money to sustain my travel habit. I took three week vacations whenever possible, much to the dismay of my manager. I roamed the Caribbean, Mexico, Bali, Thailand, Italy, France, Australia and Fiji. It didn't take long for me to figure out that I had a serious case of wanderlust and that the financial markets were not my passion.

I returned to the place that was always "home", Lake Tahoe, and began working with my old college buddy, Mark Jennings, who was producing a TV show called "Inside Skiing". I love to ski, but felt the subject was too restricting, there was so much more of the world to discover. So, after many battles and much perseverance, the "Passport to Adventure" series was born and my passion was now my career.

I have learned so much through my travels - from the people I meet along the way and their religions and cultures, and I see very clearly how this has impacted my perspective and values. Over the years my desire to see the world has evolved into a commitment to make it a better place - to teach respect for our differences and recognition of our similarities.

These days I enjoy a few weeks of vacation, but the show keeps me very busy and I can no longer take my backpack and wander remote corners of the world (for the time being). Much of my gratification now comes from our fans, who write to tell me how the Passport to Adventure series has moved or inspired them - to pursue a meaningful career, or to be proud of their ethnicity and preserve their culture.

So, keep the letters coming, I love hearing from all of you!

Meet Mark Jennings - Producer and Host
Travel is a continual discovery - we find out so much about ourselves with each new experience. Meeting people from different cultures expands our world, and for me, the universal language is a smile. It is amazing how disarming a grin can be, and how it magically opens the door for new relationships. Strangers become friends without saying a word - creating an instant bond. I have felt that warm, wonderful connection from Thailand to Transylvania.

There is nothing quite like the excitement of waking up in a place you've known only in your dreams.Snuggled in a tent on a windswept island, the pungent smell of a shark carcass permeates the air. As the piercing light of dawn penetrates the nylon, a sharp pinch against your skin turns out to be a crab who has just made a home in your sleeping bag. Bolting to the waters edge, you plunge into the Andaman Sea, spinning desperately to release any creatures that might still be attached. Peering skyward, the craggy limestone pinnacles of each island create a ghoulish silhouette. That image lingers for a lifetime. [story]

Family and friends form the foundation of my life. My wife Erika and daughter Connie hail from the region of Patagonia in Southern Chile. We journeyed to South America to meet the relatives, and I experienced an amazing welcome - the entire family was engaged in preparing an 'asado.' This savory fiesta had the women making rice, salads and drinks while the men roasted chicken and pork over an open fire. The nieces and nephews all played together and greeted me as "Tio Mark." It was an unforgettable experience, as I became part of a loyal, passionate clan in just one night.

The Sierra Nevada Mountains overlook stunning Lake Tahoe, and we feel blessed to call this region home.

Happy travels,
Mark

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