Celebrity Travel: Go Away With Becky Sauerbrunn
A. My first memories of vacation are family trips to the Lake of the Ozarks. My family had an old lake house that we would cram into and my brothers, cousins and I would swim, fish and explore all day. I remember that place very fondly.
Q. What are some of your favorite cities?
A. Phuket, London, Tokyo, Washington, D.C.
Q. What would be your dream trip?
A. My fantasy trip will hopefully come to fruition after I retire from soccer. My boyfriend and I are planning a sabbatical, where we're going to spend a year traveling to all the places we've ever dreamed of going. If we enjoy a place, we'll stay for a few weeks. If it's not for us, we'll move on to the next place on our list.
Q. What are your favorite restaurants?
A. Anything! One of the best things about traveling is the food. We try to do some research on restaurants or food carts people rate highly. On our trip to Lubaantun in Belize, we drove past a house with a sign that read Coleman's Cafe. It was the best Caribbean food we have ever had. Meat melting off the bone, rice and beans and the best fried plantains I imagine I'll ever have -- all served buffet-style out of a family's kitchen.
Q. What is your guilty pleasure when you're on the road?
A. I'm on the hunt for the world's best mojito. Currently, Puerto Rico is winning the contest.
Q. What kind of research do you do before you go away on a trip?
A. I need a general idea of what the area offers, such as what town we are staying in or around, what things are available to do around where we are staying, what restaurants or grocery stores are in walking distance and if the area is generally a safe place to be.
Q. What is your best and/or worst vacation memory?
A. Worst experience was our return flight from Panama to the States. We hit a flock of birds on our ascent and it blew out the engine. We had to do an emergency landing back at the Panamanian airport. Best experience was the cave swimming in Belize. All we had for safety were headlamps, no flotation devices or anything. And we just swam and climbed these waterfalls until we reached this little alcove with small boulders where we sat and talked and rested.
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(Jae-Ha Kim is a New York Times bestselling author and travel writer. You can respond to this column by visiting her website at www.jaehakim.com. You may also follow "Go Away With..." on Twitter at @GoAwayWithJae where Jae-Ha Kim welcomes your questions and comments.)
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