Why We Travel: The Story Behind Traveling Wahoo

I’ve been carrying this idea around for a long time, and I’m finally sharing it.

Some of the best moments of my life didn’t happen at home. They happened on the road, with the people I love.

The moments we still talk about

Watching my niece take the karaoke stage and sing her heart out, so free and full of joy that the whole room lit up with her. Seeing my daughter glide across calm water in her kayak, beaming. Laughing as my sister bought the most random things you’ve ever seen. And my wife, glowing across the table at one of the most romantic restaurants in Dubrovnik.

None of those memories are about the hotel or the souvenirs. They’re about who we were with. Years later, those are still the stories that come up at the dinner table.

Strangers who became friends

Travel also gave me something I never expected: friends. People who started out as complete strangers and became lifelong friends.

You sit at someone’s table, share a meal, hear their story, and you realize how much we all have in common. That’s the part of travel nobody puts on a postcard.

What travel really teaches us

Travel brings families closer. It opens our eyes to other cultures. It makes the world feel smaller and kinder.

And it reminds us that we are far more alike, and far more united, than we are divided.

Why I started Traveling Wahoo

After 23 years in the military, 49 of the 50 states and more than 30 countries, I know how rare and valuable those moments are. I also know how easily a trip can go sideways when it isn’t planned right.

So I started Traveling Wahoo, a veteran-owned travel company here in Red Hook, in New York’s Hudson Valley, to help more people have those moments, without the stress of planning them.

As an independent travel advisor with Fora Travel, I plan trips the way I’d plan them for my own family: family vacations, cruises, honeymoons, reunions, milestone birthdays, group getaways and first trips out of the country. Every trip, personally, from the first idea until you’re home.

You focus on the moments. I handle everything else.

For my fellow veterans

If your post, chapter or auxiliary ever wants to travel together, there’s no planning fee. It’s my way of giving back to the people who gave so much. You can see veteran organization trips here.

Let’s go somewhere

If you’ve ever said “we really should go somewhere,” let’s make it happen. And if someone you love is dreaming about a trip, please share this with them. It truly means the world to me.

— Troy