Family Travels

Talking to HEATHER SHERRY opens a whole new world of possibilities. And it should. The Carolina Beach resident, travel expert, and lifestyle visionary has traveled across the globe — from Switzerland and Japan to Southeast Asia and Croatia.

But that wasn’t always the case for the Pennsylvania native.

“When I was a child, we didn’t travel abroad, but we would go to New England — mostly Maine, Canada, Prince Edward Island — that kind of thing,” she says.

Until a powerful, whip-wielding mentor landed on her doorstep: Indiana Jones.

“I’d always been curious and inquisitive — always had an adventurous spirit,” she says. “And I’d watched Indiana Jones as a child. It was very exotic.”

But an archaeology professor wouldn’t be the only one to show up at her door. Soon there was then-boyfriend and now husband TRAVIS SHERRY. They would meet at Eastern University near Philadelphia and begin to launch their plans.

“As soon as we graduated, we said we should travel and ended up traveling to Switzerland for an internship Travis had and then the UK,” says Heather Sherry, a one-time Philly nanny. “Then we eventually made the huge leap to Japan to teach.”

Here, says Heather, the newlyweds had an epiphany.

“We felt our lives were waking up to work with little travel, and we wanted to do the opposite,” she says.

So, they did what every young couple does when they want to travel abroad on a budget: create one of the world’s top-rated travel podcasts, according to its website, that seeks to “travel lovers find the best flights and experience the most amazing trips.” It was called Extra Pack of Peanuts (EPOP), and the year was 2012. A year later they would launch the EPOP podcast.

And as with most journeys, sometimes detours and new destinations emerge. EPOP is no different.

“We’ve pivoted recently to become more of a hospitality company,” Heather Sherry says. “We inspire people to create their own dream lifestyle through travel, and we teach them and give them the tools to do that.”

Short term rentals, professional coaching, and events are just a few products from that entrepreneurial pivot, says Heather Sherry, the first of which has given rise to a passion second only to her love of travel — interior design.

“We have eight (rental) units all together on Pleasure Island,” says the self-styled resident culture and style guru who opened her own design shop, Hythe Interiors. “And I’ve designed them to a very high level, and I do other design work, too.”

From EPOP to Hythe, Heather Sherry says creating and expanding a business has been, well, like searching for deals on plane tickets.

“A lot of people say we’ve been lucky,” she say, “but we believe it’s been about deliberately forging our own path and saying yes to opportunity when we see it.”

Take 5 with Heather Sherry

Top travel tip? “Be flexible and don’t over plan. There are a lot of variables when it comes to traveling, and so many things can go wrong – you miss a flight, bus, or train; your accommodation isn’t what you expected; someone gets sick. Just go with the flow and be able to change plans. Leave time in your itinerary just to wander and immerse yourself in the area.”

Family travel – what’s the secret sauce? “The key to traveling with family is managing expectations (both kids and adults) and choosing activities that everyone will enjoy. Our kids are currently four and six. We have found that telling our kids about the plan helps them know what to expect and results in less meltdowns. We also discuss activities and block them into categories. For example, a kid activity might look like a playground or pool time; an adult activity might be a museum or nice restaurant. So, if we do a mommy and daddy activity, they know they have a kid activity to follow.”

Best trip you’ve had so far? “I’ll narrow it to two. The first time we went to Croatia in 2014 was a trip I will never forget. My husband and I spent three weeks exploring Split and road-tripped down the coast to Dubrovnik and into Montenegro. The second trip was a family affair. We took our four- and six-year-old to Argentina for a month. Traveling with our kids and my husband’s parents was an incredible experience!”

What’s up with the name Extra Pack of Peanuts? “As a child, my husband always got sick on airplanes, and he would ask the flight attendants for an extra pack of peanuts, as it helped with his nausea. In starting the blog, he compared redeeming airline miles to fly for cheap to getting that free extra pack of peanuts.”

Biggest travel lesson learned? “Be flexible and open to unique experiences. You never know what adventure you can experience when you’re willing to stay positive and pivot. Some of our best experiences happened by chance.”

To view more of photographer Madeline Gray’s work, go to madelinegrayphoto.com.

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