NDVR Vanguards of Adventure

Name Shay Howard 

(MY FRIENDS CALL ME☺▪ Shay-Dog, though I’m not sure I want that public.  It’s positive, I swear.)

Age 42

Hometown  Los Angeles

Resides In  Augusta, Georgia

Questions:

What is your go-to song at a karaoke bar? 

Unfortunately, I was not blessed with the gift of music.  Think Roseanne Bar singing the National Anthem.  If it were up to me I would have never ever subjected anyone to my tuneless voice, however two years in Japan made that unavoidable.  I lean towards any song sung by an angry woman, Alanis Morrisette, or a heavy drug user with a raspy voice, Janis Joplin.

Describe yourself in a single sentence? 
A person who has a deep love for the adventure of life but often forgets not take it too seriously.

Which is the celebrity or actor you would want to date? 

This is a hard question because I don’t know enough about them to answer based on very much more than looks.  Therefore, I’d say Tom Hardy, sex appeal, an accent, and since he’s British I’m going to assume he understands sarcasm.  Win!

What are your musts when it comes to creating the perfect trip?

This depends on where I’m traveling, but I can say every trip will have a few essentials.  There will be cultural events, adventurous activities and a lot of food and drink.  Frankly, I’m most happy eating my way across a country.  I will at some point be riding, climbing or jumping off something.  Beyond that I tend to not plan too much.  I just ask around when I arrive what the locals recommend.  I like to be active so I’ll usually rent a bike and make sure to find a yoga class.  I do things that I would normally do at home to get a sense of what it would be like to live there.  

Are you a planner or do you go with the flow?

I’m a planner, then I arrive and never look at the plan. 

Country you visited that most surprised you? (in a good way? Or in a bad way?)

There are those countries that indelibly imprint on you.  Not only for the experience you had there but for where you were mentally/emotionally at that time in your life.  It’s hard to choose one but I’d say India since it left so many good and bad impressions.

What are you listening to right now?

Very loud crickets. 

Dogs or Cats?

Dogs 

Are you a good dancer?

I used to be.  Or at least I thought I was, and that’s all that really matters.

Who can you count on, every time, to hit the road with you?

Myself.  Fortunately, I enjoy traveling alone.

What is the most underrated travel gear?

A small sound machine.  I’m not sure what’s popular, or not, these days, but let me tell you what a difference that little box makes. 

What three places are on your travel bucket list? 

Oman, Bhutan, Namibia

What animal would win a fight, a bear or a lion? 

A lion 

Name the best television theme song of all time. 

Cheers, of course.

How did you get into adventure ?

It’s in my DNA.  I’m related to Meriwether Lewis (of the Lewis and Clarke Expedition).  Or blame my Mother, she dragged me around Europe when I was 12 and then shipped me off to Mexico for a summer when I was 16 for bad behavior.  That was the beginning of it all…

When creating an adventure trip what are your priorities ?

Meet the locals, tour the cities as well as the countryside, eat a lot, experience as much as I can with the time I have, and spend the last few days recovering on a beach.

If you were to come back to any era in history, when would it be ?

Elizabethan, without hesitation.