~ by guest-blogger, Ellen Gruetzmacher

It was 1981 and my best friend, Shelley, and I had been excitedly planning our senior trip to celebrate graduation from Santa Ynez Valley Union High. While Shelley’s folks were giving her the Mexican Riviera cruise as a graduation gift, I was working two jobs and finishing school; fantasizing about running into the likes of Gopher, Isaac, and Captain Stubing – or meeting the man of my dreams on the Love Boat!

Round about February Shelley informs me that her boyfriend does not want her to go on a cruise without him, so she cancels on me. Determined that I was going to go SOMEWHERE (ANYWHERE) out of tiny Solvang, I set off to the travel agent’s office to get some ideas. Once I walked through the door and greeted Tammy, she said, “I’ve got the perfect trip for you!”

In only a couple month’s time, I was off to Innsbruck, Austria for spring break. I spent two weeks with fun, like-minded travelers who were all UCSB (Univ. California Santa Barbara) alumni. We skied the slopes of the 1976 Olympics, rocketed down the Olympic bobsled run, ate Bratwurst and Spatzle, sipped Gluhwein, and took Eurail trips to Munich, Italy, and Switzerland. I was absolutely in AWE that there could be so many different languages, currencies, and experiences in such a small radius. For this small-town 17-year-old girl, this was as exotic a destination as I had ever experienced and I wanted MORE – SO MUCH MORE!

Next best thing to training for the Olympics!

Four years later I would further indulge that travel bug by embarking on a three and a half month tour of Europe – solo! I met amazing travelers from all over the world and we all fed off each others’ energy and excitement of the travel experience. At one point I rented a car with a few gals from Australia (geez those Ozzies are a hoot!) and drove up through England and Scotland for a week, then set off on my own to explore more of Europe. Aside from our rental car going up in a ball of flames just outside Heathrow Airport (that’s a whole other blog post!), the trip was nothing but fun-filled adventures: Night trains with interesting characters, chance encounters with Italian celebrities, lounging on the beach in the south of France, scootering around Athens, climbing the steps to the cliff-side monastery in Greece, walking through the ruins of Pompeii, drinking steins of beer with large men in lederhosen at Oktoberfest, hiking through the lush green valleys beneath the glaciers in Switzerland, cruising the redlight district in Amsterdam, doing shots of Ouzo with old Greek men on the ferry to Mykonos, meandering through the Coliseum in Rome, and on and on and on.

Memories of my solo European adventure

All-in-all, I saw 11 countries; ate foods tastier than I had ever dreamed; saw iconic sites that I had only seen in movies and books; learned about religions, people, and cultures very different from my own; traveled on every form of transportation known to man (well, almost); and experienced natural beauty that touched me deeply… basically, my life had been completely transformed.

Fast forward to August 2015

As fate would have it, I was introduced to Marilyn through a mutual friend; it was an immediate connection. Within a couple months, I became part of the amazing CTP Group team. I couldn’t believe my fate… moving to southern California (a place I’d always wanted to live) AND working for a travel company!! However, much to my chagrin, I was told – in no uncertain terms – when I was hired as Marilyn’s Executive Assistant, “this is not a travel position.” I was told that it may be a challenge to control travel envy when my co-workers would return from some exotic destination with stories and photos.

For the next year, I patiently watched my co-workers travel the world: Italy, Greece, Argentina, the UK, Southeast Asia, Amsterdam, the Caribbean… and I kept my envy in check.

This past August, we all met at Marilyn’s house for an off-site meeting. Marilyn had recently received her cancer diagnosis and she and Gabriel felt a need for reassignment of tasks and/or roles. We had each completed a questionnaire to determine our likes and dislikes, goals and desires; it was Marilyn and Gabriel’s way of determining the best fit for each of us. Of course, I held nothing back and expressed my desire to travel – wherever they wanted to send me: international or domestic, it didn’t matter to me!

At that meeting, Gabriel summarized each employee’s answers to the questionnaires. To be perfectly honest, I can’t remember a lot of what was said at that meeting, as everything else seemed muted compared to Gabriel’s words: “And Ellen will be assisting on the program to India.” 

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Stay tuned for Part Two – “Ellen Goes to India”

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