Meet community member, Sandeen Scotto, who has been an App in the Air user since January 2019. In this interview, Sandeen tells us about her travel inspiration, her travel-themed wedding plans, and local gems to visit in her home state of North Carolina.
Please tell us about yourself.
I was born in the Midwest to New Yorkers who loved to travel. I grew up in the Midwest for the first five years of my life, and then moved to New York where I spent the majority of my adulthood. I then moved with my fiancé, David, to North Carolina in 2009 and have lived here since! I love to dance, read, spend time with my family, and more importantly, I love to travel. I work from home permanently for a supply chain company where I am a Fraud Prevention Analyst (I love to read detective/mystery novels so the position suits me). I also love trivia games and once tried out for College Jeopardy!
How did you discover App in the Air?
I was looking for a way to keep my travel information organized and on-the-go. A travel site recommended a bunch of apps for travel such as Timeshifter (for preventing jet lag) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Mobile Passport. They also mentioned App in the Air. I looked into all three apps, which I now happily use.
The App in the Air community means a lot to me. I can be who I really am and talk about travel, travel tips, learn more about different cultures, get to see amazing travel pictures and meet people from around the world. Having this community of like-minded individuals keeps me happy, and helps me to place more countries on my bucket list.
What is your relationship with travel like?
I am a natural born traveler. My very first flight was in utero (in my mom’s tummy) from New York to London. This may explain why I am a Britofile—I love anything British, from clothing to authors to food and everything else in between. Ever since birth, I’ve traveled all over the United States. My first time on a cruise was when I was just six years old, from Florida to The Bahamas. I’ve been cruising ever since! Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne has always inspired me to travel.
With all these travels under your belt, do you have a special memory to share?
I have so many special travel memories I could share, but the one in June 2019 was one of my favorites because it was an all expenses paid trip by our former employer! This employer hosts an annual all expenses paid trip for employees who are recipients of a Golden Spokes Award—a very high achievement to even make and accomplish. Anyway, David was a recipient for his department, and so they covered our entire trip to San Diego. David and I flew on a Saturday in June 2019. We spent a day and half on our own traveling around San Diego, and then the additional fun times with the company began that Monday. We traveled from our weekend hotel in the Mission Bay area to the Convention Center, and stayed at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel located right on San Diego Bay. Our room was gorgeous, overlooking the water and the San Diego Padres stadium. We ate like kings and queens at banquets with every kind of food imaginable, and went to amazing after parties complete with open bars. Attending the awards dinner felt like an event comparable to going to the Oscars—I had to get an evening gown! It was incredible. Over the course of the trip, we went on a VIP tour of the San Diego Zoo, and visited tourist classics including Little Italy, Ghirardelli, the Gaslamp Quarter, Coronado Island, and the Embarcadero.
Sounds like a truly amazing trip! We recall you shared with the community that your vintage travel-themed wedding is soon approaching — congratulations! Can you tell us about it?
Thank you so much for the well wishes! David and I have been together for 19 years and between the two of us, we have traveled to 25 states and 10 countries together. One of our goals is to travel to all 50 states. Our wedding is less than a month away! I found a stationary company that had a Vintage Travel Ticket Wedding Invitation suite. Our invitation is a travel ticket, the RSVP card is also a mini travel ticket, and the rest of the inserts have adorable airplanes around them. It came out perfectly! We will be distributing welcome bags that look like suitcases. The favors are going to be in Arabian themed gift bags with a travel themed picture frame that says The Adventure of a Lifetime, complete with our name, wedding date and location. The wedding is really small and intimate with just under 25 guests, all of whom are coming from out of town. In terms of gifts, we knew we didn’t want a traditional wedding registry as we just moved and are actually trying to downsize. A friend of mine mentioned the idea of a honeymoon fund, and it made total sense. Whatever amount we receive in gifts is how we will ultimately determine where we go for our honeymoon. Our goal is to travel next summer, when the timing lines up with our 20th anniversary and my 40th birthday. When we know where we are going, I will make sure to spread the word to our community!
That sounds great! Now as a North Carolina resident, what are some local gems that you would recommend to visitors?
I have lived in North Carolina for the last 12.5 years and everyone I meet asks me if I love living here. I would respond, I haven’t moved out of state yet, so yes, I do love living here! Here are a few local gems to visit when in North Carolina:
- If you’re a fan of NASCAR, The Charlotte Motor Speedway and Restaurant is a must. It’s neat because you can eat in their restaurant and get a view of the racetrack.
- I highly recommend Asheville, in the mountains. It has everything you could want in a mountain town and the largest mansion in America is there: The Biltmore.
- If you’re a fan of The Wizard Of Oz, then you need to go to The Land of Oz theme park in Beech Mountain. It’s definitely worth the money and the trip! The experience feels like you’ve become an extra in the movie.
- Love the beach? We have some of the best beaches on the East Coast, and they’re known for surfing. I live in Wilmington, where we have Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach and Kure Beach. In addition to the beaches, Wilmington is known for Hallmark Movies and TV shows including Halloween, Scream, One Tree Hill and many more. Also, check out one of my favorite places: The USS North Carolina.
You can download App in the Air here. If you already use App in the Air and would like to join our closed community of users, email us at [email protected].