Evelyn Hannon

Editor's Note: Inspired by Follow Friday on Twitter, I am profiling (in far more than 140 characters) extraordinary travelers who you, too, should follow! Through these profiles, I want to introduce you to some of the most intriguing adventure seekers on our planet.

Be inspired by: Evelyn Hannon
Follow her: @journeywoman

Evelyn Hannon, founder of Journeywoman, a site especially for women, describes herself as a pioneer, "the grandmother of the women's travel movement." I thought that was an endearing introduction, and a fitting one at that, considering she's the proud, spunky grandmother of three adorable kiddos. One of the things I found most interesting about Evelyn is that she put a backpack on for the first time when she was 42 years old and set off on her first solo journey, an experience she says was tough because she had no guidebook nor any girlfriends to offer up travel advice.

She went on to tell me about her very first experience on the road - a whopping 35 days! -- and how she got into the business of advising women travelers...

@journeywoman: It was the 80s when females generally weren't travelling on their own, and the mainstream travel industry couldn't even imagine (shudder) tours for women only. I left home for 35 days that first time and experienced what life on the road for a solo woman traveler was really like. It wasn't easy, but I loved it. Eventually, with 10 years of seeing the world under my belt, I began writing travel tips and stories especially for women. I began consulting with the hotel industry, advising them on what women need and want in their accommodations. In 1997, I went online with Journeywoman.com, and introduced our Journeywoman travel tip newsletter (67,000 subscribers in 128 countries), and the rest is history.

I'm 70 years old now and very proud that, today, travel for women is not only a fact of life  but the travel industry happily recognizes us as a wonderful force to be reckoned with.

@jenngaines: Please tell me a little bit about your most recent adventure.

@journeywoman: The first time I was in Japan I left completely disappointed. The sights and sounds were wonderful, but I hadn't made any real connections with the people. This past time I stayed in a private home and the experience was totally different. I taught my host how to make Swedish meatballs for a Japanese buffet, and it was pure delight to watch those meatballs being eaten with rice, noodles and edamame. I was invited to a Cherry Blossom BBQ in the park, and (shhhh, don't tell anybody) we snuck on to the castle grounds in Kyoto after dark. Now that's my kind of adventure.

Journeywoman in Japan

@jenngaines: People travel for different reasons. As a traveler, what really inspires you?

@journeywoman: Someone once told me, 'It's easy to be the chief in your own village, but the real test is whether the people 10 villages away still regard you as a chief.' At home, we're often given status by the home we live in, the car we drive, the clothes we wear on our back. When I travel I leave everything that speaks of status behind and enter a new culture with curiosity and a great need to communicate and understand something new. If I leave knowing more, and establishing a rapport with people even if we don't speak the same language, I am a happy traveler, indeed.

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

@jenngaines: What is your most memorable travel experience?

@journeywoman: In 2008 as a journalist, I was invited by Semester At Sea to join 750 students and professors in circumnavigating the globe on the ship, HMV Explorer. We visited four continents and 14 cities in 108 days. For someone who loves both travel and the energy of young people, for me this trip was like winning gold at the Olympics. Every port of call was an adventure in food, fabulous sights and extraordinary people. There were also challenges: I experienced everything from visiting the Townships in South Africa to being lost on a rickshaw late at night in India to being threatened with a lead pipe by a taxi driver in Vietnam. So what? Figuring each situation out just made me a much better traveler.

Evelyn Hannon Costa Rica

@jenngaines: What is the most challenging travel experience?

@journeywoman: In 1989, I was awarded a sizable Canadian grant to go to China for one month to observe how Chinese women practice both Eastern and Western medicine. I had only a lay person's knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine yet the Chinese government treated me like a visiting VIP. For four weeks, they took me from hospital to clinic in cities and in the countryside. I wore a doctor's white coat as I toured the wards. Thinking I was a practitioner, patients called out to me, taking my hands and begging for my medical assistance. Of course, it saddened me that I couldn't help; I was also concerned for my own health as I had no idea what these people were suffering from. This was an extremely challenging time for me, yet it was this experience that began my deep love of China, and I've been back several times since.

Evelyn Hannon China

@jenngaines: Lastly, what is your best tip for the traveling woman?

@journeywoman: As you might know I send out one Journeywoman Travel Tip to my followers each and every day. I have hundreds of bits of advice swimming in my head. Number One for a woman traveler would be: When you're not sure what to do in a situation, trust your gut. There's nothing like women's intuition to keep you safe. Use it.