I'm a 51-year old travel fanatic who's an actuary the rest of the time. It pays for plane tickets. Moved to KS a year ago after 25 years in NJ.

When I was little, my Dad used to fly out of CAK on sales trips- sometimes all 5 of us would line up with Mom at the chicken-wire fence and plug our ears as the jet engines backfired and the plane took off. I always wanted to go to Europe- can't explain it, since none of my siblings cared one way or the other. I took a few domestic flights in college between exciting places like CAK, CMH, CVG and Indianapolis, and finally went to Europe on my own at age 25. Went again 3 years later, then married a spendthrift whose idea of fun was deep-sea fishing. I still get seasick when I think of those trips- and the cost would have paid for 2 R/T airfares to Europe with money left over. But, he was a miserable traveler. Even on trips to MYR to see my parents, he blew up at every little inconvenience. Motherhood also slowed me down, although I managed to get to Europe and other great destinations a few times on business. Casualty Actuarial Society meetings brought me to places like the Boca Raton Resort, Bermuda, Disney World, Marco Island and a lot of wonderful cities- so I didn't do badly in those years.

Divorced the Ex in 1997. (Long, sad story.) Started dating a wonderful man and, on a wild urge, asked him to join me at a meeting in Palm Desert, CA only a few months later. The rest is history. We've been married a year and have been to about a dozen countries together including Brazil and Russia. He knows history; I grope with the languages. Whatever happens, we deal with it and always enjoy the ride.

My son is turning out to be a great traveler, too- he's 19 and has been to Bermuda, Australia (school trip), Rome (with us last year) and Spain on his last Spring Break. While he was in Spain, he took a train to France for the day. That's my kid!

I love FT, but it's blocked at work. Still, I've learned so much about destinations and making the most of loyalty programs. Have met only 2 FTers but hope to meet more!