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JOHNNY JET'S Q & A
Tracy Gallagher ~ The Travel Channel

PROFILE

Not only is Tracy Gallagher one of the Travel Channel's experts, she's also host of The Short List, a fast-paced, eclectic insider's guide to the top things to do and see in a variety of popular cities. And, Gallagher is the face of the numerous and humorous 30-second promos for Travel Channel specials as well.

During her time on Travel Daily, the innovative travel news and information series she co-hosted with Travel Channel chief correspondent Peter Greenberg, Gallagher interviewed everyone from in-the-know journey junkies to well-known travel writers. She also traveled the world for the series, bringing topical reports from destinations as diverse as Egypt, Portugal, Germany and Morocco. In addition, she hosted Conde Nast Traveler's Hot List, a one-hour special made for Travel Channel on the year's hottest places.

Gallagher is an accomplished reporter and producer, with more than 10 years' experience in television. Aside from her Travel Channel duties, she served as a regular travel correspondent for MSNBC's Homepage, as well as a contributor to the MSNBC Web site. Her other TV appearances include The Oprah Winfrey Show and Later Today, not to mention her five-year stint at KRON & BayTV News in San Francisco, where she reported the news, anchored updates and produced news segments.

Gallagher lives in Santa Monica with her husband and child and travels more than 200,000 miles a year, all while balancing being a wife, mother and one of the country's leading travel experts.

TRACY'S ANSWERS

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED AS A TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL?
Friends who know me best say my job fits me perfectly. I suppose this is because I was always the one dreaming of places to visit, planning the adventure, and drawing up the itinerary. Those were my amateur days... My professional days came when I started working for the Travel Channel in 1998.
HOW OFTEN DO YOU FLY?
Before kids - one year I was on a plane every week... either commuting to work to Los Angeles from San Francisco or flying somewhere exotic for work. Now that I've had children, well let's just say my schedule has been grounded somewhat - but not my spirit. I fly probably 12 times a year now, most of the trips from Los Angeles to my old home town San Francisco where I do some work and visit some of my closest friends.
IN A YEAR HOW MANY MILES/POINTS DO YOU EARN?
Before kids - one year it was close to 200,000. After kids - more like 10,000 if you don't count my credit card points!! I have been flying domestically a lot more, which is following the travel trend of most Americans.
WHAT CLASS OF SERVICE DO YOU MOSTLY FLY IN?
Coach - I can sleep anywhere!
FAVORITE AIRLINE?
Virgin
FAVORITE AIRCRAFT?
Elvis Presley's "Lisa Marie." Visited Graceland last year and went aboard his private plane - groovy decorating. Aside from that, the safest aircraft is always my favorite.
FAVORITE HOTEL?
Las Ventanas in Cabo San Lucas... Explora in Chile...Hayman Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia...Kenwood Inn, Napa Valley...and I'm staying at Loft 523 in New Orleans next week and by looking at the design, it could be added to this list soon!
FAVORITE HOTEL AMENITY?
Lap pool... a view...
FAVORITE AIRPORT?
Purely for nostalgic reasons, NOT for ontime flights, or the usual criteria: SFO and JFK.
FAVORITE AIRPORT TO PASS TIME IN?
London's Heathrow
FAVORITE CITY?
New York
FAVORITE ISLAND?
Never met an island I didn't like....

FAVORITE SPA?
The spa at Mauna Lani on the Big Island in Hawaii- it has fabulous outdoor huts for massages, with Hawaiian music playing in the background. Also - the new spa at The Inn at Spanish Bay on Pebble Beach is pretty fabulous also.
FAVORITE RESTAURANT?
Alan Wong's, Oahu... Ritz Carlton, San Francisco...Lark Creek Inn, Larkspur, CA...Gary Danko, San Francisco...L'ami Loui, Paris...Bix, San Francisco...Tra Vigne, Napa Valley...Chez Mimi, Santa Monica
AISLE OR WINDOW?
Aisle.
ETICKET OR PAPER?
Eticket
TRAVEL AGENT OR ONLINE?
Online
FAVORITE TRAVEL WEBSITE?
Travelocity, Hotwire,

FAVORITE TRAVEL COMPANION?
My husband, or my old boss Nancy and her husband Len
IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A TROPICAL ISLAND, WHAT THREE ITEMS WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU?
Nicholas, Ava, Michael.
WHAT DO YOU HATE MOST ABOUT TRAVEL?
Air delays... and the fact that it is/was vulnerable to terrorism.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT TRAVEL?
Everything else.
BEST TRAVEL TIP:
Book your hotel the FIRST week of off season - prices drop significantly, but the weather most likely hasn't changed that much yet, and crowds are lighter.