At Beatrice Bradley, we know that traveling solo can feel a little daunting, but with our incredible hosts by your side, you’ll never feel alone. Our focus is on building a community of strong, patriotic women who love America and want to experience its beauty and history together. Our hosts are not just trip logistical leaders — they’re the heart of each journey, making you feel welcomed, valued, and part of a close-knit group from the moment you arrive.
Meet Your Hosts – The Beatrice Bradley Experience
Our hosts are the glue that holds each trip together. They understand how intimidating solo travel can be, and they are dedicated to ensuring that your experience is warm, friendly, and full of laughter. From day one, they’ll be there to greet you with a smile, helping you settle in, and introducing you to your fellow travelers—who will soon become lifelong friends.
JANE RABE – Co-Founder
Jane is from Minneapolis, MN and LOVES to travel and LOVES people! Jane loves to plan the fabulous adventures and also hosting some of them. Jane has been on many interesting adventures on her many travels!
Beatrice Bradley Adventures has been a wonderful way for solo travelers to meet other new friends from across this wonderful nation of ours!
MERCY SELLS
Mercy grew up in The Last Frontier in Anchorage, Alaska. From early childhood, she was exposed to wilderness adventures in the great outdoors. Whether she was running in the mountains, canoeing, skiing, orienteering, shooting at the range, moose hunting, hiking remotely or fishing, she never strayed far from her love for adventure and the outdoors.
Mercy loves traveling and sharing great adventures with our BB ladies. Some of her favorite trips are Alaska, Yellowstone/Tetons and Africa. Mercy is looking forward to many more trips to come and sharing her love of exploring.
ELLEN SWANSON
Ellen grew up in Northern Minnesota and loves the outdoors! Experienced in many travels within the United States and European destinations.
Life is not a trial run… we get one chance to take advantage of it.
It is meant for experiences, conversations and beautiful soulful persons to share and explore with…so take them!
So looking forward to sharing time with you and our adventures together!
SHARON LARSON
Before starting with Beatrice Bradley as a travel host in August 2022, Sharon was a professional Sales Executive working at developing customer and supplier relationships for various industries. Sharon’s love of travel surfaced during this time when she traveled extensively throughout the US, Canada, Asian, and European countries.
What brings so much joy to Sharon is seeing the long-lasting friendships develop from the first day to the last day of every trip. Sharon is dedicated to helping clients reach their dreams in every travel adventure!
“I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done” – Lucille Ball
KARLA HALEY
Karla is North Dakota and enjoyed summer adventures at the cabin in northern Minnesota. She is an avid golfer, love to pop on an area lake paddleboarding and tinkering in my garden in my free time. Currently a full-time realtor she receive great joy in helping people realize their dreams whether it’s buying their first home, building custom or downsizing.
Karla ran across this quote “We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us” and realized that throughout our lives we put off traveling for one reason or another. Being a solo traveler needn’t be one of them.
Beatrice Bradley has allowed Karla to help solo Patriot women travelers realize their dream of traveling in a safe, yet adventurous environment with like-minded women. It’s wonderful to see long-lasting friendships develop and watch our guests come into their own and make lasting memories!
KAREN SCHLUCHTER
After growing up in Michigan and attending college, Karen met her husband Steve, and they were married in 1997 on the television show Live with Kathy Lee and Regis in New York City. Our prize included a honeymoon in Greece where we jumped off a cruise ship and wandered Mykonos for 10 days. They were blessed with twin boys (Jack and Drew FSU Grads) in 2000 and our youngest (Evander a freshman at University of Central Florida) in 2005. Their family lives in Tampa, Florida where they love the white sandy beaches and year-round activities!
Karen’s most memorable trips include getting stuck on a cruise ship in Saint Maarten, not a bad place to be stranded! She has bounced down the frozen Alps in Austria, taught her kids how to ski in Montana and Colorado, and have wandered the streets of Havana, London, and Athens. A tour of Italy was a highlight especially memorable was sailing through the island of Venice.
When invited to join Beatrice Bradley in 2023 as a Host, it was the perfect fit! She is excited to guide you on your next unforgettable journey, where friendships can be made that last a lifetime, and experiences you will cherish forever! The best part about memories is making them and she hopes to be a part of yours.
Hope to see you soon!
Suzanne Ray
When Suzanne graduated from college, she decided that she wanted to travel the world, so she was elated when her fiancé agreed that a perfect honeymoon would be a year and a half bicycle trip from British Columbia to Florida and then from the Netherlands to Greece. The once-in-a-lifetime trip left her with a constant wanderlust. Thankfully, the wonderful profession of teaching left Suzanne with time to travel each summer. When her two girls were little, that travel consisted of modest but adventurous camping and canoeing expeditions. As the girls grew, the family decided together that they preferred going to culturally interesting places like small villages in Mexico instead of heading to Hawaii, the vacation destination of choice for most Alaskans. In her forties, as a competitive masters runner, Suzanne was invited to travel to races in many unique locations, the most memorable of which was the Bangkok Marathon. Suzanne also enjoyed helping supervise service trips with groups of young people to Ecuador, Guatemala, and many locations in Mexico.
Suzanne is excited about joining Beatrice Bradley in offering travel experiences to women who are looking for friends to have adventures with. She loves to help women immerse themselves in new environments instead of simply being tourists, and she is dedicated to helping women be as active as they want to be while they develop new travel friendships that may last a lifetime.
Kelly Kittleson
Kelly is a “semi-retired” wife, mother of 2, grandmother of 6 who loves to travel and if a “thrill of adventure” is included in a trip, all the better! My husband and I live on a small crop farm in SE Minnesota and enjoy camping, visiting our daughter and grandkids in Boston, and relaxing at home. Of all the various jobs I’ve had over the years, hosting for BBGage is by far the most amazing, fun, and rewarding of them all.
Many of the women I’ve met on these trips are making their first trip “alone” and found BB Gage as the perfect place to give it a try. They meet on the first day a little nervous, but by the time we say goodbye, new friends and travel companions have been found. Traveling “alone, together” with like-minded women can quench an inner thirst when you didn’t even know you were thirsty!!!!
LINDA MAY POCHE
Linda was born in Bakersfield, CA and raised all over the United Sates as they were a Military Family. She have been fortunate enough to travel all over the world, but there is no place like home (USA)! As a traveler with BB, Linda fell in love with traveling to unfamiliar places and meeting new like-minded ladies from diverse backgrounds and all corners of the world.
As a Host, she have been blessed to take something from each one of these ladies she has met and use in her daily life. When she is not doing the travel thing, Linda loves to spend time with her amazing family, riding her motorcycle to destinations unknown and live her life to the fullest.
“Ladies, BB changed my life in countless ways. Come join us for tremendous new adventures & make life lasting friendships.”
Wynndy Sampson
Wynndy is a retired secretary bookkeeper from our local small high school (230 students in grades 7-12). She has two children, Stephanie and Mark, 5 grandchildren, and one on the way! She lost my husband in 2020, the same month that she retired.
Wynndy and her husband were planning on traveling after retirement. She still wanted to travel but wasn’t comfortable going alone, so she joined the Beatrice Bradley group and went to New York for her first solo trip. She met a great group of ladies and continued to see two of them monthly as they found out they lived close to each other. Beatrice Bradley gave her the confidence to travel alone. They took all the worry away because even though she traveled solo, she wasn’t alone! Wynndy was fortunate enough to join the Beatrice Bradley team as a hostess, so she still gets to travel solo with new friends!
Melissa Paulson
Melissa has loved to travel her entire life as her dad worked for the airlines when she was little. She passed her adventurous spirit on to her daughter and they have had many great trips including their favorite to the Big Island and Kauai in 2023. Some of her favorite places she has visited include Greece, England, New York, Boston, Savannah and Tybee Island in Georgia. Currently navigating being an empty nester, she still keeps busy with friends, family and pickleball.
Melissa’s advice to SOLO travelers is:
1. Always be thinking of your next trip
2. Be Adventurous
3. Carpe Diem
4. Don’t worry, we got you!
Connie Pickett
Meet Connie, a full of energy country gal from Iowa! She have the reputation of being an energizer bunny and has also been called Annie Oakley as she has owned, trained & showed horses for 25 yrs & had a professional permit to carry! Now, she rides road bikes, hikes, travels and enjoy helping solo travelers to spread their wings to build their confidence to travel & experience life.
Connie’s word of advice for solo travelers is just “go do it”! Life is short, buy the shoes, eat the cake! Travel & enjoy God’s masterpieces!
Connie Hart
Connie was born in MN and grew up in Florida. She is married with 3 children and 3 grandchildren. Connie spent most of my career in development and property management. Her interests are boating, travel and sports. Travel inspires her because she loves learning about new places and meeting new faces, it keeps us growing by taking us out of our comfort zones!
Laura Rendon
Hello, I’m Laura Rendon. I joined the Beatrice Bradley Hosting Team in January. I retired from a career in finance & corporate training. My husband & I raised three amazing sons & have two grandchildren. Las Vegas is home, although I’m a Texas girl!
My advice to solo travelers is that you jump out there & see where each adventure takes you! It has been incredibly rewarding to meet women from all over with different backgrounds & a true love for new friendships. We will laugh, and step out of our comfort zone but, I promise it will be worth it. See you on your next adventure!
Hello! I am Linda VonRueden and I am so excited to travel with you! I grew up in Minnesota and am still here…but love to get out when I can! Even though I work full time, I manage to find a week to host a Beatrice Bradley trip!
I love to travel and explore new places! Meeting the travelers from previous travels was such an amazing experience!
I encourage all to try a Beatrice Bradley trip! You are in great hands and you will not regret it! Looking forward to meeting you!
JILL MORLEY
Jill was born & raised in Minnesota. After marriage & the birth of her two sons, they moved our family to South Dakota and started a outdoor company. We traveled in a motorhome and homeschooled our boys for 2 years and traveled all of the U.S. & Alaska. You can find me in the Summer in Northern Minnesota, enjoying lake life, Fall in South Dakota pheasant hunting & Winter in Arizona, hiking & shooting sporting clays.
“Once a year go somewhere you’ve never been before.”
LIZ SCHMILLEN
Liz was born and raised in Minnesota. After being in the professional world for almost 30 years, she decided to make a change and try something new. Traveling has always been something she has enjoyed and meeting new people makes the experiences even more special. When Liz isn’t traveling, she’s either on the pickleball court or hanging out with her family.
Just do it! You won’t regret it and will make lasting memories and have a great time traveling with like-minded women.
NELLY FISCHER
Nelly is a Wisconsin native, born and raised, and has spent most of her life there with her husband. They have raised three children and are now grandparents to two adorable grandchildren. Currently, she is working full-time as a Special Education Student Assistant.
Joining the Beatrice Bradley Travel team has been a rewarding experience for her. She shares their passion for loving America and caring for travelers.
To future travelers, she says, “Follow your dreams and travel with Beatrice Bradley. We will take care of you, and you will have the opportunity to make lifelong friends along the way.”
As Bill Nye once said, “Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t.” Embrace the opportunity to learn and grow from your interactions with others.
Lynne Lowder
Lynne lives in Dallas, Texas. In her free time, Lynne loves hiking and playing pickleball. Lynne has hosted several BB trips and she loves exploring new places and meeting other conservative-minded women!
ANGIE TROVIK & Jackie Haugo (cousins)
Angie has been a part of the Gage Outdoors family of business since 2001 and she was beyond excited when we added in the new women’s travel group, Beatrice Bradley! Angie absolutely loves the outdoors and traveling! While keeping controls on all the financials and human resources is her main job, her favorite part is having the honor of hosting a few of our adventures each year! Hopefully one with you! These trips are absolutely magical! The immediate bonding you feel on one of our trips will leave you with life-long new friendships. She has never seen anything quite like it! Looking forward to our next adventure together!
Jackie lives and works full time in northern Minnesota, helping people get more activity in their daily lives. She graduated from Minnesota State University Moorhead with a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications and after having two kids, earned a Physical Education Teaching degree. She is an outdoor enthusiast and yogi who is thrilled to be co-hosting a beach adventure weekend with kayaking, pontooning and beach activity in Florida.
Some of her favorite adventures have included snorkeling, kayaking and paddleboarding in Hawaii and Mexico. Training and participating in 10 rollerblade half marathons in her 40s and 50s was very rewarding, and now she is ready for new adventures and friendships made by traveling.
A favorite travel tip is to roll your clothes individually in your suitcase, arrange shirts on one side; pants/shorts on the other. This way you can see all your color options at a glance, and it will save space in your suitcase.
Kyle Krohn
I host many of the BB Couples trip with my wife, Jane Rabe, one of the Beatrice Bradley Founders. I love to travel and have found that traveling with like-minded friends is the best way to meet new friends when traveling and it’s fun to experience new places with friends. I love to travel, fish and cook. Photography is my passion and when you are on a trip with my wife and me, I will photograph the entire trip and will share my photos with you after the trip.
Cheers and looking forward to meeting you on upcoming BB Couples Trips!