On this episode of Adventure Calls, I talk to Melanie Folcik Barillaro from her quarantine in Connecticut. Melanie is a commercial pilot, a helicopter pilot, an Emergency Medical Technician, a certified flight instructor, a PADI rescue SCUBA diver, a certified Class A skydiver, and a travel addict recently made the transition to a role as an FAA Aviation Safety Inspector. 

In this episode,  we talk about the success of corporate and private air travel during the pandemic, startups focused on contactless unmanned planes of the future, plus the rise of the road trip, a hiking app that keeps you on the trail, and how to travel with your family post-pandemic. If you’re not inspired by Melanie’s adventurous enthusiasm and pragmatic optimism by then, stick around until the end for her story about her application to join NASA’s next generation of astronauts in 2021. 

Note: the snoring sound you hear is my little pug, who insisted on sleeping at my feet/ #homestudio #quarantine