A world of wonder

When a member of Eldon Leiter’s travel group was mugged in Guatemala, he knew just who to call: Rhonda Morris, his travel agent.

Morris had copies of the stolen airline tickets and passport sent to Guatemala in time for the group to get home without a hitch.

“Rhonda really came through,” said Leiter, who has been a client for more than 20 years.

Morris, owner and travel consultant for Wayward Wind Travel in Sedalia, has booked trips and treks through the agency for 21 years.

Morris, 40, moved frequently during her childhood. She lived in Missouri several times, along with California, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Illinois. She has put down roots as an adult in Sedalia, but travels and helps others travel to feed some wanderlust.

She had traveled to many places — she said one of her favorites is Turks and Caicos — but still has a few on her list to visit, such as Greece, Australia and New Zealand.

“There’s just so many interesting places to visit,” she said.

Sometimes she finds out about interesting destinations from clients who want a trip to a specific place.

“I love learning about the different destinations. Places you wouldn’t think about going,” she said, but she finds out are interesting while doing research for clients.

Research is a big part of her job. Typically clients come in with a destination and travel dates in mind, and she finds the hotels, flights, and books activities.

“We save them time doing the research, and we have contacts just about everywhere in the world, so we can find them what they need,” she said.

She has many long-time clients, like Leiter, whose tastes she knows and for whom she can make can make recommendation.

“Every individual is different, every place is different, so you just have to find that perfect place,” she said.

She has booked a hot-air balloon trip over the Serengeti for two women, a helicopter ride for a marriage proposal, and a trek up Mount Kilimanjaro.

Her advice for the best travel deals is some she doesn’t always take herself: Book early.

“My friends get mad at me, because I’ll call and say, ‘Want to go to Jamaica next weekend?’ ” she said.

Her busy season is typically winter and early spring, as people book family vacations and honeymoons for the summer.

Despite the weakening dollar, trips to Europe are still popular. Alaska cruises have also been gaining in popularity, and Mexico and the Caribbean are always popular.

“Alaska cruises are huge right now. We’ve been booking more of those in the last few years, and it’s not an economical trip,” she said.

Deals are still out there — and often travel agents can find better deals than Internet searches, she said — but people don’t seem to be concerned with cost.

“We’ve had a lot of people tell us that they’re taking money out of their 401(k)s, because they keep losing it and want to enjoy it,” she said.

Leiter said that this will be the first year in 15 or 16 years he won’t visit Central or South America to pursue his hobby of studying Mayan culture. Next year he will call on Morris again.

“I don’t have any reason not to. She’s really a nice young lady, and she’s always been very helpful. She’s done a lot of things extra,” he said.

“I’ve taken tourists to Mexico and Central America in the last 10 years, and she was able to get us better rates with the airlines. She went the extra mile.”

Domestic or international, near or far, Morris said there’s one sure thing about travel.

“It’s always fun to travel, but it’s nice to come home,” she said.

agualtieri@sedaliademocrat.com