My name is Vernell and I’m a citizen of the United States who is currently living outside of the U.S.

I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and as I got older I began to wonder what other people were like in other places. That began my desire of traveling. I took my first trip at 21 to the Bahamas.  I was there for 7 days and when time came to leave, I wanted to stay longer.

My first long distance trip was to Paris in 2011, and once again, I wanted to stay longer. I thought long and hard on how I could live there. The only reason for not staying was the fact that I didn’t speak any French, other than saying hello (bonjour) and thank you (merci).

I’ve since traveled to multiple countries and continue to check off my bucket list of visiting every state in the US. So far, I’ve visited 40 of the 50 States.

My vacation trips sometimes included family or friends, but those times when no one was available and I really wanted to go, like for my birthday, I began traveling on my own. It was a bit scary at first but the more I ventured on my own, I began to feel more comfortable.  The real test came when I decided to travel outside of the U.S. by myself. I went to Jamaica for Christmas and had a wonderful time. Another test was traveling to a non-English speaking country. I conquered that with a visit to Portugal (June 2024).

And now that I’ve retired, it’s time to put into action the plans I’ve been working on for the past year… traveling solo throughout Europe and Southeast Asia for the next 2 years (or more). The seed of this idea was planted 2 years ago and it took me a year to finally believe I could do it. I began researching where I wanted to go, where to stay, and more importantly how to pay for it. 

In the 2 years of planning, I began saving more, investing more and playing the credit card points game. I used my credit card to pay for everything, if it was allowed. Let me state… I live a debt-free life. Use the cards and immediately pay off the balance before it’s due! The points will be used to pay for flights and hotel stays.

Also, because I would be gone for so long, I decided to get rid of everything that wasn’t needed for traveling. I had a yard sale and sold a lot of household items, Christmas stuff (I had way to much) and clothing. I gave a LOT away to Goodwill and in the last week, I sold the large items on Facebook marketplace. All that was left was the house and car, which were both sold in the same week. I sold the home in early May and retired at the end of May. After spending time with family there was nothing left to do except to get on a plane to my first destination outside of the U.S.

This website was created to give you a peek into my travels. I hope you enjoy the journey with me.

P.S.- A few years ago I formed a company called GBG Consulting Service, Inc. As I tried to come up with a name for the company, I prayed about it. Different names would come to mind but it wasn’t until I said… God, your baby girl needs your help. And that’s how the name GBG (God’s Baby Girl) came about. 

As for the business, I’ve consulted on issues such as finances, mortgages, and just about anything related to banking laws and regulations. I’m now switching gears to consulting about travel. And with that, if you have questions or need advice on traveling, send me an email at vdavis@gbgconsultingservice.com.