Join the Best of Johnston County Podcast as travel expert Rene Edwards from A Travel Odyssey shares insights on the evolving travel industry. Discover why using a travel agent still matters, hear about her experiences running Edwards IGA, and get her top travel tips and favorite spots in Johnston County. Perfect for anyone looking to make the most of their travel plans and learn more about the local scene. 

Tune in for an episode packed with valuable advice and engaging stories!

Rene Edwards: We do tours. We just do airline tickets if you just need an airline ticket, but we can take you anywhere. One of the latest places I went was Iceland. We take a group every year to Iceland. this is, was our third year, and I went all three years, and I would go this next year if I could.

Iceland is one of my favorite places to be. Saw the Northern Lights. So, we were there when the volcano went out. And midnight, we walked through Reykjavik and went down to the pond and looked out and you could see the actual volcano, going off in the distance. And it's snow and ice.

We did horseback riding. We did dog sledding and snowmobiling. And I mean, I'm an older person. and I mean, and I did it all, and it was so much fun.

Jonathan Breeden: Hello and welcome to another edition of The Best of Johnson County podcast. I'm your host, Jonathan Breeden. And today, we have travel agent, Rene Edwards from a Travel Odyssey here to talk to us about the travel industry, how it's changed, why you should still use a travel agent, the value that they can provide.

Her family's time on an Edwards IGA in Smithfield, and some of her favorite parts of Johnston County. Welcome Rene.

Rene Edwards: Well,

Thank you, John.

Jonathan Breeden: Right. Well, I love having people that I have used on my podcast. You were my travel agent. You've gotten me on some of the greatest trips of my lifetime. I want to thank you and Barbara King for that.

But just tell the people like who you are, where you're from, where you grew up, all that good stuff.

In the IGA grocery stores where we started, I was the cashier and he ran the store and did the ordering. And after 20 years of marriage, we decided, maybe I needed to go into a different business rather than going home with my boss every day.

Jonathan Breeden: I know how hard it is to

Rene Edwards: work,

Jonathan Breeden: work with your spouse.

Rene Edwards: Just wonderful.

Jonathan Breeden: So, when did y'all, get the Edwards IGA there at Smithfield? Was it in his family?

Rene Edwards: We were in Princeton and IGA, came available or a And if the store came available over in market square in Smithfield, we purchased that.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh my goodness. And you know when that was?

Rene Edwards: forever,

Jonathan Breeden: forever.

Rene Edwards: Yeah. It was for 10 years ago, I would say. And then, probably other stores got bought and changed, but it was a well run, really good store. People love the meats in the IGA, and the friendliness, and everybody knew everybody. It was like, when you come there, if you have a question, we could find it for you.

We just don't point the way, that was the kind of business we did.

Jonathan Breeden: So what's your husband's name?

Rene Edwards: Bruce Edwards.

Jonathan Breeden: Bruce Edwards. All right. So, y'all had the IGA on market street for how many years?

Rene Edwards: The one on market street was probably five years.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay.

Rene Edwards: And then, we moved out to The one where we were then, I can't even think of the shopping center. That's horrible. But we were there.

Let's see, my son was the rising senior. He's now 50 years old. So,

um, We were there for 35 years.

Rene Edwards: It's Smithfield. And then, his cousin, Bill Joe Edwards had the IGA. We got the IGA in Four Oaks. And we had the one in Princeton.

So, we had three at that time.

Jonathan Breeden: That's a lot of work.

Rene Edwards: We've had as many as seven, but as the brothers got it, we ended up with just the three, and then the two, and then, the one.

Jonathan Breeden: So, you worked in the grocery business, I guess, for the first 20 years of the marriage.

Rene Edwards: Absolutely.

Jonathan Breeden: And then, you decided maybe, I need to not work with my husband.

I've tried to work with my wife. Anybody that can work with the spouse, that is a special relationship. We get through it and we love each other, but it can be hard. It can be very hard.

Rene Edwards: Difference of opinions quite often, but we ended up going, I had just an idea. One of my friends had a travel agency.

And so, I went to the travel agent school, and I went there twice, and I learned to be a travel agent. You have to know all the city codes from the top of your head. And like Chicago, ORD. Why is it ORD? It used to be orchard. And so, that was why

Jonathan Breeden: I didn't know that.

Rene Edwards: Yeah, that's why Chicago is ORD rather than CHI. Just FYI. And so, I uh, got all that in. So, that was 32 years ago.

So

Jonathan Breeden: That's back in the 90s.

Rene Edwards: It was, it's probably earlier than that sometime, but It was just a good business to be in for a long time. And things have changed, but they're still there. We're still in Smithfield.

Barbara's still in that office every day that she can be. And it's a good business to be in.

And Chris Key was on this podcast a few weeks ago, go back and listen to what he has to say about investing and what services he provides. so yeah, So, y'all been there

and

a plan some pretty amazing trips for people over the years and me too. Yes.

Yeah. So let's talk about, why people should use a travel agent today? We have Kayak and we have Expedia and all of that, but why should people use travel agents now?

Well,

Rene Edwards: We have a storefront business. And if somebody has a problem or needs something, they can walk into our business and say, this happened to me. What can you do for me?

And if you're on the computer, there might be in Timbuktu, you just don't know where they are. We're always there, a phone call away. I don't think, you've hardly ever called me that I haven't answered the phone. And I'm always online. I'm always there. And I've had calls at 7:00 at night on a Sunday night saying, our flight is delayed. Can you help me? Yeah, I can, just give me a minute to pull up my computer.

That's Well, and the number of delayed flights and canceled flights continue to go up, as the airlines oversell flights.

Jonathan Breeden: And I mean, Now, they're going to get 50 or 60% less planes they ordered because of all the problems at Boeing this year. And that's going to make the flight situation even tighter, 'cause they're not gonna have the planes and they're overselling these planes.

Rene Edwards: They sure are. It's sad. And I can't always help, but I sure can point the way to help.

Sometimes, if you're standing in front of the agent after your flight has been canceled and I'm looking at my computer and said, tell them to put you on this flight because it has availability. They can do that whereas, if you're just looking at him and say, can you help me? And they say, well, I don't see anything. Your agent says, here's the flight. That's why you call us.

If you get to the airport, I've got you a flight held. I didn't care how much it costs. I just had it held for them. I said, we'll settle up later. You get on that flight and you come home. That's what we do.

Jonathan Breeden: That's great. And well, the other thing is that, I think, you've been able to help me is, between you and Barbara King, I don't know who's a place in this world y'all have not actually been.

well, I know for Barbara, that's for sure. I'm a little more limited because I had children and I just didn't travel as much as that. But the traveling Barbara's done, she's literally been all over the world.

you know, If you don't absolutely know where you want to go, or you have some ideas, both of y'all have been invaluable to me.

It's just as, like, well, have you considered this or that? Like, we had a great time here. And I was like, I've never really heard of that place, but yeah. I mean, you know, like I wouldn't have thought about it. I mean, That's another thing that travel agents can do is, they can offer suggestions.

Rene Edwards: Whether you take them up from us or not, that's another question, but it is still the thing to do.

He suggested, Hey, why don't we go on a cruise? Rene can help us find a cruise. And I wasn't sure about it, but I think, you talked me into it. And talked to me about how much fun it would be for the kids, and the kids clubs, and the swimming pools, and the water slides. I didn't know any of these about cruises.

I'd never been on a cruise. I'd never looked at going on a cruise. But I mean, you talked me into it, and now, I'm four cruises in, and get ready to go on a 5th one. And I think, it's the best way to vacation now.

Rene Edwards: You've got everything in one spot. You've got your hotel that is traveling with you. Don't have to unpack your hotel, take shoes to the different places.

And once you're there, you can get off and you can see the world. And that's what cruising is about.

Well, There's unbelievable food, and shows,

and,

Unbelievable, just unbelievable that the acrobatics. and I mean,

Jonathan Breeden: The shows were as good, as you would see as a traveling Broadway show coming to Deepak. I know, a lot of people go to Deepak, see those shows. It was that level of quality on a ship in the middle of the ocean.

Rene Edwards: Did you have the roller skating or was ice skating?

or

Jonathan Breeden: I saw that ice skating. Yes. I saw the ice skating show.

Ice skating rink on the ship on Royal Caribbean.

Rene Edwards: Yeah, that's just amazing.

Jonathan Breeden: It was amazing. A water show, with divers.

Rene Edwards: And I mean, you went with the family. If you're not wanting the children so much around, there are other cruises you can go on that don't involve a lot of children that are mainly adults and adult or entertainment, right? you know, casinos, which every most ships do. Disney ship does not, but it's still. But adults can adult and children can children. And that's what you want to happen.

Well,

And it would often be, we would just tell the kids to check back in. They didn't want to go do what we were doing. They were off doing their own thing and they make friends. Oh, It was so much fun. And we've gotten to go, all through the Caribbean,

Rene Edwards: and,

Jonathan Breeden: and that's been fun, and met a lot of people, and that part of the world, and taking some nice excursions, and learned a ton.

And yeah, so I'm sold on cruising now. I think, we'll do that probably, forever. But now, some of the cruise lines, I don't think, Virgin Atlantic allows children.

Rene Edwards: No, don't, they don't, that's an adult cruise. And if you went on Holland America, or even Princess, you will find 90% of the people on there are going to be adults, very few children, but it's still fun.

Jonathan Breeden: You know,

Rene Edwards: It's just fun. And what you see, you see.

And I've been up around Boston, up into Canada, that was a great cruise. And I got to see things that I'd never seen before. Going up, we went to Nova Scotia, and up into Toronto. And it's amazing.

Rene Edwards: Yeah, it is. But it's down one of those rivers into one of those lakes that makes you just keeps you going.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh man. I love Toronto. I've been there a couple of times. So, what else? I mean, right. So, you can help people with their flight get canceled. Maybe you can suggest itineraries. What else do y'all do for people?

Rene Edwards: We do tours. We just do airline tickets if you just need an airline ticket, but we can take you anywhere. One of the latest places I went was Iceland. We take a group every year to Iceland. this is, was our third year, and I went all three years, and I would go this next year if I could.

Iceland is one of my favorite places to be. Saw the Northern Lights. So, we were there when the volcano went out. And midnight, we walked through Reykjavik and went down to the pond and looked out and you could see the actual volcano, going off in the distance. And it's snow and ice.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh man, that's great. Well, And now, RDU has a direct flight to Iceland. It started last year and that's very popular.

Rene Edwards: Oh, it's great. And it's a good stopping point part to anything.

You can fly to Iceland, and then jump off and go to England, or anywhere in Europe. They just have easy flights and they let you stop over in Reykjavik, or stop over in great an Iceland, and then go to Europe. So, And it's not any more expensive to do that than to just fly direct.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, cool. I didn't know that.

So yeah, Well, you can also take a tour from Iceland. I know, they run tours out of London. That's a pretty good ride. It's a couple of weeks, but they go from and ends up doing Northern Ireland. I looked at this, and you and I looked at that. We would do Northern Ireland. It would do Scotland, Iceland. you know, It's sad, not to do that trip, but I know, some people that are doing it. And I know that's a great cruise and people enjoy it.

Rene Edwards: I've not seen it in the summer. I really want to go when it's so green and lush because Greenland is ice, and Iceland is green in the summer.

So, I want to go to Iceland and really partake of the outdoors. I love outdoors. And I love to go hiking. I'd like to be able to see the green and lush, and everything. It's just different.

Jonathan Breeden: Can you help people with Disney? I know, people love Disney. I mean, There's all kinds of Disney travel agents out there.

Can you help people with Disney? Cause people love Disney. I love Disney. So, what can you help people with Disney?

Rene Edwards: I can find your hotels and get your tickets, and help you line up what you're going to do each day because now, they have it that you have to choose your park every day.

Jonathan Breeden: Correct.

It's something I do, if you need train to go down or whatever you need, I can make it happen.

Jonathan Breeden: So, you know about Disney. yeah, And Disney's always changing. And they're changing the rules. And of course, they keep upping the prices.

Rene Edwards: Yes, they do. I think, they're upping the prices to lower the attendance.

Jonathan Breeden: Could be.

Rene Edwards: And then, that's my take on it.

Jonathan Breeden: Well, I tell you what, it's about the only part of Disney that's making money. You know,

Rene Edwards: I,

Jonathan Breeden: I mean, I keep seeing on the news that they're losing money on ESPN, and they've had a couple of big budget movies bust on them, and, but their parks are making money.

Rene Edwards: Their parks. If they're not, then they're doing something wrong.

Jonathan Breeden: I think, their cruise line is making money.

Rene Edwards: Barbara's been on the Disney Cruise. She took her husband's grandchildren and they had a great time. They really did.

Jonathan Breeden: I've had several friends do Disney Cruises and they talk about how fun it is. And I actually have an aunt who is a travel agent and lives in Orlando and works at Disney part time.

Loves it. Loves everything about it. The whole Disney thing. And I think, she's probably forgotten more about Disney than most of the people that work there even know. So anyway, but I do a lot of time. I think, I like about Disney. And I've been to Disneyland, and then I went to Disney World. I did all of that is, it's all about customer service.

That's what I try to do here at Breeden Law Office. I try to provide a high level customer service. I want people to return. I want to feel like they got a good value for the money they're spending. Disney's is crazy expensive. And so, I spend time listening to Disney podcasts, like former Disney executives.

Rene Edwards: For any business.

Jonathan Breeden: Right. And in Disney, they have one for everything, from the parades, to the shops. And they're constantly trying to make it better, but if you have a suggestion, how to make it better, they may change the standard operating procedure for that thing, so that keeps Disney current and always trying, because I think, he said on one of the podcast that 80% of the people who go to Disney had been there before.

or something.

Rene Edwards: I wouldn't be surprised. I will tell you, with Disney, you do not go tomorrow. You plan up to 6 months ahead to go, because that way, you can get everything you want. You can get the shows you want, you can get the rides you want, you can get everything you want because you have to plan this ahead.

Disney is not a go buy a ticket at the door and go in and ride all the rides. You'll be in line for one ride, sometimes for 2 or 3 hours.

Jonathan Breeden: That is true.

Right. Well, If Disney doesn't ever release its attendance numbers, but do you have a general idea of when it is less crowded?

Every time I've ever been when school was in here, is the best time to go. Never during a holiday. Between two holidays. Actually, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the 2 weeks in between there is the probably the slowest time to go.

Jonathan Breeden: I did go the week after Thanksgiving and it was not terrible.

Epcot was absolutely bonkers, but the other ones were more reasonable. The lines were more reasonable. And I did not feel crowded. And so, I think that was probably a good decision to go the week after Thanksgiving, but I was just curious. Cause they never, They will not release her Disney's numbers, but I'm just wondering why? There's gotta be a better time.

Like I wouldn't want to go in the middle of the summer cause it's too hot, and it rains every day. I'm just always curious. So maybe, when school's in, not a holiday, good time to go.

Rene Edwards: If it were me, that's what I would choose.

I went to Universal while I was there. That was a lot of fun. Where else? You said Iceland people want to think about. Where else is somebody that you think people would enjoy going that they might not be thinking about off the top of their head?

Well, If they wanted to go into the Caribbean, I would say somewhere like Barbados or St. Lucia or Antigua. you know, You hear of the Bahamas and Jamaica, but these are out islands in there. They've got a lot to offer. There's a different kind of vibe on each of those islands. And I mean, it's an island. And it's lots of trees, and lots of animals, and lots of food, and lots of water, and lots of water sports that you can do.

Rene Edwards: I do like those 3 islands. And I like Aruba, but Aruba is different. Aruba is a desert island. You're not going to see the tropical lush foliage in Aruba that you do on those other islands, but it's a nice sands at Dutch Island. And I feel safe there and I enjoy going.

I love Costa Rica. Costa Rica is probably one of my second favorite places to go.

But not, it went horrible, but I just wondered what was going on, that kind of thing.

Europe, I'm not as well traveled in Europe. I've been to England, I've been to Paris and I enjoyed Paris. Had a great time. Did a Viking River Cruise down to Normandy, and that was great fun.

Jonathan Breeden: My parents did that cruise and really enjoyed it.

Rene Edwards: And I've been to Germany and Austria, and have enjoyed those. I love Germany. Germany's one of the best places to go. And if I were to send my daughter on her honeymoon, I would send her probably somewhere like Germany. If she wanted to go to Europe, I'd rather her go there than a lot of places.

Jonathan Breeden: Okay. Well, That's cool. I've been fortunate that I've been to most of the places you just mentioned. And I enjoyed my time in Aruba, and,

Went to the Aloe Factory with aloe and aloe trees. That was fascinating. I got to go on a submarine. That's a unique thing. Aruba's safe, walked around at night. I felt completely safe there, just like you said. Really enjoyed Aruba. I've been to Germany. I would agree. Not as touristy as Paris or London. A lot of nice people, a lot of good food, a lot of good things to see with Munich.

you know,

Rene Edwards: Just all around. It's beautiful.

Jonathan Breeden: Yeah. And then, you got the Black Forest up around St. Goar. And the mountains in the forest where they make the cuckoo clocks. And there's a lot of places.

but like, you know, like I really, But it started to make a lot more sense when you realize that it's just really small, and it's all different languages and all different cultures.

And it would be like, if you went to South Carolina, and they had a different government, and a different language, and different foods, and you're in North Carolina and somehow you have to figure out a way to trade. And that's basically what it was, until they created the EU, and that's a whole another thing.

Rene Edwards: It's still, it's easy to get around. It is. You can get a train, you can get a URL pass, and you can go everywhere in Europe you want to.

You know,

Jonathan Breeden: And not spend more than 4 or 5 hours in any one trip going anywhere. You can get one into the other. It's awesome.

And I love Europe. And hopefully

we're getting back there before too long.

Jonathan Breeden: Tell me a little bit about, you lived in Johnston County a long time. I know, you recently moved to the Coast in retirement. What were some of your favorite restaurants in Johnston County?

Rene Edwards: Of all the places, and I had to think on this one, just to recall the name, is the Robbins Nest over going toward Pine Level from Smithfield. And I've, it's been a long time since I ate there, and I took my daughter there, recently. And she said, I cannot wait to bring my fiancé. It's so unique and so friendly.

It's so Johnston County. Right. And it's because they greet you, they're so glad to see you, they sit you down. If you go away from there hungry, then, it's your fault. And the restaurants have changed so much since I've been here. Right. I mean, since I've gone, even in the last 4 or 5 years.

I'm not sure of a lot of the restaurants around.

Jonathan Breeden: Robbins Nest is still there. It's,

It's good. We had a guest tell us about the fries at the Selma Mini Mart. right. Yeah. They have these hibachi fries

Rene Edwards: at the,

So, what were some of your favorite things to do like in Johnson County?

Rene Edwards: In Johnson County. I had my 3 children. So, we were really involved in school activities. My daughter was in dance. My son played baseball. I had another son that wrestled. I mean, It was just, I was really involved in the school and whatever my children wanted to do.

And I love walking and hiking and being outdoors. We had horses for a while, and I enjoyed that. There's so much going on with everyone. I mean, You can walk out your door and find something new to do. It's small enough, working toward the east. It's small enough that you don't have the deluge of the people.

But even here in Garner and in Clayton, and going on. Everybody just seems to know everybody. And you get ideas to do things. I know, that's not exactly what you want to hear. I mean, But it's I was busy, and if I could get out and do things, I did.

Jonathan Breeden: Did you ever go to Clemson State Forest?

But as I said, my husband,

my husband, my dad was a Boy Scout Executive. My husband was an Eagle Scout. So, we enjoyed going out to the Boy Scout camp at Tuscarora, which is probably not in Johnson County, but it involved all the Boy Scouts in Princeton and Clayton and all, and that was good, just to get involved with the young people, and I really enjoyed it.

Jonathan Breeden: That's awesome.

Well, The last question we always ask everybody on this podcast, you lived here a

Rene Edwards: long,

Jonathan Breeden: long time. What did you love most about Johnston County?

Rene Edwards: I tell you, I loved mostly is that everybody. And I don't care who you were. From the grocery store, if you'd come in, it was the most friendly people you've ever come across.

Jonathan Breeden: It was awesome. So, people want to get up with you and a Travel Odyssey, Barbara King, or you, how would they do that? I

Jonathan Breeden: Okay. And what's y'all's website?

Rene Edwards: A Travel Odyssey. If you just Google A Travel Odyssey spelled O D Y S S E Y and be sure to put A Travel Odyssey, and it will pull us up.

Jonathan Breeden: Oh, that's awesome.

Rene Edwards: And you leave us messages.

Jonathan Breeden: Right there on 3rd Street in Smithfield Downtown. It's great. They've sent me on some of the best vacations of my life.

I would highly recommend Rene and Barbara for everything they do. Like to thank Rene Edwards for coming in today, to being a guest on The Best of Johnson County podcast.

The Best of Johnson County podcast comes out every Monday. And be sure to come back every Monday and listen, as well as snippets come out every day, off of the podcast across our social media channels. If you would also do me the favor, I'm going down and leaving me a 5 star review at the bottom where you're seeing this podcast.

So, there's lots of good information in this podcast every week. There's lots of good information on the previous episodes. There's gonna be more great guests coming in the future. So, keep checking back, and listening to The Best of Johnson County podcast.

Until next time, I'm your host, Jonathan Breeden.

That's the end of today's episode of Best of Johnston County, a show brought to you by the trusted team at Breeden Law Office. We thank you for joining us today and we look forward to sharing more interesting facets of this community next week. Every story, every viewpoint adds another thread to the rich tapestry of Johnston County.