My name is Dave Boehl and I founded GoLastMinute because I love to travel. When I was a kid growing up in Michigan I would read magazines about RV road trips, dreaming of someday being able to go someplace where the roads were long and twisty and the mountains high. You see, I was born in Nebraska, the Great Plains State. Growing up, my family would make frequent trips to and from Nebraska from Michigan. If you've ever driven across the Midwest, you know that the scenery can be quite beautiful, but definitely does not satisfy those eager to explore new and adventurous places.

So when I went to college, I decided that my first summer break would be spent in a mountainous State. I ordered a book that detailed how to get a job in national parks, and sent out over 20 requests for applications. I got about 10 job applications in the mail, and filled out every single one. I ended up with 2 great job offers: the first as a hotel reservations assistant in Yellowstone National Park, and the other as a housekeeper near Denali National Park in Alaska. I opted to go to Yellowstone because Alaska just sounded too far away at the time. My dad helped me pack and drove me out to Yellowstone that summer. It was the best summer of my life, filled with new friends, the beauty of Yellowstone Park, and the adventure of travel.

The next summer, I wanted to continue my travel adventures, and finally got up the nerve to go all the way to Alaska. I didn't have a car at the time, but thought that going to Alaska by road was the best way to see what was in between here and there. So I bought a bus pass from Greyhound Canada, and had my mom drop me off at the bus station in Windsor, Ontario, just across the border into Canada. The bus took me north to Toronto, and then west across the Great Plains of Canada. I ended up in Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territory in Northwestern Canada, just east of Alaska. The bus trip took about 2 and 1/2 days, but it was an exhilarating trip filled with good conversation and interesting sights. In Whitehorse I hopped on a private van line that took me across the border into Alaska, eventually dropping me off in Anchorage.

Alaska was simply amazing. Everything was bigger there, from the moose to the mosquitos. The days lasted forever. In Denali, I was exposed for the first time to backcountry backpacking, and was instantly hooked. I loved the feeling of being out in the wilderness, relying on my wits to navigate the terrain and subsist. On one backcountry trip I witnessed a Grizzly and two cubs meandering across a valley. Alaska was a priceless experience.

After my two summer adventures, I wanted to explore city life. I decided to travel to Italy and live in Florence for a semester abroad, during my junior year in college at the University of Michigan. The U of M ran a joint study abroad program with Duke, in which we got to live in a real Italian villa and study art, language, and culture. Europe was quite a culture shock, but I soaked it all up and made some Italian friends, even learning to converse in Italian to get around.

Between my junior and senior year of college, I worked all summer at a small cafe in Ann Arbor, saving most of the money for a trip to the east coast. I was a studio art major, and had experienced a lot of art in Italy. That inspired me to make a trip to the east to explore all of the fantastic art museums in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., New York City, and Boston. It was another great trip, and I ended up doing another Greyhound bus pass for transportation. The $400 pass was way cheaper than buying a car and paying for gas for the whole 2,000 mile trip. Of that trip, New York stood out the most. It was such a vibrant city. So different than what I had experienced to date. I happened to walk by the World Trade Center towers, which were still standing at the time. On a whim I paid the $10 to go up the elevator to the top. It was a fantastic view of the city, and something I'm glad I did before the towers' fateful demise in September of 2001.

After graduating from Michigan, I decided to go back to Europe, but this time to London, England. I had always been curious about British culture, and I discovered that I could get a 6 month working visa as a recent college grad. That trip was amazing. Not only did I learn a lot about English culture, I also experienced the diversity in the great city of London. I met wonderful people from America, Canada, Sweden, Australia, as well as British locals. I had so much fun in London that I decided to go to Ireland for another 4 months, on an extension of my work visa. I lived in Dublin, which was a special treat as my grandmother was Irish and I have always been curious about Irish culture. I found the Irish to be very hospitable and always eager to have a conversation with a stranger. I even hitchhiked in Ireland without a problem. During all of this time in Europe, I was saving money for a 6 week tour of the continent. I bought a rail pass and went to Holland, Spain, and Italy again. All told, I spent a full year in Europe.

Once back in the States, the reality of having to find a "real" job set in. I moved to Austin, Texas to join a good college friend, and ended up finding work in web design and development. It was a natural career for me, with a studio art degree and an interest in programming. I was very lucky to work for an entrepreneur that allowed me to spread my wings in web development and marketing. He even took me on a business trip to China, my first trip to Asia. That experience opened my eyes to international business and the promise of globalization. I found the Chinese to be very hardworking individuals, with an intrinsic talent for entrepreneurship. It seemed that every Chinese person was running their own business. That intrigued me.

After 2 years in Texas, I decided to move to cooler climes and more mountainous terrain. Seattle, Washington was my destination, and I've been there ever since. I love Seattle, with its long fall and spring, laid back west coast lifestyle, and broad career options. While in Seattle I got a job at Europe Express, a travel company that specialized in sending Americans to Europe on vacation. It was my time there that convinced me that my love of travel would be well served in the travel business.

To prepare for a career in entrepreneurship, I decided to get an MBA from the University of Washington. It was in the UW MBA program that I met my future wife, a Taiwanese girl that was also getting her MBA. Before we married, I took a trip to Taiwan to meet her family. I found Taiwan to be much like China, but with a more advanced economy. For comparison, in Shanghai the streets are crowded with bicycles, but in Taipei the streets are dominated by motor scooters. The Taiwanese are famous for their hospitality, and I had a wonderful time getting to know my future in-laws.

I recently took a business trip to Helsinki, Finland as well. I had never been that far north in Europe, but I found it a lot like northern Germany. I suppose the Finns would strongly object to that comparison, but there it is. The food was opulent and delicious, and my Finnish hosts spared no expense in showing me a good time.

I decided to start GoLastMinute because I have always loved to travel, and through my experience and expertise I can share that passion with customers around the world. This web site is more than an occupation, it is an obsession!

Safe and happy travels!

-Dave ()

P.S. This is a pic of a recent trip to Waikiki Beach in O'ahu, Hawaii. I talked my newly wedded wife into a Hawaii honeymoon. :)