Samantha Brown says it was travel that changed her. The musical theater girl who was once too scared to try out for a sports team now regularly puts herself in culture shock on camera to shoot Travel Channel specials. Her job has entailed everything from jumping off a 30-foot cliff into Jamaican waters to dancing with the Pussycat Dolls.
| If you go |
| Travel & Adventure Expo |
| Where: Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place NW |
| When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday |
| Info: Tickets are $15 at the door for those over 16. Use promotional code “DCPR” at adventureexpo.com/washingtondc for a $6 discount. |
“Hey, people would pay at least 50 cents to see me gyrate,” she joked.
Brown will join Frommer Guidebooks creator Pauline Frommer, TV host Mireya Mayor and “Lost Girls” authors Jennifer Baggett, Holly Corbett and Amanda Pressner at the seventh annual D.C. Travel & Adventure Show this weekend at the Washington Convention Center.
Guests can explore all regions of the world through seminars, performances and food exhibits. Those looking to add some zing to their experience can take free scuba lessons (all equipment provided), ride a zip line above the crowd or try their luck at rock climbing. For the more tame there will be henna tattooing, face painting, palm reading and balloon sculpting. There are 140 exhibits in all.
Brown said she has been to the District several times and visits her in-laws several times a year in Annapolis.
She fell in love with the Washington area’s vibrant Ethiopian culture years ago while filming a series for the Travel Channel.
“Just being the capital city makes it in what I call the ‘greatest hits of the world,’ ” Brown said. “It is just so walkable.”
She knows what she is talking about — the last time she was here she went out for a walk that turned in to a seven-hour journey that landed her in the suburbs.
“It’s just so beautiful,” she said. “Walking and talking to people is the best way to discover a city.”
