When I first met actress Melissa Archer at a convention in 2016, she was gracious enough to grant me a short interview. After seeing her travel plans on her social media posts, I contacted her to share her new lifestyle on Talking Travel.

Born in Texas, Archer got her first big role at 17. A few years later, in 2001, she landed a role on television’s One Life to Live. Archer stayed with the show through its final episode in 2013. Since then she added several more roles to her résumé, including a few years on Days of Our Lives. She also formed a production company with friends and started Melissa Is a Dork, a YouTube series.

The interview started with Archer briefly discussing her career but quickly went into a major life change she made a couple years ago. After discovering and experimenting with van life, Archer dove fully into it. With help from her friend and father, Archer bought and renovated a big van to fit her life and travel needs. She detailed all aspects of her new way of life, including where she has been and where she plans on traveling.

So inspired by her new dedication to travel, Archer started her Better to Wander Than to Wonder line. As she explained, she feels it is better to travel and explore than to wonder what you could have seen. It’s a philosophy for life and travel.

You can follow Archer’s journeys on her social media pages. On them, you will also get beautiful pictures of her travels, along with positive messages. Archer’s posts are inspiring and uplifting.

Talking Travel is an interview series on Global Traveler. Subscribe to the GT YouTube channel to be notified of all future interviews and other travel-related videos.

— John Wroblewski, online writer