Cast of Characters

Just who are these mysterious folks who frequently appear in my blog posts? Below, learn a little bit more about the various travel companions and fellow adventurers of “It’s Five O’Clock Here.”

 

Mr. Five O’Clock plays an invaluable role for the blog: super taster, willing photographer (not an Instagram husband), and secret mixologist-in-training. He knows his malbecs from his merlots and his bourbons from his brandies. A San Diego native, Mr. Five O’Clock is infinitely better suited to living in cold climates (read: Chicago) compared to his wife, but especially enjoys trips to tropical locales. In a former life, he designed viruses to treat brain cancer and fenced competitively.

Currently Drinking: A Gold Rush or an Old Fashioned
Bar Where You’ll Currently Find Him: Death & Company in New York City
Favorite Travel Experience (So Far): Exploring pyramids in Egypt
Next on the List: Israel and Iceland

 

 

Rachel is our spirit guide for Philadelphia and Seattle nightlife. She’s just as at home in the mountains of Montana as she is in the mountains of medical textbooks dispersed around her apartment. Born in San Diego but continuously on the hunt for her next hiking adventure, she’ll be the first person you’re drawn to at a party. She jams to blues in Chicago’s Kingston Mines and the indie rock scene in the Pacific Northwest. In a former life, she worked in technology consulting.

 

 

Currently Drinking: The Prisoner by Orin Swift Cellars; anything with gin and egg whites
Bar Where You’ll Currently Find Her: Canon in Seattle or Pub & Kitchen in Philadelphia
Favorite Travel Experience (So Far): “Either Israel or Thailand. Israel because it combines unbelievable historical sites with such vast and beautiful landscapes. You have everything at your fingertips from beachy coastlines to vast deserts to lush forests and mountains.  Thailand because it was the first place I ever backpacked by myself.”
Next on the List: Zion National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Patagonia

 

Sir Campsalot, formerly known as “Nickdude,” is integral to our years of learning about wine and beer. As a biochemistry major and wine & viticulture minor in college, Sir Campsalot was our excuse to visit Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo, California, on a regular basis. His coolness factor is reflected in both his ability to procure rare Saxum wines, as well as his fearlessness while caving and backpacking throughout the United States. He lived and worked at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences in 2011, and once saved Julianne from her nemesis, the octopus, on a dark and stormy night in Bermuda.

Currently Drinking: Beer from my local brew pub in Berkeley, CA
Bar Where You’ll Currently Find Him: Jupiter or Triple Rock in Berkeley
Favorite Travel Experience (So Far): Three months in the Olympic Peninsula, WA
Next on the List: Boulder, CO

 

Originally hailing from Maryland, Catwoman has been Julianne’s friend since the first week of college, when she answered the infamous “three questions” correctly. Since then, the two have shared adventures in places ranging from Chicago to New England. Catwoman manages a research lab that focuses on Parkinson’s disease, but her secret power is her ability to connect with any animal she meets (a real-life Snow White, eh?). A bonafide world traveler who’s studied biology and epidemiology in Indonesia and Costa Rica, she still takes the time to enjoy a relaxing yoga or cooking class in her current city, Los Angeles.

Currently Drinking: Ramos Gin Fizz
Bar Where You’ll Currently Find Her: The Edison in Los Angeles
Favorite Travel Experience (So Far): A public health internship with the Pan American Health Organization in Brazil
Next on the List: Australia

 

Miss Scarlet is originally from Virginia, but now resides in Brooklyn. Miss Scarlet became one of Julianne’s first friends after moving to New York. The reason for this was simple: the two have an absurd number of things in common, from being allergic to pineapples to a background in musical theater. They were born a day apart, but still call themselves “birthday twins” for the hell of it. In her real life, Miss Scarlet saves the world by advocating for policies that bring additional funding to the world of after-school programs. She can also be found traveling to Albany too much, attending a yoga class, or with a glass of a full-bodied syrah in her hand.

Currently Drinking: St. Germain cocktail
Bar Where You’ll Currently Find Her: Wolf & Deer in Brooklyn
Favorite Travel Experience (So Far): Venice, Italy
Next on the List: Australia

 

 

Agent M met Julianne in a Mayan seminar during their freshman year of college. The seminar was canceled after two classes, but the two have been friends ever since. A lifelong Californian, she truly belongs in Los Angeles currently resides in San Diego. Agent M is super smart (not just anyone can get a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences) and super athletic. She enjoys “How I Met Your Mother,” tea, running, reading, and being stuck in hours of traffic on the way home from U2 concerts (not!).

Currently Drinking: Any IPA beer
Bar Where You’ll Currently Find Her: Salt and Cleaver in San Diego
Favorite Travel Experience (So Far): “The Netherlands. People dressed so colorfully, the canals were picturesque, everything was super green, lots of Rembrant paintings, and there were fields of cows everywhere.”
Next on the List: Poland and Scotland

 

Red Rose was born and raised in Los Angeles, but currently calls Philadelphia home. She and Julianne met in college, where Red Rose spent many a night surreptitiously sleeping under her hoodie during Julianne’s soliloquies about the struggles of dating studying with Julianne. Red Rose is a social butterfly whose charisma and charm wins her many hearts, far and wide. She loves podcasts, the Moth Radio Hour, yoga, volleyball, and screaming her guts out in Eastern State Penitentiary’s haunted house during Halloween.

Currently Drinking: The Derek! (A shot of wheatgrass, St. Germain, gin, lemon, and Luxardo maraschino, created by Derek at Charlie Was A Sinner)
Bar Where You’ll Currently Find Her: Charlie Was A Sinner in Philadelphia
Favorite Travel Experience (So Far): Denver, Colorado in the winter
Next on the List: Portland, OR

 

Bourbon Broad was born in Michigan, but moved to New York City in 2007 and never looked back. In her day job, she’s a fearless researcher and education advocate; in her free time, you’ll catch her at an early morning spin class or following American politics. In her infinite wisdom, Bourbon Broad can tell you why Joe Biden is awesome, what “Hamilton” the musical is actually like, and why “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is on par with “The Wire” as some of the greatest television of all time.

Currently Drinking: Whiskey soda
Bar Where You’ll Currently Find Her: Lavender Lake in Brooklyn
Favorite Travel Experience (So Far): Jumping down the Damajaqua Cascades in Puerto Plata
Next on the List: Biking in Amsterdam

 

Purple Ivy was born in Missouri and studied journalism at Northwestern before going into high level policy work in New York City. She’ll easily beat you in a dance off, can kick your ass at yoga, and has a hilarious story about that time she met Keegan Michael Key. You’re as likely to find her hiking in the Catskills as you are sipping a glass of Sangria in Spain. Purple Ivy is never afraid to try something new, which makes her a perfect addition to our taste testing parties!

Currently Drinking: Malbec
Bar Where You’ll Currently Find Her: Hot Bird (or anywhere in Brooklyn with ample outdoor seating in the summer)
Favorite Travel Experience (So Far): Ziplining in Ecuador
Next on the List: North Carolina

 

 

 

Miss Alphabet was born and bred in New Hampshire, but currently calls New York City home. She’s the kind of person who can make friends with anyone and help folks to keep calm and carry on. In her day job, she works in the fashion industry, but you’ll often find her running, biking, or snowboarding in her spare time. (She’s also a great zombie in the annual NYC Halloween parade!)

Currently Drinking: Saison beer, Lychee Martinis
Bar Where You’ll Currently Find Her: Halyards or Livingston Manor in Brooklyn
Favorite Travel Experience (So Far): Hiking the Volcan de Pacaya in Guatemala and roasting marshmallows over the mountain’s lava steam pots
Next on the List: Yosemite National Park