Shining a spotlight on celebrities and athletes who love to travel. Created and developed by Stacy Steponate Greenberg.
Today, we welcome Donald Driver.
From the Super Bowl to Dancing With The Stars, Donald Driver is all about championships. As charismatic as he is accomplished, Driver is a 2013 AMVET Humanitarian Champion and author of a 2013 NY Times Best Seller. Also on Monday November 17th, the 4th edition in the “Quickie” series called “Quickie Stands Up to a Bully” will be out. Oh, and did we forget to mention he is also the Green Bay Packers all-time leading receiver?
The Overhead Compartment with Donald Driver starts now….
The Overhead Compartment: When you were playing in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers, your travels took you all over. What is your favorite city to visit and why?
Donald Driver: When I was playing, my favorite city to visit was always my hometown, Houston. Many of my family members, including my mom and my brothers and sisters, live there so it was always like a mini-reunion. Now I live in Dallas full time so my favorite city to visit is Green Bay. I met so many amazing people during my 14 years there, it truly feels like a second home to me with the entire city of Green Bay being like my second family.
(Donald and his mom, Faye Gray)
OC: If you had time off, what would you do either during the day or at night in that city?
DD: In Houston I would spend as much time as I could with my family. We love reminiscing, telling stories about when we were kids, joking around and just having a good time together.
OC: What is the hardest thing about traveling with a group of football players every week?
DD: You always had to keep one eye open because there are always pranksters on every team that like to play jokes and mess with their teammates.
OC: You won the Super Bowl in Dallas. What did you pack for that trip special because it was the Super Bowl?
DD: An extra pair of headphones. There are so many distractions going on the week of the Super Bowl, but you need to make sure you can tune them all out and focus on the task at hand, which is obviously winning the game. I wanted to make sure that I had an extra pair of headphones so that if my first pair broke I would still be able to listen to music and tune out all the other distractions.
OC: Aside from the game, what do you remember most about that trip?
DD: The flight home. We were literally up in the clouds and on cloud nine.
OC: What is the one item all football fans need to pack if they are going on the road to see their team play?
DD: A good pair of running shoes. You might need to get out of the stadium quickly if your team pulls out a big win on the road!
OC: After winning Dancing With The Stars, did more people in airports/hotels want to talk to you about dancing or football?
DD: Right after I won it was Dancing with the Stars, for sure. Now it’s about 50/50. Five years ago I never thought someone would ask me to dance before they asked me for an autograph, but now it happens all the time!
(Donald and his partner, Peta Murgatroyd)
OC: As the father of three, what’s your secret to traveling with kids?
DD: Tell them that if they misbehave while we’re traveling then they won’t get to do whatever fun activity we’re traveling for. My wife and I are lucky though, our kids have always been great whenever we’ve traveled with them.
(Donald’s kids: Christina, Charity and Cristian)
OC: Every parent has some funny-you-know-you’re-a-parent story about traveling with their kids, what’s yours?
DD: We were on the plane getting ready to takeoff, the flight attendant had literally just got on the microphone and said, ‘All attendants, prepare for takeoff,’ and our kid had an accident. All you want to do is run to the bathroom and get them changed, but you know if you do that you could get kicked off the flight! So you just have to sit there, with your child crying like there’s no tomorrow, and apologize to the passengers around you. This has happened with a few of our kids when they were newborns, and at the time it wasn’t too funny but I can laugh about it now!
OC: Where are you just coming back from?
DD: Wisconsin. I have made the Dallas to Milwaukee flight so many times, I can do it in my sleep.
OC: First thing you do when arriving at a hotel in your room?
DD: Turn on the TV and look for a good movie to watch. I love movies and when I’m alone on the road it gives me a great chance to catch up on ones I haven’t had time to see.
OC: Biggest pet peeve about hotels?
DD: When the beds are too firm! Hard bed equals a bad night’s sleep for me. Give me a soft bed and I sleep like a baby!!
OC: Top three hotels any where in the world.
DD: I love the historic Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, they know exactly what I like and always take extra special care of me when I’m there, which ends up being close to 30 times each year. The other two are any Westin or Ritz Carlton. They have the perfect beds (nice and soft)!!
OC: Complete the following sentence: I never leave home without:
DD: A great book to read on the flight.
OC: Worst travel experience?
DD: I recently had a woman fall asleep on my shoulder. I actually tweeted the picture out and people loved it. In her defense, our flight was scheduled to leave very early in the morning and then got delayed, so it was a long travel day.
(Donald’s Twitter handle: @Donald_Driver80)
OC: Travel secret/habit about you that no one knew until now;
DD: I hate connecting flights. I would rather fly somewhere and then drive three or four hours instead of connecting.
Donald Driver, please use care upon departure as items may have shifted in The Overhead Compartment during our journey. Thanks for choosing us for your travel tips! Have a wonderful day!
