Welcome to As Her World Turns! My name is Erica and I love to travel. When not circumnavigating the globe, I live in Los Angeles and work on a soap opera, The Young and the Restless. I take lots of travel photos and look forward to sharing them here. For a wider range of my photography work, check out my portfolio at EricaMeyerPhoto. You can contact me at AsHerWorldTurns@gmail.com. Read on to find out more about the girl behind the camera…
My life: The Cliffs Notes Version
Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped turned upside down…
Okay, not really, but I always wanted to start a story like that.
I was born and raised in Wallingford, Connecticut, home to the illustrious prep school Choate Rosemary Hall and several historical silverware factories. We like to say that it’s between Boston and New York (about two hours in either direction). Wallingford is chock-full of quintessential New England charm and provides lovely photo-ops, particularly in the fall and at Christmastime.
My hometown of Wallingford, Connecticut
Intersection of Center and Main in Wallingford, CT
I am the luckiest gal in the world because I get to call these people Mom, Dad, and Sis. My parents run a wire manufacturing business, my mom is a therapist, and my sister Bethany is an Art Department coordinator extraordinaire for various television shows.
Mom, Beth, Dad, and Erica on the beach in Ft. Myers, Florida
I attended Emerson College in Boston and majored in Visual & Media Arts with a concentration in TV/Film. Ever since age 13 I knew I wanted to work in soap operas, so I tailored my education and extracurriculars around soaps. I co-hosted a soap opera talk show called Daytime Dish, then created an original soap called The E.C. (we thought it was clever at the time… what’s up, 2004?). By far my favorite semester of college was spent studying abroad in The Netherlands where I lived in a twelfth century castle and visited fourteen countries in four months. I promise we did a little studying.
Emerson College's Kasteel Well in the Netherlands
I spent the summer of 2005 working at a Girl Scout camp in the mountains above Park City, Utah. I split my day between lifeguarding at the waterfront (a pristine mountain lake we shared with a family of moose) and teaching photography, ceramics, and arts & crafts. It was a complete blast. My favorite moment was facilitating a Broadway-themed evening of games, crafts, and music; I was in my glory.
Camp Cloud Rim
In the fall of 2005 I moved to Los Angeles to finish up my final semester of college and intern at my long-time favorite soap opera, Days of our Lives. I stayed in LA after graduation and was soon hired at The Young and the Restless. After spending a few months as the receptionist and then a producer’s assistant, I became a production associate, a job I’ve held for the past six years. While ‘production associate’ sounds like a very nebulous title, it is actually a script supervisor for multicam television — meaning we sit next to the director and make sure the actors say the correct lines, plus track continuity – but we’re not called script supervisors because of union rules. That is a long way of explaining it, but it’s an awesome job and very well-suited for my skill set (read: slight OCD tendencies and excellent ability to multitask).
On location with Young & Restless
In the control room at Young & Restless
Random: in 2005, I had the first and only surgical procedure of my life thus far to remove bunions on my right and left feet. Fun times. Now my lowest appendages have metal screws holding them together.
My right foot
But it all worked out, and in 2007 I ran three full marathons: the Pacific Shoreline Marathon, the Los Angeles Marathon, and the San Diego Rock ‘n Roll Marathon. My best time was 5 hours and seven minutes. I trained with the LA Leggers running at dawn along the beach in Santa Monica. It’s the most disciplined thing I have ever done in my life.
With my running buddy Molly after finishing the San Diego Rock 'n Roll Marathon
Now let’s get to the important stuff: traveling! My first big trip was to Peru in 2009 to visit Lake Titicaca, Machu Picchu, and the Amazon rainforest.
At Machu Picchu after hiking the Inca Trail
Six months later I returned to South America to sail around the Galapagos and swim with sea lions, followed by a few days on mainland Ecuador to straddle the equator and take an arduous hike up and bike down the side of a volcano glacier.
Visiting with turtles at the Charles Darwin Research Institute in the Galapagos Islands
About to bike down Cotopaxi Volcano in Ecuador
In 2010 I visited a destination that had been on my bucket list for years: Southeast Asia. Over five weeks I island-hopped the pristine beaches of Thailand, floated down the Mekong River in Laos, dodged a gazillion motorcycles in the crowded streets of Vietnam, and explored the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. It was the trip of a lifetime and I returned home hungry to visit more parts of the world.
Koh Phi Phi Island in Thailand (touristy but hard to resist the enchanting water)
The Mekong River in Laos
Overlooking Halong Bay, Vietnam
Sunrise at Angkor Wat in Cambodia
The Canadian Rockies have always held tremendous allure for me, and in 2011 I made that trip a reality by visiting Banff, Jasper, and Calgary. The icy blue glacier-fed lakes and towering mountains met and exceeded the region’s reputation for exquisite beauty.
Lake Peyto in Banff National Park
Angel Glacier in Jasper National Park, Canada
In 2012 I visited Hawaii for the first time. We spent two weeks circling the Big Island and Maui, and without a doubt it was the most relaxing trip I’ve ever taken. From nighttime volcano hikes to bold sunsets to fresh fruit, it was a photographer’s paradise.
Exploring the island of Lanai, Hawaii with Sweetheart Rock in the background
Over the years I have traveled extensively throughout the United States as well. Aside from visiting my parents in Connecticut and Cape Cod, I frequently visit New York to indulge my other favorite past time: going to the theater. Musicals, plays, cabaret shows, performance art — you name it, I want to see it. I also spend Thanksgivings with my uncle in Denver and make it to Florida around once a year to visit grandparents. My best friend from college has lived in Wisconsin and Minnesota, so I’ve been fortunate to spend time there as well. Add in a few more trips to places like Washington DC and Chicago, and that rounds out my recent travel within our own country.
On the Brooklyn Bridge in 2011
Running the 2011 Denver Turkey Trot for the sixth year in a row with my sister and Uncle David
At Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota with my good friend Laura
Posing with newspapers of the day at the Newseum in Washington, DC
At the Bean in Chicago with my good friend Emily
I also take pride in exploring our great state of California. Whether it be camping on Catalina, climbing Mt. Whitney, or touring Hearst Castle, I enjoy the diversity and beauty of California’s landscape. Activities like parasailing and zip-lining and camping and kayaking intrigue me the most.
Camping on Catalina Island in 2011
Hot air balloon ride in Temecula, CA in 2010
Reaching the summit of Mt. Whitney in 2012
And… I won a Daytime Emmy in 2011. (There’s no way to casually say that.) Crazy, right?! I still can’t believe it happened. We won for Outstanding Directing in a Daytime Drama and all members of the Young & Restless directing team (including the directors, associate directors, stage managers, and production associates – that’s me!) went on-stage to receive the award on national television. Here’s the video. I even got an Emmy statue of my own! It is a tremendous source of professional pride and I treasure the memories of celebrating our achievement with my co-workers.
Me with two of our directors, Dean Lamont and Mike Denney
With co-workers at the 2007 Daytime Emmy Awards after Young & Restless won for Outstanding Daytime Drama