July’s theme on The Found Podcast is simple: Just have some fucking fun.

And this week’s episode? Pure magic—joyful, soulful, and soaked in sunshine and truth.

I’m so excited to introduce you to my friend Lea, founder of Sunny and Turquoise Travel (she’s actually an aunt to former guest Marissa Hoffman of The Midwest Girl!). Her story is one of grit and reinvention, of feminine wisdom and healing, and of the kind of friendship that changes you from the inside out.

Originally from small-town Iowa and now based in Golden, Colorado, Lea has lived many lives: restaurateur, chef, single mom, wife, grandmother, entrepreneur, healer. Now, she creates intentional travel experiences for women—and trust me when I say, they are transformational.

In this episode, she shares how travel became a sacred return to herself and how it can be that for you, too.

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From Breakdown to Breakthrough: A Healing Journey in Her 40s

After decades of hustling—raising a son on her own, launching and running a popular restaurant in downtown Dubuque, Iowa, and trying to hold it all together—Lea hit a breaking point. Perimenopause, divorce, a loss of identity… it all came to a head.

She described it as “feeling like I was walking through the world raw.”

Selling her restaurant was both a relief and a heartbreak. And what came next was a year-long healing sabbatical, full of personal work, deep reflection, and tiny baby steps back to herself. That season cracked her open and planted the seeds of Sunny and Turquoise.

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The Power of Gathering Women in Intentional Spaces

When women gather, something magical happens. And Lea is the kind of person who curates intentional experiences where you feel that magic instantly.

Her trips aren’t just vacations, they’re a return to yourself. A return to your body, your voice, your joy, your intuition. Whether it’s a long weekend in Colorado or an international escape to Croatia, each retreat is designed to nourish the parts of you that have gone quiet.

You don’t have to be “on.” You don’t have to prove anything. You just get to be.

And that alone? Is healing.

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Travel Isn’t a Luxury—It’s a Life-Giving Necessity

One of the most powerful ideas Lea shares in this episode is that travel isn’t something we need to earn. It’s something we need.

We’ve been sold this idea that women can only “treat themselves” after they’ve crossed everything off the to-do list. But Lea flips that. She reminds us that rest, adventure, and soul connection are vital, not indulgent.

The reality is: we show up better for everyone in our lives, our families, our clients, our communities, when we’ve reconnected with ourselves.

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It Takes a Few Days to Unwind—And That’s Okay

Lea speaks so tenderly about how long it can take us, especially as women, to actually relax.

So many of us arrive on retreat tightly wound, anxious about what we left behind, unsure if it’s “okay” to even be there. But somewhere around Day 3? The nervous system starts to settle. The breath deepens. The shoulders drop. And a softness returns.

You remember how it feels to be fully human. And fully held.

That’s not something you can get in a quick weekend away. It’s something Lea designs for, with intention and care.

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A Dream Worth Supporting

At the end of the episode, Lea shares her next big dream—a future retreat and healing space that brings together everything she’s learned, built, and envisioned over the last few years for free for a select group of women who need healing the most.

And friend, I know this dream is going to happen. It’s the kind of thing that women everywhere are craving.

Listen to this episode, share it with your people, and if you feel inspired? Reach out to Lea. Support her work. Donate to this cause. Or better yet—go on one of her retreats. You might just come home to yourself.

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Listen Now

This episode is your permission slip to dream again, rest again, and book the damn trip.

Listen now to Episode 212 of The Found Podcast with Molly Knuth and guest Lea Droessler now available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify