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Tuesday - March 19, 2024
 

Do You Really Need Travel Insurance? Adventure Travel Writer Linda Ballou Shares Her Experiences and Advice

February 12th, 2024

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Writer Since Covid hit our shores, travel insurance has become more important than ever. While it is true flight delays have lessened, flights are still a huge variable when you travel. Travel delays, as well as trip interruptions and cancellations, are not just frustrating and inevitable, they can be life altering. Which means that choosing to have travel insurance could not only protect your budget should you have to rebook at the last possible minute due to flight cancellations, but can also be lifesaving, should you have a health emergency outside... Read More

Linda Ballou Recommends You Take a Walk on Kaua’i’s Wild Side

September 1st, 2023

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate When I lived on the North Shore in 1978, there was not one home on the shore of horseshoe-shaped Hanalei Bay. The notorious Taylor Camp treehouse colony, populated by hippies living off the land, was in full swing. The now famous Tahiti Nui featured in the film The Descendants was a hole in the wall. I could hike the Kalalau Trail, tracing the rugged Nāpali Coast up to the roaring Hanakapi’ai Falls, and take a dip in the pool below, without seeing another soul. I never made it to the site of the sacred Hawaiian village at the end... Read More

Linda Ballou Visits Po‘ipū and is Sunny Side UP on Kaua‘i

September 1st, 2023

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate  Po‘ipū is the favored spot by visitors to the Island because it guarantees full blown sunny beach days. In 1978 Po‘ipū Beach was a deep azure plunge where I floated in ecstasy. But in 1992 Hurricane Iniki carved out a new coastline. Today the crescent shaped white sand beach is still a favorite of sun worshippers, but the water is shallow with a bottom littered with coral rocks. It is popular with snorkelers and small children but is no longer the best swimming beach on the South Shore. Numerous resorts and condo complexes now line... Read More

Linda Ballou Shares Her Adventures on the Coconut Coast of Kaua’i

September 1st, 2023

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate As a young woman, I had dropped out of society and landed on the North Shore of Kaua‘i. It was a head-spinning transformative time in my life. There, I was introduced to people experimenting with alternate lifestyles and those leading highly creative lives. After a year of Island life, I was brimming with good health and ready to face the future. Now, 45 years on, I yearned to return to the nurturing clime to know how both the Island and I have changed. Kaua’i is lush with foliage, resplendent with waterfalls, and isolated by tumultuous... Read More

Linda Ballou Reports On Travel Trends for 2023: Leisure Travel is Back!

February 24th, 2023

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate I’ve just returned from the Adventure Travel Show, and am delighted to report that the travel industry is roaring back with a vengeance.  Airlines are ramping up flights, training and hiring pilots, and upgrading infrastructure to keep up with the demand. Twenty-five new ships for leisure travelers will set sail this year. But, with this frenzy to meet the pent-up demand for travel experiences comes higher prices and over-burdened service workers. How do we best navigate the age of disruption? Here are a few of my best tips. Buy... Read More

With Another Summer Upon Us, Linda Ballou Shares Stories of Rivers She Has Known and Loved

June 27th, 2022

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate As temperatures begin to soar, I dream of the rivers I have known and loved. Tension mounts as I hear the rumble of rapids roiling ahead. Sitting up straight, tucking a foot beneath the pontoon of the rubber raft, taking a secure position for the white water to come, I listen for commands. “Paddles ready!” calls the guide and then we are bouncing through rapids with cooling waves splashing overhead. Squeals of excitement fill the air as we paddle for all we are worth through the foaming rush. Next we settle back to a smooth glide down... Read More

Linda Ballou Shares Her Recent ‘Wander to the Edge’ Podcast Interview with NABBW

December 14th, 2020

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate It’s a wrap! 2020 is coming to a close. Adventure Travel Writer, Linda Ballou, shares highlights of her year in this interview with Adam Asher and Zanne Merkel on their podcast, Wander to the Edge.   Topics in our discussion included: Why I need to be on the travel edge. What it takes to write a travel book. How to make travel writing work for you. Taking time to be in nature each day Forest Bathing and Hozho Seizing opportunities opening up in the travel world. Some of my favorite daytrips on the Coast of California My latest... Read More

Linda Ballou Shares How to Make Travel Writing Work for You AND Get Great Trips for Free

May 14th, 2020

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate When I am not adventuring on horseback through pristine country, hiking some of the world’s most gorgeous trails, or taking life-changing river trips, I am writing about them and my other adventures. Life for me was not always this way. A minor tragedy forced me to re-examine what I had been doing with my days and to make a new plan. I was full tilt into the horse world when a herniated disc dropped me to my knees for about six weeks. I gave up my mare and the sport I dearly loved. This forced me to think about what I wanted to do; to... Read More

Linda Ballou Shares Part One of Her Recent ‘Deep Dive Down Under’

February 19th, 2020

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate The ultimate Australian experience with Overseas Adventure Travel is a journey through a maze of micro-climates, multi-cultures and natural wonders. It begins in Melbourne and ends in Sydney; on the way taking in Alice Springs, Uluru, the Daintree forest (the oldest tropical forest on earth), and the threatened Great Barrier Reef. Melbourne is a vibrant city full of life proud of its rich heritage. A liberal sprinkling of tree-tunnels, gardens, and other green spaces throughout the city make it an exciting, yet soothing place to be on foot. Gleaming,... Read More

You Must Come And See – Yosemite

September 11th, 2019

By Linda Ballou NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate Skirt the crowds and beat the summer heat in Yosemite with a stay at Tenaya Lodge, an all-inclusive resort with hot and cold pools and a complete spa center. Located just outside the south entrance of Yosemite (1-hour drive from Yosemite Valley) it makes a perfect home base for explorations in the famed 1,169 square mile National Park. John Muir waxed poetic about billowing clouds mushrooming into tender blue skies forming magnificent cloudscapes. He lovingly described lacy white curtains of water fanning over granite ramparts and the unending... Read More