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 Napali 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 of... Read More

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate  Poipu is the favored spot by visitors to the Island because it guarantees full blown sunny beach days. In 1978 Poipu 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 the shore,... Read More

A Cruise I Couldn’t Refuse By Linda Ballou NABBW’s Adventure Travel Expert Doing nothing is perfectly acceptable on the 150-foot Safari Explorer luxury motor yacht. You don’t have to jump up for whale sightings or watch bottlenose dolphin ride the bow wave. You can sit on the upper sundeck wrapped in Sky Father’s blue dome cooled by the sea breeze and enjoy your favorite book. Peering into the cobalt blue depths at the amazing adaptations of creatures living in the coral reefs is not mandatory. You certainly don’t have to partake in all the wonderful gastronomic delights placed... Read More