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Packing and Traveling Tips Every Instagram Traveler Influencer Should Know

Packing is important. Leaving something important behind could be very disappointing, and when you are an influencer, it could hurt you even more.  On the other hand, if you pack too much, you will end up being disorganized, burdening yourself with heavy bags and expensive airline baggage fees. Keeping in mind all the frustration that travelers have to go through, we have pulled together a list of some of the easiest and life-saving packing tips that every traveler should learn.

Do not fold your clothes

Many travel experts, including backpackers, believe that rolling their clothes is much better than folding. For example, tightly rolled women’s luxury clothing consumes much less space when compared to the folded clothes. Along with this, they are less prone to get wrinkles from the fold crease.

Create a packing list

When it comes to packing, lazy people fall short. For that reason, it is best to start the packing process a few days or sometimes weeks ahead of the date of your departure. This will give you enough time to create a complete list, and you can also buy additional items that you might need for your vacation. In addition, making a packing list is a life-saving way to make sure that you never forget to bring something that is of prime importance.

Pack your camera and drones carefully

When you are traveling, the camera and tech gadgets are your best buddy. You need to take care of them and pack them accordingly. The things you need to consider while packing your camera and other items include placement. So, you need to make sure that they are placed very securely and they are safe whenever you are traveling. The other aspect is accessibility. When you are traveling, you are on the move to click captivating photos. This is why the camera and the gadgets should be in your backpack where you can get them out in a second. Do not miss any of the amazing moments to click an image.

Use personal items wisely

The airlines permit each traveler to bring on a carry-on bag and a personal item onboard. This personal item is required to be of a specific size (varies airline to airline); however, something like a purse, laptop bag, or bag pack is usually acceptable. That said, instead of getting a tiny purse, you can carry a large tote bag that can be easily stashed under the seat belt, and at the same time, it will offer you extra storage space. You can keep all your things within arm’s reach that you need during the flight.

Pack dual-purpose garments

Another important thing you should keep in mind is to pack dual-purpose garments such as pants that can turn into shorts or a jacket that turns into a travel pillow. Such items are worth the weight in airline baggage fees, so make sure to buy travel clothes for women.

Layer

This is one of the most important tips that you can follow. Always wear layers and pack in layers as well. Your on-the-road wardrobe should have plenty of layers so that you can entertain different climates in comfort and style. Pack the items in such a way that they can be easy for screening. The faster the screening agent can scan your bag, the faster you will get through the security line.

Be Strategic

It’s not as straightforward as uploading cool photographs to have a good vacation on Instagram. In being able to pursue along, people should be able to find you. For visitors to locate your feed, you can add relevant hashtags and employ location tagging. If you include hashtags like #wearetravelgirls and #passionpassport, your photographs may be requested to be republished on prominent travel accounts for greater visibility. You may also create a network by showing appreciation to other travelers who share your interests and making an effort to communicate with those who currently follow you. It is good to buy initial followers or give a kickstart to your account; you can click here to buy Instagram followers. This will help you give your account a little boost in the beginning so it can grow organically.

It is extremely necessary to keep all your valuables and essentials items in your carry-on bag and not in the checked luggage. Especially when you are a traveling influencer with a growing Instagram account, you need to be extra careful. Things like your passport, money, identification, credit cards, electronics, jewelry, and other such valuables should always be brought along. There have been many cases where the airline loses the luggage, and so you don’t want to regret stowing your expensive items in the checked bag.

Well, if you want to become an influencer with a presence on Instagram, you need to consider these things whenever you plan your trip.

Fear Conquering & Writing A Will

My biggest concern was to have our affairs in order, in the event of my certain demise. It’s essential for me to be sure that the kids are not burdened when I go down in flames in a hang gliding / bungee jumping / snowboarding / street food eating episode… CONTINUE READING >>

Fear Conquering

If you are an avid reader of our blog, you are most probably aware that in the union of David and I, I am the less fearless. David has always been the adventurer – I am the homebody, the helicopter mom, the worrier.

Selling the nest and heading out into the big, wide world, for me, was stepping outside the box. WAY out of the box. There were scores of box-escaping baby steps I needed to undertake before I could become a bona fide GypsyNester.

My biggest concern was to have our affairs in order, in the event of my certain demise. It was essential for me to be certain that the kids are not burdened if I go down in a hang gliding / bungee jumping / snowboarding / street food eating blaze of glory.

The Spawn will have enough on their plates explaining to their friends how Mommy was gored by a long-horned steer in rodeo clown school. They don’t need estate probate problems to boot.

So David and I hauled our butts to an estate lawyer. It was probably the most inappropriate client meeting ever for this modest, very serious lawyer. J. Biffington Goodmannerlyness, Esq. has a somber job and he is very good at it. J. Biff’s gig is like the prequel to the funeral home director – weighty, uncomfortable subjects are handled in a most serious and solemn way.

Enter the GypsyNesters.

I’m not going to lie, talking about my death – and what happens afterward – is not my favorite topic. When David and I are uncomfortable with ANYTHING, humor is always our first line of defense. Right off the bat, we started in with the tasteless death, taxes and lawyer gags. Bless his heart, poor J. Biff never knew what hit him. To his credit, he held fast to a calm demeanor and strained smile.

J. Biff did his best to keep us fairly focused on the task at hand and in the end was successful. We discovered having J. Biff’s knowledge and experience in person garnered huge advantages over the do-it-yourself-type route. We could ask stupid questions, had a mediator for the inevitable “heavy discussions” and a sounding board for the intricacies of our family dynamic.

First up, assets

Prior to our meeting, we were unaware how blissfully vague a person can be when distributing one’s possessions. We were under the impression that each item had to be separately bequeathed to an heir. Not so.

By forming a Revocable Living Trust we were able to avoid almost all of the end of life legal hurdles. Almost any holding – securities, bank accounts, real estate and even personal items like vehicles or jewelry, may be included. As long as an asset is held in the trust, it is exempt from probate hassles.

When one of us kicks the bucket, the trust continues unchanged. If we croak at the same time, the trust is split three ways between The Spawn. We added a stipulation for The Boy’s remaining college tuition and a stipend for our oldest daughter, The Piglet, for her duties as trustee/executor.

The sixteen boxes we have in storage were are properly marked “For The Boy on his 21st birthday”, “Grandma’s china for Decibel”, etc. The few unmarked knickknacks, pieces of art and photo albums are left for them to fight over. What’s a good funeral without a scuffle or two? It’ll keep their minds off of our death (am I the most considerate mother, or what?).

Next, Uhhhhh… the dreaded Living Will

Having gone through the “pull the plug” process twice in my family, once with a Living Will and once without – I am a HUGE proponent of the advance planning option. Making grave medical decisions under duress is not a burden I want to dump on my offspring.

By this time, J. Biff was catching on to us and allowing himself to crack a timid smile or two at our inelegant comments. David, when asked about life support, self-confidently said, “First time I poop my pants – pull the plug.” I’m more willing to give adult diapers a shot and J. Biff gently ran me through some end-of-life scenarios.

It was decided that middle-daughter, Decibel, be in charge of medical decisions. She is our toughest kid and would faithfully stick to the program. The Piglet would second-guess herself for the rest of her life and The Boy was too young for the weight of that kind of task. J. Biff suggested we put our Living Will in an online hospital database so Decibel wouldn’t have to jump through any more hoops than necessary. What a great invention! We enrolled with enthusiasm.

Two weeks later, J. Biff handed over a large notebook containing copies of all the necessary papers. Entitled “Estate Planning Portfolio” (aren’t WE the hoity-toity ones?), the binder also houses many other handy-dandy items such as:

–Lists of locations — so The Piglet can find the sixteen boxes, our safe deposit box, tax records and the like.

–Life insurance information

–Detailed instructions for incorporating banks accounts and insurance companies into our trust

–Forms for the donation of organs

Best among these is the “Directions for the Trustee”. This document is obviously lovingly put together and is in checklist form. #1 is “If you are alone, telephone a friend who can spend the next few hours with you. Shock and trauma can take unexpected forms.” How unlawyerly.

The remainder of the checklist will help The Piglet deal with caring for family members, funeral arrangements, important papers and all of the other matters she wants to avoid discussing with her living, breathing parents.

The most beneficial part of this process is knowing that The Piglet will have sweet, compassionate J. Biffington Goodmannerlyness at the ready.

He’ll know just how to act when she starts wisecracking away her grief.

Veronica, GypsyNester.com

Your Turn: Got any stories about writing a will? Let us know below!

Tips for Group Mountain Bike Rides

Group mountain biking is an amazing platform to discover new riders and learn a lot of new things related to biking. The touring companies specialize in organizing mountain biking in Phoenix, Arizona can provide guidance to the new or professional bikers interested in group mountain biking. Such touring guides offer a completely different experience and environment which is adventurous. A biker can discover their limits while riding with groups, plus they get to learn new skill sets. In this article, even though a road bike is the most common type of bike, we will discuss some tips for group mountain bike rides.

1. Be Prepared

The bikers should make sure that all the bikes are properly maintained, and the initial checkup has been done to avoid any mishaps. To get saved from any accident, bikers should tick off the following points:

    • The tire pressure in both tires should be checked.
    • Quick-release skewers should be properly checked by professionals if necessary.
    • Brakes should be tested
    • The chain should be lubricated
    • Gear shifting should be smooth and working properly.
    • All the bikers should be equipped with all the necessary tools including a puncture kit in case of an accident. Extra chains should also be carried in case the chain breaks.

2. Don’t Race

When in group riding, bikers should always make sure not to create a racing environment. As each biker has different qualities, some are fast riders while others are slow. So, every biker should respect the other bikers to have a good experience. When you are riding together as a group, it is all about experiencing everything together. If you more into racing, then group tours might not be the thing for you. You need to take the entire group together or else there is no point in riding in groups.

3. Maintain Space

Bikers should always maintain a certain space between the front biker so that if the front biker applies sudden brakes, the biker behind him will able to stop his bike and avoid any crashes. This healthy distance can also avoid cluster crashes; if another biker in front of you had a fall, you will be able to stop in time and let the ones behind you know of the mishap as well.

4. Stop and Learn

Group bike riding is an amazing way to learn new skill sets from riders who are professionally trained. If the bikers are not able to pass certain hard trails, they should stop and watch carefully how their co-riders are riding on those hard obstacles.

5. Track Ethics

Bikers should be well aware of trail ethics before get going to group riding. These etiquettes are as follows:

    • Trail closures should be respected.
    • Traces should be left.
    • Bikers should be able to control their bikes.
    • Appropriate yielding should be practiced.

6. Keep the Group Together

Bikers should keep their group together and should keep a watch on their folks during the trail. They should communicate healthily and if any rider gets hurt during the ride, they should give him full support. Group riding is all about the spirit of doing things together.

Meeting new people, having new adventures is the gist of group mountain biking. People from different backgrounds and regions come together for the love of riding bikes.

Letters From the Future

You have the ability, skills, and strength to pursue your goals. If you want success in your future, the best time to start is right now…
CONTINUE READING >> 

What if you got a letter from your future self? From a different vantage point, say at 80, 90, or 100 years old – what would he or she tell you?

Many people find that when the kids are gone, when corporate life is in the rearview, and when work isn’t taking up all the space – different values emerge.

If you’re looking for a quick trip to the future, write yourself a letter. Or, you could write yourself a poem or a song. Perhaps you’d like to do a dance or paint a picture. However, you’d like to share your insights…express your key learning’s to your current self.

If you’re like many people, you may have had different dreams for your life. Perhaps you have worked as an RN, but you’ve always dreamed of becoming a Nurse Practitioner (NP). Maybe you worked in corporate sales, but secretly had a vision of being an entrepreneur. Or after baking for your kids and family, you’ve got some outrageous sourdough recipes that have you thinking about opening a bakery.

Whatever you’ve been dreaming about, ask your future self.

What are they likely to tell you?

Go For It

Your future self, at an advanced age, is likely to tell you one thing, “Go for it!” He or she may encourage you to go to NP school and pursue your dreams. You only have one life and maybe you’d like to spend it delivering babies, helping care for specific populations, or educating nursing students.

If you haven’t been an entrepreneur, but have a great business idea burning a hole in your heart, go for it. You have the full support of your future self. Just ask some folks who are 80, 90, and 100, also known as octogenarians, nonagenarians, and centenarians.

They will tell you the same thing. “Go for it.”

Ask your neighbors, friends, and family. Visit a local elder care facility and talk to people. They may share stories of their lives, career experiments, and adventure travels.

Here are three stories, based on real-life interviews:

Peter*, worked his whole career as a structural engineer. The work led him to Japan, California, and Colorado. At one point, he took a break and opened a wine shop. It didn’t work out the way he planned – but he enjoyed his time tasting, sampling, pouring, and selling fine wines. After his stint at the wine shop, he continued an international career as a structural engineer – with a more refined sense of taste.

Sara* was a struggling RN. She always dreamed of becoming an NP, traveling the country, and seeking out places to go mountain biking. A few years ago, she got her NP license, bought an RV, and hit the road. She currently works between Bellingham Washington and Eugene, Oregon. You might see her on her mountain bike between shifts.

Mandy* worked in corporate sales and was a self-declared workaholic. After giving birth to a baby boy, she decided to embark on a lifelong dream of working for herself.

She got a real estate license, and while getting familiar with the area buying up property. Using her talents in project management, she fixed up two of the properties and now operates them as AirBNBs. She specializes in showing corporate buyers the area while hosting people in her impeccably designed lodgings.

Guess what these 3 people have in common? They have no regrets. They aren’t wondering if they made a mistake. They aren’t second-guessing their decisions. Instead, they are living their lives fully.

Start Now

It’s easy to think that there might be a better time to move in the direction of your dreams. When money isn’t tight. When the kids or grandkids are grown. When you have more time on your hands.

But the truth is, there isn’t a better time than now. Yes, there may be a time when you have more limited resources. Yes, there might be a season when things are calmer or less stressful.

However, you are here now. You have the ability, skills, and strength to pursue your goals. You can start today. With some focus, ingenuity, and persistence you can start today to move in the directions of your dreams.

There’s a classic Chinese proverb: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The other best time is now.” If you want success in your future, the best time to start is right now.

* Names changed to protect privacy

We are happy to present this collaborative post to offer valuable information to our readers.

The Ultimate Guide To Attracting, Recruiting and Retaining Real Estate Agents

New professionals are the backbone of all industries and the same holds true for the real estate business too. It does not matter whether you are running a successful and established brokerage or whether you are a broker who is looking to set up his or her independent real estate brokerage house, you are required to invest considerable time and efforts to recruit the best in terms of real estate talent.

If you are not sure from where to begin this process or are wondering how you could improve your real estate recruiting process, then read on to get a clear idea of how to go about this vital process of your real estate business.

Attracting The Best Real Estate Agents

Understand The Motivation Of Real Estate Agents Recruitment

As successful real estate agents there is a tendency to go by a script for everything. From converting clients‘ leads to cold calling/emailing, but to attract agents is one area where we would advise that you forego the script.

The traditional real estate agent recruitment script always pitches the commission split. True money is an important motivating factor, especially when starting out in the real estate business; however, there is a need to acknowledge that today’s young professionals are looking for benefits beyond attractive income prospects.

Try to identify those additional factors, such as resources, training, cultural organization, and long-term personal growth prospects. These factors drive today’s millennial real estate agent candidates. Highlight these in your recruitment drive.

Maintain An On-Going Recruitment Drive

One of the major mistakes a successful broker or an expanding brokerage does is to wait until the last moment to recruit new real estate agents. We understand that the priorities in the real estate industry are given to generating new leads and successfully converting them.

However, if you wait until you are swamped with clients, then you are barely going to have time to focus on attracting new hires. Remember, it takes time to hire, provide training, and expand teams of a brokerage.

As such, you should give the same importance to recruitment that you give to lead generation. It is an ongoing process, as you must invest time and effort and have five fixed goals to have a fixed number of new hires in a specific duration.

Having this process in your organization will help you in case of any sudden changes in your teams. You will have capable and trained new hires available to fill any gaps created by any absences.

Define Your Team’s Unique Culture

One of the top motivational factors for potential new hires is the organization’s culture. Now, this culture could cover a wide range of aspects from the training provided, to sales responsibilities given, the overall manner in which teams function, and even the office atmosphere.

In order to attract new talent, you must invest time to define your organization’s culture and brand. Then use these in your marketing for the agent recruiting process. Candidates are looking for local brokerage teams which are a good fit for them, have a reliable brand, and have best practices in place.

Recruiting Real Estate Agents

Always Stay A Step Ahead

Do not wait until you need agents on your team to start looking at potential candidates. Always have an idea about the new and upcoming top-performing agents. These are your potential new hires.

In many cases, good candidates get recruited on employment terms that are not exactly favorable for them. Chances are high that these candidates may be soon looking at other local real estate brokerages to make a switch.

Do try to establish contact with these agents. Do not try to immediately recruit them. Simply keep them informed about your business, brand value, and personal growth prospects offered by your organization.

When such high-performing agents do eventually decide to switch brokerages, your brokerage team should be the first thought in their minds.

Keep An Eye On Other Brokerages

Always be aware of what your competing brokerage houses. Have a fair idea of the terms they offer new candidates in terms of commission split, tools, and training provided. Identify any gaps in your offer to potential new hires and try to fix them.

You do not have to change your organization’s culture and business practices, but in order to attract talent, you do need a business that offers them more opportunities for success and growth.

Recruit Through Multiple Channels

Do not solely rely on the traditional model of recruitment. For instance, one of the most popular recruitment channels, LinkedIn, has close to 94% active recruiters; whereas there are only around 36% active candidates. You can see the level of competition to attract new candidates.

So, our advice is to diversify as much as possible when it comes to recruiting new hires. Sure, go ahead and use the traditional methods, but along with them, try and incorporate your company website and social media too. How about posting a short and attractive recruitment video on your company’s website and social media pages? Or you could consider hosting events, such as an open mixer for agents in your local area.

That is a great way to widen the contacts for new candidates and inform them about your company and its success.

Retaining The Top Performing Real Estate Agents

Monitor Their Performance

Once you have got a robust real estate team in place, then you should invest efforts to retain your candidates. You could utilize multiple approaches in this regard. Start with strong reporting and a monitoring system for sales.

Have a clear idea of how all the agents in your teams are performing. Identify the ones who are struggling and offer them the necessary solutions, such as additional tools or training to help them achieve their growth prospects. Similarly, give additional and attractive benefits to your top performers. Do let them know that their success has been observed and appreciated. It is integral for talent to be aware of their value to the company.

Offer Technological Assistance

Most new-age professionals prefer to have an extensive set of technology-enabled tools at their disposal. They want the ease of workflow in order to concentrate more on their job. For instance, Dorrmat, a market leader in online real estate platforms, offers an excellent Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool, which allows the agents to work the data to their advantage.

These backend applications, accounting software, and other office administrative tools which provide solutions to scan, sign, and digitally upload documents would ease the workflow for the top real estate candidates.

Summary

This guide to recruit and retain new agents in your team should be handy whether you are looking to set up a new team or looking to spruce up your company’s recruitment process. It takes effort to get talent to join your teams.

Our tips should give you an overview hire the best new agents and help them grow in order to ensure the success of your brokerage. As we said at the start, your team is the backbone of your company, so it is well worth the efforts to ensure its long-term growth.

3 Tips to Get Health Insurance in Thailand

Thailand is one of the most attractive destinations for travelers and ex-pats for various reasons. The delicious food, warm weather, welcoming locals, and beautiful beaches.

However, relocating to this country also comes with countless health risks. Treating these can be costly without valid health insurance coverage.

Whether you’re a newly arrived ex-pat or have lived in the country for years, chances are, you’ll need to visit a doctor. And yes, the cost of care in Thailand is very affordable to most foreigners. However, the medical expenses might be very high especially for major procedures like heart bypass surgery whose cost is above $42,000.

If you don’t want to cater to these costs alone, having the right global insurance in Thailand is imperative. Read on to learn more, on the tips to get health insurance in Thailand.

    • Understand Your Healthcare Needs

Yes, it is important to obtain a health insurance policy. But don’t be in a hurry. Start by estimating your healthcare needs. For instance, do you want inpatient or outpatient coverage?

For instance, if you, your spouse, or a dependent family member sees a doctor regularly, then your ideal global healthcare in Thailand features outpatient services. As such, it’ll also cover medical care that doesn’t require an overnight stay at the hospital.

However, if you, your spouse, or dependent family members rarely get sick, then go for a relatively basic insurance plan. Such may include an inpatient-only coverage which will save you on costs.

1. Do you Have a Pre-Existing Medical Condition?

Do you know that pre-existing medical conditions are excluded from general health insurance coverage? These may include injuries or illnesses that you currently or previously had.

However, despite being a general exclusion, you can negotiate for pre-existing conditions coverage with a select number of insurance firms. Some restrictions like additional premiums or waiting periods may apply.

2. Do you have a Preferred Specialist?

Yes, you may have a specific specialist to be covered in your policy. But don’t be in a hurry. Rather, engage your insurance agent or broker to check whether the specialist or the clinic is part of a plan’s network of healthcare providers. Yes, the insurance policy will allow you to visit specialists outside of your plan’s provider network, but the insurance cover will only cater to a small portion of the medical fees. At times, the insurance may not give any reimbursements.

Determine Your Required Medical Coverage Benefits

Now you have an idea of your healthcare needs. It’s time now to decide the type of healthcare benefits you’ll need. But why? There are significant differences between insurers and even plans from the same insurance policy.

For example, the basic plan may cover your hospitalization expenses in Thailand only with little or zero additional benefits. Other options may cover outpatient, dental, and maternity services.

The best type of medical coverage benefit is dependent on your needs. Local and international plans in Thailand may include the following:

    • Vaccinations
    • Inpatient and outpatient services

Further, you can include coverage for additional treatments. With this, you can choose a plan that covers: maternity care, worldwide cover, optical care, dental care, health checks, and pre-existing medical conditions.

    • Compare Health Insurance Options

It may seem like a tiring and time-consuming process, however, failure to do this may see you choose an ill-fitting insurance policy. You don’t want this to happen.

One can use price comparison sites to start the exercise. The advantage, these sites save your time. However, take care as not all comparison sites have your best interest at heart.

The Factors to Consider When Comparing Plans

These are the tangible and intangible elements that one considers before comparing plans. These elements help you to determine whether you’re getting value from the insurance plans you’re comparing or not. They include:

    • Price: the cheapest insurance premium is likely not indicative of the best insurance policy.
    • Reputation: what’s the reputation of the insurer concerning reimbursements, payouts, and reliable customer service?
    • The provider networks: which are the policy covered healthcare facilities
    • The coverage area: is the insurance plan limited to Thailand only or it features worldwide coverage?

These are just some factors that one considers when comparing plans.

    • Lower Your Premiums

Yes, most buyers use the prevailing prices to make a decision. It’s worth noting that the cheapest price isn’t indicative of the best insurance policy. Luckily, one can lower the premium rates to get an affordable, and beneficial health insurance policy.

Conclusion

Yes, Thailand is a popular destination for most people. Different people love this country for various reasons. But despite the reason for travelling, the welcoming and loving locals, warm weather, delicious foods and beautiful beaches make people want to visit. However, like other challenges, relocating to country comes with some health risks. The only way to protect yourself is by investing in the right insurance coverage.

Getting Back to Traveling

We’ve done it! Since we are now both fully vaccinated, we are ready to get back to something resembling our life before this contemptable mess of a pandemic began. That means we can finally hit the road again…
CONTINUE READING >> 

We’ve done it! Since we are now both fully vaccinated, we are ready to get back to something resembling our life before this contemptable mess of a pandemic began. That means we can finally hit the road again (I can almost hear Willie Nelson singing now).

We aren’t quite ready to jump right back to where we were over a year ago, but we did start by seeing our grand daughter for the first time ever. Just in time for her first birthday. Oh, and also our kids.

For those who didn’t know yet, our first grandchild was born last May in Paris, yes, that Paris. The one in France. So needless to say, we have not been able to fly over to see her, but now her parents have managed to bring her to come see us!

Even though it wasn’t really a trip for us, it sure felt like one. We rented a big house nearby so all of our kids and their spouses could come, and we all hung out for a glorious few weeks walking on the beach, eating good food, and basking in the magnificent normalcy of being able to visit face to face.

We even managed to fly everyone to Kanas for a few days to see both great grandfathers.

It all felt so great, but pulling off the trip was not without some hoops to jump through since everything has not quite fully returned to normal. Flights were crazy full because people are flying again, but the airlines have not yet resumed many of the flights they cancelled at the height of the pandemic. Here’s hoping that changes soon.

Also, tests were still required for our overseas visitors before they could both leave and return to France. This certainly made for some tense moments waiting for the results. A positive test would have cancelled the whole thing, or meant that they could not return home.

The good news is that didn’t happen and we had perhaps our best visit ever. Everyone felt the joy of being able to be together again. So now that experience has us happily planning for more travel in the future.

Our initial ideas are also involving visiting family and friends since it has been so long since we could, but we are also starting to think about some other journeys later this year.

That got us thinking about our favorite active travel company, Backroads. We have biked and hiked across France and Cuba with them in the past, and now they are opening up some great new adventures all around the world.

Or, if we aren’t quite ready for that level of globe-trotting yet, they also have some amazing itineraries closer to home, right here in North America.

Backroads’ founder and President, Tom Hale, put it this way: “The second half of 2021 is shaping up to be a very good time to travel. Demand for our Dolce Tempo trips, national park trips and anything in North America is so high that we’ve scheduled departures into late fall to keep up with the interest. I love traveling in shoulder season because there are often fewer crowds, which gives us even more space to explore actively.”

These Dolce Tempo trips include hiking, biking, and kayaking in Alaska, Maine, California, the American Southwest, and Canada. Of course, there are more far-flung destinations as well, and it is all done at an easy-going pace that allows for getting to know each region.

Hale describes it like this: “I simply can’t imagine a better way to immerse yourself in the life of a region, to explore hidden corners and appreciate nuances while enjoying the benefits and enormous satisfaction of traveling under your own power. These are experiences you cannot have behind the wheel of a car, or on a train or a tour bus. Active travel is, at its heart, a way of connecting more authentically with the world. Sure, Backroads provides amazing leaders, superb accommodations and meals, and opportunities you could never arrange on your own. But all of our comprehensive planning and support is aimed at something far simpler: bringing you the immediate, highly personal satisfaction of discovering a new world on your own terms.”

So as the world struggles to return to normalcy, we are happily studying the possibilities of new adventures… and loving every minute of it!

David & Veronica, GypsyNester.com