Speaking of Travel® With Marilyn Ball

Today’s music scene is a golden age for women. French pop-rock soul singer Madeleine Besson and Australian-born, singer/songwriter and instrumentalist Katie Cole are two such Nashville-based women who are shining a light for others to follow. Madeleine tells us about her new recording Journey Home , an album about departures, destinations, and the lessons learned along the way. It provides insight...

Why is biodiversity important to the places we love to travel? The 2019 Speaking of Travel Climate Listening Project Series with Dayna Reggero begins with a discussion around Dayna’s recent photography series “Voices of Hope for Forests,” featuring individuals from around the world who are working together to protect forests as part of the Environmental Paper Network. The Environmental Paper Netwo...

Steven is off to New Orleans to spend the holidays with family, but he is not going alone. He is bringing along his favorite four-legged travel companion, Levi. As someone who frequently travels with a pet, Steven knows a thing or two about bringing furry friends on board. “He is fun to travel with,” Steven said. “He has traveled everywhere with me. A lot of people like him and try to pet him.” St...

Grace is heading south for winter. She will spend the season with family in Arizona. Her dog is also joining in on the fun, awaiting boarding in her carrier. “You have to pack a lot of stuff.” Grace said. “That is why we… carry her the way we do. We have so much to handle, to check in and out.” Grace likes how easy it is to navigate her way around AVL. “It is friendly and small,” Grace said. “It i...

The Warner family will be spending their holiday season across the pond in London, England. Commuting to visit relatives in Somerset is an especially interesting experience for the Warners. “We will drive down,” Doug said. “What is interesting about the drive is that you go… within 50 yards of Stonehenge.” As a family who frequently travels together, the Warners know what it takes to get the job d...

Robert is Memphis-bound for the holidays to be with family. The Tennessee native was only in town briefly, picking up his son who attends college in the area. With such a quick turnaround, he came prepared to navigate the airport with efficiency.  “I always anticipate the TSA stop. Wear stuff that is easy to get off and put back on. Have a backpack to keep it all so you do not misplace it. It will...

The Keaton family is making their first-ever trip to Rome, Italy. With the holidays on the horizon, the Keatons are eager to celebrate in a different way and make memories together over the holidays. When it comes to traveling as a family, Michael understand the importance of patience and flexibility. “It can try the patience a little bit,” he said. “Kids want to do their thing, and parents have i...

Best known as The Midlife Comic, Jason Scholder is also the inventor of a yoga product called the Three Minute Egg. His curiosities take him down many roads, both literally and figuratively. Jason tells us about how travel began impacting his life at an early age, studying abroad in Ecuador, hitchhiking the entirety of Turkey, studying yoga in India and how his travels have taken him to France, Sp...

Since 2006, Jeff Miller and his Blue Ridge Honor Flight team has transported veterans from WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War to Washington, DC, to visit the memorials dedicated to their honor and sacrifice. On May 4, 2019, they will fly again, giving those who have served our country a chance to experience the hope, healing, and welcome home they so deserve. Learn more about this great miss...

Each month in 2019, Dayna Reggero of The Climate Listening Project, along with guest experts, will discuss climate change and its impact on the places we love to travel and how how we can become sustainable travelers. We’re about to embark in this new transformative year of wonder and discovery. Remember, only dreams give birth to change. So let’s all dream BIG! As we move into the new year, you’l...

Kent Wolff and his two daughters, MaryKent and Cami, have a tradition of traveling together and love it. Find out how they make time to travel often and how their time together brings them closer. The family talks about their reasons for travel and their favorite traveling experiences. Explore with them as they tell us about their favorite cities and why and how traveling inspires them. Thanks for...

Emily Rathmanner’s mission to build a fair trade brand with artists brought her to the Intag Region of Ecuador where she witnessed what a small group of women could do to create positive change. She's been traveling since college, about 4.5 years, and is a graphic and web designer. A recent entrepreneur, she began a business partnering with women in Ecuador to make handbags made from cactus c...

Kenny Capps is a cancer patient advocate and the executive director for Throwing Bones for a Cure. In January of 2015, Kenny, an avid ultra marathon runner from Black Mountain, NC, had to stop running after being diagnosed with stage two Multiple Myeloma, which currently has no cure. Kenny tells his epic story of running the Mountains to Sea Trail in NC to raise awareness to Multiple Myeloma. &quo...

Michael works for Delta Airlines at the Asheville Regional Airport. As an avid traveler with 13 years of airline experience under his belt, Michael knows the and ins and outs of travel from both sides of the counter. “I love [working here],” Michael said. “Every day is a new day… there’s different challenges and different experiences. Meeting all types of people on a daily basis; I truly love it.”...

Cynthia is on her way to Indiana and she has a unique way of passing time while traveling. “[Knitting] is a really good thing to do in the airport or on the fly to entertain yourself,” Cynthia said. “You actually get something done and have something to show for… spending time waiting.” Cynthia likes the convenience of flying out of AVL. “It’s really small and it’s easy to get through the line for...

Meghan is taking an impromptu trip to Las Vegas. By checking into the amenities offered at her destination, she was able to pack as quickly as possible. “I’m hoping that by staying at a house, it will have most of the necessities I need,” she said. “I pretty much just packed a couple pairs of clothes.” With little time to spare, she was thankful for the flexibility and convenience of her local air...

Gabriele is a PhD student from Italy studying Finance in Oklahoma. Over the past four years, he has learned a thing or two from traveling around the United States. “I try to avoid the touristic places,” Gabriele said. “I try to walk around the city and meet locals. That’s the best way to discover a city, to feel the atmosphere. Wherever the atmosphere is right, step in those places and look around...

Arielle is headed home to New York and she likes to strike the balance of cute and comfortable. “I like to get travel size makeup,” she said. “Whether it be mascara, my lashes or just some quick lip gloss. You have to look good when you travel. You don’t know who you’re going to see on the plane.” Arielle likes the customer service she receives at AVL. “It’s very intimate,” she said. “United lets...

Sierra is the Marketing and PR Coordinator at the Asheville Regional Airport. As part of the marketing team, she helps organize AVL’s art and music programs for passengers and airport visitors. “We invite local artists to come and play for our passengers,” she said. “It sets a nice relaxing tone for everyone.” Highlighting local talent in the terminal allows passengers to have an immersive Ashevil...

Stephanie Pace Brown is a travel and tourism professional and director of the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority (BCTDA). Stephanie talks about how she began in the tourism industry and what travel means to her. Since travel was part of Stephanie's professional education early on, she believes travel changes with the stages of your life. She also discusses how the BCTDA promotes As...

Tina and Geoff Kinsey and their four boys love to travel and share their favorite family adventures. Each of the boys are named after special places and feel a connection to these places, even unseen. Over the years, they have shared their most memorable family adventures when they have pilgrimaged to the name places. Find out what it means to Bryce, Blake, Tim and Lucas to have been named after d...

Melissa Reardon, editor-in-chief of WNC Magazine and her husband Ryan Reardon, the director of the Asheville Music School, love to travel. After serious planning for a trip to Spain, they covered some epic ground, hitting nine cities in 2.5 weeks by doing three in-country flights, two car rentals, one train, and a grand finale at the Las Fallas Festival in Valencia. Find out how they did it with m...

Darren Nicholson of Balsam Range and Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters tell us about what life is like as traveling musicians and break down some perceptions of what it is like on the road. Darren is the founding member of Balsam Range (2018 IBMA Entertainer of the Year) and travels the world. Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters were on a European tour to England, Scotland, Ireland, Sp...

Since 2003, award winning journalist/photographer Mark File of RomanticAsheville.com has provided travelers the opportunity to make the most of a visit to Western North Carolina and makes a difference by contributing back to the region. Each year, RomanticAsheville.com gives back in paid and in-kind sponsorships to 200 non-profits in tourism, arts, heritage and environment. From the annual Giving...

In late 2015, Tess Vigeland embarked on a remarkable journey. Home now, she talks about her lessons learned, the logistics of travel, the experience of being an expat and her midlife philosophical journey. Tess visited 20 countries in two years and eight months, finishing up with her time abroad in Maldives, Australia, Brunei, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia and South Korea. Find out what Tess miss...