Speaking of Travel® With Marilyn Ball

Sarah Benoit is a digital marketing strategist, entrepreneur, and educator. She is also the co-founder and acting lead instructor of the JB Media Institute . And she is a passionate traveler. Sarah shares how traveling can be a way to deepen your intimacy, connection, and understanding of the people you love. And she explains why sometimes she travels for adventure, but most of the time she choose...

Margaret Roach and Ken Druse are gardeners and writers offering up online courses on all things gardening. Margaret and Ken share how The Virtual Garden Club began and how they put together these programs to provide advice, encouragement, and camaraderie, along with answers to your gardening questions!  Margaret is a longtime garden writer and  created a website, podcast, and weekly newsletter cal...

In 1995, LEAF Global Arts began as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Their mission...  to connect cultures and create community through music, arts education, and experiences, and to cultivate curiosity, preserve cultures and promote global understanding. An organization like LEAF plays a significant role in fostering a sense of community and cultural identity. Over the years, LEAF has become a...

I recently read a study showing how researchers have found that when we look at maps, our brains are activated in different ways, creating this unique and enjoyable experience. Enter the future. Today, there are ways to look and interact with maps we could never have dreamed of even just a few years back. AJ Brau is CEO of Wandermap , a map solution where you can explore every nook and cranny of y...

I’ve had some amazing travel experiences when I was sharing those experiences with others on the trip. Traveling with other people provides opportunities to try new things and even increases courage when there are other people around encouraging you to try something new and jump into that opportunity. Matthew Kent is the founder of Kent World Travel . With his career in professional golf across So...

The Speaking of Travel And Leave No Trace TV series continues with host Richard Crawford. Richard talks to us while in Australia editing the epic Season Two of the popular Leave No Trace TV show with producer and cameraman, Ben Alcott. Ricky and Ben share updates and tell us about their day-to-day progress and how they go about editing the show. And all the places we can watch Leave No Trace TV. A...

Liza Rutledge is the owner of Happy Hiking Company , specializing in leading captivating overnight guided backpacking tours across the stunning landscapes of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Liza shares the benefits of a guided trip over a non-guided trip and why these experiences in nature are beneficial to your mental and physical health, builds outdoor skill sets, and is a great means of meeting new p...

LoAnn Halden (she/her) is the VP of Communications for the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association, IGLTA. Their mission is to provide information and resources for LGBTQ+ travelers and expand LGBTQ+ tourism globally. IGLTA, the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association , was founded in 1983 and is the world's leading network of LGBTQ+-welcoming tourism businesses. They provide free travel reso...

Ariel Haas and Jason Moon, business partners at Glassy Stays , Asheville, NC's exclusive glass mirror house, share the benefits of staying at an eco-conscious accommodation for a vacation in the heart of the forest. Today, the old-school, off-grid lifestyle is not as attractive as it once was, except maybe for those who like the camping lifestyle. Now it’s more about a luxury off-grid lifesty...

Travel the world with LEAF Global Arts . Their mission is to connect cultures and create community through world music, arts education, preservation, and experiences. Join Chinobay , LEAF Global Arts Chairman of the Board of Directors and a catalyst for positive change through his multifaceted journey beginning in Uganda, and Ryan "RnB" Barber, LEAF’s Spark the Arts artist-in-residence f...

Ever wonder why it feels so great to be out in nature? Amanda Baker, Partner Marketing Manager with Visit North Carolina and oversees North Carolina’s Outdoor NC initiative , and Clark Lovelace, Executive Director of the Transylvania County Tourism Development Authority, share how the love for the outdoors makes us feel happy, inspired, and excited to explore more. And why it's important to t...

Omi Salevea of the McDowell County Tourism Development Authority in the Blue Ridge Mountains, shares why outdoor recreation is important in preserving natural landscapes and for protecting culture and heritage. And why it's good for your body too! One of my favorite places to get outdoors is in Old Fort, a small town not far from Asheville in McDowell County , NC. It's a mountain town in...

Enock Glidden is an accomplished outdoorsman and is found adventuring every season of the year. Born with Spina Bifida, Enock has learned to do things differently than others and shares how attitude is everything. Also on Speaking of Travel, discover why collaboration and meaningful relationships provide a framework for inspiration. Guest Mark Collins, Partnerships Manager for RomanticAsheville.co...

The Speaking of Travel And Leave No Trace TV Series with Richard Crawford, host of the popular TV series , Leave No Trace , continues with new stories and tips to help change your life for the better and see sights so rich in wonder they will take your breath away. In this, the first episode of the new year, discover Ricky's backstory...  How does a small boy from Paisley, Scotland, end up tr...

Real Asia Founder Nick Wang and Associate Nina LaFerla share their passion for Asia and its diverse cultures with US teachers and students and create ways to utilize travel as a means to deepen the understanding between us and the destinations we visit.  Nick has extensive business relationships with Chinese schools, companies, and NGOs and has been leading Real Asia to help many schools across th...

Tess Vigeland is a longtime journalist and podcaster. And she is an avid photographer who shoots mainly landscape photos around the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Tess shares how sometimes wanderlust shows up and she just must go. It's been more than five years since Tess returned from her time abroad and she describes what it's like to go so long without real international travel and why...

Jane Adams, former director of Partnership Relations with Jane Fortune and Advancing Women Artists,  a non-profit organization that was dedicated to rediscovering, restoring, and exhibiting works by women artists found in Florence’s Museums and State deposits, shares how she is continuing to raise awareness about forgotten artists and reclaim their rightful place in history. Jane explains how meet...

The Asheville Art Museum is an example of how museums engage, inspire and enlighten communities. Museum leaders Kate Faulkner and Neal Page share how the Asheville Art Museum transforms lives through art. When I’m visiting new places, I like to prepare my options for what to see and do. And one thing always on my agenda is going to a museum. Usually more than one. And why not? Museums are communit...

Italy looks like a high heeled boot and Puglia is the heel of that boot. Mark Gordon Smith, founder of Private Italy Tours , shares how the eclectic history of Puglia left an imprint on what we see today. I’d fallen in love with Italy a few times before I traveled with Mark Gordon Smith, and it’s no wonder people love traveling with him. He could be the ambassador to Italy. He knows this country l...

The Speaking of Travel And Leave No Trace TV Series with Richard Crawford continues, highlighting the importance of conservation, sustainable travel and eco-tourism. And sharing what the new year has in store. This is the best time to catch up with Season One of Leave No Trace TV and Ricky shares the details so you can tune in and enjoy.  And he provides some updates on Season Two and where you ca...

Maria Grazia Marini, Director of Tourism for Ravenna, Italy , shares why this special city, once the capital of the Western Roman Empire, is today a blend of ancient mosaics, Roman architecture, and Dante magic. I was recently in Italy and among the many places I visited, one of my favorites was the beautiful city of Ravenna. It is impossible to forget the incredible number of historic sites, rema...

Justin Belleme, founder of the JB Media Group and publisher of Romantic Asheville.com and Tina Kinsey, VP of Marketing, PR, and Air Service Development at the Asheville Regional Airport , share how they are working to shape this region’s future growth. Justin is a travel industry leader and provides strategic direction and expertise in the travel and tourism industry. He shares his recent experien...

Lisa Jansen , a traveler and writer based in New Zealand, spent almost five years living in a camper van traveling around New Zealand. Lisa shares her experience and what inspires her to travel unconventionally.  Lisa embarked on a life-changing adventure when she left her successful corporate career at 33. Her mission was to discover life beyond the conventional paths of marriage, parenthood, mor...

Larry Olmsted is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author who has published many intriguing books and thousands of articles for major newspapers and magazines worldwide over the past 25+ years.  And he personally broke or set three different Guinness World Records, in skiing, golf and poker. It's no wonder he was named one of the “10 Most Extreme U.S. Journalists” by the Society of...

The Speaking of Travel And Leave No Trace TV series continues. Host Richard Crawford is in Australia editing the epic Season Two of the popular Leave No Trace TV show with producer and cameraman, Ben Alcott. Ricky and Ben share where they are today in the editing process of Season Two of Leave No Trace TV and what they do in creating the show. And they share how traveling to all the continents thi...