A blazing sunset was the backdrop for sundowners at Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa.

Baby boomer travelers, I love good news, don’t you? Last night, I received an email from Carlomar Daoana, editor of CommuniTrip. The online travel guide and magazine has named My Itchy Travel Feet one of the 10 most inspiring travel sites, in an article, “Notes on the Road: Famous Travel Sites.” According to Carlomar, “Your site was included for its relevant content, wonderful design and immediate connection to readers.” Thanks to Carlomar and the folks at CommuniTrip. My goal is to encourage boomers to get up off the couch and go. I’m glad you found My Itchy Travel Feet to be inspiring.

And while I’m talking about accolades, I don’t think I told you about this one. My Itchy Travel Feet was mentioned in, “Find It Online, Prepare For Your Vacation,” in the June issue of Smart Computing.

I just love good news. Happy Friday.

Hiking on Kodiak Island, Alaska

Baby boomer travelers, are you looking for a pair of comfortable shoes that are suitable for hiking, yet easy to pack? Well, look no more. I have just the shoe for you.

When the folks at Kuru asked me to try out a pair of their Kuru Womens Shoes, I knew I’d found my lightweight hiking shoes to bring along on our Vancouver to Singapore cruise. I chose the “Chicane” style in a brown color (Java) with turquoise lacing. The look of the asymmetrical lacing system, meant to follow the top line of my foot, took some getting used to; but I appreciated the secure fit it provided. The collapsible uppers made the shoes especially easy to pack.

Although my Kuru shoes felt light as a feather on my feet, they provided the sturdiness that I needed when I hiked on Kodiak Island in Alaska. I liked the way the soles gripped the slippery surface at Nalychevo Nature Park on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. And in rainy Juneau, the water beaded up on the surface of my Kurus, proving their water resistance.

No wet feet for me on a rainy day in Juneau, Alaska

What makes Kuru shoes different from their competitors? According to the Kuru website, Kuru shoes are designed with an ergonomic and anatomically correct active midsole. The patent-pending technology custom molds to your feet providing orthotic quality support. “The thermoplastic HeelKradl™ orthotic keeps the fat pad where nature intended, under the heel bone and reinforced to support the arch.”

What do other hikers and travelers think about Kuru shoes? Check out these reviews:
SectionHiker.com
The Adventure Blog
Mom Most Traveled
Gear Diary

Resting with my Kurus near a smoking volcano in Russia

If you think Kuru might be the shoe for you, be sure to use this coupon code: ITCHYFEET10 for 10% off your order at the Kuru site. Along with your purchase, Kuru donates a portion of profits to a charity that you choose. Don’t be jealous, boomer guys. Kuru produces shoes for men too.

Would you like to win a pair of Kurus? Post a comment after this post telling me where you would hike in your Kurus for a chance to win a pair of Slipstream, Draft or Rapid models of Kuru shoes. Please include your email for contact purposes. Contest ends on Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 11:00 p.m. Arizona Mountain Standard Time. Winner will be announced as soon as possible after Monday, November 16, 2009. Remember, according to my general contest rules, the winner must be a U.S. resident and respond within 48 hours of receiving the notification email, or I chose another winner.

Disclosure: Kuru Footwear provided a pair of shoes for me to try; however, they did not pay me to write this post.

Are you a baby boomer cruiser who dreads dragging luggage through the airport? Do you cross your fingers once it’s on the conveyor belt, hoping that you and your clothes will make it to the cruise ship at the same time? I cringe when I read  cruise forums where baby boomer travelers report that their luggage was delayed or did not arrive at all. Why not ship your luggage, instead?

When Alan and I sailed on Regent Seven Seas Mariner from Vancouver to Singapore, Tim Macht, President of The Luggage Club, offered us the opportunity to try his luggage shipping service. With 52 days of cruise clothes to pack, we were happy to lighten our load on the way to Vancouver.

Here’s how it worked for us:

The Luggage Club website is easy to use. The “Instant Quote” section allows travelers to estimate how much they will be spending on luggage shipping, depending on level of service and bag size. Once you’re ready to ship, it’s necessary to join the club via a free membership. After that, the “Schedule Delivery” button, near the top, walks you through the process. I simply needed to supply the shipping address for the ship provided by my travel agent. Since I was shipping to an international address, The Luggage Club also needed a copy of my passport and trip itinerary for preparing customs forms. Later, I supplied a packing list of all items in the luggage to complete the process. I called a toll free number when I had any questions. Wesley Austin-Nash, International Sales Rep, was especially helpful in assisting me through the process.

A couple of days before luggage pickup, I received packing labels with detailed instructions on where to place the documentation. A delivery service picked up our luggage on the correct date for 6-day economy shipping to Vancouver. Within two days, the shipping agent called. Our bags had arrived but he needed to know which ship to put them on. Somewhere during the process, that information wasn’t recorded on the papers. It turned out not to be a problem. Next time, I’ll do my part by double checking to make sure the ship’s name is listed.

Besides the convenience and security of shipping our luggage, I enjoyed the added bonus of being prepared almost a week ahead of our departure. Alan and I left home relaxed and ready for a fun trip. We breezed through the airport without schlepping large bags. In Vancouver we didn’t have to worry about our luggage appearing on the carousel. When we stepped inside our Mariner suite, our luggage was waiting for us on the bed.

This is a great service but I’ll admit it isn’t cheap. However, you’re receiving shipping, insurance, assistance with customs plus peace of mind. Also, with airlines charging for checked luggage these days, you’re really not paying that much more by shipping luggage. One way to save money is to ship to your destination but bring the bags home yourself. That’s what we did.

I’m not the only one writing about The Luggage Club. Here are more reviews:

Jet With Kids
Road and Travel Magazine
BoardingArea

Have you shipped luggage with The Luggage Club? Post a comment to share your experience. I’ll certainly be considering them again, especially for long trips.

Disclosure: This travel experience was provided by The Luggage Club.

I captured this smoking shot while exploring the Kamchatka Peninsula by Russian army truck.

Baby boomer roadtrippers, do you like to travel around in circles? A drive on New Mexico’s “Enchanted Circle” offers scenery, activities and unique stops as it circumnavigates Wheeler Peak (13,161 feet), New Mexico’s highest point.

Every circle needs a start. To begin the circuitous journey, take NM Highway 522 north from Taos for the day’s first stop, Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, the second highest expansion bridge in the country. The gorge and bridge are seven miles west on NM Highway 64. Near the parking lot, visitors negotiate sidewalks to viewing platforms in the middle of the bridge for a peak over the rail at the brown Rio Grande rushing 650 feet below the curving canyon walls.

Continuing the drive on NM Highway 522, pass through Questa, home to a thriving arts community and The Wild Rivers Recreation Area. To complete the circle, take NM Highway 38 east to the rustic mountain town of Red River, a good place to stop for lunch. Log cabins and Swiss chalets vie for space along the highway adding to the town’s western feel.

Now the drive becomes a mountainous journey up 9,000 ft. Bobcat Pass. At the top, you’re rewarded with scenic high country as the road travels beside grassy meadows and white capped mountains. At Eagle Nest Lake State Park, the sparkling waters of the lake reflect a deep blue sky tempting the angler. Here the road junctions with NM Highway 64.

The natural beauty of the region adds to the powerful experience at the Vietnam Veterans National Memorial State Park. In 1971, Dr. Victor Westfall and family erected a chapel overlooking the Moreno Valley to honor son, David, a 1968 casualty of the Vietnam War. Inside the Visitors Center, a small theater shows a moving documentary of scenes from the era as actors read letters written by soldiers, parents, friends and politicians. No matter your political persuasion, you’ll be reaching for the box of tissues placed beside the chair.

Follow NM Highway 64 south through the mountains to reach Taos in time for afternoon tea at Casa Benavides Bed and Breakfast Inn, a convenient headquarters when touring the Taos area. We like to stroll into the art-filled living room with our cup of tea and a plate of homemade goodies. Sitting in the late afternoon sun, surrounded by western art and Native American artifacts, is the perfect way to close the circle on an enchanting day.

Have you driven New Mexico’s Enchanted Circle Highway? Post a comment to tell me about your experience. Alan and I will be exploring this area again.

Today, Alan and I are on a cruise excursion in Bangkok, Thailand, part of our Vancouver to Singapore cruise on the Regent Seven Seas Mariner. Even though we’re out exploring, you can still keep up with our baby boomer adventures. In this week’s installment of Dispatch from Donna at the Luxury Cruise Bible blog, I write about what it’s like to live on a luxury cruise ship for 52 days. Or, check out my weekly port reports including China, Japan, Siberia and Alaska. Happy reading.

Alan captured a colorful desert sunset during our Dinner in the Desert in Namibia.

Today, Alan and I are on an day-long cruise excursion in Hanoi, Vietnam. But, baby boomers, you’ll still find valuable travel information here at My Itchy Travel Feet thanks to Vera Marie Baderstcher from A Traveler’s Library. After reading her article about hiking on Sifnos, Greece, Alan and I have added another travel activity to our growing list.

Church of the Martyrs, Kastro, Greece. Photo courtesy Vera Marie Baderstcher.

When we arrived at the ferry dock (a 5-hour trip from Athens by slow ferry, 3 by fast ferry) we saw a small travel agency beside the bus stop. There we bought a Sifnos guide book by a local scholar, and the Anavasi Topo map, which is much more helpful than the free tourist map, which also shows trails but without detail.

We took a taxi rather than wait an hour or two for the bus to Apollonia in the center of the island. From there, the trails stretch like a web across the island. Before automobiles became common on the island, the tracks accommodated people and their mules trudging from town to town. That means that the trails will lead you to any of the island’s towns, monasteries and churches, and pass near farm houses along the way.pan>

Hiking the path to Faros. Photo courtesy Vera Marie Baderstcher.

Sifnos is known for fine cooking, unique cookware pottery and as many as 300 churches and chapels for its 2000 inhabitants. The small white-washed chapels with bright blue doors dot the hilly island, so be sure your camera has a large capacity memory card.

We climbed the stepped walkways of Appolonia, which serve as streets. Islanders use the same white paint that covers the houses to make designs on the paving stones, like children’s chalk drawings. We passed a church with the remnant of a Roman temple in its courtyard, and headed across the countryside to Kastro, a medieval town fortified by the Venetians in the 15th century. Along the way, we saw sheep grazing in rocky fields and stopped at a chapel festooned with colorful pennants, celebrating a Greek Orthodox Saint’s Day. After exploring Kastro and a small beach below the town, we returned via Artemonas so we could sample our favorite food in Greece at the Leotrivi restaurant. That made a total of about 6 miles of walking stretched over a day. You can shorten the trek by talking a bus at several points.

Learn about other walks, and get detailed guides to 35 Siphnos walks at the Dutch site of Raymond Verdoolaege. A shorter list of Sifnos walks can be found at Islandwalking.com by Mr. Walker.

Vera Marie Badertscher is a freelance writer who blogs about her two passions—books and travel—at A Traveler’s Library.com (http:atravelerslibrary) You can see more of her work at http://pen4hire.com. Follow her on twitter @pen4hire.

Although Lower Antelope Canyon is completely underground, when sunlight seeps in through overhead cracks, the walls seem to glow.