Balabanova All Over
#TakeYourTimeOff
About Nadya
Hi there! I am so glad you found me! My mission is to empower you to #TakeYourTimeOff and explore the world. I started this blog as a way to keep family and friends in the loop when I went on a 3-week trip to Asia in 2011. Although I’ve always enjoyed traveling, it wasn’t until a trip to Peru in 2012 that I started to think about ways to make travel a… Read More
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Top Posts
I already knew about some of the cable cars on Madeira, but I was surprised to learn there were a few more once I got on the island. Unfortunately, information about them is kind of spotty and spread out. I also wanted to know how to combine them with other sights nearby and found such info unavailable. Here is my attempt to rectify this together with my recommendations on which cable cars… Read More
Lisbon, Porto, the Algarve… Those are probably the top destinations most people think of when it comes to Portugal. But lately, the island of Madeira has been growing in popularity. It’s nicknamed “the Hawaii of Europe”, and for good reason. It’s a volcanic island just like the Hawaiian islands and it has a very similar climate and scenery. If you are a hiker who wants to check out the island but also… Read More
[McCarthy / Anchorage, AK, Aug 2, 2025] And just like that, our time in Wrangell-St Elias national park came to an end and it was time to make the long trip back to Anchorage. It involved a morning flight back to Glenallen, then a 3+ hours drive to the state’s capital. Because getting to Anchorage would take all day, we had booked one final hotel night in Anchorage before flying home on… Read More
[Wrangell-St Elias National Park, Aug 1, 2025] We enjoyed a lazy morning in Kennecott since we didn’t have anything on the books until our mill tour at 11:30 am. At breakfast, we reconnected with a couple, Keith and Mary Kay, who we’d talked to the day before. They were going on a white water rafting tour. We didn’t envy them having to be out there with rain in the forecast. They seemed… Read More
[Wrangell-St Elias National Park, Jul 31, 2025] Hiking to and on the Root Glacier was the main attraction of this park. We had seen Root Glacier from the plane and even spotted the trail that provides access to its toe. It’s just under 3 miles on mostly flat terrain from Kennecott. It’s one of the most accessible glaciers in the world…once you make it out here. You can bring crampons and walk… Read More