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ADVENTURE

From Burned-Out Parents to Living the Dream of a Flexible and Adventure-Filled Life

by Tracy J. Chu

Brisbane, QLD –News Direct– Intrepid Lifestyle Project

Brent and Crystal Stanton are the co-founders of Intrepid Lifestyle Project, a personal brand with a powerful mission to inspire a new generation of parents to say no to sacrificing precious time with their children. They are achieving this by introducing families to the online space, helping them establish a leveraged income, and creating the time flexibility needed to focus on the things that matter most to them.

Work-life balance has become a growing concern for many families as they struggle to balance the demands of work and family responsibilities. This can have a detrimental impact on family life, leading to increased tension, conflict, and reduced quality time with children. A lack of work-life balance can also lead to burnout, fatigue, and mental health issues for parents. When parents can effectively manage their time and balance their work and family responsibilities, it can lead to a more stable and positive home environment for children. As society continues to evolve, finding ways to support families in maintaining a healthy work-life balance will become increasingly important.

Using their signature four-pillar method, Brent and Crystal teach families how to reconnect and reignite their spark through connection, growth, creativity, and contribution. Their mission is to empower families to take control of their time and create a life of freedom and fulfilment through the Intrepid Lifestyle Project and techniques such as affiliate marketing, high ticket sales, and building a brand online.

Brent and Crystal have always loved adventure, but it wasn’t until their honeymoon that they realised their dream of living an alternative lifestyle and travelling full-time. After the birth of their two daughters, they realised that working the hours they did and earning the salary they did would never allow them to achieve this dream,

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ADVENTURE

Blind cat, Fantastic Mr. Fawkes, is full of adventure on SM

by Tracy J. Chu

NEWPORT NEWS — Fawkes takes a few steps on a grassy patch at Christopher Newport University, stops, raises his head toward the sun and flicks his ears to catch any sounds.

The 6-month-old kitten with no eyes listens for his owner’s voice, knowing he can follow that.

He turns toward passing bikes, falling acorns and buzzing insects but only occasionally looks startled or hesitant. When students approach, Zoë Churchill, his owner, tells them to talk to him as they approach him slowly.

Fawkes then gladly nudges his pink nose into their hands.

“He was so immediately brave,” said Churchill, who adopted Fawkes in August from Symbiotic, a Suffolk-based nonprofit rescue group. “I would love for him to teach people how much he can do despite his disability. It doesn’t make him any less perfect.”

Since losing his eyes to a life-threatening infection in July, Fawkes has dared to climb on and off logs, high-step through tall grass and dip his paws in the ocean. Churchill and her boyfriend, Bruce Sheppard, also have helped him learn to navigate their one-bedroom apartment in Newport News with treats, voice commands and patience.

Fawkes now goes on regular excursions to CNU, Newport News Park, Willoughby Beach and Barnes & Noble, and Churchill chronicles their outings on her rapidly growing Instagram account, fawkes/”“Fantastic Mr. Fawkes.” As his story spread, the account sometimes logged hundreds of new fans each day. As of Wednesday, Fawkes had more than 23,000 followers.

Fawkes hangs out at home in Newport News on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022. Zoe Churchill adopted Fawkes, who lost both his eyes — likely due to an infection — and has gained a large Instagram following.

Fawkes hangs out at home in Newport News on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022. Zoe Churchill adopted Fawkes, who lost both his eyes — likely due to an infection — and has gained a large Instagram following. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot)

For rescuers at Symbiotic, Fawkes’ new life is miraculous. He and his sister were found in

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ADVENTURE

Chuck’s Big Adventure: Songs of the sea

by Tracy J. Chu

The sea chantey and songs of the sea have made an impressive comeback, thanks to public radio and social media.

BATH, Maine — Chuck’s Big Adventure is traveling to New England. It is an area known for its beauty, history, lobsters and, in autumn, it’s explosion of color.

Songs of the sea

Sometimes, a sound can take you to a place you’ve never been for the first time but makes you believe it’s always been a part of you.

Wander by the coastline of Bath, Maine, near a renovated mockup of the state’s first ship, and you hear it – and see it. A rigging crew hoisting a sail, sing an old sea chantey:

“Whiskey gave me a broken nose…

Whiskey made me pawn my clothes…

Whiskey for the Johnny O.”

That crew and those songs are all part of the everyday life of Fred Gosbee and Julia Lane, better known as Castlebay.

For decades, they have documented – with books, concerts and tours – the songs of the sea and the chanties that hard-working sailors used to make their life and work more bearable.

Our Big Adventure team met with Fred and Julia near the world-famous Bath shipyard and toured the replica 1607 ship. While there, Fred and Julia sang for us, and their rigging crew demonstrated the songs – songs that brought perfectly to mind the life, the feeling and the deep emotion of life working on the sea.

“Sea chanteys are work songs. And one of the big differences between the sea chanteys and the other songs, which you call ‘forebitters,’ is there’s no plot, there’s no story – they’re just random verses to keep the cadence,” Fred said. “When the sail is up or the anchor’s up, when their job is done,

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VACATION

Using Big Data To Help Plan Your Next Vacation

by Tracy J. Chu

What if you could plan your next trip to a busy destination using Google Street View, heat maps of Airbnb, and user reviews, to avoid crowds and be a more responsible and sustainable traveler? You can do that, but Edmund Morris, founder, and CEO of Equator Analytics, can do it better, faster, and with insights that leave the rest of us playing catch up.

I experienced that when I heard him speak at the Adventure Travel World Summit in Lugano a couple of weeks ago.

Equator Analytics is a tech startup that uses big data to help destinations, hotels, and tour operators make travel and tourism sustainable.

“We take as much data as we can, give it to the destination, and hope that they inform their visitors of the best time to visit this place or announce that this museum is very busy at this period,” Morris says. “This is real-time information, and in an ideal world, I would love destinations to look closely at this data.”

I caught up with Morris after the speech because I wanted to learn more about his work with destinations worldwide and places that are confronting various problems, especially those caused by over-tourism.

On the surface, his methodology is quite simple. Morris does his research by analyzing publicly available data ranging from closely tallying user reviews on Airbnb to using Google Street View and heat maps, websites and apps that show where people congregate, whether at a museum, a tourist attraction or a transportation hub. Morris studies and interprets that data. He then extrapolates a story and a

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VACATION

Vacation home rentals rise in Wilmington area despite higher service fees

by Tracy J. Chu
The home owned by the Matusic family is one of many managed by Vacasa.

As more tourists continue to visit Topsail Island to enjoy the beach and relaxation, homeowners like Renee Matusic are providing them a place a place to stay, with views of ocean waves crashing against the shore.

For homeowners like Matusic, who lives in West Virginia, the upkeep is expensive. One bill is $15,000 for flood insurance. So, while being seven hours away, she wants to leave her family home investment in good hands.

“I wouldn’t say anybody who owns property there is a zillionaire,” she said. “We’re basically just hoping at some point to pay these monsters off. And then, we might make some money on them. But in the meantime, we’re still paying our mortgages and expenses.”

She is relying on Vacasa to manage the property. The Portland, Oregon-based business is making footprints in the Topsail region and the island shared by towns in Pender and Onslow counties. It acquired vacation rentals from Treasure Realty, a real estate business with offices in Surf City and Sneads Ferry. It’s known as the top full-service vacation rental management company in North America. Vacasa manages more than 35,000 homes in 35 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico, Belize, and Costa Rica. More than 3 million guests check in each year.

“We’re really happy with them,” she said. “I have a great management team, who literally, I feel go above and beyond for our house.” Matusic said about working with Vacasa last year after they purchased the TurnKey Vacation Rentals. “I’ve had success with keeping the house booked.”

But some people who enjoyed Topsail Island last summer are questioning the higher costs coming with the change on social media posts. A couple of them include fees for cleaning and booking. With rising costs in the economy, many professionals said it’s something that comes with the

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TRAVELLING

How to go live on TikTok? A helpful guide to start your TikTok LIVE today!

by Tracy J. Chu

TikTok videos are a great way to go viral, but the 15-second videos don’t allow the creators to bond with their audiences due to their short, snappy nature. Going live on TikTok could be an effective way for the creators to interact with their followers online in real time, according to TikTok.

Influencers also have the opportunity to go beyond the short-video format since the TikTok LIVE feature can go up to 60 minutes at once.

Before going live, TikTok warns users to follow its community guidelines and terms of service to promote a “fun, positive, and safe environment” on the social media platform.

Want to get more likes on TikTok?: Here are the best times days to post.

A ‘healthy Coke’ trend: Trendy TikTok drink blends balsamic vinegar, sparkling water

Go live on TikTok using just your phone. Here’s a <a href=step-by-step guide to start your TikTok journey.” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/6G_MMtk0IVOORJ.MClUSmQ–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA–/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/JEKKbyOXeT5ObmCAjzDFLg–~B/aD0xNjg4O3c9MzAwMDthcHBpZD15dGFjaHlvbg–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_tech_153/ae0763f8325478697b23e640c9c67bf1″/

Go live on TikTok using just your phone. Here’s a step-by-step guide to start your TikTok journey.

How to go live on TikTok?

Here’s a step-by-step guide to go live on TikTok.

  • Step 1: Open the TikTok app on your mobile device and make sure you’re logged in. You can download TikTok from the App Store or the Play Store if you don’t already have it on your device.

  • Step 2: Click the plus sign at the bottom of your screen to open the camera.

  • Step 3: Below the red capture button, there are several options you can swipe left to find the “LIVE” option and tap it.

  • Step 4: Add an image and a title to your live video. Remember you have around 30 characters to let your audience know what the TikTok LIVE is going to be about.

  • Step 5: Tap the pink “Go Live” button, and you’re live on TikTok. Your

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VACATION

Woman Chronicles ‘Horrible’ State House Was Left in After Vacation Rental

by Tracy J. Chu

The pitfalls of renting your home out as a vacation property were put into sharp focus in a video that went viral on social media.

Vacation rentals are big business with Statista estimating revenue in the vacation rentals segment will reach $82.78 billion this year with the number of users predicted to amount to 887.8 million by 2026.

But while there’s clearly money to be made in the market, those getting into it need to know the potential downsides like broken doors, dirty bedrooms and guests who don’t seem to want to leave.

Carley Harrison knows that more than most. Harrison told Newsweek she first started out in the holiday rentals industry five years ago “by accident.”

A broken door and leftover food.
A broken door and leftover food – some of the discoveries made while looking around the property after “check out.”
Carley Harrison/Holiday Heim

“I got divorced and couldn’t make ends meet,” she said. “I had to pay for all my bills, three kids, and for the divorce—so when my kids were at their Dad’s I rented my flat out.”

While they were away and the flat was occupied she found places to sleep on friends’ couches, at work or occasionally in her car. She’s come a long way since then though with the business proving so successful she recently quit a corporate job to focus on running a holiday home.

But although she’s seen plenty during her time in the industry, one recent set of guests proved so troublesome she decided to take to social media to give followers a glimpse of how the house was left in their wake.

To clarify: Although the original version of the video mentions Airbnb, both Harrison and Airbnb have confirmed to Newsweek that the property featured in the video was not let out via the

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VACATION

Family Vacation’ Last Night; Here’s Why

by Tracy J. Chu

Before last night’s episode of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, “It’s Fine, I Work Here,” Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino was fairly active on Twitter, tweeting using #JSFamilyVacation so the show would trend. However, the reality TV star had little to say while JSFV Season 5 Episode 22 aired. Here’s why. 

Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino in an episode of 'Jersey Shore: Family Vacation'
Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino | MTV

‘The Situation’ and Angelina Pivarnick previously went at each other on social media 

Earlier this season, Mike confronted Angelina Pivarnick about the evidence he had from Chris Larangeira and her “side piece” Joe “Old Bridge” Tarallo. Chris claimed Angelina leaked the speech from their wedding; “Old Bridge,” who fans will remember from the doorbell footage, alleged the timeline of their friendship was different from what Angelina told the roommates. 

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As the drama played out on television, Mike and Angelina took the conversation to social media. “She has the condition known as liabetes,” Mike commented on a post from the official Jersey Shore Instagram. “She lies more than she tells the truth and that’s facts. It is what it is.” 

Angelina also commented on the post: “It’s pretty sad Mike didn’t come to me first to tell me my sabotaging scorned double life ex-husband was calling him and this was all happening behind my back.” However, during last night’s episode, the Jersey Shore stars shared minimal posts to social media. 

Mike ‘The Situation’ is taking a break from social media 

As revealed in the “Cruisin’” episode of Here’s the Sitch with Mike and Laurens, the reality star is taking a break from posting to social. “All these voices and all these opinions, they are negative a lot of the time,” Mike said of what happens online. “I’m taking a position right

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TRAVELLING

How to prepare for international travel, 10 tips

by Tracy J. Chu

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – After sacrificing some of the most enjoyable aspects of life for COVID-related quarantines and social distancing, many in the U.S. are eager to resume one of the activities they love most, traveling overseas.  

According to one report, in 2021, international departures from the U.S. totaled 49.1 million.

But what are some things a person can do in preparation to make their trip as safe and enjoyable as possible?  

The following suggestions may be helpful in this regard:

Study up on the culture

Use Google, YouTube, and online encyclopedias to learn a bit about the country’s history and the day-to-day lives of locals. Some aspects of the culture to pay special attention to are ways they show respect to each other, how to avoid disrespecting anyone in the culture, popular local foods, and upcoming local festivals.

Learn some basic phrases in the local language

While you don’t need to become a fluent speaker, it will be very helpful to learn a few basic terms and questions. A few suggested phrases to start with would be, “My name is___,” “What is your name?” and “I speak English, do you speak English?”   

Protect your health

Look into the area’s overall reputation of the healthcare system and scout out a few hospitals in the cities you will be staying. In addition to this, consult with your doctor to ensure you’re up-to-date on any and all vaccines recommended for those engaging in international travel.

Consider purchasing medical and travel assistance

An article from Chubb states that, “81% of Americans consider 24-hour emergency travel assistance very important.1 Familiarize yourself with your destination’s conditions that could impact your health, such as high altitude or pollution, as well as the types of medical facilities available.”

Prepare documentation to have on hand, and

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VACATION

TikTok Mom Goes Viral For Baby Monitoring While On Vacation

by Tracy J. Chu

MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: claudio.arnese / Getty

A TikTok user is going viral after her video on how she vacations with her baby has rubbed the internet the wrong way.

The Milan-based mother’s tip for parents traveling with babies included asking your hotel to place a crib in your room before your arrival.

In the controversial commentary that followed, the mother said having the box-like crib set in the room is ideal because they can provide a play space for your child and a place to leave them when parents want to enjoy time away from their babies.

As audio in the video explained, “You can put [the] baby there and leave. We use [a] Wi-Fi camera and go out nearby in the evenings after his bedtime.”

“Don’t forget to take two cards at the check-in for leaving [the] electricity on,” the clip’s voiceover continued. “Awesome for having some alone time for parents!”

 

 

How Social Media Is Reacting 

The mother’s video currently “isn’t available” anymore on TikTok, and her account is private. 

Still, online users have been stitching her original video with their disapproving reactions on the app. 

Underneath @theneighborhoodtalk’s repost of the mother’s clip, Instagram users also weighed in with their two cents. 

Some pointed out that parents who want to enjoy portions of their vacation without their child should travel with a nanny for the little one’s safety. 

Others pointed out that although the mother is monitoring her child in some capacity — what would she be able to do if she was too far from the child or unable to reach them if an emergency did happen?

 

Baby Monitoring While On Vacation

baby+monitor+for+hotel+and+travel&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS727US738&ei=T17ZYsSRBr-h5NoPqPepqA8&ved=0ahUKEwiE9am6lIr5AhW_EFkFHah7CvUQ4dUDCA4&uact=5&oq=baby+monitor+for+hotel+and+travel&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBQghEKsCMgUIIRCrAjIFCCEQqwI6BwgAEEcQsAM6BAgAEA06BggAEB4QBzoICAAQHhAPEAc6CAgAEB4QCBAHOggIABAeEA8QDToICAAQHhAHEAU6CggAEB4QBxAFEAo6BQgAEIAEOgQIABAeOgYIABAeEA86BggAEB4QBToICAAQHhAFEAo6BggAEB4QCDoGCAAQHhANOggIABAeEA0QBToKCAAQHhANEAUQCjoICAAQHhAIEA06BQgAEIYDOgQIIRAKSgQIQRgASgQIRhgAUMsWWItFYOJOaARwAXgAgAFziAHPCpIBBDE2LjGYAQCgAQHIAQjAAQE&sclient=gws-wiz”A quick search online shows that many brands offer baby monitors suited for traveling and vacationing parents. 

With that in mind, we assume

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