Highbrow Magazine Contributing Writer Barbara Noe Kennedy is an award-winning writer and editor, who specializes in travel writing. She worked for more than 20 years for the National Geographic Book Division, and she has also written for the Washington Post, National Geographic Traveler, the Los Angeles Times, and Fodor's -- in addition to penning a few books. She is a recent Lowell Thomas travel journalism award winner. Barbara has traveled extensively around the world and, along with her husband, is actively involved in helping Zambian students achieve their education and career goals. She writes travel articles and film reviews for Highbrow Magazine.

As the weather heats up — and fear of pandemic travel continues to fade — adventure seekers, families and travel enthusiasts alike are trading in their winter jackets for hiking boots and bathing suits and getting ready to get back outdoors. According to Penn State's Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management, almost half of adults in the U.S. now participate in outdoor recreation at least once a month; that’s up from 20% pre-pandemic.

Anthony J. Peritore’s captivation with Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island was set in motion by his initial National Geographic assignment. His experience in photographic equipment management and specialty in remote image capture for aviation brought him to Florida’s Space Coast to photograph the inaugural Space Shuttle launch, continuing with two decades of assignments. On his days off, Peritore was drawn to Merritt Island, a gathering place of the Atlantic Flyway bird migration route.

'Women of Vision: National Geographic Photographers on Assignment' opens at Forest Lawn Museum at Forest Lawn—Glendale, California, on December 11, 2018. Highlighting the influential photography of 11 award-winning female photojournalists, the traveling exhibition is on view in Glendale until April 7, 2019. The exhibit features nearly 100 photographs, including moving depictions of far-flung cultures; compelling illustrations of conceptual topics, such as memory and teenage brain chemistry; and arresting images of social issues.

Over the past four years, Burke has amassed almost 800,000 followers on Instagram and his photos have been published in Backpacker Magazine and on the cover of National Geographic Magazine.  Along his journey, the avid athlete can be found walking slacklines over canyons, freediving through caves in the ocean and pushing himself and the boundaries of his craft. He’s enjoyed living in the van his grandmother gave him, which he converted into the ultimate “adventure mobile” -- affectionately known as Betty the Grey Wolf.   

Though the country remained under a one-party rule, Vietnam has since the late 1980s eased its once-iron grip on the economy and cultural life, moving from a socialist to a free market economy. Gone are the days when citizens were required to discuss Marxist-Leninist doctrines at weekly neighborhood sessions. Gone too are the permits needed to buy rice from state-run stores, or to move from one city to another. The drab, impoverished and immobile nation that Catherine saw when she first visited in 1990 quickly shifted under her lens. And fascinated, she kept coming back. 

Imagine being able to see light waves bouncing off objects, microscopic creatures in pond water, or watching a nano-machine destroy a cancer cell as if you could see your own hand. What could you study and learn from that observation? That’s the focus of ‘Mysteries of the Unseen World,’ a new documentary short by National Geographic. Narrated by Forest Whitaker and clocking in around 40 minutes, ‘Mysteries’ is like a refresher science class, covering just enough information to educate viewers and pique their interest.

Not long ago, the art of exploration and travel writing seemed to be the exclusive right of the British. However, not to be outdone by their brethren across the Atlantic, a number of prominent American travel writers – from the late, great Mark Twain and Richard Halliburton to Paul Theroux – began to populate the field and have continuously made an impressive mark for themselves on the literary travel map. Amongst the prolific American set is Stephen Jermanok, who came to the world of travel after quitting his job as a broker in Manhattan.