eBags, an online retailer that offers all types of luggage, handbags, laptop bags, backpacks, travel accessories and more, is having an early - 20 percent off  site-wide  - holiday sale. The sale clock stops at 11:59 MST, this Thursday, Nov. 12.

eBags has its own brand, and offers a wide range of designer handbags (think Kate Spade and Michael Kors). eBags also sells carry-on bags to bigger luggage pieces from Samsonite, Vitorinox and the special Britto collection. (Britto is pop artist whose colorful paintings sell for big bucks.) Travel accessories range from camera bags and jewelry bags to packing cubes and hand-held totes and coolers. (Certain brand exclusions apply to the sale.)

To learn more about eBags (and the 10 percent of all 'pick pink' retail sales it donates to breast cancer research), visit eBags.

The Aussies are still seeking three teams of two each, from anywhere in the world, for the last three legs of a Van-Tastic Adventure, all-expenses-paid journey through Oz.  Two Florida women won the right to take on the Tasmania leg of the journey by turning in a winning video.

Adventurers chosen for the next legs will spend six weeks in a van driving across the country and video recording their experiences,which might include anything from swimming with sharks to hiking around Kangaroo Island and trading tales with locals in bars at the end of the day.

If you're interested, turn in an online two-minute video, which shows why you should be selected as a Van-tastic Adventurer.  The videos are being viewed by sponsor judges from WorldNomands who will assess for desire and creativity.   To see some of the videos and read the blogs from adventurers on the current legs of the trip, or to enter, visit Vantastic.worldnomands.com

I found an excellent source for hikers and mountain bikers who are looking for free descriptions of hiking, walking and mountain biking trails throughout North America. The site, run by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, has detailed information on more than 30,000 miles of bike trails, walking trails, equestrian trails, and hiking and running trails.

This info is free and easy to locate, once you're on the site. If you register, you can also get info on parking lots near certain trails, customize directions to points along a trail, and share photos, reviews and GPS data.   For the details visit TrailLink.com.

Photo by L Friedland

Lonely Planet guidebooks is having a sale: Buy two books and the the second for 50 percent off.  In addition, domestic shipping is free.  Did you know that you can buy just the chapters you want from many guide books and print the chapters out or put them on your PDA at  Lonely Planet online?

The H1NI flu pandemic appears to be triggering a rise in travelers booking travel insurance. If you're spending big bucks on a vacation - especially an adventure travel vacation - consider springing for a sound travel insurance policy. The key is to check out exactly what is included. Typical policies provide coverage for trip interruptions, medical care and cancellations, but the key is to read the fine print about what constitutes a cancellation, the medical care definition, and transportation home if you get ill or hurt.

"Cancel for any reason" can be a wise idea during flu season. It's also a safety net, if someone in your family, such as your child or an elderly parent gets sick. In a Travel Weekly article about insurance and H1N1, Dan McGinnity, vice president of Travel Guard, said that anyone traveling to a destination that might be susceptible to an outbreak is strongly recommended to purchase "cancel for any reason" protection, which he said costs about 40% more than a standard plan. "Most standard plans would not include coverage simply for fear of traveling to an area, like Mexico last May," McGinnity said. He added that cancellation due to a travel warning issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also not covered by standard protection plans.

We've bought travel insurance from Travel Guard for two major adventure travel trips. Turns out we didn't use the insurance during our recent trip to the Galapagos Islands. But I got sick during our trip to Peru, a few years ago, and had to see a doc. When I sent the bills (which cost more than the money we had paid for the insurance) to Travel Guard after returning home, they paid immediately.

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Have you watched the Amazing Race television show and wondered if -- or were sure you could -- compete? If so, check out the Great Escape 2010, which is looking for globetrotters and adventurous travelers to join its annual Global Scavenger Hunt. Dates for the 6th annual adventure race are April 9-May 1, 2010.

The Global Scavenger Hunt is a treasure hunt that takes ordinary people on an around-the-world search starting in Los Angeles and ending in New York - after stops in ten countries. During the race, teams will be challenged in both mental and physical ways, while gaining insights into local cultures.  In addition to providing a unique experience, the Global Scavenger Hunt is designed to raise money for several internationally-focused humanitarian organizations.

Maldives government officials donned scuba gear yesterday for an underwater meeting amidst pristine coral, to highlight the threat global warming threat poses to the world's lowest-lying nation. During the meeting, conducted mainly by writing on white boards and using hand signals, Maldivian President Mohammed Nasheed signed a document asking all countries to cut down their carbon dioxide emissions, prior to the U.N. climate change conference scheduled for December in Copenhagen.

The meeting was held about 20 feet below the surface in water off one of the Maldive Islands in the Indian Ocean. Maldives is  a magnet for divers and snorkelers who come to view the spectacular coral formations  and schools of fish, but there are other islands where scuba divers and snorkelers can view colorful coral.

For example, you can walk off Lady Elliot Island, a coral cay that's part of Australia's Great Barrier Reef and swim through coral canyons in less than 30 feet of water. To find some of the most colorful coral in the world, visit 5 Picks for Scuba Diving Off the Shore.

Photo of diving off Lady Elliot Island by Clint Hempsall

If you've never seen snow before, here's your chance to play in Colorado for three months this winter. The  Colorado Tourism Office has launched a contest to give three "snow virgins" expenses-paid, three-month trips, during which they will get to sample winter activities such as skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, dog sledding and apres-ski life!  (In between, they get to visit spas, hot springs and great restaurants.) During the trip, from January to March, the winners must describe their adventures on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

If this appeals to you, submit a video to SnowAtFirstSight.com explaining why you should win. The videos will be online, and everyone is encouraged to vote for their favorites.  Ten finalists will head to Colorado for an audition.

Father Damien de Veuster, who was canonized as saint by Pope Benedict XVI at a mass earlier today, was a 19th-century Belgian missionary who ministered to people with leprosy in Hawaii. St. Damien spent the last years of his life  at the isoloated leper colony on the island of Molokai, Hawaii, before dying of the disease.

The former leper colony is now Kaluapapa  national historic park, and you can visit it via an exciting mule ride down a steep cliff.  The trail leads to the historic site surround by some of the worlds tallest sea cliffs.

Photo by L Friedland

Loveland Ski Area, with a chair that tops out near the Continental Divide in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, surprised Denverites today by announcing that it will open a run tomorrow, Wed., Oct. 7.  Arapahoe Basin, which annually vies with Loveland to open first, powered up its snow guns to work overtime and plans to open  Friday.