Jamaica - Riu Montego Bay

Hello, it's Brandi.
I've just returned from a quick getaway to Jamaica. We were there for 3 nights so we opted to stay at the Riu Montego Bay which is only 10 minutes from the airport. It is a small property, which I prefer. The rooms are nice, however, in my opinion the beds are too firm. The food was good, the buffets have a good variety but the downside is this resort only offers buffet dining, no a la carte. The beach is very nice, the water is beautiful. Due to the reef surrounding Jamaica the snorkeling there is excellent. It was a great weekend getaway. I'm sure I'll go again!

Celebrity Solstice

Hi, It's Brandi again. In November, 2008 I sailed aboard Celebrity's new ship, the Solstice. This is a beautiful ship. It has a very sophisticated feel to it. They really focus on spa, fitness and relaxation. We stayed in an Aqua Class stateroom. It was spacious as cruise ship cabins go and the shower had full body jets! They offered numerous bars and recreation choices. Some options for recreation include the ice bar, casino and art gallery as well as a full kid's club, basketball court, fitness center, jogging track and spa. I would recommend this ship to anyone wanting a luxurious vacation option.

Riviera Maya, Mexico

Hi it's Jerry and I just returned from Mexico's Riviera Maya where I stayed at the new Secrets Silver Sands all inclusive resort. The resort just opened in August and everything looked great! We went with Apple Vacations so we flew on the non-stop charter from Baltimore and the resort is only 15 minutes from the airport so we were there and in our room by 1 pm.
The beach there was not very wide but you could walk for miles in either direction if you wanted to. While we were there the sea turtles were hatching and heading for the sea so that was something to see. The resort has 8 restaurants, 8 bars, 8 swimming pools and the suites were huge with a Jacuzzi in every room. Also while we were there we took an excursion to one of the 7 wonders of the world, Chichen Itza. I have to say it was amazing!!
The weather and the water were warm so I would have to say that it was a great trip.

Vail, Colorado

Hi! It's Raegan and Brandi and we have just returned from a weekend in Vail, Colorado. We flew out of Shenandoah Valley through Dulles into Denver Intl. Airport. We took the Colorado Mountain Express shuttle service to Vail which is about 2 hours and 15 minutes from the Denver airport. We stayed at the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort and Spa. We went to Vail for a training seminar hosted by United Vacations. We learned about the many ski resort areas in Colorado. We toured several of the many accommodations in Vail.
Vail is a beautiful European style town, built as a ski resort so they know how to take care of tourists. We were there in early October so there wasn't any snow yet but Vail is a four season resort so there were still many people in town. The Aspen leaves had turned the most beautiful shade of gold! It is breathtakingly beautiful in the Rockies. Vail sits at about 8000 feet above sea level. We were warned about altitude sickness but neither of us had any problems. We experienced sunshine, rain, snow flurries and sleet in a 2 hour span on the drive back to Denver!
If you like to ski, snowboard, go tubing, hike, kayak, shop or any other outdoor activity, Vail is the place to be!

Bermuda Cruise

Hi, it's Brandi! I am just back from the 2nd annual Castaway with Jim and Frank. We sailed on Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas out of Baltimore, Maryland. This was a five night sailing to Bermuda. We had motorcoach transportation from Harrisonburg to Baltimore. The port at Baltimore is wonderful. We had hassle-free checkin with no lines! We had two days at sea and two days in Bermuda. The ship was great; just the right size. Definitely a good choice for first time cruisers. While in Bermuda we visited a few beaches and did an island tour. We enjoyed visiting Church Bay and Horseshoe Bay, they were both beautiful but very different from one another. Church Bay has a shelly beach but you can see the fish from the shore, great for snorkeling. Horseshoe Bay has a very long and wide soft white/pink sand beach, very touristy. Bermuda is British, very clean and upscale with lots of expensive shopping. I enjoyed Bermuda and would recommend it as a vacation destination.

New Orleans

Hi!
It's Brandi, Raegan and Jerry and we've all just had an exciting weekend visiting New Orleans for our company's National Meeting. We stayed at the New Orleans Marriott on Canal Street which borders the French Quarter. We spent most of our time in meetings but we did visit Bourbon Street on Friday night and on Saturday afternoon we walked to the Riverwalk. There are many other fun things to do in New Orleans like swamp tours, plantation home tours, Garden Distict tours and riverboat rides that we didn't have time for on this trip. New Orleans is still healing from Hurricane Katrina but it is a wonderful city not to be missed.

Grand Cayman

Hello,
It's Raegan again. My daughter and I just returned from a wonderful relaxing vacation to Grand Cayman. We flew from Washington Dulles for a 5 night getaway. We stayed at the beautiful Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort. Our room was very nice with the luxurious bedding that Marriott is known for. The beach has silky soft white sand and clear blue Caribbean water. We spent most of our time relaxing but we did go into Georgetown one day to do some shopping and we visited the famous Cayman turtle farm one day. We did a half day snorkel trip over a ship wreck and rode banana boats one afternoon. Grand Cayman is British and one of the more prosperous Caribbean islands so you don't see the poverty and crime that are prevalent on many of the other islands. I highly recommend this island to anyone!