Siesta Key, FL

Hi all! It's Brandi and I went on a girl's trip to Siesta Key, Florida. We flew into Sarasota and took a cab to Siesta Key - about a half hour's drive. Siesta Key has a beautiful beach with white powdery sand. There was a sand castle building competition going on while we were there. There are great places to dine. Some of my favorites are Blase' Cafe, The Broken Egg and the Hub Baja Grill. We spent most of our time lounging in the sun. This is a great weekend destination!

Universal Studios, Florida

Hi! Jerry here! After the Travel Leaders National Convention my wife and I stayed in Orlando for a few days of R&R. We moved to Disney's All Star Sports resort to try a Disney value resort for 2 nights. We visited The Magic Kingdom and Epcot. The International Food and Wine Festival was taking place at Epcot while we were there. This is really something to taste :-)
We spent a day at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. Unfortunately the Harry Potter ride was broken while we were there. We ate lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. We always enjoy the Orlando theme parks!

Orlando, Travel Leader's National Convention

Hi! It's Raegan, Brandi and Jerry. We all traveled to Orlando in November for the Travel Leader's National Convention. We stayed at the Gaylord Palms Resort which is 1/2 mile from Walt Disney World. This resort is HUGE with an atrium with live alligators, a pirate ship and beautiful gardens. There were shops and restaurants and four wings of rooms. We stayed in the St. Augustine wing. We ate dinner at The Flying Fish at Disney's Boardwalk Inn Resort. This is a beautiful restaurant with wonderful cuisine and wine. They had the best crab cakes we have ever had! We spent most of our time in meetings but on the last night Disney opened The Animal Kingdom just for Travel Leaders and we saw the Finding Nemo show and were served a great dinner in Dinoland. We rode the DINOSAUR ride and played arcade games and then moved to the Asia section of the park for amazing desserts and several turns on Expedition Everst Roller Coaster - in the dark! What fun!

Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas

Hi Everyone!
Brandi here. It's been a busy fall and I have lots of trips to tell you about. First up is my vacation on one of the largest cruise ships afloat; Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas. My husband and I flew from Richmond to Ft. Lauderdale. We flew down a day early and stayed the night in Ft. Lauderdale near the pier. We stayed at the Hyatt Place, which is a great new hotel. The terminal in Ft. Lauderdale was specifically built for these massive ships so check-in was a breeze; no long lines to wait in. The ship is a destination in itself. There is so much to see and do. We sailed to the Eastern Caribbean which includes Nassau, Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. The Oasis of the Seas has great activities such as surfing, rock climbing, zip lining, miniature golf, ice skating, all without leaving the ship! The show are wonderful. There are Broadway style shows, comedians, shows on ice, and spectacular water shows at the Aqua Theater. My favorite was the Ice Show. There are many dining choices from traditional cruise ship dining to specialty restaurants and two a la carte options. The Royal Promenade is like being in a shopping mall. There is shopping, restaurants, bars (including a levitating bar that ascends and descends over three decks), coffee shop and my favorite, the Cupcake Cupboard. We tried out the Asian Fusion restaurant which is one of the a la carte options and the food was wonderful. Central Park and The Boardwalk are not to be missed. There are four pools to choose from, one with an infinity edge. I could go on and on about this great experience but you'll have to call me to hear more!

Western Mediterranean Cruise

Hi!
It's Raegan and in July I took a Western Mediterranean cruise aboard the Costa Concordia. We flew on Lufthansa into Barcelona, Spain and sailed from there. We visited a different port every day. This is my favorite type of cruise as I like to be on the go. On the first day we visited Marseille, France. We took a half day excursion to Aix en Provence which is a beautiful little city in the Provence region of France. That afternoon we spent in Marseille. We stopped for a crepe with chocolate and bananas - a "must have" on any trip to France! On day two the ship docked at Savona, Italy. We took a full day tour to Monaco. We visited the Palace of Prince Rainier III and watched the changing of the guards and heard stories about his romance with Princess Grace Kelly. We then traveled to Monte Carlo, known for it's casino and the Formula 1 Grand Prix race. The next day we stopped in Naples, Italy and visited the magnificent ruins at Pompeii. Day four found us in Palermo, Sicily. We did not take an excursion here. We walked miles and toured the city on our own. We enjoyed the side streets and the out of the way neighborhoods where the real people live. The next day we went to Tunis, Tunisia in northern Africa. We visited the archaeological site of Carthage with its ruins and aqueducts and then we toured the Medina (old town) and Souks (markets) for some interesting shopping. Thursday we visited Palma De Mallorca, Spain. This is a beautiful island! We walked miles and visited the Palace and shopping areas. Then on Friday morning we arrived back in Barcelona. We then spent two nights at the Barcelona House hotel which was an oddly modern hotel in a perfect location in the La Rambla area. We took the double-decker hop-on-hop-off bus tour of the city. We saw several examples of the famous architect, Antoni Gaudi's work, including the beautiful Sagrada Familia Cathedral and the Park Guell. Barcelona is one of my favorite cities. If you have the chance, definitely spend a few days here. Overall this was a fantastic trip. I can't decide which port was my favorite, I loved them all!

Australia, 2010

Hi!
It's Raegan and I've just returned from my second familiarization trip to Australia. This time we visited tropical North Queensland, The Great Barrier Reef and Sydney. I flew from Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport to LAX and then flew Qantas Airways from LAX to Brisbane. We then had a connection to Cairns. It was a long trip but definitely worth it. The first evening we arrived at the beautiful Shagri-La resort in Cairns. We went to the Cairns Tropical Night Zoo where we saw lots of native animals and had a BBQ and live entertainment. It was a fun welcome to Australia. On our first full day we took the Skyrail over the treetops of the rainforest to the village of Kuranda. The views were spectacular. That afternoon we visited the Tjapukai Aboriginal Culture Park where we were treated to native dances, food, music and even learned how to properly throw a boomerang! That evening we went to the night market in Cairns which was great for souvenir shopping. The next day was sunny and beautiful and we took the Quicksilver Wavepiercer Catamaran to the Outer Reef Platform where I snorkeled over the Great Barrier Reef. This was an amazing experience! They also offer scuba diving for beginners as well as experienced divers, helicopter tours, an underwater observatory and a semi-submersible boat to tour you around the reef without ever getting wet. The next two nights were spent at Thala Beach Lodge near Port Douglass. This is my favorite resort of all the resorts I have ever stayed! The Bungalows are perched on the cliffs in the rainforest overlooking the ocean. The food was fantastic and the lobby was one of the prettiest I have seen. The next day we went to the Daintree Rainforest which is the oldest rainforest in the world. We saw birds, snakes, crocodiles and kangaroos. We took a cruise on the Daintree River and later crossed the river on the Daintree River Ferry. The next day we had free time to visit the beach at our resort and relax a bit before our flight to Sydney. We spent the last three nights at the Marriott Sydney Harbour. We could walk one block to a pedestrian area with beautiful views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House. The next day we visited the Blue Mountains which is a unique World Heritage Region. We visited a temperate rain forest and enjoyed stunning views. We rode the world's steepest incline railway and saw kangaroos in the wild. On the last day we had a free day in Sydney. I loved Sydney. It is a beautiful, clean and friendly city. It is very easy to walk to all of the main tourist sites. We went up in the Sydney Tower for amazing views of the city and rode the monorail to Darling Harbor where we had lunch and visited the Sydney Aquarium. That afternoon we took the Harbour Express boat all around Sydney Harbour for beautiful views of the city and its beaches. Australia is a country not to be missed. I have been twice this year and hope to return. There is so much more to see!

Hilton Head, SC

Hello,
Its Brandi again. In March several of us went to Hilton Head, SC. We drove from here. It was about an 8 hour trip. We stayed at the Marriott Ocean Grand. Hilton Head has lots of activities to offer including golf, spa, beach, outlet shopping, and dining. Plantation tours are available as well as day trips to Savannah. Bicycling is the preferred mode of transportation. The beaches are very wide and not very crowded at this time of year. The weather was 65-70 degrees F each day. Hilton Head is great for family vacations, golf packages, girls' getaways....something for everyone. I enjoyed my trip and hope to return.