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.

Nassau, Bahamas and Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos

Hi, it' Jerry and I have just returned from a familiarization trip to Sandals Royal Bahmamian in Nassau, Bahamas and Beaches Turks and Caicos. Sandals in Nassau is an Adults only luxury all inclusive resort and I would say that they take care of your every need. They have a room category for just about everyone, from a deluxe room to a suite with your own personal butler. They are one of only two Sandals resorts that have their own private island. They also have the Red Lane spa for all the pampering you will need.
The next day I went to the Beaches Resort in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Beaches is a family resort that the kids will will enjoy as much as the adults. For the kids they have a Pirates Island waterpark as well six swimming pools and Sesame Street characters onsite and for the very small children they have a fantastic day care center. They have adults only restaurants so if you want to dine without your kids or anyone elses you can do that. Beaches also has the Red Lane Spa!! I think they have something for everyone and I would highly recommend both of them!!

Pacific Northwest

Hello again everyone. It's Jerry and I have just returned from a trip to the Pacific Northwest. I flew into Seattle where my family and I stayed for 4 days. While we were there we went up in the Space Needle twice. We went up in the day time and then again at night. Totaly different view at night!! The needle is over 650 feet high so you can really get a view of Seattle. We also went to Pikes Market and watched them throw the fish around. The Seahawks were playing the Bears while we were there so we were able to get tickets at the last minute and that was a lot of fun. We also went on a harbour tour and a Ride the Ducks tour. That's a tour that takes you around the city on a WW II amphibious beach craft. It goes on water and land. That was a lot of fun!! We also went to Mt. St. Helens and to Mt. Hood on our way to Portland where we stayed with family for two days. We flew home from there. While we were at Mt. Hood it snowed a foot and was still snowing when we left and this was in the last of Sept!! We also went out to the coast for a day visit so one day we were in the snow and the next we were in the ocean!! I love this part of the country and I think evereyone should see those mountains. This is a great vacation destination!

Southern Australia

Hi! It's Raegan and I've just returned from a familiarization trip to Southern Australia. I flew from Shenandoah Valley to LAX and then from LAX to Melbourne on Qantas Airways. We spent two nights at the luxurious five star Langham Hotel. We enjoyed dinner in the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant which is a working tramcar that tours the city as you dine. We also had some free time in Melbourne to visit the market and do some sightseeing. The next day we visited Warrook Cattle farm and saw kangaroos, emus and sheep. Then we went to the Koala Conservation Center. That evening we went to the Penguin Parade and watched the world's smallest penguins march up the sand to their nesting places. This was the highlight of my whole trip! We drove along the spectacular Great Ocean Road and saw beautiful scenery. We took a helicopter ride over the Twelve Apostles rock formations. Next we visited Grampians National Park and then on to wine tasting in the Barossa Valley. We flew to Kangaroo Island for 2 fantastic days of luxury touring. We walked through the bush and saw wallabies and kangaroos in the wild.We visited amazing seal bay where the seals sun themselves on the secluded beach. We had delicious meals grilled on the "barbie" each day. We visited the Remarkable Rocks rock formations and Admiral's Arch. The scenery was breathtaking! On the last day we flew back to Adelaide and had a free day for shopping and sightseeing. This was one of the best trips I've ever taken in all my years of traveling. I would recommend Australia to anyone!!

Norwegian Cruise Line

Hi there!
It's Raegan and I've just returned from a 7 night cruise to Bermuda aboard the Norwegian Majesty. We sailed from Baltimore. This is a wonderful port. Easy in, easy out and no flying! The ship is very small compared to most cruise ships today, only about 40,000 tons. It is a pretty little ship and the service was great. We ran into some bad weather and got into Bermuda late. We had two days there instead of the scheduled two and a half. It rained most of the time we were there but we still got to the beach for a bit and did some shopping. Bermuda is a beautiful island. It is more tropical than I expected since it so far north. It really feels like you're in the Caribbean. The water is beautiful and they have some of the prettiest beaches in the world. I thoroughly enjoyed this trip!

Riviera Maya, Mexico

Hi, It's Jerry and I just returned from a trip to the Riviera Maya. We stayed at Dreams Puerto Aventuras Resort and Spa. The resort is located about 1 hour and 20 minutes from the Cancun airport in the Riviera Maya. The resort was only about half full but I would say that the service was still very very good. The room was large with a loft area with a spiral staircase. We had a marina view room. The food was very good and they have mostly a la carte restaurants. We took one excursion which lasted all day. We went to the Mayan ruins of Coba and also went to a cenote, which is an under ground sink hole where we went swimming. We also repelled down a cliff, and went kayaking. It was a very good trip. If you think that this sounds like a good time to you, let us know and we will be glad to send you down there to check it out.