This past January, Travel Consultant Christine Wolff had the chance to visit Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. This was not only a great opportunity for her to experience international travel and what that looks like these days, but also it was an amazing chance for her to stay at 2 different resorts and tour 7 others. Keep reading to learn more about her experience traveling internationally during COVID and to hear about some amazing resorts in Punta Cana!
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During our 2-week road trip of the West Coast, we decided to take two nights to go inland east to visit the beautiful Yosemite National Park! I have heard nothing but AMAZING things about this National Park of ours and of course everyone knows about the infamous El Capitan and Half Dome, so those were “must-sees” of mine. I wanted to see all of it in just 2 days and nights, but I quickly learned that this beautiful park deserves much more time. Yes, you can technically see “the highlights” of Yosemite in two nights, but to truly experience it the way it deserves to be experienced; I would highly recommend at least five nights, if not a full week as this park is HUGE. Next time my husband and I go, we will be there for at least seven days! As after visiting this first time, I have added things to do in this park to my mile-long bucket list.
The second I knew that COVID had officially killed all our 2020 international travel plans, I knew I had to plan a great adventure that was not only SAFE but was also domestic. With my love for travel, there was no way I was going to be cooped up for months on end this whole year and NOT travel as well. So a two-week road trip along the western coast visiting different National Parks seemed like the most ideal plan since we could be socially distant and outside as much as possible!
Our two-week road trip started in Seattle, Washington and ended in Malibu, California and totaled 2,871 miles! We made so many stops along the way at very notable destinations like Olympic National Park, Cannon Beach, Redwoods, San Francisco, Yosemite National Park, Big Sur, just to name a few! Today I will be highlighting the second week of our trip! Click here to read about the first week of our trip. Stayed tuned for another blog going in depth about our trip to Yosemite National Park, COMING SOON! The second I knew that COVID had officially killed all our 2020 international travel plans, I knew I had to plan a great adventure that was not only SAFE but was also domestic. With my love for travel, there was no way I was going to be cooped up for months on end this whole year and NOT travel as well. So a two-week road trip along the western coast visiting different National Parks seemed like the most ideal plan since we could be socially distant and outside as much as possible!
Our road trip started in Seattle, Washington, and ended in Malibu, California, and totaled 2,871 miles! We made so many stops along the way at notable destinations like Olympic National Park, Cannon Beach, Redwoods, San Francisco, Yosemite National Park, Big Sur, and more! Our very close friends, Nick and Lindsay, joined my husband and me for the first week of this adventure and they brought SO much joy and laughter along with them. 2020 has changed everyone's travel plans for the year. Some people have had to cancel trips, while others went somewhere different. We can't stop thinking about the amazing trips we have taken over the years! From European river cruises to relaxing in Mexico, our staff has gone on an array of adventures all around the world. Check out some of the trips our staff members have taken in the past. It is definitely giving us some inspiration for our next trip. We can't wait to start planning again!
At the end of August, three of my friends and I went on a girls' trip to Fort Myers Beach, Florida. I was so excited to take my friends to one of my favorite places to visit. We spent a long weekend enjoying the area and spending quality time with each other. Keep reading to hear all about flying right now, having delicious food and drinks, enjoying a practically empty beach, and exploring the beautiful marina.
My husband and I have always been huge Disney fans which means we absolutely love to vacation at Walt Disney World. My entire pregnancy people told me "you know you have to wait years before you go back to Disney World?" because people knew I would be dying to go back there and to most people it sounds like a miserable idea to take a baby to Disney. Well, when I announced I was planning to take my baby to Walt Disney World I got tons of push back! Of course I was a little nervous, but guess what - taking my 10-month-old to Disney was the best decision I ever made and I can't wait to go back with him! I will say it definitely was a different type of Disney vacation than what I've been used to, but it was completely worth it and here are some of my tips for taking your baby to Disney:
In May of this year, Travel Consultant Christine Hakenjos sailed to Alaska on Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of The Seas. She, along with her fiancé and 14 of his family members, departed out of Seattle for an Alaskan Cruise they would never forget! Keep reading for her experiences in Alaska and her thoughts on the ship itself. We boarded the ship on Friday, May 24th after spending the evening prior in Seattle. We arrived at the Cruise Terminal and boarded Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas. The check in at the terminal was a breeze! We had completed our check in process before we even arrived in Seattle. I highly recommend doing this! Our itinerary was absolutely wonderful! Although I will say, after this cruise I DEFINITELY want to see more of Alaska! This 7-night cruise featured stops to Juneau, Skagway and Victoria, British Columbia. We also had two days out at sea and one day cruising through Alaska’s Inside Passage as well as one day cruising through Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier. I will be honest, I was a bit bummed at first that we were only going to have 3 days in port, but after experiencing the views from our balcony stateroom during our days cruising, I totally changed my mind! I swear we could have sat out on that balcony for HOURS. With a group of 16, it was hard for us all to decide on the same shore excursions so some of us did different things while in port. All our excursions & tours were booked through a company called Shore Trips because we were wanting smaller group excursions. Everyone LOVED their shore excursions! We all thought our tour guides were very knowledgeable and entertaining. The tours were very well done and worth every penny! JUNEAU, ALASKAOn our 4th day of the cruise, we arrived in the small town of Juneau, Alaska. The town was absolutely adorable and has a lot to see and do just within walking distance of the pier. The tour that 8 other members of our group and I went on was the “Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier Combo Tour.” First, we were taken to Mendenhall Glacier where we were given an hour and half to do what we wanted. We decided to take the mile hike to the foot of Nugget Falls. The views from this point were just stunning! I have never seen a waterfall that big before. The waters of Mendenhall Lake were a mixture of blues and from where we were standing, we could actually see where the fresh water from the lake met the glacier’s run-off. This change in colors was beautiful to see! The glacier itself was unbelievable. I had seen many photos of it from all the research I had been doing prior to the trip but seeing it in person was a whole new perspective. After our visit to Mendenhall Glacier, we were driven to Auke Bay where we boarded our boat and met our very knowledgeable captain and marine biologist tour guides. They were both very insightful and entertaining. They lead us directly to whales, sea lions, harbor seals, bald eagles, and other wildlife while teaching us all about life in Alaska and the habits and lives of these beautiful mammals. Even though we had chances to see whales and dolphins from our ship, seeing them up close and personal like this was a whole other experience! We were all SO glad we took part in this tour! Two members of our group did the “Mendenhall Lake Canoe Adventure.” They paddled their way across beautiful Mendenhall Lake leading them to the face of the living Mendenhall Glacier. Three other members of our group decided on the “Helicopter and Dog Sled Tour” in Juneau. Their tour began with a 20-minute helicopter ride through glacier-carved mountains to the top of Herbert Glacier where they found about 80 huskies waiting to greet them. The mushers (tour guides/dog sled leaders) then took them on a 2-mile look through the mountains, even letting them drive the sleds! |
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