  From left to right: Stacey, Abby, Jenn, and Rachel Aloha! Hawaii has been at the top of my bucket list for years! When I decided to make this trip happen in 2018 I invited a few friends along and made it the ultimate girls trip; Jenn, Rachel, and Abby joined me on this adventure. Hawaii had everything we wanted in a vacation- perfect weather, beaches, hiking, water activities, and city life. The choice of which two islands to visit was a hard one, but for this trip we landed on Oahu and Kauai.
Oahu Oahu was the perfect start to our vacation! Our first few nights were along the famous Waikiki Beach. Here we were able to walk all around our hotel to restaurants, shops, and different sections of the beach. We really enjoyed the beach and the hustle of the Waikiki strip. Oahu has so much more to offer than just Waikiki. It’s a must to get out of that area whether you rent a car or take a guided tour of the island. Some of our highlights from around the island are below. Pearl Harbor Any visit to Oahu isn’t complete without a stop here. It was a very humbling experience to learn about the attacks in such detail and see how much it affected the people of Hawaii personally.
Diamond Head We love to hike, so a trip up Diamond Head was an easy choice for an activity. Even if you are a light to moderate hiker this trip is worth it for the view. The path is paved, but it is mostly uphill so be sure to take your time and bring water.
Kualoa Ranch This private nature reserve is home to the filming location of many favorite movies and TV shows. I enjoyed fangirling over the sites from “Jurassic Park” and “Lost”. Here you can zipline, take ATV tours, horseback rides, or a film bus tour. We decided to go for the 2-hour ATV tour and I’m so glad that we chose that. It was a highlight for our time on Oahu.
Waimea Valley These botanical gardens blew away our expectations! The variety of flowers and historical sites leading up to the waterfall was so impressive. Rachel majored in Conservation Biology, so this stop was especially exciting for her.
Polynesian Culture Center We decided to stay two nights on the North Shore so that we could really enjoy the quieter pace of Oahu and enjoy a full day experience at the Polynesian Culture Center. Our tickets were for the Ambassador Luau Package, which included visiting the villages from noon to 6pm, a dinner buffet show, and the “Ha: Breath of Life” performance. Each village had exhibits on their island and gave special little shows throughout the day. Have the guide was so beneficial because she was able to take us on the best route to maximize our time. My favorite was the Samoa act! I truly recommend spending the full day here from noon until the “Breath of Life” performance!
Kauai Kauai was our second island choice because of the amount of natural beauty on the garden island! About 80% of Kauai can’t been seen by car. It can only be accessed by water, air, or hiking—so we decided to do all three! We really chose to live it up in Kauai and stay at the Grand Hyatt Kauai. This hotel was gorgeous! Having Club access, we also enjoyed the spa access and use of the club lounge for breakfast.
Na Pali Coast Catamaran Cruise I love to be out on the water, so the catamaran cruise was the activity I was most excited about and it did not disappoint! We woke up bright and early and made it to the ship in time to sail away just after sunrise. Breakfast was served as we enjoyed the salt water breeze! We had an amazing sighting of dolphins swimming and even a whale tale! First, we stopped in a cove to snorkel. We had a blast seeing the variety of fish and a sea turtle swimming. After snorkeling we set out to get our first glimpse of the Na Pali Coast. I can’t even put into words how stunning the landscape is in person. Captain Jeff and his crew shared stories and facts about Kauai along the way. Our deli lunch and beverages really hit the spot for our scenic ride back to Port Allen.
Helicopter Ride Since so much of Kauai can only been seen from above we decided to spring for a helicopter tour. We saw some amazing waterfalls and the Na Pali Coast again! Our pilot gave some great commentary and played some touring music. If there is any place to take a helicopter tour, Kauai must be at the top of the list.
Hiking Another item at the top of our list was hiking. We decided to visit the lookouts of Waimea Canyon and choose a trail there. We ended up on the Canyon Rim trail. This gave us some fantastic, unspoiled views and a few bonus waterfalls. The trails are not very well marked so be sure to read the signs on how long the hike is and bring plenty of water.
 This was such a truly spectacular trip and I was so lucky to share it with three friends. Hawaii is perfect for friends, romance, and family! It’s all about the islands and places you choose. I’m happy to share more details about my accommodation, activities, or trip planning! Mahalo! Start planning your next trip by giving Stacey a call at 314-439-5700 ext. 128 or send her an email. 
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 Most of the time when people mention they're traveling to Iowa people question "why?". No, it's not the most popular state, but hidden in each state of our county is a gem and Iowa's is the small Dutch town of Pella. Pella is located right outside of Des Moines, IA that Hollanders claimed as their new home in 1847. They named it Pella, otherwise meaning "city of refuge". This Dutch community has grown since it was first founded and it still holds on to its founding roots of traditions, food, customs and more. One of the most popular traditions that they celebrate like their European ancestors is the famed Tulip Time Festival. When I heard about the Festival (and it only being 4 hours away from St. Louis) I knew I had to go and I'm so glad I did!
As we walked around this city we couldn't believe how much it actually felt like we could be in Europe. All of the buildings in the city had similar architecture to that of the Netherlands with bricks, towers, colorful shutters and of course, windmills! Pella actually has an authentic windmill that was built in Hoogmade, the Netherlands, and was de-assembled and then re-assembled in Pella in 2002. Visitors are able to take a tour and go up the windmill however we were unable to during our visit (we'll save it for next time!).
The streets were alive with dancing in wooden shoes, Dutch food trucks, beautiful Dutch clothing, presentations and parades. I honestly didn't anticipate for there to be as many people at this small festival, but it turns out Pella usually has around 150,000 visitors for the Tulip Time Festival each year. It made it fun and exciting to be around so many people who were interested in learning about and celebrating a different culture.
Pella is a destination I fully plan to visit again with my family. It offers something fun and unique to a large audience and it's great for a quick weekend getaway. This town also has local wineries and a lake for even more activities outside of the Festival. If you're interested in visiting the next Tulip Time Festival in Pella then mark your calendar for the first weekend of May in 2019 - we'll see you there! To book your Tulip Time Festival vacation contact the staff at Brentwood Travel today! Call us at 314-439-5700!    The wedding party celebrating with Christina and Eric at Moon Palace Cancun When KSDK Anchor-Reporter Christina Coleman and 590AM Radio Personality Eric Messersmith wanted a small, intimate wedding a beach ceremony was a perfect choice. They worked with Travel Consultant Emily Medina and selected Moon Palace Cancun as their ideal location for a week long celebration with friends and family. The luxurious Moon Palace Cancun is an all-inclusive resort and had everything Christina and Eric needed for an unforgettable experience. The resort is located approximately five miles south of the airport on Cancun's tranquil south shore and is surrounded by 55-acres of lush tropical foliage. 'This was the best week of my life and my wedding day was one of the best days of my life! Thank you SO much!" -Christina Coleman
  Chris and Terri came to the office looking to fulfill a dream vacation! Brentwood Travel’s Supervisor of Leisure Travel, Stacey Hoehne, put together a trip that fulfilled their desires—a custom trip in New Zealand and a guided tour of Australia. Read their rave review of their journey with Travel 2 in New Zealand and Luxury Gold touring in Australia. 'Our trip was fantastic. Our New Zealand portion of the trip was flawless with limos and buses picking us up at the proper times. Queenstown, Milford Sound, the TSS Earnslaw and Walter's Peak experiences were all great. On our free day, we did the gondola ride to the mountain top and then rode the luge cars down! The Luxury Gold excursions offered through Insight Vacations during our time in Australia was the best. Our tour director was David and he handled everything. We found him to be very personable and knowledgeable about everything we saw. We had a variety of local guides lined up to offer further insights. The great barrier reef was well organized for tourists. A high-speed boat picked us up at Port Douglas and took us to an offshore facility (floating barge made for diving) about 70 km out. It offered scuba, snorkel, helmet dives, as well as glass bottomed and submarine dives. Terri did the helmet dive and after that we both snorkeled and did the sub dive. Great fun!  Chris and Terri enjoying the sunset at Uluru Uluru was certainly a high point on the trip especially seeing it at sunrise and sunset while eating appetizers and drinking wine. The group we were with had only 12 people who we all got to know over the 2 weeks we were together. Dave scheduled a helicopter ride for the 3 of us over Uluru and Kata Tjira. Our adventure in Sydney adventures was the best! The sailboat cruise around Darling bay provided views of Sydney most people don't often see. We then walked across the Sydney bridge, went to Bondi beach and had dinner at the opera house. Wow! All the hotel accommodations were excellent with The Langham in Sydney and The George in Christchurch leading the way. All of us thoroughly enjoyed the trip and would recommend it to others.' -Chris and Terri Contact Stacey at 314-439-5700 ext. 128 or email her to start planning your perfect trip to the Land Down Under!  |
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