The Black Cadillac Escalade turned the corner onto our street and slowed to a stop in our driveway right on time. Our limo had come to take us to the airport, courtesy of our travel agent. Loading our bags in we began the 45 minute trek and the start of actual travel after all the anticipation. Saturday traffic was light and we arrived and offloaded at the curb. Mary had discovered that our First/Business Class ticket gave us no charge baggage service on U S Airways and the baggage clerk informed us that our international destination required the agent to review our passports inside. With everything in order we proceeded to the security check point, and finding few people in line we were at our gate promptly. We boarded in Zone 1 priority and with the ... read more

We're deep into preparation for the next big trip. As we work through the details of getting everything together for our Southeast Asia excursion we're appreciating the value of having an excellent travel agent assisting us (Deb @ Odyessy Travel in Ormond Beach, FL). Not only is she handling all the reservation details of a land-sea effort but is finding us values that will make our trip more enjoyable while saving money. With the advantage of emails and phones we've worked through the necessary visas (Australia and China) and confirmation of other details. It's interesting to note that China and Brazil seem to be the only countries we've visited recently that charge hefty fees, much like the US does to our foreign visitors. Our original plans called for cruising around New Zealand and Australia and ... read more

We're beginning our wonderful experience of planning for a trip 6 months away. We signed up while aboard the Regent Cruise ship Mariner on the final leg of our circumnavigation of South America. We'd had a great trip and were looking forward to seeing a different part of the world after a break at home. The planning of land excursions on both ends of the ANZ cruise has been fun and we're constantly learning new things. We did have an interestingly negative experience with Google's Blogspot when they obliterated my SA blog because they considered it "spam". Ever try and argue with that mega-giant? We're now enjoying this interactive experience.... read more