You Haven’t Experienced Mexico Until You Visit Cabo

If you’ve been to Cancun and you think you’ve been to Mexico, think again. You need to go to Cabo. Los Cabos, located at the tip of the Baja California peninsula, is nothing like the hotel zone of Cancun or the dense mangrove forest of Riviera Maya. It’s desert, and it feels like Southern California or Arizona. Cabo is in the state of Baja California Sur (“baja” means “lower and “sur” means “south”) so it is literally Lower California South. Cabo boasts jutting cliffs, rocky beaches, coarse sand, countless varieties of cactus, and fascinating animal life. I saw swooping pelicans,
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COVID Preparedness: Disney vs. Universal

Many people have asked me about my experiences at Universal Orlando and Disney World in the height of the COVID pandemic.  Is it safe? Which park does a better job of cleaning and sanitizing? How did it feel staying at the resorts? Well, read on, and read all the way to the end because I’m doing a FREE giveaway! My kids and I stayed at Universal Orlando on June 15-22, 2020, and my daughter and I stayed at Disney World on August 3-6, 2020. I thought the best way for me to answer these questions is to have a little
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Romance and Relaxation at Jamaica’s Couples Resorts

Are you looking for a secluded hideaway for your honeymoon or anniversary? Consider Couples Resorts, Jamaica’s original all-inclusive resort. With two locations in Negril and two in Ocho Rios, Couples offers four luxury, all-inclusive properties as the setting for your next romantic beach vacation: Couples Negril, Couples Swept Away, Couples San Souci and Couples Tower Isle. Two weeks ago, I visited all four Couples Resorts to get firsthand experience and all the latest updates about room categories, wedding venues, group space and, of course, the world-famous beaches. I also learned about the most recent safety protocols Couples Resorts is implementing
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A Classy Getaway at Nashville’s Historic Hermitage Hotel

Maybe you’re not ready to hop on a plane yet. I understand. But there’s no reason you can’t have a travel experience in your own hometown. I live in a suburb of Nashville, one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. Over 100 people move to Nashville every day, and it’s one of the most popular destinations for bachelorette parties. I hardly recognize the downtown area anymore. Whenever my friends come to Nashville, they rave about touring the Ryman Auditorium, the Parthenon, Belle Meade Plantation, the Carnton Mansion, Hatch Show Print or the Frist Art Museum. I’d always feel
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High Country Adventures Cures the Covid-19 Blues

I love planning other people’s vacations. Some planning takes weeks, and other trips take years of preparation. But when it comes to my travel, I tend to be spontaneous. Last weekend was no exception. My daughter, Adelynn, was invited to go whitewater rafting with a friend and her family, and all of a sudden, rafting sounded like an excellent idea. The weather was hot, and we needed something active to do in the summer heat. Nadia is too young to raft, so Mark said he would stay home with her. That left me, Ethan (17) and Clarissa (14). Choosing High
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The Trip That Goes Wrong, Part 2

You know those times in life where you think to yourself, “This could go either way”? Sometimes, you find yourself at a crossroads, and you know things are about to turn out really well or totally go down the toilet. Let me give you a quick recap. In a matter of a moment, my future had changed. I didn’t think I would be able to get on the Disney Wonder cruise ship, but my friend Sela broke into my house and sent me a photo of my birth certificate. In just one text—a picture of a piece of paper with
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The Trip That Goes Wrong: Confessions of a Travel Agent

Have you ever heard of The Play That Goes Wrong? It’s a Monty Python-meets-Sherlock-Holmes whodunit play-within-a-play about series of disasters that happen when the fictitious Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society is asked to put on a performance of The Murder at Haversham Manor. Well, I had my own rendition of The TRIP That Goes Wrong. It didn’t involve collapsing floors, misplaced dialogue and cast members being knocked unconscious, but it did involve forgotten passports, legal house break-ins, vibrating beds and one of the worst sinus infections of my life. Interested? Please read on and feel free to laugh and commiserate and
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