​You may find this shocking, but I honestly think one of the most important things you can do in your life is take a vacation. No this has nothing to do with me advocating as a travel professional. It is actually that philosophy the led me to my calling as a Travel Advisor for families all around the world.

During our recent trip to Hawaii we had a few hours to fill before our tour was set to start at the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. So, we decided to take a trip north to check out the home of the pineapple (or at least pineapple as we know it in America)-- the Dole Plantation.

From downtown Honolulu the drive took us about 45 minutes in the remnants of rush hour traffic. As with most of the drives through Hawaii the scenery was absolutely beautiful. The trip will take you past Wheeler Army Airfield and Schofield Barracks. While my husband gave me a great history lesson on the "Tropic Lightning" of the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield, I also learned about the significance of Wheeler during the afternoon trip to Pearl Harbor.

Once past the military bases you will begin to see the pineapple field and the beautiful Dole Plantation will appear on your right as you drive north on Route 99.

Hi friends! I am finally home and settling in after an amazing 10-day cruise on board the Disney Wonder. While I will have LOTS of new stuff to post in the coming days and weeks about Disney Cruise Line and Hawaii, I wanted to give you a quick synopsis of our trip to 'wet the appetite'. 

The Itinerary

The sailing we took with the Disney Wonder is actually one the do only every few years. Leaving from Vancouver the ship sails five days across the Pacific and then spends five days sailing around the Hawaiian Islands. In total you visit four of the islands with an overnight stay in Honolulu. What really drew us to this sailing was the opportunity to really experience the ship and relax while also getting a sample of the uniqueness of each of the islands we visited.

Hi loyal friends, clients and readers! As I recently posted on this blog I have spent a good bit of the summer dedicated to professional development. My goal was not only to grow personally as a travel agent, but to also better prepare myself to meet the needs of all the wonderful clients I have around the world!

Well, I am excited to announce that a big piece of that work recently paid off when I became a Certified Sandals Specialist!

This summer marks four years that I have been a professional travel agent. Its been a very interesting, and fun, personal and professional journey. What was once supposed to be a "fun hobby job" to make a little extra money for our family's Disney vacations has grown into a full fledged career! I have gone from an agent working on my own just selling Disney, to being a co-owner of an agency with an awesome business partner, planning trips for families all over the world, and I've somehow built a budding career out of it!

While all of this was going on my personal life was just as hectic. Within a few months of starting I found out I was pregnant with our FOURTH child. A few short weeks later my husband was offered a new assignment within his company that moved us to Houston, and just a few weeks after that I actually met my now business partner and great friend. Over that time our family has dealt with the ups and downs of personal and professional life, but all along life kept moving on and getting even more blessed than I could imagine.

So it's a regular theme here on my blog-- using a Travel Agent is a tremendous value when you're planning your family vacation. This is especially true when trying to navigate places like Walt Disney World or looking to find the perfect cruise/resort that is "perfect" for your family.

Well today brought to life another great example of why using a Travel Agent is a great idea... We can help you save money and you don't even have to lift a finger!

I've written here before about the value of using a Travel Agent. While your initial reaction may be, "you are a travel agent so of course you see value!", I actually got into this line of work after I saw how much easier my own trips would be with a travel agent's help! This is especially true for trips that require a great deal of planning, like a Disney vacation or visiting a new place for the first time.

Recently the New York Times tackled the value of using a "Travel Adviser", even in today's world of internet travel planning tools, tips, and tricks (like this blog!)