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Gazing into my crystal ball....

6/28/2020

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Picture

Over the last few weeks, I have been gazing into my crystal ball and looking at the future of travel.  What will the next few months bring?  What will 2021 bring?  Will travel ever be the same?  All questions that have been buried in the back of my brain and will continue to think about for weeks and months to come.  

Gazing into my crystal ball, I thought it would be fun to talk about what the remaining months of 2020 look like, potential travel trends for 2021 and how you can plan to return to travel, when the time is right for you! 

For the remainder of 2020, I have four active bookings and two trips of my own planned. A slow fall, but considering all that is going on in the world, I am okay with that.  Three clients are traveling to the Caribbean and one client is traveling to Hawaii, all destinations that are currently open or will be opening in the next few weeks.  For Mike and I, we will make our annual trip to Maine by plane in September and feel safe in boarding our planned flights.  In November, we are booked on a four night cruise with Virgin Voyages.  We were originally going to experience this brand new adult only cruise line in March, however COVID19 had other plans.  We are hopeful that ships will be sailing in the Fall and excited to get on board to experience this new concept in cruising.  

At the top of my list for 2021 will be a surge in travel within the United States.  I can envision the family road trip to National Parks, theme parks and many other family friendly locations throughout the country.  Thinking about a trip to one of the nations National Parks in 2021?  Start planning now!  National Parks open up hotel and lodge reservations one year prior to travel and many sell out in advance, especially during the summer months.  I love working with couples and families to plan National Parks vacations!  

If Alaska is on your bucket list and experiencing the great state by cruise ship is a must, then you need to book now for 2021.  With the entire Alaska 2020 cruise season cancelled due to COVID19, many clients shifted their dates to 2021 cruises.  Peak season in Alaska is June - August, however if your dates are flexible you can often find a better price point at the beginning of the season in mid-May or at the end of the season in early September.  

If a theme park vacation is at the top of your list for 2021, start planning now.  Just this past week, Disney opened reservations for 2021 packages.  Disney will begin re-opening on July 11th and while the experience may be quite different for awhile, I am hopeful that 2021 will bring back character experiences, parades and fireworks. 

Looking for a winter getaway either by land or sea, now is the time to plan!  Just this week, I booked clients to travel to Mexico in February and I thought prices were quite reasonable for that time of year.  Booking six months or more in advance offers the best availability for resorts and cruise ships.  

Returning to Europe, while uncertain at this time, will hopefully happen in early 2021.  The European Union is deciding when travelers from the US will be allowed to travel abroad.  I fully support their cautiousness in allowing tourists to return and the potential of a surge in COVID19 if it is done to soon.  I am optimistic that our group trip that is scheduled for May 2021 will travel as planned and excited to finally enjoy the Rhine River cruise with our travelers.  Shameless plug...there is still space available on this ship and we would love to have you join us!  

A word about travel protection....what I learned from COVID19, is that standard policies don't cover a global pandemic.  Travel protection companies have been great in allowing clients the opportunity to turn their existing policies into future use vouchers. This allowed many of my clients to use their policies for future trips. Moving forward, I will provide clients the opportunity to upgrade to a cancel for any reason policy which will offer a refund of 75% - 100% depending on the policy guidelines, minus the cost of the travel protection.  

So if you are ready to discuss plans for 2021, reach out by phone or email to start the conversation.  Having a plan in place, will give you something to look forward to over the next few months. 

Until next time! 
Courtney 

Photo courtesy of Google images. 





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A change in area code is good for the soul!

6/15/2020

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For a traveler at heart, not going anywhere by plane, train or even automobile for the last few months has been hard! This past week while scrolling through Facebook, a page I follow for Spring Valley Orchard announced that cherry season had arrived.  I love fresh cherries and thought it would be a fun day trip to check out the orchard.  A change in latitude was sure to help my attitude! 

So on Saturday morning, my friend Jenn and I left Windsor at 7:30am headed towards Charlottesville.  A short two and half hours later and the last few miles on some crazy winding roads, we arrived at Spring Valley Orchard.  Spring Valley Orchard is owned by the same group that owns Carter Mountain Orchard, famous for the fall apple season and Chiles Peach Orchard, all within about 30 minutes of each other just outside of Charlottesville.  This area is also well known for many wineries and breweries.  

Spring Valley Orchard is nestled into the rolling hills, about 30 minutes from Afton Mountain and offers a variety of cherries for picking during the month of June and into July, depending on the weather.  We stayed here a little over an hour picking cherries and taking photos.  The orchard was easy to navigate and the cherries quite delicious.  


After picking cherries, we traveled to Bold Rock Hard Cider for lunch and a delicious pint.  Their seasonal cider is pineapple and not to be missed if you are visiting this summer.  Bold Rock can also be found in many local grocery stores and Mike has already found the pineapple at our local Kroger.  

Bold Rock is the perfect location to spend a few hours with friends and enjoy the beautiful views! 
After a lovely lunch, our last stop of the day took us to Chiles Peach Orchard. The peach season is just starting and pick your own peaches were on our radar.  Besides peaches, they also offered pick your own strawberries and blueberries.  In the fall, they offer apples and pumpkins.  Our first stop was in the peach orchard to stroll through the trees, take a few photos and pick our peck of peaches.  Say that three times!  

After peach picking, we ventured inside to check out their selection of jams, jellies, salsas, baked goods and other produce.  I dare you not to take home a dozen apple cider donuts!  We rounded out the adventure by grabbing a peach and vanilla twist ice cream before we began the journey home.  




With summer here, I would encourage you to get out of the area code for the day for a change of scenery.  While travel will be a bit limited this summer, it is the perfect time to explore all of these great places that are just a stones throw away.  Believe me when I say that changing your area code for the day is good for the soul! 

Until next time! 
Courtney

Photo credits:
Courtney Roggmann
Jenn @ Orange Tree Square - check out her blog about our day at http://www.orangetreesquare.com/ 
1 Comment

    Courtney

    Travel agent with 15+ years
    of experience!

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