Romantic vacations

Romantic vacations
I have recently written about couples only resorts and highlighted the most popular of them all - Sandals Resorts.  There are many to chose from, with Jamaica having 5 different Sandals Resorts.  Chances are you have heard of Sandals - they spend quite of bit of money on advertising.  And because of that, plus the fact the resorts are fabulous and their locations are prime pieces of property, the price for a vacation at Sandals is $$$$$.  Yes, these are very expensive trips.  If you can afford to spend 6 grand on a week long vacation, then won't be disappointed in any of the wonderful Sandals resorts.  However, if your wallet is not that fat but you still want to go on that romantic get-away with your significant other, we at Christie Cruise and Travel Masters can help you!

We book quite a lot of adults only, couples vacations at Secrets Resorts.  These are very similar to Sandals - beautiful locations, dazzling night life, delicious food and romantic touches everywhere.  One of the main differences between these 2 resorts is price!  Secrets is much more affordable than Sandals.  For example, we have clients who love going to Secrets Wild Orchid and Secrets Montego Bay in Jamaica.  The price for these are around $ 4,300 for two people compared to over $ 6,000 for the Sandals Jamaica Montego Bay.

Sandals Resorts are located mainly in the Caribbean, there are none in Cancun or Riviera Maya in Mexico.  There are 10 Secret Resorts in Mexico: Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya, Secrets Aura Cozumel, Secrets Capri Riviera Cancun, Secrets Huatulco Resort and Spa, Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun, Secrets Playa Mujeres Golf and Spa Resort, Secrets Puerto Los Cabos Golf and Spa Resort, Secrets Silversands Riviera Cancun, Secrets The Vine Cancun, and Secrets Vallarta Bay Puerto Vallarta.

There are 2 Secrets Resorts in Punta Cana:  the Secrets Cap Cana Resort & Spa and Secrets Royal Beach as well as 2 in Jamaica :  Secrets St. James Montego Bay and Secrets Wild Orchid Montego Bay.

I saved the best for last ... The Secrets Papagaya in Costa Rica.  I am putting this one on my bucket list.  I have been to Costa Rica and it is one of my favorite vacation destination.  This resort is located on the stunning Papagayo Peninsula in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.  It is only a short 20 minute drive from the Liberia International Airport.  I was holding my breath as I was reading more about this resort, hoping in was in Guanacaste and close to the Liberia Airport.  The other alternative would have been flying into San Jose and about a 4 hour drive to Guanacaste.  That's no fun!

This Costa Rica resort is situated on a serene beachfront and surrounded by tropical gardens. The website boasts it is one of their most romantic and intimate settings imaginable.  As you can tell by one of the pictures, the bedroom accommodation are extraordinary.  You wouldn't even have to leave you bedroom - you have your own private pool, chaise lounges for sunning and a stunning patio. It is one of the resorts in the Secrets "family" that offers an "Unlimited-Luxury" experience.  This isn't just a phrase - it is Secrets commitment to redefining the all-inclusive experience by including every amenity you would expect from a world-class destination.  Here is just a partial list of guaranteed amenities:  Limitless access to gourmet a la carte dining options without reservations required
, Unlimited international and domestic top-shelf spirits, Unlimited natural fruit juices and soft drinks, 24 hour room and concierge services, Pool and beach wait service, Endless daytime activities and live nightly entertainment and NO wrist bands.

You deserve an adults only getaway for you and your significant other sometime in your life and both the Sandals and Secrets Resorts will exceed your expectations at every turn.  Make time to re-connect with your partner and rekindle your love.

As always, safe travels and Godspeed.

Follow The Leaves...

Traveling the World with Christie Cruise and Travel Masters
Alison Christie

Follow the Leaves...

If anyone knows me at all, they know that Autumn is my favorite season. I love everything about it - the smell, the colors, the cooler temperatures, football games, tailgating, Keeneland Race Track, Thanksgiving with loved ones and the list goes on. I'm not particularly sad that the pool is closed, my garden is kaput and no longer giving me juicy red tomatoes, my flowers - well, that's another story. My flowers have been in a battle with the deer all summer and they have been soundly defeated. Not only defeated, but annihilated. So, I can't really miss the flowers that I didn't have but tried so hard to have all summer. Occasionally, if I was lucky, I got to enjoy some of the flowers for a day or two. Then, bam, overnight the beasts fought through my protective barriers of blood meal, Deer off, Irish Spring soap shavings, hair from my hairbrush, and my homemade concoction of egg, milk, tabasco sauce, dishwashing detergent and little vegetable oil (thank you Aunt Vicky). I drew the line at using human urine. One of my good friends says she has a little luck with that but not much more than the above preventions. Toward the end of summer, the brainless beasts were eating plants they normally don't even eat. After a chomp or two (and then remembering they don't like that flower), they would just pull the whole flower out of the ground and sling it to the side as if to say to me "You know I don't like this flower so why did you plant it?". I can easily count 7 or 8 deer in my yard and woods around my house at any given time and lord knows how many more are in the woods that I can't see. And even though I rant and rave at the beasties destruction, I think they are beautiful animals and enjoy seeing their spotted babies and looking at the young bucks to see how many tines they have on their rack. I'm an animal lover and at the end of the day (or summer), after my rants, I realize they need to eat, too. An open letter to the deer at the Christie house place in Bellefonte..."You are welcome for the new crop of mustard and spinach I planted in my garden a couple of weeks ago with the anticipation of a nice, fresh salad this fall. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I would have."

As the leaves start turning colors, the drive along I-64 to Lexington for a UK football game and tailgating is a great way to spend a Saturday in the fall. The only way to make that better is to throw in a visit to Keeneland during the day before a night football game. I usually enjoy tailgating and the football game with a large group of friends from Ashland. Everyone will bring a dish and Jerry Griffith will man the portable grill for hotdogs and hamburgers. There is usually more food than we can eat but we need the extra energy to endure the long, nail-biting close game.

Hopefully, we will have a long, beautiful autumn season so I can enjoy more glorious days outside with Mother Nature providing the backdrop of red and gold leaves and the warm temperatures pushing all thoughts of the dreaded next season, Winter, to the back far reaches of our minds.

As always, safe travels and Godspeed.
Alison

Take The Outlander Tour In Scotland

Traveling the World with Christie Cruise and Travel Masters
Alison Christie

Take the Outlander Tour in Scotland

I love to read. I don't read as much as I used to because if a book is really good, it is very hard for me to put it down. I stay up way too late at night reading, making it hard to get up for work the next morning. Several years ago (over 15 years actually), I heard about a series of novels that all of my friends were reading and for a the lack of a better word, obsessing over. The name of the first book was Outlander. The just of the novel is a love story between Jaimie and Claire set in the highlands of Scotland in the 18th century AND the 20th century. Yes, that's right. Clair time travels back in time from the 20th Century, right after World War II through the stones at Craigh na Dun, close to Inverness, Scotland to the 18th century. Ok, you say, stop right there. A time travel love story sounds silly, don't you think. Well, somehow, author Diana Gabaldon makes it all seem possible and after I read a couple of chapters, I was hooked. I read all 4 of the novels that were then currently published in about a week (staying up until 3 in the morning) and then anxiously awaited each new book after that, for a total of eight novels to date. Starting from the first novel, Outlander, the following novels are in order from 2-8: Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, An Echo in the Bone, and Written in My Own Heart's Blood.

As with many novels, the Outlander series is now on television. Starz network is now producing a series based on the books. I confess, I have watched all of them and I give it a fairly high rating. As like most avid readers, I like the books better than the TV series but the producers did a pretty good job in casting. The character of Claire would be the only person that I would not have cast in that role. The actress does a great job but she is not the mental vision of Claire that I pictured in my mind. However, none the less, I enjoyed the series very much. In the books, Jaimie gave the name "Outlander" or "Sassenach" to Claire, which translates to one who is an outsider ignorant of Scottish Highland culture and one of the generally hate English as well.

And now, you can take The Outlander Tour if you wish to travel to Scotland and experience the sites that were depicted in the books. Christie Cruise and Travel have 2 ladies who want to take this trip, so we have been doing some research. You can take a one day excursion through Viator Tours from Edinburgh or 4,6,7 or 10 day tours. There are several tour companies that offer a variety of "Outlander" tours - Celtic Journeys, Clans and Castles, Lynotte Tours, Sceptre Tours, just to name a few. A typical tour will include a visit to Doune Castle, near Stirling and not too far from Edinburgh. This castle poses as Castle Leoch, which is home to Colum Mackenzie and his clan in the books. You can climb the standing stones at "Craigh na Dun" and travel back in time to 1746 and the Battle of Culloden. See the ruined cottage where Jaimie and Claire said their tearful goodbye. Visit Clava Cairns to learn the mysteries of ancient civilizations and their standing stones. Near the small village of Broch Mordha is Broch Tuarach, which doubles as Jamie's homeplace "Lallybroch". These tours will also hit the highlights of the Scottish Highlands as well. When the Gang and I travelled to Scotland, we took a one day tour by motor coach to the Highlands from Edinburgh and we saw several of these sights. On our next trip back to Scotland, we will spend at least 7 days exploring the Highlands. There is so much rich history to learn and breathtaking sights that I want to see.

Call Christie Cruise and Travel Masters
606-324-4555 
If you are interested in pricing for any of these Tours of Scotland.
As always, safe travels and Godspeed.

Loving Everyday Life in Ashland, Kentucky

Traveling the World with Christie Cruise and Travel Masters

Alison Christie

I enjoy writing articles for the Beacon about my past and future travels, especially with The Gang (My sons Alex and Austin Christie and their best friend Greg Stump.) I own Christie Cruise and Travel Masters, located at 2301 Greenup Avenue in Ashland - which most of my readers have probably figured out by now, after having written over 50 articles for the Free-kin Beacon. Christie Cruise just celebrated being in business for 15 years and we have seen a great many changes in the travel industry over these past years. Travelers discovered the internet and learned how to book airline tickets and other trips themselves. However, we have seen a slow change in that and people are coming back to travel agents to book their trips to utilize the expertise and knowledge of the travel professionals. A good travel professional can save you time and money and people are starting to realize that. A common misconception is that you pay more by booking with a travel agency - that's just not true. In some cases, we find better deals and prices than you can find on your own. And we know when a "Good Deal" is not such a good deal after all. We read numerous review every day, we are networked with national travel organizations and can save you from a vacation disaster. Another great reason to use a travel agency is while you are traveling, you have an entire support team back home to solve any unforeseen problems that could arise. We are fortunate to have many long time and loyal clients who trust and depend on us to "Make their vacation dreams come true". 

I thought for this article that I would write a little bit about myself, which isn't the easiest thing for most people to do (including me). But, I want to share with my readers what I spend my time doing when I am not traveling, thinking about traveling and running my travel agency. Some of my readers might not know that I also own 2 other companies and am a Realtor with Ross Real Estate Services. Whew, I know, I have a lot of balls in the air but I love it. I used to own 25 different buildings in Ashland and I leased space in those buildings to commercial tenants. I also own Ben Williamson Industrial Supply and we supply industrial products to local plants, such as the Marathon Refinery. I also enjoy being a realtor and getting to meet different people from all walks of life. I specialize in commercial real estate but I also have many residential customers. 

I also enjoy playing tennis, playing competitively on a team. I have been playing tennis since high school and it is my main source of exercise. I love to practice yoga but I've not made the time to do it like I really want to. Notice that I said that I haven't made the time rathe than I don't have the time. I can carve out the time with better time management and that is going to be on my to-do list, starting today. 

And I have a new hobby that I want to share. I have been doing a lot of research in my spare time about essential oils, how to use them to better my life and make my home a little more "Green". By green, I mean finding different ways to clean my house as well as myself that use more natural products, without harsh chemicals that have been found to be very unhealthy for your body. This is a journey for me, definitely a marathon and not a sprint. And I am enjoying making different products, testing them and tweaking them where I need to. Here are some of  my successful products and the recipes for you to try yourself. 

My very favorite homemade health and beauty product hands down is my homemade deodorant. I had trouble finding a deodorant that worked and didn't cause me to have a rash under my arms. 90% of store bought deodorants caused me to break out and didn't even work that well. My homemade version works absolutely awesome. I have given several of my friends and co-workers a sample of it and so far, no one has told me that it didn't work for them. Here is all you need for Homemade Deodorant: 5 tablespoons of Coconut Oil, 1/3 cup of Baking Soda, 1/2 cup of Arrowroot powder, 15 drops of Essential oil of your choice (I use orange). Orange is energizing and I just love the smell of it. My son Alex chose Eucalyptus for his scent. You can also leave it unscented. 

I also just love the sugar scrub that I make. I use if on my feet, elbows and even on my face. I start with coconut oil, almond oil, sugar, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon essential oil. I really don't measure any of the ingredients - i just use my judgement on the consistency. 

An awesome room spray and linen spray is as easy as distilled water and drops of any essential oil that you like. Lavender is wonderful to spray on your bed, as it promotes sleep. Lemon is nice for the kitchen. I have made toothpaste, hand sanitizer, dry shampoo, regular shampoo and conditioner, laundry and dish washing liquid, soft scrub cleanser for the bathroom and an all purpose cleaner. Anytime that you are using essential oils in recipes, always use a glass container. Plastic can deteriorate when they come into contact with essential oils, so glass is best. You can recycle jelly jars, wine bottles, pickle jars - anything glass. Also, I use Young Living essential oils. They are more expensive but I trust Young Living to be pure and feel like the cost is worth it. I also love using a diffuser. I have 2 or 3 going in my house and I have one on my desk at work. The scent depends on my mood but once again, I love using orange or blood orange. Email me at awchristie@outlook.com if you have a question about essential oils, where to buy them as well as diffusers, or questions about the products that I make for everyday use. I will be happy to help you as you being a more healthy living. 

As always, safe travels and Godspeed.
Alison 

Living In A Dream World

Traveling the World with Christie Cruise and Travel Masters
Alison Christie

Living in a dream world...

So what do dreams and travel have in common? Plenty, if you are me. I have the most fantastic dreams. I dream every night, several different dreams, and they have the most magnificent, twisting plots. The dreams are very real with vibrant colors and they seem like they last a long time. Maybe not, though. I wake up several times a night so that is why I think I remember my dreams so easily. And luckily, I don't have nightmares. Occasionally, I have a sad dream but even that is rare. And sometimes they are so far-fetched that I just have to tell someone about the dream. Hence: My dream last night...

The dream began with me and a group of friends (no one that I knew except 2 childhood friends) being in an airport. My friend had concocted an elaborate scheme to get all of us to a Caribbean resort where we would be the only people there. Can you image being one of 20 or so people at a resort and having every whim and desire catered to by multiple staff? Or having the entire pool to ourselves without seeing lounge chairs with towels draped over them but no guests in the chair or in the pool (I hate that!! - people who go out early before breakfast, pick the best sports, and then don't show up for hours)? But, It took an ingenious plan to make this all happen. Which is why my dream started in the airport. My friend was busy making different signs for all the different passengers on our flight. It was a charter flight, such as the ones you get when you book a Vacation Express or Apple Vacations trip. My friend, let's call her Mary, was grabbing would-be passengers on our charter flight before they got to the gate and told them they were on a different plane. Time and time again she was successful until she finally diverted the last passenger to other planes. Then the group of us rushed the tarmac and got on our plane. We had to fly low to get to our destination so we wouldn't be picked up by the radar. Of course, I had my Yorkie dog Breck with me and no one made me put her under the seat in front of me for take-off and landing. I remember being very happy about that in my dream. After arriving at our beautiful Caribbean destination, we were in shock to find our that not only were there no other vacationers, there were no other employees! No one to fix our fruity drinks with umbrellas in them! No one to fix our delicious dinners! No one to cater to my every need! What a disaster! And to make matters worse, I didn't pack enough clothes. I had nothing cute to wear. We were planning a great party on the beach and I spent half of the party continuing to search my suitcase for something to wear. I eventually gave up and went to the party with what I had on. Just as I was getting ready to dance around the campfire, I heard this scratching noise. I kept hearing it, trying to zero in on what could be causing that noise. Finally, I figured out what the scratching noise was. It was my cat Starfire, scratching on my window to be let in the house. He woke me up from my dream prematurely. I am just wondering how my mind would have ended this dream. I have this feeling that there was quite a bit more to this elaborate dream. Hopefully, a suitcase of clothes was going to show up so my private vacation wasn't a bust. 

As always, safe travels and Godspeed.
Alison

St. John, United States Virgin Islands 1/3

Traveling the World with Christie Cruise and Travel Masters
Alison Christie

St. John, United States Virgin Islands

The Gang and I left behind the snow storm and headed to warm sunshine and beautiful white beaches, just in the nick of time. We were scheduled to leave out of Charleston, WV Yeager Airport on Thursday, March 5th. The forecast was for 6-12 inches for that Thursday and I was almost certain the flight out of Charleston would be cancelled (especially since our flight was at 7am). On Wednesday, we called American Airlines to change our ticket so that we could pick up the 2nd leg of our flight in Charlotte, NC. So long story short, we rented a car, drove to Charlotte and made it to paradise - St. John - on time, on schedule. And yes, our flight was cancelled out of Charleston, so we made a good call. The Gang was one short time. For any first time readers, The Gang is myself, my older son Alex, younger son Austin, and their best friend Greg Stump.

St. John is one of 3 United States Virgin Islands along with St. Thomas, and St. Croix. We flew into St. Thomas and took a ferry to The Westin Resort on St. John. Once we arrived at the airport in St. Thomas, we checked into the Westin at the airport where they took our bags for us and delivered them to our room a short while later. All we had to do was enjoy the short ferry ride and the welcome tropical rum drink as we departed the ferry at the Westin. I took my own advice on wearing layers while transitioning from cold to hot climate, shed my thin shirt and cardigan for the tank top underneath and enjoyed our ride.

Luscious greenery and blooming flowers everywhere, The Westin didn't disappoint. Our room had a great view of the pool area and a little bit of a the bay. Standard size room, nothing too extravagant but we did have our own coffee maker and Starbucks coffee, something some of the nicer and more expensive hotels don't provide. Go figure...I also loved that you could take as many towels as you wanted from the pool attendant, no questions asked. I like to put one behind my head as a pillow. We could also claim a beach umbrella and chairs with no additional charge and take our pool towels with us. Thanks, Westin, you stepped it up a bit in my eyes.

Since our trip was only a week, we needed to peruse all of the material on things to do while in the Virgin Islands and we narrowed it down to our "short" list. We wanted to take a big boat to Virgin Gorda to The Baths. We wanted to go snorkeling several different times. We wanted some beach action, a little Frisbee fun and we wanted to explore the island of St. John. We also wanted to enjoy the town of Cruz Bay and eat some delicious seafood. As we ticked off the list of things to do on our list, every day seemed even more fun than the last.

Our first day was spent on the beach at The Westin. We slathered on sunscreen and me in my hat and enjoyed relaxing, reading and thinking about the snow back home with a smile on our face. That we were here and not there. I'm sorry, that was bitchy. The following day, we took the boat excursion to Virgin Gorda and its renowned Baths (the Batholiths being a rare geological phenomenon where the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates converged over time to create these large exposed granite boulders). We strolled through, swam through and slipped through most of these huge rocks on our trek from one end to the other. Alex and Greg also took and adventurous route, climbing over the granite boulders rather than through them and arrived at the end just shortly after me, elaborating to me how cool it was to be on top of the rocks. But, who would be the "pack mule" and carry the bag and all our flip flops? Me, of course. But that's what Moms do. Lunch was at a restaurant called "Top of the Baths", named so because it was, well...at the top of the Baths. We had to pre-order our lunch on the boat that took us to Virgin Gorda, which had basic fare such as hamburgers, grilled chicken and different salads. This did save us quite a bit of time so that we could get back on the boat and head to Norman Island, where we were going to snorkel. This part of the island had 3 caves that one could swim in while snorkeling. Alex and Greg swam in one of the caves about 70 feet until the cave and water became pitch dark. That didn't sound all that fun to me, snorkeling in the pitch black and cold ocean water, so I opted to do the smaller cave and hang out on the coral reefs looking for sea turtles and another glimpse of the squid that I saw just after getting in the water. This excursion was well worth the cost of $200.00 per person, plus the tip for the Captain and First mate. Tip #1 (for the women): My scarf came in very handy this trip, tripling as a bath suit cover up, a wrap for my neck and chest to protect if from the sun on the boat ride, and then at the restaurant, as a cool and stylish headband, after we hair from swimming at the Baths. The secret is finding the perfect size, lightweight scarf that can handle the important mission of sun protection, modesty, and saving myself from a really bad hair day. If you have to choose between packing another pair of shoes with the added stress of potentially having your bag overweight, always, always, always, opt for the scarf. It has saved me many a times.

St. John, United States Virgin Islands 2/3

Traveling the World with Christie Cruise and Travel Masters
Alison Christie

St. John, United States Virgin Islands, Part 2

Our gang was able to fly to this tropical oasis of fun only because we were proactive and rented a car and drove to Charlotte, NC to catch the 2nd leg of our flight. We were to leave on March 5th and our local, trusty weathermen and weatherwomen were all predicting a very heavy snow storm for early that morning. After having bad experiences of flights being cancelled out of Charleston, WV because of weather, we didn't want to chance it. So after some quick maneuvering with American Airlines and calling Tri-State Airport to rent a car (last one from Avis, Hertz totally out of cars), I wrapped up work the best I could and we left Wednesday afternoon for Charlotte. It turned out we made a great decision because our flight WAS indeed cancelled the next morning and our trip would have been shortened by at least one day, maybe two. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.

As I wrote previously, we enjoyed a few awesome days on the beach, relaxing, reading and getting into "island time". We also spend one day on a trip to Virgin Gorda and The Baths, an amazing experience along with snorkeling at Norman Island. We spent another day playing tennis in the early morning and relaxing on the beach at The Westin Resort and Villas on St. John in the afternoon. Alex is trying his hardest to connect with a Sailing School in St. Cruz Bay, only to have the number busy at times and no answer other times. That's when an idea hits him...We could kind of kill two birds with one stone and he could enjoy some time on a boat in the ocean and instead of renting a jeep and exploring the island by land, we could explore the island and the secluded beaches by water, renting a dingy for the day. That sounds OK by me. I've taken 3 different boating trips throughout the Virgin Islands over the past 20 years and remember taking a dingy from the boat to the beaches to hang out at Foxy's, the Soggy Dollar Bar and Willie T's floating bar at The Bite, on Norman's Island. So, Alex checks out the details from Cruz Bay Sports at the Westin, comes back to me and of his grand plan. We could rent a 14 foot dingy with a center console steering wheel and that would be big enough for The Gang (Alex, my oldest son, Greg Stump and me - we were without our 4th member of The Gang, my youngest son Austin who couldn't get away from college). The cost of the rental was only $200.00 and Alex assured me we didn't need the bigger dingy of 16 feet. Trying to be the cool Mom who is fun to hang out with, I said "Sure, sounds great to  me. Here is my American Express. Go rent it for the next day".

The next morning rolls around, after a night of toss and turning by me and not a lot of sleep, our alarm goes off and I told Alex I just wanted a little bit of extra sleep. He and Greg could go ahead, rent the snorkeling equipment and get the 15 minute lesson on how to operate the dingy and I would be there shortly. After all, we rented the boat for a full day and it wasn't going to leave without us, so a few extra minutes of sleep by me wouldn't hurt our plans. That is when Alex says, rather sheepishly, that uh, he and Greg couldn't take the Captain's lesson because it had to be someone with experience of boating on the ocean. Great. I have plenty of experience RIDING in dingys but not operating them. But, still hoping to be the "cool" mom, I get right out of bed and after a quick shower, Captain Alison is ready to take on the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

After filling out forms and waivers of basically being responsible for any damages of any kind to the dingy, the employee then went over the detailed water map of where we had to pay very close attention to where the reefs were and what we had to do to avoid getting too close. I was petrified and totally unable to concentrate on his warnings, wondering if I had any kind of insurance that could protect us and being pretty sure that I didn't have any such coverage. However, I tried to mask the look on my face and we proceeded on to the dingy operations with another guy. This employee was much more laid back, quickly pointing out just the very basic mechanics of this water craft. Here is the key, the kill switch, push forward on this lever to go forward, pull back to go backwards and the trim (for the motor) is located here. He also handed us life vests, saying you don't need to wear them but they make good seat cushions. Said we had enough gas to get us to Waterlemon Bay (which is where Alex and Greg wanted to go snorkel) and if we didn't have any other questions, off we go and he gave us a big push away from the beach. Alex was at the wheel and although still rehashing my lack of insurance coverage, I had the presence of mind to say or maybe slightly yell to him, "Do you have the trim up?!!! DO you have the trim up?!!! To which he replied "Yes, Mom, it was already to for being on the beach".

St. John, The United States Virgin Islands 3/3

Traveling the World with Christie Cruise and Travel Masters
Alison Christie

St. John, The United States Virgin Islands

I have been writing about the beautiful Virgin Islands and the experiences "The Gang" enjoyed during our weeklong stay at the Westin on gorgeous St. John. We chilled and got into "Island Time" on the beach with good books, we are very well at different restaurants in Cruz Bay, Played a little tennis and took a long boat ride to Virgin Gorda to see The Baths. As we checked off our list of things we wanted to do while on St. John, we had one thing left that all of us wanted to do (my son Alex and his friend Greg Stump - my other son who is part of "The Gang" could not come with us because of college classes). We all wanted to explore the island. There were 2 ways we could do this: rent a jeep and explore by land or rent a dingy and explore by water. Both options would be fun but they both also had downsides. They drive on the left side of the road and navigating very small, curvy island roads didn't sounds all that appealing, although we drove all over Ireland this way last summer. The dingy option had the appeal of deserted beaches and very cool snorkeling places but the downfall was being in a small boat in a big ocean. The "dingy law" was we had to stay at least 100 yards from shore so that was a little intimidating for me. However, wanting to be the "cool" Mom as I described in my last article and wanted Alex and Greg to have the best possible time, I agreed to rent the dingy out last full day on the island.

The next morning, we loaded the boat with our gear, plenty of sunscreen and some water. As we were pushed away from the beach, little did I know of what was awaiting us in the seemingly harmless, crystal clear, blue/green waters of the Caribbean. I sat beside Alex and let him do the steering first. Getting out of Great Cruz Bay, where the Westin is located, was easy. We had to go slow since there were many sail boats and power yachts in the bay. Yes, this is fun I tell myself. A little sun and wind in my face, an occasional mist of salt water and the huge smile on Alex's face was making me forget all of my earlier worries about the dangers of being on the open ocean in a small boat. However, my smile did not last very long. Once we got out of the protected bay, the waves were much larger and naturally, Alex gave the boat more power. The dingy reared straight up and I thought we were going to go over backwards. Now, that is a huge exaggeration of what happened as it wasn't anywhere near tipping over backwards but that's what it felt like to me. I yelled at Greg to sit in the front, hoping it would bring the nose down and was also yelling at Alex to slow down. However, it is just not that easy. Going slow in that thing is actually very bad as well because of the waves. We didn't have very much time to try to adjust the speed because the most dangerous reef that we were told to watch out for was coming up rather quickly. The instructions we were given on how to navigate the reef were contradictory. Get close to the reef on the right side as it goes straight down in the water but not too close and watch out for the reef on the left side because it is quite large and only about a good below the water. OH, and yes the opening that you have to go through is only about 10 feet wide. Normally, 10 feet is plenty of room to steer this small boat through but given the nose was about 3 feet higher than the back of the boat that made it difficult to see over. Alex was standing while steering and Greg and I were leaning to each side of the boat giving directions and being engulfed every now and then by a rogue wave. I was trying so hard to see any sign of the reef on my left but all that I could think about was the waiver that I signed at the Cruz Bay Watersports, essentially agreeing to hold the company harmless in case of an accident and also agreeing to pay for any damages to the boat. The instructor was also nice enough to tell me about a gentleman that hit this exact same reef last week and his vacation just cost him $18,000.00 more than he thought it was going to cost. Apparently, $18,000.00 is the cost of a new dingy. Back to the story...Alex maneuvered out little dingy right through and we made it to the other side without scraping the bottom of the boat on the coral. Our first major challenge was met with success.

After the coral reef, it would be a little while before we encountered any other obstacles, so Alex worked on the speed. Alex and Greg wanted to snorkel at Waterlemon Cay, the very furthest location we could possibly go in the dingy. The instructor told us to go there first, as later on in the day the water became choppier. What?? It couldn't possibly get any choppier. We did manage to get the boat to "plane out" quite a bit, meaning the nose came down and the boat became much more efficient in cutting through the water. Thinking having Greg in the front was helping with this, we insisted he stayed there. All I can say now is "I'm very sorry Greg". He was tossed, bounced, thrown, smashed...there aren't enough adjectives to describe what was happening to him in the front seat. He was hanging onto the rope used for tying up the boat and it looked like he was riding the most fierce, bucking bronco and hanging on for dear life. I'm sitting beside Alex, clutching my beach bag that has my cell phone in it, to my chest as I too, am being tossed about the boat. I am actually petrified. My thoughts are going wild and this cell phone was going to save our lives in the event we get tossed overboard. I had it wrapped in 3 plastic bags, inside a lined cosmetic bag with my scarf wrapped around it. How I was going to tread water with my bag in the air until I swam to shore wasn't something that I had totally worked out yet, though. But I needed to have a plan and this was the best one that I had. To be fair to Alex,  it wasn't his fault. There is simply no way to operate a dingy more than 100 yards offshore where it could possibly be a smooth ride. We made it to Waterlemon Cay and indeed the snorkeling was fantastic. We got to see a large sea turtle, which Alex and Greg said was the highlight of their snorkeling. We hit several deserted beaches on the way back, which I will admit was a little less choppy but still a teeth rattling ride. And all the way home, Alex kept saying what a "trooper" I was. I hope that was his way of saying what a "cool mom" I am.

Safe travels, Alison

Greenbrier 1/2

Traveling the World with Christie Cruise and Travel Masters
Alison Christie

The Greenbrier

The Greenbrier, called America's Resort since 1778, is located amid the breathtaking mountains of West Virginia Sulphur Springs. It is a National Historic Landmark and was known for years for the natural mineral springs that continue to lure visitors to the resort for its spa services and endless vacation possibilities. The Greenbrier is widely regarded as one of the finest luxury resorts around the world. Surrounded by the wondrous Allegheny Mountains, it offers exclusive services and amenities such as championship golf, fine dining, tennis, more than 55 activities, designer boutiques, and a 103,000 square foot casino. It has morphed over the years from its initial beginnings as an "Old Southern" world resort renowned for hosting famous people and at one time, all the living United States Presidents had stayed at the resort. A total of 26 American Presidents have stayed at the Greenbrier and Joseph and Rose Kennedy (parents of President John F. Kennedy) travelled from Boston for their Honeymoon to the Greenbrier in 1914. Today it is a high class spa, casino and resort that is home to one of the top golf tournaments in the United States, The Greenbrier Classic, with a Concert Series that has everyone scrambling for tickets. Not to leave the tennis fans wanting, The Greenbrier also hosts the Greenbrier Tennis Champions Classic series and is showcasing some outstanding tennis events as well. I'm sure the older staff at The Greenbrier says under their breath, "These times, they are a changing".

My first experience at The Greenbrier was shortly after I got married, during the old southern charm days. I was 24 years old and my husband, John, worked for Ben Williamson Supply Company as a salesman. C & O Railroad was one of his customers. At that time, C & O Railroad owned the Greenbrier and every year, they had a C & O Suppliers Group Meeting that was sort of mandatory for suppliers to attend. Lucky for the employees and their spouses who got to go, not so much for the owners of the small companies that sold merchandise to C & O Railroad who had to pay for the very expensive accommodations at the luxurious resort. The weekend was a well-planned fun, activity filled event with prizes awarded for first, second, and third place for a variety of tournaments. I entered the tennis, bridge, trap, and skeet tournaments. All of these events took place on Saturday so I would have to hustle fast between events, changing clothes and grabbing a quick shower after the tennis tournament, which was usually first thing in the morning. The only tournament that I did not enter was the golf tournament, and that was because I did not have enough time, AND because I didn't know how to play. But that didn't stop me from entering the trap and skeet shooting contest. I had never shot a shotgun before. I had shot a rifle before but not a shot gun. But I figure I could learn. I'm glad I had the Trap contest first. I got the hang of the gun there and you really don't have to lead the clay pigeons very much. Just kind of aim at them and shoot. They are going straight out and away from you and you do kind of have to figure out a little bit of lead time but not nearly like skeet. But I broke 18 out of 25 clay pigeons, so I didn't think that was anything of which I should be ashamed. Especially when one of the ladies in the group brought her own shotgun with her in a very special travel bag. Well, la te da!! I couldn't wait to see what she was going to shoot. She didn't waste her time with Trap. She was only entered in the Skeet Competition, which I later found out is "The One" that really matters. So, off I go to the Skeet range (without my own personal gun, mind you) and get ready for the tournament. They did let us have a partial practice round, thank goodness. I had a very kind gentlemen who must have worked on "Kate's Mountain" for quite a number of years, where the gun club and gun range at The Greenbrier is located, who had seemed to taken a liking to me. He must have seen through the city girl clothes and my unsure handling of the shotgun to the real me. The former country girl who still changes out of her "school clothes" to her "play clothes" after work or church faster than she can still hear her Mom say it in her head. And thank goodness Good Old Mr. Kate's Mountain liked me and gave me pointers at every station or I would have been a complete laughing stock. At a few of the stations, you have to lead the clay pigeon by at least 4 or 5 feet!!! Really. I'm not kidding. Once I knew how far that I had to lead the pigeon at each station, I found out I was a pretty good shot. Actually, I'm sure it was just dumb, blind beginners luck. But, wait. The story gets better. All of the women get ready for the tournament and I think there were about 11 of us. There were actually more ladies who brought their own guns, not just the one lady that I saw earlier. They divide us into groups and we get started. Good Old Mr. Kate's Mountain along with several other men stay with each group of ladies, probably making sure everyone practices gun safety. I don't think there were any other greenhorns other than me but I don't think the Greenbrier wanted any accidental deaths that day. It was pretty easy to remember the first station or two but it got more complicated the further out as we got so I ask for a little advice from my new friend, Mr. Kate's Mountain, which apparently wasn't against the rules. When the smoke cleared and all shots were fired,  I HIT 21 OUT OF 25 CLAY PIGEONS!! MY FIRST EVER ROUND OF SKEET!! To say I was thrilled, was putting it mildly. Especially because I had to compete against ladies who brought their own guns for the little competition.

To be continued...

Greenbrier 2/2

Traveling the World with Christie Cruise and Travel Masters
Alison Christie

In my article in last week's Beacon, I wrote about the world famous Greenbrier, located in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. I recounted the story of my first trip to the Greenbrier at 24 years old and participating in the many tournaments that the C & O Railroad Suppliers Group sponsored. I played in the tennis tournament, the bridge tournament and decided I would give the trap and skeet shooting tournament a try. Visit www.ashlandbeacon.com to read last weeks' story. I ended the story last week telling of my first time ever shooting a shot gun and my superior shooting ability at the skeet range on Kate's Mountain. I had the help of an elderly gentleman at the Gun Club, whom I affectionately called "Good Old Mr. Kate's Mounntain", for giving me instruction on how far to lead the clay pigeons at each station. My first ever round of skeet was shot and I broke 21 out of 25 sporting clays! Now, for the rest of the story.

Lest my readers think I am bragging here, first let me say that I am most definitely not. In last weeks' article, I wrote it was probably pure dumb beginners luck and most definitely the help of my new friend, Good Old Mr. Kate's Mountain, who seemed liked he believed in me. But, the rest of the story is I have gone shooting since then and I'm lucky if I break the sporting clays 60% of the time. Not that I do this very often, maybe 4 other times in my life, but it was dumb, blind luck the time at The Greenbrier.

Fast forward, back in time to that day later on after the skeet tournament. I had to hustle and get ready for the Saturday night dinner and dance, having spent the entire day on Kate's Mountain at the Gun Range, at the tennis courts in the tennis tournament (which I thought may be one of the winners - it was a round robin event and we would know at the end of the evening at the Dinner/Dance) and the bridge tournament (I was NOT one of the winners, probably lucky they didn't kick me out. At that point in my life I knew how to bid, I knew how to recognize if my partner had a no trump hadn, a few more sophisticated things, but, these ladies LIVED to play bridge. They were vicious. My tennis opponents were mere kittens compared to this group of lady lionesses.) Anyway, I digress. I took a quick shower, put on my makeup, fixed my hair, and put on my long, strapless ball gown. Ready for a quick look in the mirror before we leave and "Oh My Gosh! What have I done! There is a bruise on my shoulder and arm the size of a cantaloupe. It is already turning purple. Quickly going over in my head trying to figure out what I could have done to cause such a bruise. Then the light bulb goes off in my head. The shotgun. The kick of the shotgun. Now that I have time to slow down and the adrenaline rush of the day is wearing off, yep, my arm is hurting quite a bit. Horror of all horrors. I can handle the pain, but the bruising in a strapless gown is just not acceptable. No, no, no. I tried covering it up with makeup, powder, nothing helped. Since I did not bring another long gown (formal attire was a must for the evenings' event), I figured that I must soldier on. But all that I could think about was those ladies who brought their own shotguns with them, in their beautiful cases (this was in my first story) and whome probably annihilated all 25 out of 25 of those sporting clays, and how they would be laughing at me, thinking "Greenhorn". Oh well, such is my life, I think. But, after all, I am at The Greenbrier. Really, how bad can life be.

I hold my head high through the cocktail hour, hoping chardonnay would make the bruise go away (it didn't...but it was helping with the pain) and dutifully answer the question of "How in the world did you get that bruise, honey?" for the umpteenth time when the ballroom doors were open for dinner. Dinner goes by in a blur and now time for the awards ceremony. They start with the winners of the Golf Tournament (of course) and they had several different categories that a person could be a winner. Then comes the tennis tournament. They have a Men's and Women's Tournament Champion, determined by the number of games you won during the round robin event. They announce the gentlemen who won first. Then they announce the lady winner and....it was Alison Christie. Woohoo. I make my way upfront to get my price, which is wrapped in a box so I am not sure what it is. I head back to my table to wait on announcements for the other winners. The Bridge winners are announced and here comes the trap and skeet winners. First place winner in the Trap shooting contest is...Alison Christie! What? Me? I only broke 18 of those little pigeons when I shot trap. That was my warmup before the Skeet contest. What I later find out is no one else entered the trap contest. Hehe. Apparently, trap is not as prestigious as skeet and the other ladies didn't want to waste their time or perhaps tire their arm shooting both. As my arm is now throbbing, I can see the logic in that thought process. So, up I go to collect my trap prize (no one else knows that I am the only one who entered) and back again to my table, amidst much congratulations from my fellow tables mates, mostly Ashland Oil executives who attend this event as well. Time for the Skeet winners, they announce the winner of the men, and I am wondering if I will remember if the winner of the women was one of the women who brought their own gun. I am hoping it isn't. I don't know why, that sounds a little mean but those women just acted very snobbish and condescending to the other women. As all of these thoughts are going through my head, I here "Alison Christie" being announced from the podium. I'm still kind of in a daze and my husband, John, has to poke me and say "Alison, you won!" "What? Skeet? NO WAY!, I'm thinking. But up I go and at this point, people are look at my like, wow, who is she? She has won 3 out of the 5 events for women. Or maybe, they have just zeroed in on my bruise, which has blossomed into quite the beautiful shade of purple. I'll never know.

I wish I could just end the story here. But I cant. It gets better. Well, actually, it gets worse. I go back to the table, dancing is starting, people are enjoying dessert and coffee and I decided to open my prizes to see what I won. I open the first one, and inside the tissue paper, very neatly wrapped is a beautiful silver tray, engraved with the particulars of the event that I won. As everyone is admiring the tray, the tissue paper that was wrapped around the trap falls on the small votive candles on the table and goes up in flames. Some quick thinking Ashland Oil Ex (if you are readying this, let me know who you are. I have forgotten or perhaps have chosen to block out part of this night) grabbed what was left of the tissue paper and flung it on the ground. It happened so quickly, I don't think any of the staff saw it. If they did, they chose to ignore it rather than embarrass their guests. It actually burned a small plate size hole in the carpet. And the worst part was several hunks of the tissue paper that was floating in the air that wasn't burned, landed in the hair of one of the older gentlemen that was sitting beside me. He had a very thorough comb over hair do and I didn't know what to tell him. Do I pick it out for him? Would that further embarrass him? I am almost already to the point of hysterical laughter, not the funny kind but the other kind. So, I chose, retreat. I bid everyone a goodnight. And took my bruised body and my well-eaerned hardware with me.

As always, safe travels and Godspeed.
Alison