Travel

After 50 years, trip to Yankee Stadium comes true

Lynn Alford (right) is pictured with his wife Susie and son Blake (left) July 8 at Yankee Stadium in New York. After 50 years, Lynn, a life-long Yankee fan decided to journey to New York so he and his family could visit the stadium before it is demolished this winter.

Trip has dual purpose for Magee family members

Over the summer, the Magee family visited the western coast of Cantabria, Spain. While there, the family celebrated the wedding of Christian Magee and Cristina Olaiz. Pictured in Santillana del Mar are (from left) Magee, Olaiz, Guion Magee, Eloy Alonso Muñoz, Trent Fuller, Heather Fuller, Gray Magee Jr., Donna Magee and Paula Alonso Muñoz.

  Photos courtesy Marriott Shoals

The Hotel: Marriott Shoals Resort & Spa, 800 Cox Creek Parkway South

Florence, AL. 256-246-3600.

http://www.marriottshoals.com/

The Skinny: The hotel overlooks the Tennessee River and relies heavily on the Muscle Shoals music scene to set the atmosphere iin the public spaces – even in some of the rooms, including special suites which pay homage to Muscle Shoals / Florence natives and image makers, including Sam Phillips and Helen Keller. There’s even memorabilia including that of 70’s teen pop star Donny Osmond, who recorded in Muscle Shoals.

The 200 guest rooms featuring marble baths, soaking tubs, glassed showers and Bath & Body Works aromatherapy toiletries; many of the rooms have balconies overlooking the river – certainly worth asking for. A casual dining room, The Bronzeback, with patio seating joins 360, the fine dining restaurant atop a tower, offering an upscale atmosphere for dining plus a fabulous, 360-degree view of the surrounding river valley.

The 6,000 square foot spa offers separate quiet rooms for men and women as well as a variety of treatments, from skin care to couples’ massages. There are two pools – one indoor, and an outdoor pool with huge slide and fun features like waterfalls and secret swim-throughs.

Rates start at $140 and up, with junior suites starting at $250.

Loved: Having a balcony, especially on a holiday weekend; we could sit outside, drink wine, watch the movies being played outdoors – and then enjoy a front-row seat for the Labor Day fireworks. The spa was amazing, as I’ve always found with the RTJ-trail hotels, all of which are run by PCH. The service and services were wonderful at the spa, with the separate quiet rooms for men and women a truly relaxing retreat.

The hotel is on Alabama’s RTJ trail, and my sometimes-duffing husband tried out Fighting Joe, one of the toughest and most widely hailed public courses in the country. He only played nine holes, but loved every minute, despite losing too many balls to count. And nine holes plus a cart was just $38, a screaming deal.

Best of all, we were in the Sam Phillips suite – and had a jukebox full of Sun recordings to listen to, plus extra balcony space, plenty of space for the whole family to relax – and that all-important extra bathroom. A must-book if you’re visiting from Memphis.

But: The hotel is tops in Marriott’s customer service rankings, but I found the service – in the restaurant only – to be spotty at best. My husband and daughter ate breakfast separately than my son and I, and had no problem, however – so I’ll assume it was a holiday weekend snafu, given the rest of the service was tops.

Rating: 4 suitcases. Great value, perfect for a quiet weekend, spa weekend or romantic getaway.

Our rating system:One suitecase: Don't bother

Two suitcases: Paging the GM! You've got some serius work to do!

Three suitcases: Some issues, but overall acceptable

Four suitcases: Worthy of your dollars

Five suitcases: Book it at any cost

 Trip to Grant's Farm was fun

On a weekend trip to St. Louis in July, Bob and Molly Plunk (from left) and Cindy and Tom Halupnik, visited St. Louis. Highlights of their trip included going to the Cardinals' vs. Padres' baseball game, touring Grant's Farm and dining at several of the restaurants at The Hill.

Chloe and Anna travel to NYC for the first time

Cornell and Lori Christion took their daughters Chloe, 7 (front) and Anna, 11 on vacation to New York City in August. The family enjoyed seeing a Broadway Show, visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, riding the subway and touring Chinatown, Little Italy and Harlem. The Christion's are pictured in the Bethesda Terrace section of Central Park near the Angel of Waters fountain. This was the girls first trip to New York City.

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It is never too early to think about holiday travel – yes, even though it was just Labor Day yesterday.

I asked Heather Strickland of Travelennium about hot destinations for the holidays this year, as well as if people are traveling as much over the holidays this year.

Here’s Heather’s response:

You may be surprised to learn the old haunts are still the most popular for Americans: a Walt Disney World family vacation, shopping and seeing the sights of New York City, taking a cruise in warm tropical waters, and of course, heading to Colorado's famous ski resorts.

We have had a few less bookings this year due to the economy, however, people wait to book their holiday travel every year.  This is not a new trend; people have always booked last-minute trips.  They think they are planning ahead when they call to book, but they do not realize that three weeks prior to travel is not really planning ahead. 

The biggest problem travelers face if they have not booked yet is finding available space.  With the airlines cutting down on the number of flights, there is less seat inventory now than ever.  If you wait too long for a last-minute deal, you may very well find that you will have blown your chances for traveling on the dates you wanted. 

The bottom line is this: if your travel agent tells you something is a good fare, take it; it is not going to go down and the longer you wait, it may easily sell out altogether.  If you have not started planning your holiday trip, do not wait a second longer - plan NOW!

Just remember, you can rarely plan too early for a holiday trip.  My favorite time to plan is in January.  I make a New Year's resolution to plan a fabulous trip for the year ahead (maybe picnicking on the beach in Australia this Christmas!), and work to check that off my list as soon as possible.  This gives you something to look forward to in the dead of winter, after the glitter and warmth of the holidays have worn off.  It also ensures that when the holidays roll around again, you will be able to travel on the dates you want, and will be able to see the shows or attractions that are on your list.

Do not let the Grinch ruin your holiday vacation with tales of sold-out resorts and Broadway shows.  I encourage you to PLAN your next trip early, BOOK it early, and PAY it off early.  When it is time to take your trip, it will be like opening a present from Santa on Christmas Day!

Happy holiday travels!

Heather Strickland is an agent with Travelennium Inc. American Express, celebrating its 40th anniversary in Memphis. They specialize in group travel, event planning, business and vacation travel. Contact Travelennium at www.travelennium.com or 901-762-7040.

Kirwan's return to birthplace for vacation

(From left) Sean Kirwan, 10 and his mother, Poh Lai Kirwan, visited Malaysia for nearly two months of vacation in June. Sean said, "It was the most amazing vacation I've had. Malaysia is the birth place of my mother and I. We had the most wonderful time visiting relatives and friends. I ate the most delicious food I ever tasted. Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country, hence the variety of food is amazing and mind blowing. They also have lots of fruits I have not seen before. The most interesting fruit was the durian which the Malaysians called the king of fruits. It is a thorny fruit which when pried open exposes the most creamy and luscious fruit I've ever eaten. However in the west they called it the stinky fruit. It wasn't stinky for me and I loved the taste! It was also the first time I tried para sailing. I had a real good time and I told my mom I would like to go back every year if I can." Sean and Poh Lai rode the funicular train and are pictured at the peak of Penang Hill, a popular tourist attraction.

For summer vacation, Poh Lai Ng Kirwan (left) and her son Sean Kirwan spent nearly two months in Malaysia. (more...)