It was an ordinary day. Giving our "go to" travel expert a call to make sure that all our reservations are in place for our next trip to the Caribbean. We have been working with Karen for over 20 years and find she does a fantastic job of making our travel arrangements based on our needs as traveling senior citizens. All began about 20 years ago when Carol and I decided that we would enjoy traveling with our friends Jere and Sue. So, we all headed to our local shopping mall and found the local Liberty Travel store. Met with a young woman named Karen who ended up being more like a daughter than a travel agent to the four of us. She helped us make all our plans for a few weeks to the Caribbean. Took care of airline flights, hotel reservations on St. Thomas as well as St. Croix, and made sure all the little items we may not have thought about were planned for us. We knew she was getting paid as well as the store was taking a fee, but the price seemed reasonable so we signed on the dotted line. Over the years we have used Karen many times for traveling. Then, about a half-dozen or so years ago we stopped at Liberty Travel once again and Karen was gone. Geeze...now what are we going to do? We asked about her and found she had left to begin her own business from her home. Someone at Liberty was nice enough to give us her number and we made a call to her. Sure...she would be glad to help us once again.
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| Map of the Caribbean. Click to enlarge. |
We planned another trip to the Caribbean island of Antigua through her. Price was right and all loose ends were taken care of by Karen. How easy can it be? Over time Carol and I began also traveling for a few weeks by ourselves as well as our annual trips with Jere and Sue. Carol and I also chose Karen as our travel expert too help us with reservations. Only thing we didn't need was the place to stay, since after traveling to St. Martin a few times over the previous couple of years, all arranged by Karen, we had found a young girl who lived in St. Martin who was able to make arrangements for us in the area where we enjoyed staying. Magali knew what we liked and was able to find private residences that were open on the dates we had planned to travel. We would make arrangements with her online and eventually were able to visit with her when we arrived on the island of St. Martin. We now have the best of two worlds, being they are miles and miles apart. While in Lancaster, Karen can keep a check on our flights, insurance and other minor details while Magali can see what homes in her neighborhood may want us as a visitor while they are also away on vacation. It has worked out perfect for all concerned...at least it seems to work out perfect. But, for those of you who have never traveled or do not have friends on your favorite location, I can give you a few tips, being we have traveled to exotic locations for over 20 years now. First you need to find a trusted travel agent such as we have in Karen. I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we give you her address which is KW Travel at PO Box 93, Millersville, PA 17551. Send her a note and tell her what you might need help with and she will be glad to get in touch with you. And if you plan to travel to the island of St. Martin, you can get in touch with Magali at Parc de la Base Orientale, St. Martin 97150. As far as where you may want to travel...Carol and I have many places that we have loved such as Antigua, Barbados, Turks & Caicos, The Bahamas as well as Anguilla and St. Martin/Sint Maarten. Check some of them out online and I'm sure you would enjoy just about any of the places listed. When you have selected a person to help you with the preparations for the trip, make sure they know how much you plan to spend and if you want to travel 1st class or plan to eat out for every meal or take plenty of island tours while on the island of your choice. Karen knows our tastes by now and she always plans accordingly. And, when you do find a friend or travel agent you enjoy, make sure you continue to use them so they get to know you and your tastes. Makes for a more pleasant travel experience. At least that's how we feel. Hey, I could tell you so many stories about our travels, but that would take a few more days to do so. I will tell you that two years ago we arrived home from St. Martin and when I went to get in the car at the hotel we had used before we left on vacation, I found I had no car keys. I had left them in the villa safe on St. Martin. Gave Magali a quick call and she found them and mailed them to me. We have great friends around the Caribbean! So...plan way ahead if you want to have a stress-free trip and pick a few friends who can help you with the planning and car key retrieval after the trip is over. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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