Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Hilton Head is our favorite vacation destination. We have been going there for the past 15 years. We bought a Marriott Time Share at the Grande Ocean Resort, which I think is the nicest and best located time share in Hilton Head. Generally a time share is a big mistake, but ours has actually increased in value. Before buying a time share check into resales. We paid about 35% less than Marriott was selling them for.

There is nothing like having 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms when traveling with children. We don't have to wait in line to have breakfast, since we have a complete kitchen and dining room. We have a comfortable living room with a balcony, 3 televisions, DVD player, Jacuzzi, washer and dryer and many other comforts of home. The kids never get bored with so many activities the recreation staff has planned. The resort has 4 beautifully landscaped swimming pools, an indoor pool, excercise room, great cocktail bar, gas barbecues, and of course the beach which is steps away. They have an excellent tennis program that is included. There are intermediate and advanced clinics daily for an hour and a half and 3 round-robin tournaments during the week.

Hotel Alternative - Rent a House

Last June I had to get lodging in Stowe, VT for my daughter's wedding. There were six of us and the local hotel was charging $200 per night for a room. I found a beautiful townhouse for rent adjacent to the hotel for about half the price that 3 rooms would have cost and it was much more luxurious. We had 3 bedrooms, 2 and 1/2 baths, a full gourmet kitchen, gas barbecue, full size pool table with a wet bar, a home theater with hundreds of DVDs, gas fireplace, etc.

The kitchen was equipped with every conceivable appliance and my son (a Cullinary Institute graduate) whipped up a 7 course meal for 8 people that was served in the dining room. I found this rental on http://www.vrbo.com/ (Vacation Rentals by Owner). They have rental properties worldwide.

Durango Silverton Railroad

Last year we took a ride on the Durango-Silverton Railroad. This was a trip I have wanted to take for a long time and finally had a chance when I went to visit my son who lived in Denver. It was a good 8 hour drive from Denver to Durango, not counting the stop at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park where we spent an hour. We also had to put up with hairpin turns and icy roadways in the dark. It was all worth it. The train ride lasted all day. The weather started out sunny, turned rainy, then it snowed and finally on the way back, the sun came out again. The train goes from 6,500 feet to 9,300 feet elevation. We stayed at the Doubletree Hotel in Durango using Hilton Honors Points and it was right across the street from the train station.

Airline Reservation Tip

When making airline reservations for more than one person, check the price for the total number of travellers first and then check the price for one traveller. Sometimes there are less lower price seats left than the number of people traveling and the airline systems only give you the higher price. This way you can make separate reservations at the different prices.

This is also true for frequent flyer award tickets. I just made reservavtions on American for my son and his friend using award tickets. The system only showed 25K awards (each way) available for two travellers, but when I put in one traveller, I got a 12.5K award ticket. The total milage for the two roundtrips was 62.5K instead of 75K.

My St. Kitts Vacation

These pictures are from St. Kitts last Easter. This is my favorite island. Very low key with empty beaches and good food. The St. Kittians were extremely friendly and helpful. We felt completely safe there at all times and rented a car to explore the island on our own. The Marriott Resort was beautiful and had the largest casino in the Carribean right off the lobby.

TIP: I used Marriott Points for the hotel and 4 airline tickets. When using Marriott awards, always take the award with the highest number of airline miles since the miles are one for one with Marriott points. The award for 7 nights with 50K airline miles is 230,000 Marriott points and the award with 120K airline miles is 300,000 Marriottt points. You can always use the airline miles later.

Never use Marriott points for airline miles only. To get 50K airline miles, you have to use 125,000 Marriott points.

NEW AWARD:Marriott now has an all inclusive award for 2 people for 90,000 additional points that is good at St. Kitts and 7 other Marriott Resorts. Children up to 12 years of age are included at no additional cost. Included are Taxes and service charges, breakfast, lunch and dinner at resort restaurants, premium brand liquor, local beer, house wine by the glass and non-alcoholic beverages, complimentary use of health club and tennis courts, non-motorized hotel sponsored water sports, kids' Club activities, discounts for golf, massages and merchandise. See the Marriott web site for additional information.