A look at our 2017

2017 has been a great year for Escape by Travel. I'd like to share this with you and for those of you who have made it possible. As you all know, Jan - March is a very busy time of year as everyone is looking to get out of the cold for a week or two. So that puts us behind the screen plugging away trips for those getting away.

In Jan., I had joined the Cloquet Chamber as one of their Ambassador's. It's been great working with local businesses to create different ideas of how to expand our networking skills.

In March, we had great success from the Cloquet Home Show at the Black Bear Casino & look forward to do this show again in 2018.

We've been fortunate enough to be able to travel for different work venues along the way. We've stayed up to date with many different certifications that keep us in the know.

We have brought on Honah Rockenstein in March. Honah has been doing a lot of learning about the different travels out there and preparing for a booming 2018. She's been booking trips since the start & she's doing an outstanding job. Her niche is families looking for adventurous & eco-tourism travel. Reach out to Honah 218-269-3238.

May I was in Las Vegas for my DWHSA conference. (Destination Weddings Honeymoon Specialist Assoc.). I was able to tour different parts of Las Vegas from shows, dining options, High Roller, Wedding Venues, Bachelor & Bachelorette Parties, Site Inspections at different hotels. Las Vegas isn't all about gambling with all they have to offer you.

June was a great month as I was able to speak at the Kiwanis group here in Cloquet & meet with various suppliers on other days. I just love to meet with suppliers to learn more of the what & how I can better service you with their travel options.

July was my visit to Jamaica, the island of all right! It was a great vacation. Of course, I turned a few days into work with site inspections. We stayed at the Sandals South Coast resort and I was able to enjoy some diving during my stay. We even were able to get out for a night dive. The resort & staff were wonderful there. We had a beautiful breeze during our stay there.

Then our private driver drove us to Scotchies for some authentic jerk food. Then we moved over to Secrets St. James resort in Montego Bay. This is also an adult only luxury resort where you can stay at one & play at 2 resorts.

During my stay, I managed to do site inspections at Sandals South Coast, Sandals Montego Bay, Breathless Resort, Secrets Wild Orchid, Secrets St. James, Hyatt Ziva & Hyatt Zilara, Zoetry Montego Bay & Royal Decameron Cornwall Beach resort just steps away from the Hip Strip in Montego Bay. I love being a Jamaican specialist as this helps me to continue my education of this beautiful country.

And who didn't love your annual Carlton County Fair this year. We were able to expand our booth this year featuring Ireland & Australia on one table & Caribbean & Mexico vacation option on the other. We truly enjoy participating in the County Fair. It's an opportunity to visit with old friends.

Sept. we prepared for Bob has he was off to Australia in Oct. He was in the Outback area and Queensland area for a couple of weeks. Bob was able to experience so much there. This trip was an amazing experience and it only goes hand in hand with him being our Australia expert. Bob had been picked out of 300 agents from the US. They track all of his webinars, emails and contacts he's had and that is how they pick n choose who gets to go on that trip. So for those looking for expert advice, reach out to Bob. 218-391-9525.

From Australia to Florida, Bob was just in time to kick off the nightly celebration with our NEST FEST members. NEST FEST is an opportunity to grow our networking & knowledge with suppliers that come in from all over the globe to meet with us.

From the conference to the cruise port, Bob & I were off on a 4 day sailing with the Carnival Cruise line rep. We visited the Bahamas and relaxed in our balcony. We did some training during our cruise to learn more about Carnival Cruise Lines. There we could enjoy networking with other agents from across the states who were all NEST members.

I was able to team up with Sun Country Vacations for a FAM trip that both Honah & I went to visit Mazatlan. There were over 200 agents on this trip. I was there over 20+ years ago & Honah had been there many years ago as well. We were both impressed with the safety & cleanliness of the city. The Mazatlan tourism has put over 400 million dollars into the area. What once was and now a hot spot for those that love sun & culture.

So in Dec.. I did the unthinkable for Bob's birthday. I surprised him only days before leaving that we are taking off to Las Vegas. We stayed at the Golden Nugget. We had done some site seeing while we were there, gambled just a little & had some wonderful meals. There are some places that I can highly recommend for dining.

Honah had visited Punta Cana and stayed at the Nickelodean Resort with her family. She's going to be sharing her photos soon. They had a wonderful trip and memories to last a lifetime.

So for all of the traveling we did, only the Dec. trip to Las Vegas was absolutely NO work. This is how Escape by Travel is able to keep you in the know of traveling. This year we had booked River Cruises, Ocean Cruises, Group travel, Caribbean & Mexico, USA, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Paris, Mediterranean cruises, Paris, Rome, Italy, Pakistan, Ireland, Scotland, Costa Rica, Alaska, Escorted Tours in the US & Ireland, and Australia. We can assist you all in 2018.

I know you all want my job. What you don't know is that when weather strikes, we are 100% hands on and making sure we can either reroute your trip or alter it for different travel dates. We are committed to YOU. You all are our lively hood & support. We thank you so much for a wonderful 2017.