"Hey, let's go to Iceland!"

Iceland. How did I ever decide to visit Iceland? It all began when my friend Summer posted a status saying she wanted to take a trip to Iceland and if anyone was seriously interested in going then contact her. Little did she know how many people would respond. Eventually she ended up with a group of 5 girls who could go the dates she was interested in and were committed to going. Summer came to me looking for help to plan the route, flights, accommodations, and car rental. When she was leaving my office I casually mentioned if anyone backed out of the group and she needed someone else to go then let me know because I might be interested. 48 hours later she text me that a girl backed out and 24 hours after that I had my vacation time cleared with work and I was ready to go! Summer and I spent weeks researching and mapping out the best route and making a list of must sees.

Our group consisted of 5 girls...4 from Wilmington and 1 from Charlotte. Everyone knew Summer, but not the others so with Summer as our bond we prepared for 10 days of road tripping around Iceland. The Wilmington girls, Summer, Savannah, Shelby, and me, drove to Raleigh and Morgan, from Charlotte, met us there so we could all fly out of RDU together. We flew to JFK and on to Reykjavik. 

I found a shuttle bus through AAA's partner, Travel Bound, to take us from the airport directly to the Blue Lagoon then on to the city because the Blue Lagoon is closer to the airport than it is Reykjavik. Many people think the Blue Lagoon is a tourist trap, but after an overnight flight we could not be more excited to soak and relax in the blue hued geothermal pool. The water was warm and just as blue and milky as it looks in pictures. The lagoon was large and fairly crowded and as we quickly discovered...swarming with Navy sailers. A Navy ship was in port in Reykjavik for 2 days so there were at least 30 sailers enjoying the Blue Lagoon with us. We made pleasantries and followed Dory from Finding Nemo's advice of "just keep swimming". The Blue Lagoon had a natural silica mud mask and an algae and vitamin mask we could rehydrate our jetlagged skin with. They even had a swim up bar we could rehydrate our bodies with their sparking strawberry wine! 

When we were sufficiently pruny we caught the bus to Reykjavik and found out hostel, Guesthouse Odinn. We had a private room for 5 and shared a bathroom and common living area with 2 other rooms. The room was spacious and most importantly the hostel had free wifi! We had high hopes of exploring and enjoying the infamous Reykjavik nightlife, but the jetlag and relaxing Blue 

Lagoon got the best of us so we had protein bars for dinner and popped a melatonin and were all asleep before 8pm. 

                                 

Twelve hours later we felt human again and prepared to explore the city. Our first stop was the grand cathedral in the middle of the city, Hallgrimski, where we went to the top of the round church tower and had amazing views of Reykjavik! The church itself was beautiful and had a huge pipe organ inside. The remainder of the day we wandered through the downtown area and city center, ordered our first Icelandic coffee, saw trolls, explored boutiques, tasted Icelandic hot dogs for lunch, and even found an Icelandic travel agency! 

                       

                       

        

        

                                         

                                         

Photo Credits: Christina Hawkins, Morgan Leatherwood, and Summer Saunders 

Turks & Caicos Tropical Storm Adventure

Everyone knows I'm slightly obsessed with the Sandals and Beaches Resorts because let's face it, they may advertise like crazy on Wheel of Fortune and promise you "Love is All You Need", but really all you need is someone to relax and have fun enjoying beautiful beaches and pampering staff. Who wouldn't love that!? I had a few travel agent rewards from my 2014-2015 sales of the resorts so I decided to take the best person I knew who would love to lay on a white sand beach and eat and drink a few days away to Beaches Turks & Caicos...my Momma! I'm definitely a Momma's girl and require a lot of undivided attention time with her...I know what you're thinking and yes, I'm an only child. Therefore, I requested a long weekend just the 2 of us to breeze on down to Turks & Caicos to soak up some sunshine.

We left Wilmington on Thursday August 21st...scratch that, we were supposed to leave Wilmington but our flight was canceled and we had to make a made dash drive to Myrtle Beach to fly to Charlotte - this should have been red flag #1. We arrived into the tiny airport in Providenciales and took the short ride to Beaches Turks & Caicos.

Welcome to heaven on earth!

 

We checked in to the new Key West Village and were taken to our Key West One Bedroom Concierge Suite. It was so beautiful! The Key West Village used to be a separate resort, The Verandahs, before Beaches acquired it a couple of years ago so the suite had a full kitchen, living room with day bed, private bedroom with king bed, and 2 bathrooms. More than enough space for 2 people! We spent our afternoon wandering the resort and trying out a couple of the 19 restaurants on site and watching a breathtaking sunset.

Friday morning greeted us with a fresh fruit breakfast served on our patio before we took to the white sands of Grace Bay. Beaches Turks & Caicos is located on a picturesque stretch of Grace Bay with countless watersports available such as snorkeling, glass bottom boat rides, sailing, scuba diving, water tricycles, paddle boarding, and kayaking. All of those wonderful options and what did we decide to do on our first day? We grabbed a Miami Vice and plopped ourselves down on a lounge chair to work diligently on our tan. I mean, we didn't want to enjoy all of the available activities on our first day, right? We sampled another restaurant for lunch and I saw my long lost friend, Elmo! Elmo was just as happy to see me as I was to see him! We grabbed another Miami Vice to go and exerted all of our energy to get us over to the adults only pool in the Key West Village where we made sure each side of us was tanned evenly all afternoon. Friday night there was a Sesame Street Stage Show in the French Village so we wandered over to check it out. It was so cute! Beaches is partnered with Sesame Street so Big Bird, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Burt, Ernie, Abby Cadabby, and Super Grover were all singing and dancing on the main stage.

 

We also found our pictures posted in the French Village!

After dinner we wandered by the water sports center to sign up for a snorkeling cruise on Saturday and were told that nothing was scheduled because the weather was predicted to be a little stormy. We thought nothing of it as we watched another glorious sunset. Saturday morning we woke up to a light rain so we went to a restaurant for breakfast and decided we'd enjoy our suite and read, watch tv, and nap. We ventured out in the rain and went to The Cricketers Pub to play games. I definitely beat my Momma at Battleship! By afternoon, the rain slowed and we went to check out the Pirates Island Waterpark. A few laps on the lazy river and the black clouds came back out and rained on our parade (you laughed - admit it!). Saturday night we went to my favorite restaurant, Kimonos. Kimonos is a Japanese hibachi style grill where they cook in front of you. Since there were only 2 of us we were seated with a larger family group from Connecticut who were celebrating several birthdays. We became part of the family within an hour and celebrated with cake and sake bombs.

Sunday brought more rain and the announcement that the island of Turks & Caicos was officially enduring Tropical Storm Cristobal. More rain meant more naps, more restaurant tastings, more reading, and a trip to the complimentary Red Lane Spa hot tub and plunge pool. We ran into our new family at each restaurant we went to and bonded even more since we learned they were supposed to have flown home on Sunday and the PLS airport was now closed thanks to the storm. The family was told it may be Thursday before they could get home! We can began to panic internally since we were supposed to fly home on Monday. When we decided to not let the rain ruin our fun, we continued our pursuit of sampling the menus at each of the 19 restaurants on resort. Sunday night my Mom had her first and possible last experience with sushi at Soy, then we had our main course at the seafood restaurant, and dessert at the Italian restaurant. We groaned all the way back to our suite before falling into a food coma.

Monday brought a lighter rain so we thought we should be fine to fly home. We saw our Connecticut family at breakfast and they burst our bubble by telling us flights were still canceled. I called US Airways and they confirmed but told us to call back in a couple of hours because they were discussing send an extra plane down since there were so many people stuck. We called back as they said and sure enough they were sending another plane! I had the concierge track down our other family to tell them the news! We all celebrated our last night in Turks & Caicos because we were flying home Tuesday morning!

Our 4 day weekend unexpectedly turned into a 5 day getaway but Beaches Resorts handled the storm like professionals and kept everyone calm and having fun. I asked for some quality mother/daughter time and boy did I get it! We had a fantastic time enjoying a fabulous family resort. Beaches truly showcased their supreme service during our tropical storm adventure and I can't wait to return...when it's not hurricane season!

Excuses, excuses, excuses...

Y'all, have you figured out that I'm really bad at keeping up with Bug Bites? I'm terrible! It's not that I don't want to write and keep everyone in the loop of my oh so fascinating life - you caught the sarcasm, right? - but it's more that I've been writing my posts while traveling and from the thumb cramping screen of my iPhone 5. So, a year has passed since my last post and I promised myself before I leave on my first trip of 2016 that I have to catch y'all up on the last 2 trips I took in 2015. They were really great trips, but my thumbs were still screaming at me from the first have of the 2015 travel year so I just couldn't do it! Excuses, excuses, excuses...

Play Day in the Caribbean

What would a trip to Jamaica be without a day in the sunshine and sea? Mike and Wendy arranged for the 9 of us to enjoy an Island Routes, Sandals own excursion company, catamaran cruise to the Pelican Bar. I had never heard of this Pelican Bar, but apparently it has been featured in magazines and travel shows for years as it is a restaurant built entirely of driftwood and it is located in the middle of the water off shore only accessible by boat. I met Jessica and Erin for breakfast. Some times I love traveling alone because it forces me to chat with the others in the group. I love meeting others who work in the travel industry. We bond so easily simply over our love of the industry. We boarded the huge catamaran around 9:30am with about 30 other people. Island Routes provided unlimited drinks and finger foods on board.

 

The water was apparently a bit too choppy for some people sitting at the front of the catamaran because we had several people get sick. The ride out to the Pelican Bar was a little over an hour but the reggae music was playing and we were loving the sunshine and getting a chance to laugh and talk with our group. The Pelican Bar finally came into view! 

We were transported by small dingy to the bar. The inside was decorated with flags, license plates, and anything else others decided to leave behind. Visitors carved their names into the driftwood. 

Jessica, Mike, Greta, and I decided it was time for a swim! The Caribbean Sea was so calm and blue!

 Since so many people got sick sitting at the front they moved to the back and it gave our group space to sit on one of the nets over the water at the front. We had an unobstructed view of the sea, sunshine, good music, and a waiter who kept the drinks coming!

Play day continued at the resort as we had to go check out the main pool and swim up bar. We made sure everyone knew our group was there when all 9 of us help hands and jumped in the pool together! We had Mikes butler deliver pizzas and the poor guy hardly got his hands out of the way before all 4 pizzas were devoured. Andrea, Jessica, and I went for a quick swim in the ocean and a stop at the French Villa pool before going back to our rooms to get ready for dinner.
 

The last 5 days all of my knowledge and thoughts about the Sandals and Beaches resorts came to life. I was able to see 7 of the 20 properties and really acknowledge the unique characteristics about each resort. There really is a Sandals for everyone. No matter your style or preference or priority there is a resort within the Sandals and Beaches family that will meet your need. I'm so grateful I was able to see and do so much during this trip. I met some wonderful people with AAA, Travel Impressions, and of course, the Sandals family. Jamaica is such a hospitable friendly island and I know I will return. 

 

 

Montego Bay, Negril, & Whitehouse

Our Sandals and Beaches training classes always tell us that each resort is unique, but it's one thing to actually get to see the resorts in person. They really have their own personality! There is a resort style for everyone!

We left Ocho Rios and rode the hour and a half to Montego Bay. We toured Sandals Royal Caribbean Resort & Private Island. I already liked this resort before I saw it because it is 25 minutes from the airport so it is close, but not too close. Once I saw the resort...I fell in love!  Royal Caribbean is quiet with several pools and small beaches scattered throughout the property. 

My favorite rooms were the crystal lagoon swim up rooms that have a gorgeous pool and gardens connecting 8 first floor rooms. 

The views from the beach were breathtaking! We went to the private island and saw the Thai restaurant, the Red Lane Spa, and most importantly...the future location of 5 overwater bungalows! They are scheduled to begin construction on August 1. These 5 bungalows will have a glass floor and a private butler! 

Back on the bus for another hour ride to Negril! I visited Negril last year and it is truly a beach lovers paradise! Sandals Negril is located on the northern most stretch of 7 mile beach so while it is a public beach there are not many people walking by. The resort was built back before building codes restricted properties to be set back off the beach so many of the rooms and buildings are mere steps from the sand. 

Sandals Negril has slowly been renovating all of their buildings and we got to see their highest level category room, a Millionaire Suite with private plunge pool...and private butler. 

Who wouldn't love to wake up to your own peaceful paradise!? We got to see their crystal lagoon swim up rooms that have an oceanview too. I really can't decide which room I would prefer! 

The resort property is simply beautiful and there is an oceanview from almost every angle! Negril is the "Capital of Casual" and this Sandals property definitely fits the laid back beach bum vibe. 

Just down the stretch of 7 Mile Beach is Beaches Negril...the family resort. Beaches Negril is a low rise property on a wider stretch of beach with enough activities to keep the entire family happy. I stayed at this resort last year and I will absolutely return and bring my family some day. The beach is amazing, there is a large pool with swim up bar and the Pirates Waterpark has slides and a lazy river! 

The kids activities are incredible. Beaches is partnered with Sesame Street so Camp Sesame is home to the kids activities. Young kids have their own splash pool and playground while the older kids have a game room, scheduled watersport lessons and activities, theme parties, an XBox game lounge, and even a Scratch DJ Academy where kids (and adults) can take DJ lessons! 

I even met Bert from Sesame Street!

Thankfully our driver has his PhD...pot hole dodger...because the ride from Negril to Whitehouse was a bit bumpy! It wa so worth it though! Sandals Whitehouse is set on 50 acres and 2 miles of white sand beach. It is a large property and it was at 93% occupancy when we arrived, but I asked Mike where were all the people! Since the resort is spread out people are scattered everywhere. There are 3 villages each with their own pool. The restaurants and shops are all centrally located and easily accessible from any village. Each room has an oceanview so it's impossible to have a bad room or location! 

We checked in to our concierge, Club Sandals, rooms - no butler for us this time! - and met for dinner at Neptunes, the seafood restaurant, for dinner. We survived the work hard days...the next day we will play hard!