Melvin Family: Playa del Carmen Adventure

The Melvin Family spent Spring Break in the heart of Playa del Carmen (the center of Mexico's Riviera Maya area) at The Gran Porto Real, a family friendly all-inclusive beachfront resort. They had one adventure after another. They spent one entire day at Explor Adventure Park. They also strolled 5th Avenue, took scuba lessons, drank copious amounts of Pina minus the Colada, snorkeled, enjoyed the cuisine and much more.

Here's a glimpse of their Mexican Vacation. Thanks for trusting Destinations with your vacation, Melvin Family!

View from chaise lounge the first day

View from room balcony

He was in search of a coconut to drink out of and had no problem finding one

Exploring the cenotes (underwater caves)

Amphibious vehicle exploration through 6 miles of jungle and caverns



Ziplining kiddos. They did all 14 lines.

Get $$$ to Sail, 2 Days Left

Adventure in Costa Rica

We recently had a honeymoon couple return from Costa Rica and they shared some gorgeous pictures with us. They flew into San Jose and rented a car (make sure it's a 4 wheel drive vehicle) to travel to the Arenal and Monteverde regions. The Arenal Volcano is one of the 10 most active volcanoes in the world. Monteverde is home to cloud forests which are rare and occur within tropical or subtropical mountainous environments where the atmospheric conditions are just right for a consistent cover of clouds.

They kept the road hot and took advantage of several outdoor adventure activities:

• Sky Trek Canopy Tour (aka zipling)
• Arenal Volcano
• The Sloth Sanctuary near the Monteverde cloud forest reserve
• ATV (all-terrain vehicle) tour
• Orchid garden tour
• Hanging bridge walk
• La Trepiche coffee plantation tour
• Stopped in Fuentes Frescas to see the waterfalls



Waterfall in Fuentes Frescas



Arenal Volcano



View from the Zipline



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Big Island, Big Memories

Turtle Beach in Kona

The Kilgore Family spent their Spring Break on Oahu and The Big Island in Hawaii. They spent time in Honolulu visiting Pearl Harbor. On the Big Island they were very adventurous and took in the sheer beauty and scenery. They made memories that will last a lifetime, and their pictures say a thousand words.

The highlights include:

• Seeing the Arizona memorial and the USS Missouri. We got to see the actual papers (instruments of surrender) that the Japanese had to sign to surrender. One of the tour guides gave some interesting details about the signing of those documents. When Japan's copy was signed the Canadian Colonel signed in the wrong spot and they had to do pen and ink changes on the spot to fix them. I was able to take pictures of the documents as well.
• We watched portions of the filming for "Hawaii Five-O" on the beach right outside our hotel as we ate breakfast.
• The kids got to see and swim with sea turtles at sea turtle beach. They actually swim right up by you without hesitation.




Black Sand Beach

Waipio Valley



Akaka Falls



USS Missouri



View from room at Royal Kona

A Dying Mema's Wish



Mema with her grandchildren

I recently had the privilege to plan a very special family vacation. When Marla contacted me initially, I had no idea how closely we would work together and how near and dear her family's special vacation would be to my heart. Mema took the whole family to The Reef Atlantis March 5-12 for an unforgettable family vacation as she is drawing near the end of her life. I have great admiration for Mema. Read Marla's touching testimonial below.

Family always came first with my mother-in-law. She set the tradition of a family vacation so all her grandchildren could be together for at least one week out of the year. When this amazing woman was diagnosed with glioblastoma brain cancer, she fought with all her might until her doctors said any further treatment would be of no help. It came as no real surprise when we asked her if there was anything she wanted to do; she said she wanted to take a trip. Not just any trip, she wanted to take her whole family, all 15 of us, plus her caregiver to The Reef Atlantis in the Bahamas.

A friend of mine recommended Destinations. I can never express how grateful I am for all the work Sarah did to help us take this journey. She organized 11 expedited passports, travel for 4 families including 8 children and our severely mobility impaired Mema, lodging, meal plans and very good travel insurance-- all within three weeks of my initial contact to the office. Sarah went above and beyond to help make our Mema's last wish for a great family vacation come true.

I will without hesitation recommend Destinations to anyone who asks and even those who don't! - Marla Sheely

The Dolphin Experience

The view from their rooms

Marla's boys having fun at an Atlantis photo op

Ski Getaway in Tahoe



Lake Tahoe, the California side

Over the weekend my husband and I flew out west for a ski getaway at Heavenly. We flew into the Reno/Tahoe Airport and rented a car to drive to South Lake Tahoe. The drive took us just under an hour and was picturesque. Gorgeous pines capped with snow and mountains in the backdrop. Upon arrival at the hotel, we valeted the car (and never saw it again until we checked out). We spent 3 nights at the Marriott Grand Residence in South Lake Tahoe. We had a comfortable studio with a full kitchen. It was perfect for our needs, and best of all the resort was convenient to Heavenly Sports (ski rentals) and the gondola (15 minute ride up to the base of Heavenly). The ski shop was literally underneath our room, and the gondola was just steps away from there. We valeted our skis (complimentary) each afternoon when we came down the mountain. The last day when we turned our skis and boots in, we walked in our socks to our room because it was that close (and we may have forgotten our shoes, oops). There are plenty of things to see and do within walking distance of the Marriott Grand Residence in South Lake Tahoe: movie theater, restaurants, ice skating rink, grocery store, The North Face shop, ice cream, Starbucks, casinos, other shopping and much more.

Our studio

[Facts about the mountain]

Heavenly is home to 29 lifts and 95 runs. You can ski in Nevada and California. While California has the prettiest scenery with Lake Tahoe at the bottom, we preferred the blue runs on the Nevada side of the mountain best. Galaxy, Perimeter and The Pines are a few of our favorites.

• 10,067' highest elevation in Lake Tahoe
• 3,500' vertical unmatched on the West Coast
• 4,800 acres spanning two states, most on the West Coast
• Annual snowfall averages more than 30 feet a year
• 5 mile descent longest on the West Coast 



Bill on the Nevada side



View from the gondola

Hot chocolate break in the lodge

On the first day I made one mistake. I followed my husband’s lead as he took an “off run” turn and we ended up on a black diamond full of moguls. He was up above me and managed to cut back over to the blue, but I was downhill with no hope of returning to the safe, secure blue so I just had to go with it. I made an embarrassing attempt at getting down the run. I ended up with my skis crossed at one point, and the next thing I knew there was a pack of kids skiing like pros through the moguls. To make matters even worse, the run was underneath a ski lift. At least no one knew me. I made my way to the bottom with little grace and no style, and Bill was waiting for me there. How nice.

No trip out west is complete without a stop at In-N-Out Burger, so we got our fix on the way to the airport. Bill had his burger animal style (are you familiar with the secret menu? Animal style translated means a mustard-cooked beef patty with additional pickles, cheese, spread and grilled onions diced up and mixed together on the grill before getting dumped on your burger.) and I preferred the traditional cheeseburger, no onion please. Their fries are the best.

We would return to South Lake Tahoe and Heavenly in a heartbeat.

Enjoyed sharing with you,
Sarah