October 2023

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View this email in your browser Greetings Friends, September came and went in a flash - I hope you had a good month! Sandy started her thirteenth year as a library media specialist.  Sarah began first grade, and Peter is in 4K.  Everyone is doing well and enjoying the routine that school brings. We went to our second Brewers game of their season at the beginning of the month.  Unfortunately, they didn't win, but we all enjoyed ourselves.  The kids started their fall activities.  Sarah is doing swim lessons, tumbling, and Girl Scouts.  After telling myself I wouldn't coach soccer again - here I am, coaching Peter and seven other crazy 4 & 5-year-olds.  Blue Sea Vacations is sponsoring the team, and we're having a lot of fun. Sandy and I had two weddings on back-to-back weekends at the end of September.  One for a friend in Milwaukee, and the other for my cousin on Long Island.  Both were wonderful events, and it's always special to see people you care about get married. About halfway through the month, I went on a solo week-long trip.  The first stop was in Buffalo, NY.  I was there visiting friends and going to the Borderland Music Festival.  In addition, my good friend is one of the owners who opened up Wayland Brewery Company, and I was itching to see it.  The music and company were fantastic, and the brewery was amazing.  If you are ever in Western NY, I highly recommend it. From Buffalo, I headed to Cancun to tour resorts and attend a conference with other travel agents.  It was my first FAM (familiarization) trip in about two years.  I was able to tour eight different resorts.  I consider touring (and also staying at) resorts one of my most important jobs as a travel agent.  It's always good to have firsthand knowledge. The conference part of the trip was very beneficial.  I'm typically skeptical of conferences, sometimes they're all fluff and not enough actual, useful knowledge.  This one was a nice blend of general industry info and specific, actionable plans to help with our travel businesses.  And the other agents I met were fantastic.  It truthfully is one of the best communities I've experienced. The conference was held at the new, beautiful Secrets Moxche.  This is an adults-only resort located in the Playa del Carmen area, south of Cancun.  It opened last year and still had a new feeling. One of the coolest features was the sheer number of pool options.  There were multiple pools with swim-up bars.  A rooftop infinity pool.  There was even a pool with a sand beach.  But the most unique options were pools that were created to make you feel like you were in a cenote. The food and drinks were top-notch.  Because we only spend a few nights when we are on these trips, it's impossible to try each restaurant.  I usually can tell if the buffet is good, then the rest of the restaurants will likely be good.  The buffet at Secrets Moxche was one of the best I've experienced.  For breakfast, they had my favorite, a chilaquiles station.  Also, and this is a first, an avocado toast station!  And last, but certainly not least, some excellent spicy margaritas. As we head into the fall and winter, I say this monthly, but please don't delay asking for pricing on future vacations.  I want to make sure we all have realistic expectations when it comes to planning your travel.  It gets harder to do that when planning at the last minute. Please reach out anytime - you can click the "Contact Today" button below to schedule a time to speak.  Or simply email, call, or text. Have a wonderful weekend, Brian Contact Today See previous monthly emails here.