November 2025

12/5/2025

Greetings Friends,

How are we already in November?! I hope you are doing well and enjoying the autumn weather.

I can't remember a fall season as busy as we've had this year. There are too many events that happened, so here are some highlights.

For activities, Peter did soccer this fall. This was the first time I wasn't his coach. It was nice to be on the other side as a regular parent. Although Blue Sea Vacations did sponsor his team again.

I didn't make it out of the fall without coaching, though. I was Sarah's Girls on the Run coach. It was a learning experience for me, coaching 10 girls through a season of running, team building, and self-discovery.

In mid-October, Sarah turned nine. How is my Peanut nine?! She's really turning into a wonderful person. Sarah had five girls sleep over for her birthday, so I took Peter to a Wiscnosin Badgers football game. They aren't having a good year, so we were able to get great seats for cheap a few hours before kick-off. They didn't win, but we had fun.

A highlight from the fall was going to Gleam. This is a nighttime light show at Olbrich Gardens, one of our favorite places. Sandy and I have been in the past years, but this was the first year we took the kids. Both kids loved the experience.

Another highlight was volunteering. In early September, Sarah and I volunteered, handing out drinks at Ironman Wisconsin. One Sunday afternoon in October, our whole family measured dry ingredients and put them in bags for an organization called Food for Kidz. As our kids get a little older, volunteering our time and energy is something I hope we can keep doing.

And last, but certainly not least, we celebrated Halloween last weekend. Sarah went as a witch that lit up, and Peter was a Creeper (from Minecraft). Of course, we ended up with too much candy!

October brought us to New York for my grandma's 100th birthday party. It was a special day, celebrating an amazing woman. Most of my family lives in New York, and we don't get to see each other often. When we get together, we always have a good time.

Straight from New York, I flew down to the Dominican Republic for four nights. I always tell people that these aren't relaxing trips. My first full day there, I toured ten resorts. It's definitely beneficial to see the ins and outs of where I might want my clients to stay. The rest of the time was spent at a conference with travel agents, learning trends, best practices, and getting updates.

On our last day there, our group did a "give back" service project through the charitable arm of the consortia I belong to, CXCARES. We went to a small two-room schoolhouse, installed fans, painted, did landscaping, and donated supplies to help the students and teachers. I can safely say that the impact it had on me was life-changing. To look at our problems versus what those kids and teachers had was eye-opening. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to help.

Over the next month or two, I want to highlight a few of my favorite resorts from the Dominican Republic. The first is the resort that hosted us for the conference, Secrets Playa Esmeralda. This resort is located in the Miches area of the Dominican Republic, about 1.5 hours from the airport in Punta Cana. Driving to the resort, it goes from the more built-up area of Punta Cana to greener countryside. Truthfully, a site to be seen!

The resort itself is beautiful. It's brand new and has some nice features. It was easy to navigate, and some nice pools and restaurants. The rooms were big and spacious. Although we were in the conference for most of the time, I did get to jump in the pool one day during some downtime.

As for trips, many of you begin traveling in the next month, and then things pick up strongly as we head into the winter and spring break times. It isn't too late to book something if you are still on the fence! Feel free to reach out anytime.

Have a great weekend,

Brian

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