October 2024

Greetings from Brian

View this email in your browser Greetings Friends, Happy October, and happy autumn.  Our ash tree in front of our house is beginning to turn yellow, and my prediction is that it will be fully changed in two weeks or so. September started with back-to-school for Sandy and the kids.  Sarah is in second grade, Peter started Kindergarten, and Sandy began her 14th year teaching.  Everyone had a great first day.  And what do you know - the school sickness started sooner than normal.  Sarah contracted pertussis (whooping cough) and spent the entire second week of school home with me.  Her case was mild, but she was instructed to quarantine for five days. A highlight for Sandy and Sarah was visiting the American Girl store in Chicago in the middle of September.  Most of you don't know this, but American Girls were a huge part of my life even though it was only my brother and me (two boys) growing up.  My mom had American Girl tea parties with girls on our street and eventually started a successful American Girl-based summer camp.  Sandy and Sarah had a fun time having afternoon tea with her doll. The weather has been warmer than usual.  One weekend, we decided to check out one of the beaches on a local lake.  When we arrived, there were kayaks for rent.  I rented a tandem kayak and took each kid out separately.  We had a wonderful time, and both kids impressed me with their skills.  I used to lead kayak trips at Camp Fowler (where Sandy and met).  To now be paddling with my kids was a special moment. At the end of September, I spent a week in Mexico.  The first night, I stayed at Secrets Maroma Beach.  I'd heard great things about this resort, and am happy to report that it lived up the hype.  It is on one of the most beautiful beaches I've seen.  But what I found to be more impressive was the amazing staff.  The service I received, for just a one-night stay, was top-notch.  It was truly a well-oiled machine. After I checked out of Secrets Maroma Beach, I toured four different resorts.  I'll review them in future monthly emails.  I was mainly in Mexico for a conference held at Secrets Playa Blanca.  This resort is in an area north of Cancun, which I'd never visited.  It was a beautiful location with great beaches. Secrets Playa Blanca was stunning.  It's brand new, and like many other Secrets resorts, has a variety of restaurants, bars, and activities for people to participate in. While the conference was getting started, Hurricane Helene was making landfall in our area.  For the first half of the conference, it rained and stormed stronger than I've experienced.  We were essentially confined to our rooms for a portion of the first day.  The staff worked around the clock to help clean up the property and take care of the guests.  By the late afternoon on the second day, things started to clear up and we did a marathon learning session for about seven hours without a break. On the last day, we had time to explore and relax at the resort.  It was a nice pool day, and I enjoyed spending time with agents and colleagues I see infrequently.  There was a mock wedding/vow renewal that was exciting to experience. In one session at the conference, an important industry executive spoke about travel trends.  Flight capacity, especially to Mexico and the Caribbean is lower going into 2025 than in recent years.  This being said, Europe is the hottest market right now for travel, which I've been seeing with my clients as many of you are in the process of planning your 2025 getaways across the pond.  This all leads me to reiterate what I say monthly, please don't wait to book your trips! As always, let me know how I can help you with your next vacation. Have a great weekend, Brian Contact Today See previous monthly emails here.