Travel Notes from TravelinFool

I recently returned from spending April School Vacation in Florida. I was lucky enough to spend time in Orlando, Cocoa Beach and Vero Beach, all without having being dragged to any of the wonderful attractions of Orlando! I want to spend a moment just talking about the Cocoa Beach area.

Cocoa Beach remains a part of “old-Florida” to me. It is a nice, moderately priced beach town with good surfing, fishing, dining and outdoor activities just 50 minutes from Orlando.  It is also within 15 minutes of the Kennedy Space Center, www.kennedyspacecenter.com , home of NASA and the Space Shuttle. It’s close enough to the Orlando attractions that many people stay in Cocoa Beach and make day trips to the parks in Orlando. The other dads (or granddads like me) that I spoke to enjoyed the ability to wake up at and spending a few days at the beach with a few day trips to Orlando. Cocoa Beach is only 50 minutes from Orlando. We are all used to 50 minutes of traffic to get anywhere and Orlando is a straight shot on Route 528, the Beachline. For more information on the area go to www.cocoabeach.com .

There are some great resorts in the area. I enjoy Discovery Beach Resort  (www.discoverybeachresort.com) and The Resort on Cocoa Beach ( www.theresortoncocoabeach.com ) , both are beachfront, have great facilities and wonderful customer service. Both Discovery Beach and The Resort are affiliated with Interval International.

Great restaurants include The Surf and Rusty’s (all time favorites for 40 years) www.rustysseafood.com, The Mango Tree www.themangotreerestaurant.com, and Grill’s (www.visitgrills.com) at Port Canaveral. 

A visit to Cocoa Beach wouldn’t be complete with a visit to Ron Jon’s Surf shop, the largest surf complex in the world. Don’t miss the Cocoa Beach Surf Company either. It is just next to Ron Jon’s and offers some great specials and prices.

So if you are looking for great low key Florida vacation you can’t beat Cocoa Beach. And if I see you around the Tiki Bar, I’ll be happy to send over a drink!

All Ashore! Popular Harbor Cruise is Back!

    I’m pleased to announce that the very popular weekly Falmouth harbor cruises will be back and even better this year! For 2008 we will be offering two sailings aboard the “R&R”. The boat will leave the dock on Monday and Thursday evenings between and 5 and 5:30 PM.

The “R&R” is a classic 48′ Down East ideal for private/corporate parties, events, harbor cruises, and clambakes on the water. The “R&R” has an extremely spacious back deck perfect for cocktail parties or a sit down dinner. The extended fly bridge with ample seating allows for the best views on the water or just relaxing in a comfortable lounger. See their website at www.r-rcharters.com .

Mondays will be the usual harbor cruise with a cash bar and complimentary appetizers. Thursday night will be a Caribbean night with music of the islands! What a great way to enjoy an evening in Falmouth. We will also be offering Wednesday morning fishing trips for up to 10 people. This will be traditional Cape Cod striper fishing with a seasoned Captain and crew aboard the R&R. It’s sure to be a great trip searching the rips of Vineyard Sound for bass and bluefish. Please call for more information about the fishing adventures.

Both cruises are available for advance purchase using your points. Please contact Owner Services at 888.333.1535 to book your rooms and cruise.

Vacation Club University - New Date

Thank you to everyone who attended the March 29 Vacation Club University class. It was a good group with plenty of good questions and discussion topics. I hope everyone who attended left knowing alot more about the Club than when they started. As always please be sure to contact me or the Owner Services department with any questions.

We have scheduled the next class. It will be held at South Mountain Resort (www.innseason.com/SouthMountain) on Saturday May 17 at 9:30 AM. All Club members are welcome and encouraged to attend. We do ask that you RSVP so that we bring enough handouts for everyone. Please call Owner Services at 888.333.1535 to RSVP and book a room for Friday and or Saturday night.

Spring Sale!

It’s that time of year again when the daffodils start to bloom, the snow starts to melt and the InnSeason Vacation Club has a reservation sale.

We’ve discounted the points needed for reservations at Harborwalk, The Falls at Ogunquit, Pollard Brook, South Mountain and Mountainview resorts. Between April 1 and June 13 you’ll need only 50% of the regular points required for reservations! Naturally there are some restrictions and they are: This can only be used at InnSeason Vacation Club resorts and holidays are not eligible (Memorial Day and April School Vacation week). There are a few more restrictions and the complete promotion will be emailed to all Club members on Monday, March 24. Watch your email for this exciting news.

Calling all River Rats!

     That’s right, River Rats. River Rats are those people that have tried river rafting and cannot get enough of the thrills and chills and fun of rafting.

The InnSeason Vacation Club has just finalized an agreement with the Windfall Outdoor Center in Jackman Maine. The agreement not only allows the two companies to cross promote and create packages, it also allows Vacation Club members to raft on their points. Well, not literally on their points, but to pay for rafting, kayaking or rock climbing trips with their InnSeason points. This is another great addition to the Playtime Points program. Not only does InnSeason’s provide great accommodations all around New England, we also provide you with great ways to use your points while on vacation! Members should quickly book their vacations at Mountainview Resort and their raft trips. The best times always fill up fast.

To learn more about rafting the Kennebec river go to www.windfallrafting.com . To learn more about using Innseason’s Playtime Points program go to http://www.innseason.com/isr/owners_playtime.aspx .

Destinnation Resort Sale

As a way of introducing our Club Navigo Destinnation resorts to our members we’re offering Liki Tiki and The Cove at Ormond Beach resorts at new low rates. We’ve reviewed the points required for those resorts and have reduced them on almost every date and unit size. And you still don’t need an exchange fee!

If you are wondering whether or not to stay at Liki Tiki all I can do is quote an owner from a VCU class. He said “I’ve got three kids. We race to the airport, we stand in those lines, then we get to the resort late in the day, we buy groceries then pass out. In the morning we race to the Parks and spend $400 and stand in those lines. On the second day my kids looked at me and said, “can we stay at the resort and play in this cool water park?” That’s all I needed to hear, I love that resort!”

Your Opinion Counts

The InnSeason Vacation Club is about to turn 3 and we’d like to know what you think about it. Please just click on the below link and let us know how we are doing. It’s a short survey which will give us some insight as to where or how to make adjustments to the program. Thank you.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=FR_2bTPd_2bZ_2bKruSnzJBJgKpw_3d_3d

Skiing for a good cause.

      The InnSeason Vacation Club was lucky enough to participate in a great cause this past week end at Loon Mountain. We were honored to be the lodging sponsors for the annual TJX Briefcase Race (www.briefcaserace.org). This is an annual event at Loon Mountain which raises funds for the Faulkner Breast Centre. Started 16 years ago by Pollard Brook Resort Manager Joel Bourassa and WCVB’s Mike Lynch the fun event has raised over $850,000 for ongoing staff education, research and patient support at Faulkner.

The group at Faulkner Hospital, led by Tracy Marshall, coordinated the race organization, donations, charity auction and team registration. Coupled with Loon’s expert mountain operations team and 10 inches of fresh snow the event was lots of fun. Aptly named, contestants race through a gentle race course carrying a soft-sided briefcase (as seen in the photo). Teams race in costumes with my favorites being the “Nuns on the Run” and the “Blues Brothers”.  We chose the ever popular company jacket look! But be warned for 2009 we’ll be back and we’ll be bold.

The race is open to the public and I will be reminding Club members of the date. It’s a lot of fun, it’s a good cause. Why wouldn’t you want to do this?

Special thanks to Mike Ryan of R and R Charters, Alice Pearce of SkiNH and Corbin Bourassa for racing with Joel and I.

Loon Announces New Pass

    Loon Mountain Resort has announced a new season pass. The new pass is called the New England Pass and includes Loon, Sugarloaf, and Sunday River. What a great trio for New England skiers. Go to their website at www.loonmtn.com to learn the details. Remember,  you may use your Vacation Club points to purchase this great ski pass. We had more than a dozen members purchase passes this way for this season (and what a season they’ve had). While we are awaiting the pricing for the new pass, I expect it to be somewhere around 60,000 points! We’ll announce the final number as soon as I’m done negotiating with Loon. I think this is one of the best ways to use your points! Buy a ski pass and stay at some the finest lodging in New England with InnSeason Vacation Club.

If there is a better way to enjoy winter in New England, I don’t know it.

Skiing was so good…

       I had a chance to ski last week(there was still Bonus Time available). These happy faces could be yours! (but they belong to my granddaughter and me!) Be sure to get out and visit NH with the best snow in years!