April 19, 2024 • 53 mins
The Wishing Well's Terrie Dean and Harry Reif discuss this week's travel news and Hot Deals!
Join us on an exhilarating adventure as we dive into the captivating landscapes of Alaska and Hawaii. From the icy fjords of Alaska to the sun-kissed beaches of Hawaii, our episode uncovers hidden gems, local culture, and insider tips for travelers. Whether you’re dreaming of witnessing the Northern Lights or surfing the Pacific waves, Terrie and Harry provide essential insights and inspiration.
Join us on an exhilarating adventure as we dive into the captivating landscapes of Alaska and Hawaii. From the icy fjords of Alaska to the sun-kissed beaches of Hawaii, our episode uncovers hidden gems, local culture, and insider tips for travelers. Whether you’re dreaming of witnessing the Northern Lights or surfing the Pacific waves, Terrie and Harry provide essential insights and inspiration.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
This is a Lifeless Ordinary. It'sa travel show and podcasts from your friends
at the wishing Well two forty threef Avenue in Harrisburg and online at the
wishing Well dot this. The wishingWell is your ultimate luxury concierge, travel
agency and a Lifeless Ordinary is atravel show and podcast hosted by Terry Dean,
bringing her over forty years of experiencein the travel industry to help guide
(00:21):
you to great experiences in your travel, whether it be around the block,
around the country, or around theworld. Let's bring in Terry Dean.
Say hello, how in the worldare you, Chris Well, I'm okay.
What a lovely Saturday? Yeah?Beautiful is it? You know from
where I sit? And hello,Harry. The energy in this room is
(00:44):
exhilarating. You're reading the room alittle bit different than I am here,
Harry. But okay, Well,welcome into our weekly chat about travel.
We've got some travel news, wedid deals, and then we're going on
in odyssey later in the show.We are we have a great show lined
up today and we're going to bediscussing two of my favorite destinations. We're
(01:07):
entitling today's show from Glaciers to Tropicsthe Odyssey of Exploration. But before we
head into that, we of coursedo have news and sales, and I've
asked Harry to talk to us alittle bit about what the news held in
the travel industry this week. Yeah, I want to start with some good
news. How's that? I'll takeit? Okay, some good news for
(01:29):
travelers. Airfares are actually a lotless costly than they were at this time
last year. Although we may notbelieve that, the data says that they're
down seven point one percent versus thesame month in twenty twenty three. And
that's despite the overall cost of goodsincreasing over twenty two point eight percent of
(01:49):
what we're hearing on the news,so I thought that was some good news.
Car Rental prices also down there,down eight point eight percent versus March
of twenty twenty three, and hotelprices are down two point four percent since
last year. So how's that fora bright spot? Good news? Wonderful,
We'll take it. Yeah. Soas we look at the summer,
(02:09):
though, especially as we look atEurope, we're going to see some increases
with the Olympics and the travel seasoncoming back, so we'll see some increases
but overall, I thought that wassome good news. The airlines, they're
trying to add more flights, butthey're running into some trouble. Aircraft delivery
delays, engine problems, air trafficcontroller shortages, pilot shortages are limiting some
(02:31):
of the growth. But they wouldlike to grow the services out there,
and we all know we'd like tosee more airline service make it a little
bit easier for us to get thoseflights that we want to get. So
that's my first bit of good news. I've got some other news. You've
heard about Global Entry before. AboutGlobal Global Entry. That's a program for
(02:53):
international travelers coming back into the UnitedStates and it speeds the process as you
go through customs and immigration. Okay, so the bad part of the news
is the fees are going to jump. They're going to go from one hundred
to one hundred and twenty dollars fora five year membership starting in October.
But on the good side, kids, if you have kids in your family,
(03:16):
and many of us do, andthey're under eighteen, they're going to
be able to join free with parentsafter October first. So if you got
kids, wait till after October first. If you've gotten no kids, get
your Global Entry before October first.And one of the things that we've talked
about once before, I think,and that is very popular, is something
(03:37):
called Mobile Passport Control. If youhaven't looked into that, that's something that's
been very popular with travelers. Yeah, this is a great idea. I'm
glad you brought that up there.Price is great, isn't it, especially
since we're seeing Global Entry prices goup for that membership. I love the
Mobile Passport Control option because it isabsolutely fr free and it doesn't get any
(04:01):
better than free, and it isalmost as good as Global Entry. If
you want to find out more,you can give us a call, or
you can go onto the banch ofInternet and look under CBP that's Customs Border
Patrol dot gov, slash travel andlook up Mobile Passport Control if you're going
to be doing any international travel.So that's my second piece of good news.
(04:21):
Okay, so one other thing thatI want to talk about this week
is National Parks Week. National ParksWeek is April twentieth to twenty eighth,
and the best thing about National Parksis they're absolutely fantastic. One of the
most popular places that we send alot of our travelers to and during National
Parks Week at least on Saturday,April twentieth, it is free to get
(04:43):
into any of the US National parksand they contain some of the best scenery
Chris that travelers can find anywhere.They absolutely do. And in addition to
that, Harry National parks have beenon our top five destinations at the wishing
Well this year and the year before. Do you know how many National parks
there are? I'll tell you thereare sixty three National parks and they go
(05:08):
back to eighteen seventy five, thevery first one, Christia, the Trivia
Man, very first one. What'sthe biggest national park? Do you think
of Yosemite? Or what is thatplace called Yellowstone? Yellowstone? That's the
first national park in eighteen seventy five, and they're scattered over thirty states.
(05:28):
Absolutely fantastic. You're going to seenew places, you're going to see new
facts every time you go to oneof the national park's new activities. And
again April twentieth, you can getinto any of the National parks for free.
So that's my third piece of news. That's great. Number four.
Jerry all Right's sall right number four. If you are a Florida person,
you may be familiar with Brightline.Bright Line is the light rail system that
(05:53):
runs through parks of Florida, andthey have introduced a new service, especially
of interest to people who like togo cruising. Bright Line is going to
introduce services. Has introduced services withsixteen round trips between Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.
So if you are traveling on acruise out of Fort Lauderdale, some
(06:14):
of the most affordable cruises, absolutelyyou can travel to Orlando catch the bright
Line for about I think it's sixtyfive dollars for the low end trip,
or if you want the luxury service, one hundred and five dollars. It's
about a two and three quarter hourtrip from the airport to the cruise port,
and they have a free shuttle servicethat goes from the station in Fort
(06:38):
Lauderdale to the cruise port. Soa tremendous alternative for people who are going
to be cruising down in Florida.You can even get your luggage delivered by
the bright Line folks to the cruiseline and in turn to your stateroom for
a mere thirty five dollars a bay. What a deal. That's awesome.
Yeah, so that's my good newsfor this morning, Terry. It's awesome.
(06:59):
So what I want to do iskind of piggyback on that and talk
about some of the sales that aregoing on. I limited this pretty much
to try and isolate it to somethings that we actually are going to talk
about today, with exception of one, and the first one that I wanted
to talk about was really good.We've got university graduations coming up in the
(07:21):
next month, so I thought folksmight be interested in knowing that Luftanza Airlines
is doing something rather unprecedented. Theyare offering student travel fairs, and if
you're booking those, the benefits includediscounts on your flights as well as checked
baggage, and all you really haveto do is go to their website and
(07:46):
have your identity verified through their VerificationStudent Status link and you can be well
on your way to some discounted flights. If you have an international destination in
your sites, I would say probablya focus on Europe would be the ones
that that would be most appealing to, right. I remember those back in
the seventies and eighties, and forLooftians to be bringing those back, it's
(08:09):
a great thing, absolutely. Sonext on my list is a sale fare
to Alaska and Hawaii. At thebeginning of the show today on a Life
Less Ordinary out pointed to the factthat we were going to be talking about
these two wonderful states. And sothe first one that I want to talk
about is from our good friends atHolland America, also a preferred supplier for
(08:31):
us at the Wishing Well in Harrisonburg, Virginia. And this is a seven
day Glacier Discovery. It's the northboundroute. It departs from Vancouver, goes
and ends up in Whittier, Alaska. This is a specific sailing date of
June the ninth of twenty twenty four, So pack your bags, get ready
to go. This is going tobe a quick departure, but oh so
(08:54):
worth it. You will not believeme when I tell you the price for
this sale seven day cruise is startingfrom only three hundred and forty nine dollars
per person. I'm not kidding.And that's holl In America. That's on
one of my favorite tour operators toAlaska, and they do it right.
(09:16):
They've done Alaska for so many years, actually, for as long as I've
been in the travel industry, andthey are one of my go tos,
my solid go tos, three hundredand forty nine dollars. You cannot beat
that. Next on my list isa fabulous deal to Hawaii. This one
actually just came across my desk todayand it includes airfare, your transfers from
(09:39):
Honolulu to your hotel, and fivenights accommodations. The airfare is round trip
from Washington Dulles and the total packageprice is only fifteen hundred and seventy three
dollars per person. That's air toHawaii, that's transfers, and that's your
five night hotel accommodations facing the ocean. Not bad for a long vacation or
(10:05):
even a nice honeymoon. Fifteen hundreddollars per person is not bad for a
Hawaiian honeymoon, I wouldn't think.So those are our sales and our news
of today. And want to headinto our title show today, which is
entitled From Glaciers to Tropics, TheOdyssey of Exploration. I'm excited about today's
(10:28):
show. I am too. Iknow how passionate you are about Alaska,
and I think of why sort ofmy dream location. So well, let's
get into it next here on aLife Less Ordinary. Protect your vacation investment
with guidance from a travel professional.The wishing Well knows travel and help you
avoid pitfalls. They can spoil yourhard earned vacation. We'll plan your trip
and have your back as you travel. All of this without support or so
(10:50):
called convenience fees. We're on theweb at though Wishingwell dot biz or call
us at five four zero nine zeroeight two three three three. That's five
four zero nine zero eight two threethree three. The washing Well really does
make dreams come true. Hey,welcome back to a Life Less Ordinary,
the travel show and podcast from yourfriends at the wishing Well. Those friends
(11:11):
are here this morning, Harry Rife, Terry Dean. You can give them
a call any time that they're nothere to on the show. Phone number
is five four oh nine oh eighttwenty three thirty three. You can find
them at the Wishingwell dot biz orstop by their office there at two forty
three f Avenue in Harrisonburg. Terry. Our show today from Glaciers to Tropics,
(11:31):
the Odyssey of Exploration, and it'sgoing to be a fun show.
It really is. I think we'regoing to have a lot of great information
to impart to the listeners today.Question for you, Chris, have you
ever been or have you ever desiredto go to Alaska or Hawaii? No?
(11:52):
And yes? Okay, so I'msaying thinking no to Alaska. No,
I'm saying no, I have neverbeen to either, and yes I
would love to go to both.Okay, good, that's what I had
hoped you had meant by that better, mister Reddit. Yeah. Yeah,
And actually, these are two verybeautiful and stunning destinations to go to.
(12:15):
They actually are at opposite ends.It couldn't be more extreme of the North
Pacific Ocean. We've got these twojewels of the United States. I think
we're so fortunate that they're part ofour United States of America because they,
you know, they didn't used tobe the last two to join exactly,
and each of them possess their owndistinct allure and charm. And I am
(12:41):
I am so pleased to say I'veactually explored both of these remarkable destinations and
I can report they truly are amazing. Now, just for a minute,
I want you to imagine the sheerexpanse of Alaska's untamed wilderness, where you've
got these powering, jagged mountains alot different from what we see here in
(13:03):
the Shenandoah Valley with our rolling hillmountains. No, no, these are
tall, very jagged mountains that yousee glacier. In many cases they are
glaciers where they actually meet up withthese crystalline glaciers and beautiful azure blue water
(13:26):
contrasted with that white, white snow. Now you talk about a contrast that
is beautiful. The last time wedid a show talk about Alaska, you
described in detailed these blue the blueglacier. Oh my, I guess where
they'd broken off at the ocean inon the ship. You could see this
beautiful every time I hear Alaska.Now, the vision I have in my
(13:50):
head, whether it's actually accurate ornot, is based on how you described
it and makes me want to bethere every time. Yeah, I'll tell
you. And people in the studiotoday can't see this, but Harry has
on just a beautiful azure blue shirt. And when I look at that,
I remember in great detail the poolsof water that surrounded some of the crevices
(14:15):
of the glaciers that we looked atfrom the helicopter that we rode over Mendenhall
Glacier and into the dog sledding camps, and the water was that perfect as
you're blue. It's surreal. Itis absolutely it looks as if it's someone
dumped a bucket of this beautiful bluepaint, a paint like you can't get
(14:37):
at Sherwin Williams are Benjamin Moore.This is God's paint and it was absolutely
stunning. Well, the sunlight makesit even more so, and that's it's
not a surprise. I was talkingabout national parks earlier. Alaska is the
second most national parks of any ofour states. Yeah, only California has
(14:58):
more. Alaska has eight national parks. That's how much beauty there is captured
in that one state. And let'sface it, a lot of people go
for the wildlife. That's why theywant to go to Alaska and wildlife rooms
freely in a landscape really unchanged bytime. It is unspoiled in Alaska and
(15:18):
still is. I love that aboutit. Conversely, you've got an image
of Hawaii's Emerald Owls, where you'vegot these lush rainforests that cascade down volcanic
slopes to meet their turquoise waters,just loaded with this vibrant marine life and
(15:39):
those two iconic vacation destinations. Theybeckon travelers all over with promises of adventure,
tranquility, unparalleled natural beauty, fromthe rugged to the luxurious, possibilities
there are diverse and limitless forever.So we're going to embark on a journey
(16:02):
right now to explore really some endlessways folks can experience the wonders of Alaska
and Hawaii, where every moment isan invitation to delve just a little deeper
into the heart of nature's majesty.So I think we've got two really good
destinations to take a look at todaynow, Chris. The one reason that
(16:23):
I chose these two destinations to talkabout is because now is really some of
the best times to book and considera vacation to either of these two remarkable
places. That doesn't mean you packand go this year, maybe, although
you certainly could based on that specialthat I talked about earlier in the show.
(16:44):
But to see the true splendor ofthese destinations really does take a little
bit of planning. You want toanalyze your own goals for visiting. How
do you want the destination to unfoldin front of you and important, but
not the most important is going tobe your budget. How much do you
want to spend? What can youinvest to really have the trip of a
(17:04):
lifetime. So I want to beginwith Alaska. And this is a destination
that I can admit I didn't fullyunderstand until I visited. I had all
kinds of preconceived notions about Alaska,almost none of which were accurate. You
know, And I want you todo this because this, for me is
(17:26):
a very important exercise that I dowith a lot of people. And Chris,
do this with me right now,because it's important to me to actually
hear how you'd answer this question.I want you to close your eyes and
describe what you think Alaska looks like. What do you see, how are
you traveling? What are some ofthe smells? Where are the people?
(17:48):
Where are you seeing them? Iimmediately see a wide open plane, which
is actually a frozen over lake surroundedby mountains, very tall pine trees,
all covered in snow, and ofcourse this is wintertime. I imagine the
summertime they have like spring like weather. I smells. I've never thought about
(18:15):
what Alaska smells like. It smellslike snow. I don't know the Ozone.
I don't know the people I knowthere are they are few and far
between. If you're not talking aboutone of the cities, they only have
a few which are really just verylarge towns. I know there is one
(18:36):
town in Alaska where everybody lives insideof one building. It's like a hotel
and it's got all their amenities insidethat one building. So, yeah,
not a lot of people. Anddepending upon the time of the year,
it's either dark lot or it's sunlightall day and night. Right. So,
and that's a very interesting exercise forme to go through with people because
(18:59):
most often, Chris, when Iask people that question and they begin to
tell me how a destination unfolds intheir mind, that's really what they want
to see when they get there.That's what they want to smell, that's
where they want to see the people. I don't want to go see that
hotel. But other than that,yeah, yeah, And it's interesting I
learned after I was a visitor tothis beautiful state that actually life in Alaska
(19:26):
is lived along the coast. It'slived along the water. You see very
little breadth of people and population insidethe state. You see most of the
people live along the water. Sono matter how long you have to explore
Alaska, know this. At somepoint you really don't see the best that
(19:51):
Alaska has to offer unless you areviewing it along the coast. And there
are reasons why that's true. Peoplehave lived along the coast of a life
as literally for thousands of years,depending on the resources available there. The
Bearing Land Bridge, a broad expanseof tundra that is now under three hundred
(20:11):
feet of water, allowed communities tomove onto the North American continent and establish
maritime villages. Over time, thoseencampments evolved into fishing and hunting settlements,
and Alaska has a population that's growndue to copper mining and fishing canneries and
oil. And the oil industry isstill a major major part of Alaska today,
(20:34):
drawing people to that state for jobs. But where do they live.
They live and begin their lives alongthe coast of Alaska because that's where it's
most hearty, That's where Alaska isalive is along the coast. So some
cities in Alaska are located along thecoast and near resource deposits like the oil
(20:57):
and heavy metals, and the richestareas for employment and access to transportation are
all along that coast, all goodreasons why life in Alaska is lived along
the coast, and a lot ofpeople don't know that. And so for
that reason, when you think aboutvisiting Alaska, what makes the most sense?
(21:18):
Do your choices feel overwhelming? Anddo the choices available fit your desired
vacation expectations? So I want todelve into that just a little bit and
talk people through some of the waysin which you can unfold this destination.
And I think an easy part tothink about to make sense of what you're
saying, Terry. When you thinkabout people in Alaska and you think about
(21:41):
people getting around, moving from placeto place, there aren't a lot of
roads, So what are your choices? There are but two choices. One
is the water, and the wateris a tremendous highway around Alaska. And
the other thing that impressed me thetime that I've been to Alaska is to
look at all of the small planes. I mean, you're talking about young
(22:04):
fifteen year old piloting planes going fromplace to place. They don't know how
to drive a car, but theycan pilot a plane. What a fascinating
it is set of scenery and that'swhere the action is all along the water
in Alaska. Yeah, it sureis. When you said about it,
when you go to visit where wouldyou go to visit if you've ever seen
(22:26):
Alaska as an overlay over the ConnellUnited States? We're talking about if you
arrive on the coast, driving acrosshalf the United States, get into the
center, that wouldn't be a fiveday vacation. No, it will not
be. And there's not much inthe center but tundra. You know,
(22:48):
there's wild, wide open spaces andlots of tundra. So really the life
in what you go to see Alaskafour is along that coastal rein and we'll
talk about that. There's actually aboutthree basic vacation options that you're going to
need to choose between, and that'sgoing to help you decide how you want
(23:11):
to vacation. And the first oneis a completely private, escorted tour.
Now, these would be expertly plannedby a tour company like Kensington Tours.
They are one of our top preferredtour operators, and the tour and inclusions
would be mostly tailored to you asa couple or even your entire family.
(23:33):
Either way, you don't have toshare your experience with another soul, as
with any other customized private experience,though travelers who choose this option, they're
going to expect to pay a bitmore and have higher quality standards of travel
and of service, and you wouldget that it's very personalized, very one
on one. You have your ownpersonal guide throughout the trip, and it
(23:56):
really is just about you and oneother person may be with you, or
you and your family, whatever thecase might be. That sounds pretty amazing
right now. The next option wouldbe to go on what we call a
small group adventure vacation, and thistype of vacation is pre planned and it
(24:17):
is replicated with precision. It's duplicatedtime and time again with success. So
it's like the old saying, ifit's not broke, don't fix it.
At most with a small group exploration, though you would only be with approximately
twenty other individuals, sometimes even lessthan that. But a bonus feature of
this choice comes in the form ofmore attractive pricing than you would have with
(24:40):
the first option, which is morecustomized in private. Your tour operator works
consistently with the same trip deliverables everysingle time, and therefore can negotiate lower
prices on your behalf. That's abeautiful thing. Everybody wins. But with
this it's a trip that is notso customer. It's one that maybe other
(25:02):
people you know have been on,they've experienced it, perhaps they've recommended it
to you, and you go,yeah, that sounds good. I'd like
to do that. Many people thesedays, though, we're finding, really
do want and prefer and will choosea customized experience, even over a small
group experience. Now the third option, those are wonderful, certainly can afford
(25:26):
you the ability to see Alaska prettyextensively. The con with both of these,
though, for some travelers is withthe movement from location to location also
comes packing and unpacking throughout your trip, and I have some clients that are
just not a fan. So theanswer to this objection that brings me to
(25:48):
the third option, and what Iwant to say, is by far the
most popular way to see this amazing, amazing wilderness and country, and that
is cruising Alaska. And just asyou might imagine, there's also several ways
to do that. Cruise only isone option. With that. You can
fly, like we talked about earlier, into Anchorage, perhaps Fairbanks. Maybe
(26:11):
if in Vancouver. You would startthere. Cruise either north or south through
the Inside Passage can take you aboutseven days on the short side of things,
but they can also be longer.The next option is a cruise tour,
and this option is where a portionof your experience is spent entirely on
(26:33):
land. And this appeals to alot of people who don't believe me when
I say life on Alaska is livedon the coast. They really want to
experience that inland option as well.Perhaps several days in Denali National Park.
Harry, you were talking about theNational Park entrances right now for tomorrow at
(26:56):
least you could get into Denali forfree. Another portion of your experience might
include the McKinley Explorer. That's adomed luxury train that travels between Anchorage and
Denali. Now that tour takes abouteight hours, and it includes a wonderful
dining area with breakfast, lunch,drinks, and dessert served. And the
(27:18):
second half of your tour is ofcourse that cruise experience along the Inside Passage
and then multiple glaciers and of coursethe life along the coast. So the
important things not to be missed inAlaska, and I made a list of
some of the sites, and Harryfeel free to add any that I might
(27:41):
miss here, but at least accordingto travelers who've been there and when I
was there, these were some ofthe ones that I thought people surely should
not miss while they're there. Right, There's two things that I would highlight
to listeners today that you must,must, must do if you're in Alaska.
One is you have to stand ona glacier. Pick one and stand
(28:04):
on a glacier, fantastic. Secondthing is, while you're in Alaska,
if you don't enjoy the very nativefood of Alaska, and there's but one
thing to try in Alaska, andthat is salmon. So besides taking all
the rides on the boats, onthe trains, on the planes, be
sure to step on that glacier,be sure to enjoy that salmon. That
(28:27):
doesn't get any fresher. Yeah,So I want to go back to my
list here of the things that Ithink are the not to be missed sites
in Alaska. The first one,obvious, I think probably to everybody,
is Dnali National Park. How canyou go to Alaska and not see that?
I would recommend being there at leasttwo days, though out of your
(28:51):
itinerary. And the reason for thatis because if you're only there for a
day and it happens to drizzle andrain that day, there's your day in
the and probably you're not going tosee the wildlife that you had hoped to
see. So two days is reallyoptimum. And the best time to be
there is late May and the firstpart of June, so we're headed into
(29:11):
that time right now. The reasonfor that is because a lot of the
wildlife have started to have their newbabies around this time, and it's your
best chance to actually glimpse new life, beautiful new things blooming for spring,
wonderful temperatures there, and a lotless mosquitoes. Alaska's known for mosquitos.
(29:33):
In the summer they're huge, Yep, they are, and in July they
can carry you away. There's bigas the moose. No, that's true.
I worked with a guy who hadworked in Alaska, and he said
that when you put food on thegrill, you throw a piece of meat
or something into the yard because themosquitoes are so big they will consume the
food on your grill before it cancook. Now I think that's excessive,
(29:56):
but might be a little truth inthat somewhere. I don't care if there's
any truth to it. I lovethe story. I do too. Now.
The second thing that I think,Harry you alluded to this is absolutely
the glaciers. Most Alaskan cruises andtours attempt to visit toidwater glaciers which flow
into the ocean, and they're knownfor their powerful calving. Popular destinations include
(30:21):
Glacier Bay, which I saw,Hubbard Glacier I saw, Prince William Sound,
and Tracy arm And some cruises visitmore than one of these spots.
I was very fortunate. The cruisethat we took on Regent seven Seas visited
all three. Some cruises will onlyvisit one, but especially those that combine
(30:41):
the inside passage with that interior landtour is absolutely a must. You gotta
do the inside passage as well,and that's where're choosing the cruise ship makes
a big difference too. Some ofthe MEGAMEGAMEGA cruise ships, because of the
environmental concerns, can only get soclose to some of these glaciers. If
you choose one of the smaller,more intimate size ships, you're going to
(31:06):
get very very close, as wedid. Yeah, to the cruise ship.
And it doesn't matter where you standon that ship, because our captain
turned it around in a circle twoor three times. Chris. It was
amazing to just stand there and takeit all in and not have to move
or shuffle around with contending with otherpeople. For actually had expert Alaskan glacier
(31:30):
navigator get on board on one ofthe glaciers while we were there. That's
actually where he boarded. Our shipwas on one of the glaciers. He
came on board and helped our captainnavigate three hundred and sixty degrees through this
glacier area. I just want youto know you've described my perfect vacation.
(31:51):
Oh it's absolutely wonderful where I canjust stand in one location and have the
world spin around me and I don'thave to do anything more than that into
Chris, that's the kind of vacationswe like to plancoat where it will.
That's what you said on the lasttime we talked about Ketcha Can. That's
true if you're in Ketcha Can.But the third thing I want to make
(32:12):
sure that people know they should puton their must see list if they're in
Alaska is in Skagway and that's theWhite Real Pass. And some people say,
well, what in the world sospecial about the White rail Pass here,
Well, the White rail Pass andYukon Route Railway, which is the
scenic railway of the world. It'sknown as it was built in eighteen ninety
(32:34):
eight during the Klondike Gold Rush,and this narrow Gage Railroad is an international
Historic civil engineering landmark. You canexperience breathtaking panoramic views of the mountains there,
the glaciers tunnels from the comfort ofvintage rail cars. And when I
say vintage, I mean they reallyare still with the bench seats inside.
(32:57):
It was amazing bench seats yep.And what I learned on that I have
carried in my heart really since mytrip to Alaska. Thousands of men and
women actually died building this historic marvelthat was meant to connect Alaska to the
rest of the United States, andpreviously their only connection was really to Russia.
(33:21):
So this was really built as theirconnection to the North American continent.
And it's amazing when you see itand you're on it and you're able to
experience it, and you see theold rails that were built that are still
there today. They've been reinforced.But what a marvel. I mean,
it's just amazing to see that andto ride on that. It is stunning.
(33:45):
You look out the side of thattrain and you look straight down and
you wonder, how in the worlddid anyone ever figure out that this cliff
could hold a train full of goldand people and supply eyes moving around through
this was They didn't have OSHA backthen. There was would they never built
(34:06):
this railway, were there OSHA?But the good news, it's still running,
it's still functioning, it's still safe, and my gosh, the views
are more than spectacular. Crush justmore than they knew more about engineering back
then than we probably do now.You know. They well, they're the
ones who taught us, you knowwhat we knew. Another not to be
(34:27):
missed sight in Alaska are the sleddog camps. You've got to experience this
beauty in the wilderness. Sledding toursoffer you a chance to see the glaciers,
vastness. You've got that blue iceagain and these glacial formations. You
can take in the scenery, butyou see the dog's strength, and these
dogs are strong and can handle theglacier terrain. You learn about the history
(34:53):
of dog mushing, and you caneven learn about the history including the traditions
of dog City and the history ofthe Alaskan husky. And I learned a
little trivia myself there about the Alaskanhusky dog. They can actually withstand temperatures
as low as forty degrees and runat average speeds of about thirty miles an
(35:15):
hour when they're sprinting, and pullup to thirty five to seventy kilos for
hours. Forty degrees are minus forty. I'm sorry, minus forty. I'm
going to say that's minus forty.You're right, Thank you for correcting me,
Chris, it is minus forty.They're amazing, they really are.
And they are a tough breed butlovable and they were bred for this kind
(35:38):
of life. I had many peoplewhen I got back from my trip to
Alaska when they knew I'd gone tothe sled dogging dog in camps, and
they were a bit chastising about that. You know, they're badly mistreated.
I can tell you firsthand they arenot. They are treated like royal in
(36:00):
Alaska, and they are bred tolive that life. This is what they
love doing, and they do itso well. And so perfectly. It
was a joy to be in thesled dog camps. And actually I got
to mush, did you? Idid? Yeah, I got to mush
you. Did you stay on theI did? I did? And they
(36:21):
they were booking it, baby,I'll tell you they were going. Each
one of these dogs is treated sowell. They've got their own little dog
house, their own little dog yard, their own little dog dish, and
it's like it's just like an apartmentbuilding complex to see these dog houses out
there, and these dogs are loving. It was all I could do to
(36:42):
keep Terry from taking one of themhome. I wanted to so bad.
And I'll tell you you know,they they've they've been brought into this world
in the snow. They live inthe snow. It's all they know.
So it's not like they know ofa different life or a warmer climate.
They were bred for Alaska. Iwould love to do that. Yeah,
(37:04):
it's amazing, It's absolutely amazing.Can you believe that wasn't part of my
description of Alaska? When you asked, Yeah, well, now it can
be. When you close your eyesthe next time, Chris, you can
include that vision as part of whatyou want to see too. If you
go to Alaska. I've always beeninterested in like the Iditarod, and you
know, so the fact the factthat we're talking about this is really exciting
(37:24):
for me. These are the Iditaoddogs. This is their summer camp.
Is entertaining the terries of the worldand the hairy's of the world and the
other thousands of tourists that come upthere. They are They're passionate about doing
what they do. They love whatthey do, and when they're not running
the Iditarod, they're entertaining tourists andthey are great entertainers. Terry, we're
(37:47):
going to run out of time ifwe keep talking about Alaska. We should
wrap up Alaska and then get toHawaii soon. I agree. I think
we are off to another great destination, but this time to the beautiful.
I can't wait. We'll talk moreabout that next year. In a lifeless
ordinary, protect your vacation investment withguidance from a travel professional. The wishing
(38:07):
well knows travel and help you avoidpitfalls. They can spoil your hirer earned
vacation. We'll plan your trip andhave your back as you travel. All
of this without support or so calledconvenience fees. We're on the web at
tho Wishingwell dot biz or call usat five four zero nine zero eight two
three three three. That's five fourzero nine zero eight two three three three.
(38:29):
The washing Well really does make dreamscome true. Welcome back to a
Lifeless Ordinary. This is your weeklytravel show and podcast, and it's with
your friends from the wishing Well.Harry Rife is here, Terry Dean is
here, I'm here with you aswell, and we are talking about an
odyssey of explor exploration. Yes,from glaciers to tropics. It's more exciting
(38:52):
than it is easy to say.Well, I'll tell you what. We
had some fun in the first halfof this show, or at least idea.
Anytime I get a chance to reminisceabout places I've been to, things
I've seen, people I've met,it's always exciting to me to be able
to share it here with our listenerson A Lifeless Ordinary. But we're going
(39:13):
to turn up the temperature right now. We were in Alaska for the first
part of our show. We're goingto turn up the temperature and we're going
to explore the Loha State and alsosome of the best ways that you can
see that Hawaii became our fiftieth stateon August the twenty first, nineteen fifty
nine, which, when you thinkabout, is not so long ago.
(39:36):
President Eisenhower signed that proclamation on thatdate naming Hawaii an official part of these
United States, and for many ofus that's been within our lifetime. That's
amazing to me to think that wecompleted what is now what we know of
as all fifty states on our Americanflag, and it was in our lifetime,
(39:58):
maybe not yours, Chris, itcertainly was for Harry. Now.
I remember we had to turn inthe old flags and move to the new
flag. See. Do you knowwhy we had a forty nine star flag
and then a fifty star flag whenboth Alaska and Hawaii entered in the same
year. I do not tell me, because you add the star on the
fourth of July of the year thatthe state entered. One was before the
(40:20):
fourth, and then Hawaii was inAugust, so it had to wait for
its start the following year. Sothat's why me, Trivia, thank you
for one year we had a fortynine star flag. That's awesome. Yeah,
I didn't know that, But Ithink another thing that makes Hawaii so
appealing is the mystique kind of surroundingthese islands. There's there's sort of a
spiritual lism I guess about the Hawaiianislands, the tropical nature of the destination.
(40:47):
You've got this overwhelming welcome that visitorsreceived from the Hawaiian people. They
call it the Aloha spirit. Andmany times, even different places I've traveled
too, they often refer to theAloha spirit as something that originated in Hawaii,
but that can be applied to manyother different countries. And just like
(41:10):
Alaska, there are many, many, many ways to set out on an
experience to see this great Aloha state. I also had preconceived notions about my
visit to Hawaii, just like Idid in Alaska before visiting. And this
is another thing that I do.You know, I do this exercise with
(41:34):
people a lot, with closing theireyes, tell me what you see.
And most often when people do thatand they tell me what they see with
Hawaii, it's tropical, it's beautifulflowers. There are these smells of sweet
floral fragrances. There's blue owls.Of course, the Hawaiian grass skirts.
(41:55):
They see all of that. Theyalmost never describe what we think of as
Honolulu, because Honolulu is not thatat all. But Honolulu is also located
on the island of Oahu, andthat is really the business hub of the
(42:15):
state. But it's also where area lot of the iconic attractions that draw
people to the state of Hawaii.Go to sea, but it is not
that tropical paradise. When you getthere and see it, it looks very
much like New York City. There'sa lot of one way streets, a
(42:36):
lot of honking horns, there's sometropical visions. You'll see palm trees,
and of course you've got the frontagethere of Waikiki Beach. But it's not
the tropical paradise that let's say,some of the other islands are. Most
people when they go to Hawaii,they want to see Honolulu itself. They
(42:58):
want to see Diamondhead, they wantto see Pearl Harbor, the Polynesian Cultural
Center, the punch Bowl Crater MemorialArea. They want to see the pineapple
plantations on the north shore. Theywant to do that, and then they
want to get off this island becauseit doesn't have the Aloha vibe, if
you know what I mean. It'sjust not that tropical beauty. It's a
(43:21):
city and you know low skyscrapers.They're not tall, they're not allowed to
be tall in Hawaii, but younevertheless have some of the tallest buildings in
all of the state located there.It is a city, it's a metropolitan
city, and it's where business takesplace. There are four very distinctive islands
(43:43):
of Hawaii that attract tourists. AWahoo we just talked about. Maui is
the next one. Now, thisis the island known as the Valley Isle,
and I also say this is whereall the pretty people go. Maui
is said to have some of themost beautiful beaches in all the world,
second only to Fiji and Tahiti andBora Bora. Maui is the place to
(44:06):
go if you're looking for beautiful,velvety, white, sandy beaches. Maui's
the place. The big island ofHawaii now that's actually home to Hilo and
Kona. Hilo is known for itsnatural beauty. You've got waterfalls there,
rainforests, beaches, and caves.So it's some of the most beautiful natural
(44:30):
beauty in Hawaii. This is wherewhen I tell people to close their eyes
and describe Hawaii. For me,this is most often what they're describing.
They're describing what you see when youget into Heilo. It's also the largest
city on the Big Island and acommercial hub for the island's east side.
(44:52):
Now Kona is also known for itscoffee and beaches there both white and black.
And do you know why there areblack sand beaches there, Chris,
that's the lava it is. Itcomes from the volcanic lava that's pulverized and
becomes mixed with the ocean water andthe sand occurs then on the shore as
(45:15):
black sand. It's beautiful, butit doesn't get on your skin. Some
people go, I don't want toget on that, I'm gonna get all
dirty. It's just exactly like whitesand. It doesn't cause any kind of
stain at all, not even onyour clothes. And you do have a
lot of natural attractions there. Thelast island Kuwaiti. This has to be
my favorite. It's also known asthe Gardenile. It's where Elvis filmed almost
(45:37):
all of his Tropical set movies.It's where the TV series Thornbirds was filmed.
Also, the classic South Pacific portionsof Jurassic Park and Pirates of the
Caribbean. So if you saw thosemovies and you saw that natural beauty,
that wasn't a Hollywood set, thatwas actually visions and views that they were
(46:00):
filming on the island of Kuwai,and it is absolutely beautiful. They don't
call it the Garden Aisle for nothing. So now that you know a little
bit more about each island, justas with Alaska, you have to decide
how you would best like to experiencethis destination. And again there's more than
(46:21):
one way to do that. Now, once again, I want to explore
with you the various ways in whichyou might choose to visit Hawaii. And
remember again, one size does notfit all. And I've got some clients
that want to explore all four islandson a single visit, while I've also
got other clients, honeymooners mostly whoare going to pick one island make that
(46:45):
their headquarters and they want to exploretheir hearts away from that place with the
promise of returning on each and everyanniversary until they've actually seen all four islands.
I think that's a great goal tohave when you're a newly married couple
to go, you know, forthe next five years, we're just going
to return to the islands and we'regoing to see a new one every single
(47:06):
time we go back. That's agreat idea. Not too many people actually
do that though, because the world'sa big place, you know, so
it's nice if you can see itall in one swoop. So here we
are again with the first option beingprivate escorted luxury tours of Hawaii and again
offered by our friends at Kensington Tours. I mean, really think total luxury
(47:29):
here. Think four seasons, accommodations, personal butlers, private chefs, private
plantation tours in Hawaii, and alot more. And then if you can,
this is really the way to go. Limousine escorts pick you up right
off of the tarmac in each andevery island. Who could ask for anything
(47:51):
more. That also comes with aprice. It comes with a value price.
I would say it's equal to thevalue that you give and to the
luxury that you get, but neverthelessit's not for everybody's pocketbook. Then we
have our small group tours. Oneof my favorite operators is Perillo Tours.
(48:12):
They've been in the business for wellover seventy five years. One of the
leaders in Small Group escorted tours abit more price friendly too. And again
this is a tried and tested touroperator with a great track record. All
of your tours, your meals,your sight seeing, it's all kind of
set into place, pre planned andsmall groups. This is what convenience looks
(48:35):
like. Okay. Now, thedrawback to tours like this again is the
packing and unpacking. But I've gota cure for that, So enter Norwegian
Cruise Lines and the Pride of America, Harry. You know, this is
one that we have just sold aton of the past couple of years,
ever since COVID. Yes, avery special ship that's got one purpose in
(48:58):
life, it really does. Thisis one of the only vessels actually that
cruise in seven days around all fourHawaiian islands. No need to pack and
unpack with this experience. You flyinto Honolulu, you spend two nights on
Maui, one night in Hilo,one night in Kona, and two nights
in Kawaii, and you finish yourjourney where you began in Honolulu for one
(49:22):
great price. The luxury of thischoice is obvious. It's the convenience.
And you know I've talked about onthe show here on a life less ordinary.
To me, convenience equals luxury,and I believe that's where this one
begins and ends. All of yourmeals are included, and even your adult
beverage package can also be included aswell as your airfare. Makes this also
(49:45):
one of the most budget friendly optionsto Hawaii. And here, I know
you spend a little time in Hawaiias well. Yes, and when you
think about Hawaii, and I knowsome people may laugh when I say this,
but when you think about i islandsin the United States, when we
talk about getting to an island,the easiest way to get from one place
to another's with a bridge. Well, in Hawaii, there are no bridges
(50:07):
collecting all of the islands. Soyou've got but a couple choices. You're
either going to get on a shiplike the Pride of America, one of
the few flagship United States based cruiseships where the US flag flies on the
back, or you're going to flyone of the airlines out there is Hawaiian
Airlines. Again, how many stateshave an airline named after them, And
(50:30):
it's because of the traffic moving backand forth between those islands. But if
you want to see the highlights ofHawaii, and you don't have the option
of coming back again and again andagain for your anniversaries after your honeymoon.
This idea that Terry's talking about issuch a popular idea, so many people
do it, and it makes alot of sense. We'd love to talk
(50:52):
to you about it. The prideof America gets you to all the highlight
places and get you there without havingto pack an unpack. Chris, Here's
what I hear you say, Harry. What two states have airlines named after
him? Alaska and Hawaii? Andwhat two states do we talk about today?
Alaska and both of them. Youneed to have small planes to get
(51:12):
over the water. What you don'thave to have a passport. That's nice,
isn't it nice? Two very exotic, very luxurious destinations, but no
passport required. You can go withjust your driver's license. No courage change
exactly. And you know the otherthing is I think our takeaway today is
no matter which of these two destinationsyou choose, you can't choose wrong.
(51:36):
You can't make a bad choice.I don't know how I would choose between
the two. That's the real dilemma. You can't choose. You have to
do them, just do both ofthem. You must do them both.
Do I do this like where Igo out in the cold and then jump
in the hot water? Or doI do the hot water and then go
to the cold. That's a personaldecision, Chris, and one that we
cannot help you. Sorry. Iwas hoping Harry would at least you try
(51:59):
to answer the question. You knowwhat, it'd be a magnificent trip.
And I don't know anybody who's gotthe time to do this until you know,
I don't know if you ever havetime to do that, But wouldn't
it be neat to do these backto back? How about a cruise that
takes us from Alaska to Hawaii.You know, there actually are cruises that
do that. You have to havea little bit of time to be able
(52:21):
to devote to it, but thereare And if anybody's interested, that's actually
the next way that you could seeboth of these great places all in one
trip. And if I have thatmuch time, I should be talking to
you about making some arrangements. Ithink so, and I think that would
be a great idea. We're easyto find, Chris. They can look
us up at the Wishing Well inHarrisonburg, Virginia. We're located at two
forty three NEF Avenue in the ValleyCenter. You can call us we are
(52:45):
at five four zero non zero eighttwo three three three, or look us
up on the web we or atthe wishing Well dot is truly a life
less ordinary. This has been alife less ordinary travel show from your friends
at the wishing Well at two fortythree nep Avenue in Harrisonburg. If you
have any questions on topics discussed today, please reach out to the wishing Well
(53:07):
online at the Wishingwell dot biz orfive four oh nine oh eight twenty three
thirty three. Past episodes are availableon the iHeartRadio app. And we'll see
again next Saturday morning at ten fora life less Ordinary from the wishing Well
This is a Lifeless Ordinary. It'sa travel show and podcasts from your friends
at the wishing Well two forty threef Avenue in Harrisburg and online at the
wishing Well dot this. The wishingWell is your ultimate luxury concierge, travel
agency and a Lifeless Ordinary is atravel show and podcast hosted by Terry Dean,
bringing her over forty years of experiencein the travel industry to help guide
(00:21):
you to great experiences in your travel, whether it be around the block,
around the country, or around theworld. Let's bring in Terry Dean.
Say hello, how in the worldare you, Chris Well, I'm okay.
What a lovely Saturday? Yeah?Beautiful is it? You know from
where I sit? And hello,Harry. The energy in this room is
(00:44):
exhilarating. You're reading the room alittle bit different than I am here,
Harry. But okay, Well,welcome into our weekly chat about travel.
We've got some travel news, wedid deals, and then we're going on
in odyssey later in the show.We are we have a great show lined
up today and we're going to bediscussing two of my favorite destinations. We're
(01:07):
entitling today's show from Glaciers to Tropicsthe Odyssey of Exploration. But before we
head into that, we of coursedo have news and sales, and I've
asked Harry to talk to us alittle bit about what the news held in
the travel industry this week. Yeah, I want to start with some good
news. How's that? I'll takeit? Okay, some good news for
(01:29):
travelers. Airfares are actually a lotless costly than they were at this time
last year. Although we may notbelieve that, the data says that they're
down seven point one percent versus thesame month in twenty twenty three. And
that's despite the overall cost of goodsincreasing over twenty two point eight percent of
(01:49):
what we're hearing on the news,so I thought that was some good news.
Car Rental prices also down there,down eight point eight percent versus March
of twenty twenty three, and hotelprices are down two point four percent since
last year. So how's that fora bright spot? Good news? Wonderful,
We'll take it. Yeah. Soas we look at the summer,
(02:09):
though, especially as we look atEurope, we're going to see some increases
with the Olympics and the travel seasoncoming back, so we'll see some increases
but overall, I thought that wassome good news. The airlines, they're
trying to add more flights, butthey're running into some trouble. Aircraft delivery
delays, engine problems, air trafficcontroller shortages, pilot shortages are limiting some
(02:31):
of the growth. But they wouldlike to grow the services out there,
and we all know we'd like tosee more airline service make it a little
bit easier for us to get thoseflights that we want to get. So
that's my first bit of good news. I've got some other news. You've
heard about Global Entry before. AboutGlobal Global Entry. That's a program for
(02:53):
international travelers coming back into the UnitedStates and it speeds the process as you
go through customs and immigration. Okay, so the bad part of the news
is the fees are going to jump. They're going to go from one hundred
to one hundred and twenty dollars fora five year membership starting in October.
But on the good side, kids, if you have kids in your family,
(03:16):
and many of us do, andthey're under eighteen, they're going to
be able to join free with parentsafter October first. So if you got
kids, wait till after October first. If you've gotten no kids, get
your Global Entry before October first.And one of the things that we've talked
about once before, I think,and that is very popular, is something
(03:37):
called Mobile Passport Control. If youhaven't looked into that, that's something that's
been very popular with travelers. Yeah, this is a great idea. I'm
glad you brought that up there.Price is great, isn't it, especially
since we're seeing Global Entry prices goup for that membership. I love the
Mobile Passport Control option because it isabsolutely fr free and it doesn't get any
(04:01):
better than free, and it isalmost as good as Global Entry. If
you want to find out more,you can give us a call, or
you can go onto the banch ofInternet and look under CBP that's Customs Border
Patrol dot gov, slash travel andlook up Mobile Passport Control if you're going
to be doing any international travel.So that's my second piece of good news.
(04:21):
Okay, so one other thing thatI want to talk about this week
is National Parks Week. National ParksWeek is April twentieth to twenty eighth,
and the best thing about National Parksis they're absolutely fantastic. One of the
most popular places that we send alot of our travelers to and during National
Parks Week at least on Saturday,April twentieth, it is free to get
(04:43):
into any of the US National parksand they contain some of the best scenery
Chris that travelers can find anywhere.They absolutely do. And in addition to
that, Harry National parks have beenon our top five destinations at the wishing
Well this year and the year before. Do you know how many National parks
there are? I'll tell you thereare sixty three National parks and they go
(05:08):
back to eighteen seventy five, thevery first one, Christia, the Trivia
Man, very first one. What'sthe biggest national park? Do you think
of Yosemite? Or what is thatplace called Yellowstone? Yellowstone? That's the
first national park in eighteen seventy five, and they're scattered over thirty states.
(05:28):
Absolutely fantastic. You're going to seenew places, you're going to see new
facts every time you go to oneof the national park's new activities. And
again April twentieth, you can getinto any of the National parks for free.
So that's my third piece of news. That's great. Number four.
Jerry all Right's sall right number four. If you are a Florida person,
you may be familiar with Brightline.Bright Line is the light rail system that
(05:53):
runs through parks of Florida, andthey have introduced a new service, especially
of interest to people who like togo cruising. Bright Line is going to
introduce services. Has introduced services withsixteen round trips between Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.
So if you are traveling on acruise out of Fort Lauderdale, some
(06:14):
of the most affordable cruises, absolutelyyou can travel to Orlando catch the bright
Line for about I think it's sixtyfive dollars for the low end trip,
or if you want the luxury service, one hundred and five dollars. It's
about a two and three quarter hourtrip from the airport to the cruise port,
and they have a free shuttle servicethat goes from the station in Fort
(06:38):
Lauderdale to the cruise port. Soa tremendous alternative for people who are going
to be cruising down in Florida.You can even get your luggage delivered by
the bright Line folks to the cruiseline and in turn to your stateroom for
a mere thirty five dollars a bay. What a deal. That's awesome.
Yeah, so that's my good newsfor this morning, Terry. It's awesome.
(06:59):
So what I want to do iskind of piggyback on that and talk
about some of the sales that aregoing on. I limited this pretty much
to try and isolate it to somethings that we actually are going to talk
about today, with exception of one, and the first one that I wanted
to talk about was really good.We've got university graduations coming up in the
(07:21):
next month, so I thought folksmight be interested in knowing that Luftanza Airlines
is doing something rather unprecedented. Theyare offering student travel fairs, and if
you're booking those, the benefits includediscounts on your flights as well as checked
baggage, and all you really haveto do is go to their website and
(07:46):
have your identity verified through their VerificationStudent Status link and you can be well
on your way to some discounted flights. If you have an international destination in
your sites, I would say probablya focus on Europe would be the ones
that that would be most appealing to, right. I remember those back in
the seventies and eighties, and forLooftians to be bringing those back, it's
(08:09):
a great thing, absolutely. Sonext on my list is a sale fare
to Alaska and Hawaii. At thebeginning of the show today on a Life
Less Ordinary out pointed to the factthat we were going to be talking about
these two wonderful states. And sothe first one that I want to talk
about is from our good friends atHolland America, also a preferred supplier for
(08:31):
us at the Wishing Well in Harrisonburg, Virginia. And this is a seven
day Glacier Discovery. It's the northboundroute. It departs from Vancouver, goes
and ends up in Whittier, Alaska. This is a specific sailing date of
June the ninth of twenty twenty four, So pack your bags, get ready
to go. This is going tobe a quick departure, but oh so
(08:54):
worth it. You will not believeme when I tell you the price for
this sale seven day cruise is startingfrom only three hundred and forty nine dollars
per person. I'm not kidding.And that's holl In America. That's on
one of my favorite tour operators toAlaska, and they do it right.
(09:16):
They've done Alaska for so many years, actually, for as long as I've
been in the travel industry, andthey are one of my go tos,
my solid go tos, three hundredand forty nine dollars. You cannot beat
that. Next on my list isa fabulous deal to Hawaii. This one
actually just came across my desk todayand it includes airfare, your transfers from
(09:39):
Honolulu to your hotel, and fivenights accommodations. The airfare is round trip
from Washington Dulles and the total packageprice is only fifteen hundred and seventy three
dollars per person. That's air toHawaii, that's transfers, and that's your
five night hotel accommodations facing the ocean. Not bad for a long vacation or
(10:05):
even a nice honeymoon. Fifteen hundreddollars per person is not bad for a
Hawaiian honeymoon, I wouldn't think.So those are our sales and our news
of today. And want to headinto our title show today, which is
entitled From Glaciers to Tropics, TheOdyssey of Exploration. I'm excited about today's
(10:28):
show. I am too. Iknow how passionate you are about Alaska,
and I think of why sort ofmy dream location. So well, let's
get into it next here on aLife Less Ordinary. Protect your vacation investment
with guidance from a travel professional.The wishing Well knows travel and help you
avoid pitfalls. They can spoil yourhard earned vacation. We'll plan your trip
and have your back as you travel. All of this without support or so
(10:50):
called convenience fees. We're on theweb at though Wishingwell dot biz or call
us at five four zero nine zeroeight two three three three. That's five
four zero nine zero eight two threethree three. The washing Well really does
make dreams come true. Hey,welcome back to a Life Less Ordinary,
the travel show and podcast from yourfriends at the wishing Well. Those friends
(11:11):
are here this morning, Harry Rife, Terry Dean. You can give them
a call any time that they're nothere to on the show. Phone number
is five four oh nine oh eighttwenty three thirty three. You can find
them at the Wishingwell dot biz orstop by their office there at two forty
three f Avenue in Harrisonburg. Terry. Our show today from Glaciers to Tropics,
(11:31):
the Odyssey of Exploration, and it'sgoing to be a fun show.
It really is. I think we'regoing to have a lot of great information
to impart to the listeners today.Question for you, Chris, have you
ever been or have you ever desiredto go to Alaska or Hawaii? No?
(11:52):
And yes? Okay, so I'msaying thinking no to Alaska. No,
I'm saying no, I have neverbeen to either, and yes I
would love to go to both.Okay, good, that's what I had
hoped you had meant by that better, mister Reddit. Yeah. Yeah,
And actually, these are two verybeautiful and stunning destinations to go to.
(12:15):
They actually are at opposite ends.It couldn't be more extreme of the North
Pacific Ocean. We've got these twojewels of the United States. I think
we're so fortunate that they're part ofour United States of America because they,
you know, they didn't used tobe the last two to join exactly,
and each of them possess their owndistinct allure and charm. And I am
(12:41):
I am so pleased to say I'veactually explored both of these remarkable destinations and
I can report they truly are amazing. Now, just for a minute,
I want you to imagine the sheerexpanse of Alaska's untamed wilderness, where you've
got these powering, jagged mountains alot different from what we see here in
(13:03):
the Shenandoah Valley with our rolling hillmountains. No, no, these are
tall, very jagged mountains that yousee glacier. In many cases they are
glaciers where they actually meet up withthese crystalline glaciers and beautiful azure blue water
(13:26):
contrasted with that white, white snow. Now you talk about a contrast that
is beautiful. The last time wedid a show talk about Alaska, you
described in detailed these blue the blueglacier. Oh my, I guess where
they'd broken off at the ocean inon the ship. You could see this
beautiful every time I hear Alaska.Now, the vision I have in my
(13:50):
head, whether it's actually accurate ornot, is based on how you described
it and makes me want to bethere every time. Yeah, I'll tell
you. And people in the studiotoday can't see this, but Harry has
on just a beautiful azure blue shirt. And when I look at that,
I remember in great detail the poolsof water that surrounded some of the crevices
(14:15):
of the glaciers that we looked atfrom the helicopter that we rode over Mendenhall
Glacier and into the dog sledding camps, and the water was that perfect as
you're blue. It's surreal. Itis absolutely it looks as if it's someone
dumped a bucket of this beautiful bluepaint, a paint like you can't get
(14:37):
at Sherwin Williams are Benjamin Moore.This is God's paint and it was absolutely
stunning. Well, the sunlight makesit even more so, and that's it's
not a surprise. I was talkingabout national parks earlier. Alaska is the
second most national parks of any ofour states. Yeah, only California has
(14:58):
more. Alaska has eight national parks. That's how much beauty there is captured
in that one state. And let'sface it, a lot of people go
for the wildlife. That's why theywant to go to Alaska and wildlife rooms
freely in a landscape really unchanged bytime. It is unspoiled in Alaska and
(15:18):
still is. I love that aboutit. Conversely, you've got an image
of Hawaii's Emerald Owls, where you'vegot these lush rainforests that cascade down volcanic
slopes to meet their turquoise waters,just loaded with this vibrant marine life and
(15:39):
those two iconic vacation destinations. Theybeckon travelers all over with promises of adventure,
tranquility, unparalleled natural beauty, fromthe rugged to the luxurious, possibilities
there are diverse and limitless forever.So we're going to embark on a journey
(16:02):
right now to explore really some endlessways folks can experience the wonders of Alaska
and Hawaii, where every moment isan invitation to delve just a little deeper
into the heart of nature's majesty.So I think we've got two really good
destinations to take a look at todaynow, Chris. The one reason that
(16:23):
I chose these two destinations to talkabout is because now is really some of
the best times to book and considera vacation to either of these two remarkable
places. That doesn't mean you packand go this year, maybe, although
you certainly could based on that specialthat I talked about earlier in the show.
(16:44):
But to see the true splendor ofthese destinations really does take a little
bit of planning. You want toanalyze your own goals for visiting. How
do you want the destination to unfoldin front of you and important, but
not the most important is going tobe your budget. How much do you
want to spend? What can youinvest to really have the trip of a
(17:04):
lifetime. So I want to beginwith Alaska. And this is a destination
that I can admit I didn't fullyunderstand until I visited. I had all
kinds of preconceived notions about Alaska,almost none of which were accurate. You
know, And I want you todo this because this, for me is
(17:26):
a very important exercise that I dowith a lot of people. And Chris,
do this with me right now,because it's important to me to actually
hear how you'd answer this question.I want you to close your eyes and
describe what you think Alaska looks like. What do you see, how are
you traveling? What are some ofthe smells? Where are the people?
(17:48):
Where are you seeing them? Iimmediately see a wide open plane, which
is actually a frozen over lake surroundedby mountains, very tall pine trees,
all covered in snow, and ofcourse this is wintertime. I imagine the
summertime they have like spring like weather. I smells. I've never thought about
(18:15):
what Alaska smells like. It smellslike snow. I don't know the Ozone.
I don't know the people I knowthere are they are few and far
between. If you're not talking aboutone of the cities, they only have
a few which are really just verylarge towns. I know there is one
(18:36):
town in Alaska where everybody lives insideof one building. It's like a hotel
and it's got all their amenities insidethat one building. So, yeah,
not a lot of people. Anddepending upon the time of the year,
it's either dark lot or it's sunlightall day and night. Right. So,
and that's a very interesting exercise forme to go through with people because
(18:59):
most often, Chris, when Iask people that question and they begin to
tell me how a destination unfolds intheir mind, that's really what they want
to see when they get there.That's what they want to smell, that's
where they want to see the people. I don't want to go see that
hotel. But other than that,yeah, yeah, And it's interesting I
learned after I was a visitor tothis beautiful state that actually life in Alaska
(19:26):
is lived along the coast. It'slived along the water. You see very
little breadth of people and population insidethe state. You see most of the
people live along the water. Sono matter how long you have to explore
Alaska, know this. At somepoint you really don't see the best that
(19:51):
Alaska has to offer unless you areviewing it along the coast. And there
are reasons why that's true. Peoplehave lived along the coast of a life
as literally for thousands of years,depending on the resources available there. The
Bearing Land Bridge, a broad expanseof tundra that is now under three hundred
(20:11):
feet of water, allowed communities tomove onto the North American continent and establish
maritime villages. Over time, thoseencampments evolved into fishing and hunting settlements,
and Alaska has a population that's growndue to copper mining and fishing canneries and
oil. And the oil industry isstill a major major part of Alaska today,
(20:34):
drawing people to that state for jobs. But where do they live.
They live and begin their lives alongthe coast of Alaska because that's where it's
most hearty, That's where Alaska isalive is along the coast. So some
cities in Alaska are located along thecoast and near resource deposits like the oil
(20:57):
and heavy metals, and the richestareas for employment and access to transportation are
all along that coast, all goodreasons why life in Alaska is lived along
the coast, and a lot ofpeople don't know that. And so for
that reason, when you think aboutvisiting Alaska, what makes the most sense?
(21:18):
Do your choices feel overwhelming? Anddo the choices available fit your desired
vacation expectations? So I want todelve into that just a little bit and
talk people through some of the waysin which you can unfold this destination.
And I think an easy part tothink about to make sense of what you're
saying, Terry. When you thinkabout people in Alaska and you think about
(21:41):
people getting around, moving from placeto place, there aren't a lot of
roads, So what are your choices? There are but two choices. One
is the water, and the wateris a tremendous highway around Alaska. And
the other thing that impressed me thetime that I've been to Alaska is to
look at all of the small planes. I mean, you're talking about young
(22:04):
fifteen year old piloting planes going fromplace to place. They don't know how
to drive a car, but theycan pilot a plane. What a fascinating
it is set of scenery and that'swhere the action is all along the water
in Alaska. Yeah, it sureis. When you said about it,
when you go to visit where wouldyou go to visit if you've ever seen
(22:26):
Alaska as an overlay over the ConnellUnited States? We're talking about if you
arrive on the coast, driving acrosshalf the United States, get into the
center, that wouldn't be a fiveday vacation. No, it will not
be. And there's not much inthe center but tundra. You know,
(22:48):
there's wild, wide open spaces andlots of tundra. So really the life
in what you go to see Alaskafour is along that coastal rein and we'll
talk about that. There's actually aboutthree basic vacation options that you're going to
need to choose between, and that'sgoing to help you decide how you want
(23:11):
to vacation. And the first oneis a completely private, escorted tour.
Now, these would be expertly plannedby a tour company like Kensington Tours.
They are one of our top preferredtour operators, and the tour and inclusions
would be mostly tailored to you asa couple or even your entire family.
(23:33):
Either way, you don't have toshare your experience with another soul, as
with any other customized private experience,though travelers who choose this option, they're
going to expect to pay a bitmore and have higher quality standards of travel
and of service, and you wouldget that it's very personalized, very one
on one. You have your ownpersonal guide throughout the trip, and it
(23:56):
really is just about you and oneother person may be with you, or
you and your family, whatever thecase might be. That sounds pretty amazing
right now. The next option wouldbe to go on what we call a
small group adventure vacation, and thistype of vacation is pre planned and it
(24:17):
is replicated with precision. It's duplicatedtime and time again with success. So
it's like the old saying, ifit's not broke, don't fix it.
At most with a small group exploration, though you would only be with approximately
twenty other individuals, sometimes even lessthan that. But a bonus feature of
this choice comes in the form ofmore attractive pricing than you would have with
(24:40):
the first option, which is morecustomized in private. Your tour operator works
consistently with the same trip deliverables everysingle time, and therefore can negotiate lower
prices on your behalf. That's abeautiful thing. Everybody wins. But with
this it's a trip that is notso customer. It's one that maybe other
(25:02):
people you know have been on,they've experienced it, perhaps they've recommended it
to you, and you go,yeah, that sounds good. I'd like
to do that. Many people thesedays, though, we're finding, really
do want and prefer and will choosea customized experience, even over a small
group experience. Now the third option, those are wonderful, certainly can afford
(25:26):
you the ability to see Alaska prettyextensively. The con with both of these,
though, for some travelers is withthe movement from location to location also
comes packing and unpacking throughout your trip, and I have some clients that are
just not a fan. So theanswer to this objection that brings me to
(25:48):
the third option, and what Iwant to say, is by far the
most popular way to see this amazing, amazing wilderness and country, and that
is cruising Alaska. And just asyou might imagine, there's also several ways
to do that. Cruise only isone option. With that. You can
fly, like we talked about earlier, into Anchorage, perhaps Fairbanks. Maybe
(26:11):
if in Vancouver. You would startthere. Cruise either north or south through
the Inside Passage can take you aboutseven days on the short side of things,
but they can also be longer.The next option is a cruise tour,
and this option is where a portionof your experience is spent entirely on
(26:33):
land. And this appeals to alot of people who don't believe me when
I say life on Alaska is livedon the coast. They really want to
experience that inland option as well.Perhaps several days in Denali National Park.
Harry, you were talking about theNational Park entrances right now for tomorrow at
(26:56):
least you could get into Denali forfree. Another portion of your experience might
include the McKinley Explorer. That's adomed luxury train that travels between Anchorage and
Denali. Now that tour takes abouteight hours, and it includes a wonderful
dining area with breakfast, lunch,drinks, and dessert served. And the
(27:18):
second half of your tour is ofcourse that cruise experience along the Inside Passage
and then multiple glaciers and of coursethe life along the coast. So the
important things not to be missed inAlaska, and I made a list of
some of the sites, and Harryfeel free to add any that I might
(27:41):
miss here, but at least accordingto travelers who've been there and when I
was there, these were some ofthe ones that I thought people surely should
not miss while they're there. Right, There's two things that I would highlight
to listeners today that you must,must, must do if you're in Alaska.
One is you have to stand ona glacier. Pick one and stand
(28:04):
on a glacier, fantastic. Secondthing is, while you're in Alaska,
if you don't enjoy the very nativefood of Alaska, and there's but one
thing to try in Alaska, andthat is salmon. So besides taking all
the rides on the boats, onthe trains, on the planes, be
sure to step on that glacier,be sure to enjoy that salmon. That
(28:27):
doesn't get any fresher. Yeah,So I want to go back to my
list here of the things that Ithink are the not to be missed sites
in Alaska. The first one,obvious, I think probably to everybody,
is Dnali National Park. How canyou go to Alaska and not see that?
I would recommend being there at leasttwo days, though out of your
(28:51):
itinerary. And the reason for thatis because if you're only there for a
day and it happens to drizzle andrain that day, there's your day in
the and probably you're not going tosee the wildlife that you had hoped to
see. So two days is reallyoptimum. And the best time to be
there is late May and the firstpart of June, so we're headed into
(29:11):
that time right now. The reasonfor that is because a lot of the
wildlife have started to have their newbabies around this time, and it's your
best chance to actually glimpse new life, beautiful new things blooming for spring,
wonderful temperatures there, and a lotless mosquitoes. Alaska's known for mosquitos.
(29:33):
In the summer they're huge, Yep, they are, and in July they
can carry you away. There's bigas the moose. No, that's true.
I worked with a guy who hadworked in Alaska, and he said
that when you put food on thegrill, you throw a piece of meat
or something into the yard because themosquitoes are so big they will consume the
food on your grill before it cancook. Now I think that's excessive,
(29:56):
but might be a little truth inthat somewhere. I don't care if there's
any truth to it. I lovethe story. I do too. Now.
The second thing that I think,Harry you alluded to this is absolutely
the glaciers. Most Alaskan cruises andtours attempt to visit toidwater glaciers which flow
into the ocean, and they're knownfor their powerful calving. Popular destinations include
(30:21):
Glacier Bay, which I saw,Hubbard Glacier I saw, Prince William Sound,
and Tracy arm And some cruises visitmore than one of these spots.
I was very fortunate. The cruisethat we took on Regent seven Seas visited
all three. Some cruises will onlyvisit one, but especially those that combine
(30:41):
the inside passage with that interior landtour is absolutely a must. You gotta
do the inside passage as well,and that's where're choosing the cruise ship makes
a big difference too. Some ofthe MEGAMEGAMEGA cruise ships, because of the
environmental concerns, can only get soclose to some of these glaciers. If
you choose one of the smaller,more intimate size ships, you're going to
(31:06):
get very very close, as wedid. Yeah, to the cruise ship.
And it doesn't matter where you standon that ship, because our captain
turned it around in a circle twoor three times. Chris. It was
amazing to just stand there and takeit all in and not have to move
or shuffle around with contending with otherpeople. For actually had expert Alaskan glacier
(31:30):
navigator get on board on one ofthe glaciers while we were there. That's
actually where he boarded. Our shipwas on one of the glaciers. He
came on board and helped our captainnavigate three hundred and sixty degrees through this
glacier area. I just want youto know you've described my perfect vacation.
(31:51):
Oh it's absolutely wonderful where I canjust stand in one location and have the
world spin around me and I don'thave to do anything more than that into
Chris, that's the kind of vacationswe like to plancoat where it will.
That's what you said on the lasttime we talked about Ketcha Can. That's
true if you're in Ketcha Can.But the third thing I want to make
(32:12):
sure that people know they should puton their must see list if they're in
Alaska is in Skagway and that's theWhite Real Pass. And some people say,
well, what in the world sospecial about the White rail Pass here,
Well, the White rail Pass andYukon Route Railway, which is the
scenic railway of the world. It'sknown as it was built in eighteen ninety
(32:34):
eight during the Klondike Gold Rush,and this narrow Gage Railroad is an international
Historic civil engineering landmark. You canexperience breathtaking panoramic views of the mountains there,
the glaciers tunnels from the comfort ofvintage rail cars. And when I
say vintage, I mean they reallyare still with the bench seats inside.
(32:57):
It was amazing bench seats yep.And what I learned on that I have
carried in my heart really since mytrip to Alaska. Thousands of men and
women actually died building this historic marvelthat was meant to connect Alaska to the
rest of the United States, andpreviously their only connection was really to Russia.
(33:21):
So this was really built as theirconnection to the North American continent.
And it's amazing when you see itand you're on it and you're able to
experience it, and you see theold rails that were built that are still
there today. They've been reinforced.But what a marvel. I mean,
it's just amazing to see that andto ride on that. It is stunning.
(33:45):
You look out the side of thattrain and you look straight down and
you wonder, how in the worlddid anyone ever figure out that this cliff
could hold a train full of goldand people and supply eyes moving around through
this was They didn't have OSHA backthen. There was would they never built
(34:06):
this railway, were there OSHA?But the good news, it's still running,
it's still functioning, it's still safe, and my gosh, the views
are more than spectacular. Crush justmore than they knew more about engineering back
then than we probably do now.You know. They well, they're the
ones who taught us, you knowwhat we knew. Another not to be
(34:27):
missed sight in Alaska are the sleddog camps. You've got to experience this
beauty in the wilderness. Sledding toursoffer you a chance to see the glaciers,
vastness. You've got that blue iceagain and these glacial formations. You
can take in the scenery, butyou see the dog's strength, and these
dogs are strong and can handle theglacier terrain. You learn about the history
(34:53):
of dog mushing, and you caneven learn about the history including the traditions
of dog City and the history ofthe Alaskan husky. And I learned a
little trivia myself there about the Alaskanhusky dog. They can actually withstand temperatures
as low as forty degrees and runat average speeds of about thirty miles an
(35:15):
hour when they're sprinting, and pullup to thirty five to seventy kilos for
hours. Forty degrees are minus forty. I'm sorry, minus forty. I'm
going to say that's minus forty.You're right, Thank you for correcting me,
Chris, it is minus forty.They're amazing, they really are.
And they are a tough breed butlovable and they were bred for this kind
(35:38):
of life. I had many peoplewhen I got back from my trip to
Alaska when they knew I'd gone tothe sled dogging dog in camps, and
they were a bit chastising about that. You know, they're badly mistreated.
I can tell you firsthand they arenot. They are treated like royal in
(36:00):
Alaska, and they are bred tolive that life. This is what they
love doing, and they do itso well. And so perfectly. It
was a joy to be in thesled dog camps. And actually I got
to mush, did you? Idid? Yeah, I got to mush
you. Did you stay on theI did? I did? And they
(36:21):
they were booking it, baby,I'll tell you they were going. Each
one of these dogs is treated sowell. They've got their own little dog
house, their own little dog yard, their own little dog dish, and
it's like it's just like an apartmentbuilding complex to see these dog houses out
there, and these dogs are loving. It was all I could do to
(36:42):
keep Terry from taking one of themhome. I wanted to so bad.
And I'll tell you you know,they they've they've been brought into this world
in the snow. They live inthe snow. It's all they know.
So it's not like they know ofa different life or a warmer climate.
They were bred for Alaska. Iwould love to do that. Yeah,
(37:04):
it's amazing, It's absolutely amazing.Can you believe that wasn't part of my
description of Alaska? When you asked, Yeah, well, now it can
be. When you close your eyesthe next time, Chris, you can
include that vision as part of whatyou want to see too. If you
go to Alaska. I've always beeninterested in like the Iditarod, and you
know, so the fact the factthat we're talking about this is really exciting
(37:24):
for me. These are the Iditaoddogs. This is their summer camp.
Is entertaining the terries of the worldand the hairy's of the world and the
other thousands of tourists that come upthere. They are They're passionate about doing
what they do. They love whatthey do, and when they're not running
the Iditarod, they're entertaining tourists andthey are great entertainers. Terry, we're
(37:47):
going to run out of time ifwe keep talking about Alaska. We should
wrap up Alaska and then get toHawaii soon. I agree. I think
we are off to another great destination, but this time to the beautiful.
I can't wait. We'll talk moreabout that next year. In a lifeless
ordinary, protect your vacation investment withguidance from a travel professional. The wishing
(38:07):
well knows travel and help you avoidpitfalls. They can spoil your hirer earned
vacation. We'll plan your trip andhave your back as you travel. All
of this without support or so calledconvenience fees. We're on the web at
tho Wishingwell dot biz or call usat five four zero nine zero eight two
three three three. That's five fourzero nine zero eight two three three three.
(38:29):
The washing Well really does make dreamscome true. Welcome back to a
Lifeless Ordinary. This is your weeklytravel show and podcast, and it's with
your friends from the wishing Well.Harry Rife is here, Terry Dean is
here, I'm here with you aswell, and we are talking about an
odyssey of explor exploration. Yes,from glaciers to tropics. It's more exciting
(38:52):
than it is easy to say.Well, I'll tell you what. We
had some fun in the first halfof this show, or at least idea.
Anytime I get a chance to reminisceabout places I've been to, things
I've seen, people I've met,it's always exciting to me to be able
to share it here with our listenerson A Lifeless Ordinary. But we're going
(39:13):
to turn up the temperature right now. We were in Alaska for the first
part of our show. We're goingto turn up the temperature and we're going
to explore the Loha State and alsosome of the best ways that you can
see that Hawaii became our fiftieth stateon August the twenty first, nineteen fifty
nine, which, when you thinkabout, is not so long ago.
(39:36):
President Eisenhower signed that proclamation on thatdate naming Hawaii an official part of these
United States, and for many ofus that's been within our lifetime. That's
amazing to me to think that wecompleted what is now what we know of
as all fifty states on our Americanflag, and it was in our lifetime,
(39:58):
maybe not yours, Chris, itcertainly was for Harry. Now.
I remember we had to turn inthe old flags and move to the new
flag. See. Do you knowwhy we had a forty nine star flag
and then a fifty star flag whenboth Alaska and Hawaii entered in the same
year. I do not tell me, because you add the star on the
fourth of July of the year thatthe state entered. One was before the
(40:20):
fourth, and then Hawaii was inAugust, so it had to wait for
its start the following year. Sothat's why me, Trivia, thank you
for one year we had a fortynine star flag. That's awesome. Yeah,
I didn't know that, But Ithink another thing that makes Hawaii so
appealing is the mystique kind of surroundingthese islands. There's there's sort of a
spiritual lism I guess about the Hawaiianislands, the tropical nature of the destination.
(40:47):
You've got this overwhelming welcome that visitorsreceived from the Hawaiian people. They
call it the Aloha spirit. Andmany times, even different places I've traveled
too, they often refer to theAloha spirit as something that originated in Hawaii,
but that can be applied to manyother different countries. And just like
(41:10):
Alaska, there are many, many, many ways to set out on an
experience to see this great Aloha state. I also had preconceived notions about my
visit to Hawaii, just like Idid in Alaska before visiting. And this
is another thing that I do.You know, I do this exercise with
(41:34):
people a lot, with closing theireyes, tell me what you see.
And most often when people do thatand they tell me what they see with
Hawaii, it's tropical, it's beautifulflowers. There are these smells of sweet
floral fragrances. There's blue owls.Of course, the Hawaiian grass skirts.
(41:55):
They see all of that. Theyalmost never describe what we think of as
Honolulu, because Honolulu is not thatat all. But Honolulu is also located
on the island of Oahu, andthat is really the business hub of the
(42:15):
state. But it's also where area lot of the iconic attractions that draw
people to the state of Hawaii.Go to sea, but it is not
that tropical paradise. When you getthere and see it, it looks very
much like New York City. There'sa lot of one way streets, a
(42:36):
lot of honking horns, there's sometropical visions. You'll see palm trees,
and of course you've got the frontagethere of Waikiki Beach. But it's not
the tropical paradise that let's say,some of the other islands are. Most
people when they go to Hawaii,they want to see Honolulu itself. They
(42:58):
want to see Diamondhead, they wantto see Pearl Harbor, the Polynesian Cultural
Center, the punch Bowl Crater MemorialArea. They want to see the pineapple
plantations on the north shore. Theywant to do that, and then they
want to get off this island becauseit doesn't have the Aloha vibe, if
you know what I mean. It'sjust not that tropical beauty. It's a
(43:21):
city and you know low skyscrapers.They're not tall, they're not allowed to
be tall in Hawaii, but younevertheless have some of the tallest buildings in
all of the state located there.It is a city, it's a metropolitan
city, and it's where business takesplace. There are four very distinctive islands
(43:43):
of Hawaii that attract tourists. AWahoo we just talked about. Maui is
the next one. Now, thisis the island known as the Valley Isle,
and I also say this is whereall the pretty people go. Maui
is said to have some of themost beautiful beaches in all the world,
second only to Fiji and Tahiti andBora Bora. Maui is the place to
(44:06):
go if you're looking for beautiful,velvety, white, sandy beaches. Maui's
the place. The big island ofHawaii now that's actually home to Hilo and
Kona. Hilo is known for itsnatural beauty. You've got waterfalls there,
rainforests, beaches, and caves.So it's some of the most beautiful natural
(44:30):
beauty in Hawaii. This is wherewhen I tell people to close their eyes
and describe Hawaii. For me,this is most often what they're describing.
They're describing what you see when youget into Heilo. It's also the largest
city on the Big Island and acommercial hub for the island's east side.
(44:52):
Now Kona is also known for itscoffee and beaches there both white and black.
And do you know why there areblack sand beaches there, Chris,
that's the lava it is. Itcomes from the volcanic lava that's pulverized and
becomes mixed with the ocean water andthe sand occurs then on the shore as
(45:15):
black sand. It's beautiful, butit doesn't get on your skin. Some
people go, I don't want toget on that, I'm gonna get all
dirty. It's just exactly like whitesand. It doesn't cause any kind of
stain at all, not even onyour clothes. And you do have a
lot of natural attractions there. Thelast island Kuwaiti. This has to be
my favorite. It's also known asthe Gardenile. It's where Elvis filmed almost
(45:37):
all of his Tropical set movies.It's where the TV series Thornbirds was filmed.
Also, the classic South Pacific portionsof Jurassic Park and Pirates of the
Caribbean. So if you saw thosemovies and you saw that natural beauty,
that wasn't a Hollywood set, thatwas actually visions and views that they were
(46:00):
filming on the island of Kuwai,and it is absolutely beautiful. They don't
call it the Garden Aisle for nothing. So now that you know a little
bit more about each island, justas with Alaska, you have to decide
how you would best like to experiencethis destination. And again there's more than
(46:21):
one way to do that. Now, once again, I want to explore
with you the various ways in whichyou might choose to visit Hawaii. And
remember again, one size does notfit all. And I've got some clients
that want to explore all four islandson a single visit, while I've also
got other clients, honeymooners mostly whoare going to pick one island make that
(46:45):
their headquarters and they want to exploretheir hearts away from that place with the
promise of returning on each and everyanniversary until they've actually seen all four islands.
I think that's a great goal tohave when you're a newly married couple
to go, you know, forthe next five years, we're just going
to return to the islands and we'regoing to see a new one every single
(47:06):
time we go back. That's agreat idea. Not too many people actually
do that though, because the world'sa big place, you know, so
it's nice if you can see itall in one swoop. So here we
are again with the first option beingprivate escorted luxury tours of Hawaii and again
offered by our friends at Kensington Tours. I mean, really think total luxury
(47:29):
here. Think four seasons, accommodations, personal butlers, private chefs, private
plantation tours in Hawaii, and alot more. And then if you can,
this is really the way to go. Limousine escorts pick you up right
off of the tarmac in each andevery island. Who could ask for anything
(47:51):
more. That also comes with aprice. It comes with a value price.
I would say it's equal to thevalue that you give and to the
luxury that you get, but neverthelessit's not for everybody's pocketbook. Then we
have our small group tours. Oneof my favorite operators is Perillo Tours.
(48:12):
They've been in the business for wellover seventy five years. One of the
leaders in Small Group escorted tours abit more price friendly too. And again
this is a tried and tested touroperator with a great track record. All
of your tours, your meals,your sight seeing, it's all kind of
set into place, pre planned andsmall groups. This is what convenience looks
(48:35):
like. Okay. Now, thedrawback to tours like this again is the
packing and unpacking. But I've gota cure for that, So enter Norwegian
Cruise Lines and the Pride of America, Harry. You know, this is
one that we have just sold aton of the past couple of years,
ever since COVID. Yes, avery special ship that's got one purpose in
(48:58):
life, it really does. Thisis one of the only vessels actually that
cruise in seven days around all fourHawaiian islands. No need to pack and
unpack with this experience. You flyinto Honolulu, you spend two nights on
Maui, one night in Hilo,one night in Kona, and two nights
in Kawaii, and you finish yourjourney where you began in Honolulu for one
(49:22):
great price. The luxury of thischoice is obvious. It's the convenience.
And you know I've talked about onthe show here on a life less ordinary.
To me, convenience equals luxury,and I believe that's where this one
begins and ends. All of yourmeals are included, and even your adult
beverage package can also be included aswell as your airfare. Makes this also
(49:45):
one of the most budget friendly optionsto Hawaii. And here, I know
you spend a little time in Hawaiias well. Yes, and when you
think about Hawaii, and I knowsome people may laugh when I say this,
but when you think about i islandsin the United States, when we
talk about getting to an island,the easiest way to get from one place
to another's with a bridge. Well, in Hawaii, there are no bridges
(50:07):
collecting all of the islands. Soyou've got but a couple choices. You're
either going to get on a shiplike the Pride of America, one of
the few flagship United States based cruiseships where the US flag flies on the
back, or you're going to flyone of the airlines out there is Hawaiian
Airlines. Again, how many stateshave an airline named after them, And
(50:30):
it's because of the traffic moving backand forth between those islands. But if
you want to see the highlights ofHawaii, and you don't have the option
of coming back again and again andagain for your anniversaries after your honeymoon.
This idea that Terry's talking about issuch a popular idea, so many people
do it, and it makes alot of sense. We'd love to talk
(50:52):
to you about it. The prideof America gets you to all the highlight
places and get you there without havingto pack an unpack. Chris, Here's
what I hear you say, Harry. What two states have airlines named after
him? Alaska and Hawaii? Andwhat two states do we talk about today?
Alaska and both of them. Youneed to have small planes to get
(51:12):
over the water. What you don'thave to have a passport. That's nice,
isn't it nice? Two very exotic, very luxurious destinations, but no
passport required. You can go withjust your driver's license. No courage change
exactly. And you know the otherthing is I think our takeaway today is
no matter which of these two destinationsyou choose, you can't choose wrong.
(51:36):
You can't make a bad choice.I don't know how I would choose between
the two. That's the real dilemma. You can't choose. You have to
do them, just do both ofthem. You must do them both.
Do I do this like where Igo out in the cold and then jump
in the hot water? Or doI do the hot water and then go
to the cold. That's a personaldecision, Chris, and one that we
cannot help you. Sorry. Iwas hoping Harry would at least you try
(51:59):
to answer the question. You knowwhat, it'd be a magnificent trip.
And I don't know anybody who's gotthe time to do this until you know,
I don't know if you ever havetime to do that, But wouldn't
it be neat to do these backto back? How about a cruise that
takes us from Alaska to Hawaii.You know, there actually are cruises that
do that. You have to havea little bit of time to be able
(52:21):
to devote to it, but thereare And if anybody's interested, that's actually
the next way that you could seeboth of these great places all in one
trip. And if I have thatmuch time, I should be talking to
you about making some arrangements. Ithink so, and I think that would
be a great idea. We're easyto find, Chris. They can look
us up at the Wishing Well inHarrisonburg, Virginia. We're located at two
forty three NEF Avenue in the ValleyCenter. You can call us we are
(52:45):
at five four zero non zero eighttwo three three three, or look us
up on the web we or atthe wishing Well dot is truly a life
less ordinary. This has been alife less ordinary travel show from your friends
at the wishing Well at two fortythree nep Avenue in Harrisonburg. If you
have any questions on topics discussed today, please reach out to the wishing Well
(53:07):
online at the Wishingwell dot biz orfive four oh nine oh eight twenty three
thirty three. Past episodes are availableon the iHeartRadio app. And we'll see
again next Saturday morning at ten fora life less Ordinary from the wishing Well
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