September 20, 2024 • 53 mins
The Wishing Well's Terrie Dean and Harry Reif discuss this week's travel news and Hot Deals!
In this episode, we dive into the enchanting world of autumn travel, exploring some of the best destinations to visit during this magical season. Join us as we uncover:
Listen to get insider tips, travel inspiration, and all the details you need to plan your perfect autumn adventure!
In this episode, we dive into the enchanting world of autumn travel, exploring some of the best destinations to visit during this magical season. Join us as we uncover:
- Best Fall Foliage: Wander through the breathtaking landscapes of Kyoto, Japan, where the vibrant hues of red, orange, and yellow leaves create a picturesque setting.
- Best Romantic Escape: Escape to the charming vineyards and cozy inns of Sonoma, California, perfect for a romantic getaway amidst the fall harvest.
- Best Destination for the Northern Lights: Experience the awe-inspiring northern lights in Yellowknife, Canada, where the night sky comes alive with dazzling displays of color.
- Most Underrated Hidden Gem: Discover the quaint and charming town of Greenville, South Carolina, a hidden gem that offers a delightful mix of culture, history, and natural beauty.
- Best Destination for a Warm Getaway: Bask in the warm, sunny weather of Bermuda, an ideal destination for those looking to escape the autumn chill.
Listen to get insider tips, travel inspiration, and all the details you need to plan your perfect autumn adventure!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is a Lifeless Ordinary.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
It's a travel show and podcasts from your friends at
the wishing Well two forty three f avenue in harsmerg
and online at the wishing Well dot this.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
The wishing Well is your ultimate.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Luxury concierge, travel agency and a Lifeless Ordinary is a
travel show and podcast hosted by Terry Dean, bringing her
over forty years of experience in the travel industry to
help guide you to great experiences in your travel, whether
it be around the block, around the country, or around
the world.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Let's bring in Terry Dean.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Say hello, hey, Chris, how are you this wonderful Saturday morning.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
I'm doing well. I appreciate yes, and it's very kind.
How's your week?
Speaker 3 (00:34):
You know, not bad, not bad, little rainy to start with.
I know we had a little much needed rain. Not
everybody was completely thrilled about it, but I think you
might have been.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Well.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, we threw some grass seed around the yard last
week and it sprouted with all the rain we had
earlier in the week. And shockingly, it looks like we
knew what we were doing because the yard is green again.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Green is a pretty color.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Yeah, I feel bad for our farmers though they kind
of rough year and they really needed the rain.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
But maybe just a little too late for that.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
They're saying a day late and a dollar short, but
you know what, we'll take it even still.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Yeah, well we we get to this Saturday morning. This
is part of the show where we always talk about,
you know, big travel news, what's happening in the world
of tourism and travel.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
It's always busy. I mean, there's always more news than
what we can cover here on the show. But I
have asked Harry to kind of limit it to some
of the top news stories this week, So Harry, if
you want, well, I didn't even say hi to Harry. Oh,
well you can do that, do that.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Well, Hi, Chris, I'm just here, so sorry, Harry. Hey,
all's good. All's good.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
You know, we're so busy and have so much to
talk about, and I want to get into the news
because one of the things that I want to talk
about this morning is what's going on with travel. And
I've pulled some statistics looking at what's going on between
twenty three twenty four, and the trend just continues. People
are traveling. The twenty four figures for the first half
(02:03):
of the year are up over twenty three by more
than fourteen percent. And also looking ahead, Chris, what's happening
for twenty five twenty six, We're seeing sales are already
thirty eight percent above what they were this year. So
people are not slowing down, they're moving. We're real excited
about that. And they're looking at some of the top destinations,
(02:25):
and the ones on the list probably would not surprise
you a whole lot. One we've talked about a lot
are Italy, France, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Spain.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Of course.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
One of the areas that was a little bit of
a surprise, And Terry and I were talking about this earlier,
looking at year to year growth of a destination. The
one that really surprised me is Canada. Canada sales are
up one hundred and sixty eight percent.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Okay over last year. You can blame Terry for that,
or she can take credit for it. Whichever way you want.
I'm going to take credit. She she talked about her
Canada trip and it was I was like, Yes, put
me on a flight tomorrow, let's go.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
Yeah. What they call they call those people on the internet,
what are you?
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Influence? Influencer? Definitely an influencer. Tris maybe that's it. I mean,
terry tip credit, I'm taking it.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
Yeah, there you go. So one of the other places
where sales were up a lot was Japan. A lot
of people are going to Japan. And one of the
other parts of the survey that I took away, uh
information on is that some places are actually getting a
little bit less popular and some of the places that
heaven popular are lowering in popularity because people, I think
(03:44):
are just getting tired. And whilst Italy is still a
very popular destination, it's trending down a little bit, is
what the sales said here. The other thing that was
interesting is ultra Lux travel is up, and we've talked
about that. I mean, that's the theme of the show,
is that it is ultra lux travel. We're talking about
expedition cruises, exotic destinations, Fiji, Maldives, Thailand, and African safaris.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Those are all up.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
So as we look at the news, those are big
things that we're seeing in there. One of the other ones,
people are not only headed to those warm destinations, but
a new word coolcations. Alaska, Please, Alaska's on there. In
Northern Europe, Canada, all of those are up. Scandinavia. Scandinavia
(04:31):
is not on my list, but I would say it
should be on the.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
List absolutely for sure. Switzerland.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Yeah, just this week I had people traveling to Switzerland.
Actually two groups of people came in this week wanting
to travel to Switzerland, one of my favorite destinations, especially
going back to one of the shows we did not
too long ago talking about train travel. What a way
to do Switzerland in skydiving and skydiving, Yeah, there you go.
(04:57):
So that's one of the big things. And travel is
just that increase keeps going on and on. Congress is
interested in travel, and with all the incidents we've talked
about this over the last couple weeks at airports and
with air traffic control and airlines, Congress has gotten interested
in this too, and they are looking at this whole
(05:19):
area of cybersecurity and trying to figure out what airlines
need to do, what the governments around the world need
to do, to make investments in resilient and redundant information
technology systems so that we don't have these kinds of
travel interruptions that just throw chaos into the system. Because
an interruption, an interruption anywhere just ripples down the stream
(05:43):
and causes problems all day long, all week long. SeaTac
Airport is one of the big ones that they talked
about in there, and we just got to keep looking
looking at that. And Congress is looking at taking some
action to require some changes to take care of cybersecurity.
(06:03):
One of the other things that I saw this week
in news is looking at some of the traffic in Alaska.
Juno had record breaking traffic this last year, and they
are starting to say we need to slow the arrival
of cruise ships into Alaska. You mentioned Alaska earlier one
of my favorite destinations too. But we're going to see
(06:26):
more and more of what we talked about happening over
in Italy and Venice with the kind of restrictions on travel,
restrictions on visitors. We might see some of that in Alaska.
So that's one of the things that we are looking
at and going to be watching as we move forward.
So those are some of the big things in the
news this week.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
Thank you, Harry Terry. Do we have hot deals this week?
We absolutely do, Chris. I got some great deals that
floated across my desk this week, and I actually think
anytime a deal rolls across my desk and it's under
a thousand for seven eight day trip including airfare. That's
very worthwhile to talk about here on a Life Less Ordinary,
(07:09):
because it's not too ordinary to find deals like that.
So one of the first ones on my list today
is a seven day Azores vacation. Now, in case you're
not familiar with where the Azores are located, they are
in the mountainous regions of Portugal. Okay, you would actually
fly into Ponta Delgada for this particular trip, and these
(07:34):
are more independent type trips, not escorted, So your airfare
is going to be included, a hotel for the duration
of your trip, breakfast every day. But then aside from that,
you get to choose independently what you want to do
in these localities. So a seven day Azores vacation again
(07:54):
including air You ready for this, Chris five hundred and
ninety nine dollars per person five ninety nine. Now, there
are specific dates for that to apply, so it's going
to be off season rates that are going to apply.
High season will not, So just so you know that
if you are one of those people who can go
anytime anywhere, that's a deal that would probably interest you.
(08:19):
The next destination very similar setup. It's an independent vacation
six days round trip airs included hotel in no less
than one of my favorite cities in the entire planet, Madrid, Spain,
and for a six day air inclusive vacation with hotel
breakfast every day six ninety nine per person for that
(08:41):
great deal. And then we're going to move on over
in Spain to Barcelona, another great independent deal for a
six day vacation. Of course you're air included, you know,
the Drill hotel with breakfast seven forty nine for a
six day vacation.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
There.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
I've got a combo tour that I want to talk
to you about, an eight day Madrid and Barcelona together
by rail, so you would connect to these two cities
by Spanish rail. That's included in the price of your
ticket airline round trip hotels in three nights in Madrid,
three nights in Barcelona again with breakfast none to ninety
(09:20):
nine per person. And finally we've got an eight day
Paris in Barcelona. This is a very popular combination that
I see your round trip air three nights in Paris
with breakfast, three nights in Barcelona with breakfast. So as
you think about these deals, these are all including one
meal of the day for you, and that means that
(09:40):
in Europe, because you're on a different time zone anyway,
maybe one extra meal is all you're going to need
that day, eat a late lunch or whatever, and then
turn in early. But these deals are great, all of them.
Every single one of these I mentioned under one hundred
dollars I'm sorry, under one thousand dollars per person. Begar
part the next deal that I have. And again, anytime
(10:02):
I think we find deals that include free airfare or
at least even two for one airfare, that's worthy of
a mention. Here on a lifeless ordinary, I've got one
of our preferred vendors that's offering companions fly free when
you purchase one airline ticket to some of our popular destinations,
(10:24):
which are Dublin, Ireland and even some destinations in Scotland.
Combination tours are available, so you've got the Scottish Claire
and castles, you've got a combination of the Scottish Highlands
and Irish dreams. All of these are going to include
the companion flies free when you purchase one airfare. So
(10:46):
that's a great deal when we're thinking about airfare these days.
Just so you know, folks, typical round trip airfare to
Europe right now is roughly thirteen to fifteen hundred dollars
round trip in economy. Yeah, that is a big ouch.
And so if you're able to get that included or
find deals like I just mentioned first under one thousand
(11:07):
dollars per person, let me tell you something. Those are
deals you probably want to jump on if you are
interested in flying somewhere and going somewhere on the cheap
or something that's inexpensive. The last thing that I wanted
to mention today, this is big in my mama's house.
Let me tell you is the MLB. And if you
(11:28):
don't know what I'm talking about, that's the Major League Baseball.
There are some matchups across the country going on, and
right now you can actually land some tickets for their
home games. New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, and
the San Francisco Giants. Their home games are running about
(11:48):
fifteen dollars in up for games. So if you're interested
in that, obviously there's some great city tours there to
be had as well. I think if you give us
a call. We could hook you up with some of those.
I can give you advice too, I'm sure you can.
What might that be, Chris.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
I mean, that's what I did for a vacation one
year exactly that I traveled. I went to Yankee Stadium,
I went to Tiger Stamen Detroit, I don't remember what
it's called, all American Ballpark's at Cincinnati, Saint Louis Bush Stadium.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Went to all of them in a week's time. That's great.
Went to I think it was six seven baseball games
over the course of nine days and had a blast.
Makes for a great vacation these.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
You know, if baseball isn't really your thing, go to anyway,
sit in the stadium, get a hot dog, get a beer,
and just enjoy watching people. Yeah, it is such a
great way to spend a few hours out of a
trip somewhere is to go to a baseball stadium.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
And just you know, my dad passed about sixteen years ago,
and it was one of my mom and dad's favorite
pastimes was to watch the Baltimore Orioles on TV, and
whenever they got a chance, they would go actually to
the games. To this day, my brother every Christmas still
gets my mom tickets to a Baltimore Orioles home game
at some time during the season. And I promise you,
(13:10):
if you go right now to my mom's house anytime
during baseball season, you are going to be watching and
have to wait for commercials to talk the Baltimore Orioles
play their games. I don't know how they're doing this year,
but I guarantee you she could tell you.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
So our show today has the title alone, is interesting,
isn't it. It's called earth Wind and Fire. It is September, huh,
which we've got about a week left.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
In Yeah, we do.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
And I know it's not about the band or the song.
So I'm really curious what we're getting into next.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
So I really wanted to focus on some of the
best fall vacations, Chris, where you can see fall foliage.
I wanted to let people know where they're going to
maybe find some fewer crowds, stunning scenery. And that's all
involved in what I decided to entitle to earth Wind
and Fire.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
We'll get into that next year.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
On a Life Less Ordinary, Protect your vacation investment with
guidance from a travel professional, The Wishing Well knows travel
and help you avoid pitfalls that can spoil your hard
earned vacation. We'll plan your trip and have you back
as you travel. All of this without support or so
called convenience fees. We're on the web at the Wishingwell
dot biz or call us at five four zero nine
(14:25):
zero eight two three three three has five four zero
nine zero eight two three three three. The wishing Well
really does make dreams come true.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Yeah, welcome back to a life less ordinary. This is
the travel showing podcast from your friends at the wishing Well.
Find them on f Avenue in Harrisonburg, online at the
wishing Well dot biz, or give them a call at
five four nine twenty three thirty three. Terry, what's the
first line of this song? You know it gets stuck
in your head. You can't help it.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Do you remember the twenty first night of September and
today is the twenty first of September.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Earth Wind and Fire, by the way, because we have
planned that any better. I think you planned it perfectly.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
And you know, people right now are hating on me
because they're like, I cannot get that song out of
my head. But really it's just such a great song
and it's a great song, I think, especially to sort
of introduce fall and the false season. If you listen
to that song, it just to me it sounds like
the crisp leaves and the weather of fall.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
I love that song.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
I love earth, wind and fire, and I love that
we are actually focusing all the attention on that today
because fall is my favorite time of year. I can
tell it is. It's mine too.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
I really get excited about fall because I get a
lot more energy. You know, after the summer hot summer
is over. I feel like I can breathe more. I
love to be outside. I hate being cooped up, and
that's what winter does to me. And the hot, hot,
hot summer, I have to stay in the air conditioning,
and in the winter I have to stay in the warmth.
(16:02):
But in the fall and in the spring, I'm a
whole different person.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
So I love fall because it is ushering in cooler weather.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Absolutely, I love sweatshirt season, football season.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
And where you and I part ways is I love
winter as much as I love fall. I can work
out in the yard all winter, except for when it
gets down to like five degrees. I don't wear a
coat and took it's to be about twenty Okay. I
know some folks like and then I love spring just
as much.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Yeah, right up until that first day that it's sort
of rainy and humid and you go, oh, summer's coming.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
Yeah, exactly, it's a warning signal, it is. Yeah, but
we are going to have some fun today. And I've
noticed lately, honestly, leaves actually appear to be changing a
little quicker than in previous seasons. This year, I've noticed that,
I mean even here in the town of Hersonburg where
we're broadcasting today from I notice there's some trees that
(16:58):
are bright, bright red and orange, and that surprised me really.
And for those that are out there seeking some enjoyable
time away, and I mean away from the normal touristy crowds,
some of the best foliage views and some stunning scenery.
I actually crafted today's show just for you, well me too,
(17:20):
but for you too. But we always talk about how
summer goes hand in hand with travel, but fall might
be the.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Best time to take a vacation.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
And I'm going to be sharing with you today some
of the very best places to experience all of those
things that we love. But I think we can agree
that it's things like cooler temperatures. Harry mentioned calcations earlier
in today's news fewer tourists that certainly make destinations like
New York City and Maui, Hawaii ideal for autumn getaways
(17:51):
and outdoor adventures can certainly be found near Jackson, Hawayoming.
We've actually talked about that here on the show just recently.
Flag Staff, Arizona all close to some of the country's
best national parks. But I want to say, whether you
want to see the leaves of Japan maple leaves change
in their home country, or you think you might want
(18:12):
to just head to a sunny island to maybe squeeze
in a few more beach days before winter. I've rounded
up the best fall vacations for every type of traveler
here today, and today's show is all about the earth,
wind and fiery colors of our beautiful planet, and truly
(18:33):
today is all about a life less ordinary, right, So
I want you to stay with us as we are
going to explore the best destination for fall foliage, the
best destination for a romantic escape, the best destination Chris
for northern lights. That one's going to be interesting, the
(18:53):
most underrated hidden gem destination, and the best destination for
a warm get away. Now I want to roll into
these individually, because those are the categories that we're going
to be taking a look at together today on the show.
But our best destination for fall foliage, I want to
(19:14):
ask you if you have any guesses about that. And
this is what this is not me saying this, okay,
this is what some of the experts who analyze this
information actually say.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
My initial response would be anywhere up in New England,
but then you mentioned Japan. Now I want to go
to Japan and watch the Japanese maples turn.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
You are one hundred percent correct. Kyoto, Japan is the
best destination for fall foliage, and actually, to Harry's news earlier,
Japan is beguning to be one of the most highly
requested destinations. There's a lot of reasons for that. But
autumn in Kyoto may be overshadowed by the more touristy
(19:58):
cherry blossom season. We'll all know about that, but the
city is truly at its shining peak during one of
the best fall foliage seasons in the world. Now, the
Japanese maples, there frame a lot of those famous temples
that we've seen in the Pagodas, they line their urban
streets just really dousing the entire downtown area with this
(20:23):
bright crimson color. It's a tradition for temples across the
city to show off they're colorful trees with nightly lights.
In November, which is their peak of fall foliage season.
We get that a little bit earlier, and you absolutely
don't want to miss the spectacle at Toji Temple, which
is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There it's stunningly beautiful.
(20:46):
The colors are especially stunning on the hillsides of popular
site seeing district in Kyoto in its bamboo forest.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
And if you're.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
Hoping for a fully immersive nature retreat here, I would
courage you to take a look at Mooney Kyoto. This
is a small luxury hotel of the world. It is
absolutely gorgeous, but there's something so compelling about it. It's
i would say, kind of a minimalistic hotel where there's
(21:16):
not a lot inside the room, but it's lovely. It's
a retreat really and it's very zen like you could
imagine that it would be. It's in Kyoto, Japan, so
there's that zen quality of the hotel, but the landscaping
around it is just stunning. They've got kind of a
modern appearance. They make use of a lot of natural
(21:36):
materials like wooden stone to create this sense of warmth
and tranquiquility, and that blends just seamlessly into their environment.
They've got generous sized guest rooms here with large windows,
so you can really kind of connect with the outside world.
And it's got a fusion of that Eastern and Western luxury,
(22:00):
like the B and B Italian furniture. I mean, a
lot of people who have been there and stayed there said,
you know, it looks a little bit like it could
be Italian furniture, but it's not. They have this, which
I think is amazing, an underfloor radiant heat and cooling system,
so seamlessly and without too much fanfare in the room,
(22:21):
you get this natural cooling and heating of the room
without anything to sort of give it away tho thermostats,
nothing like that.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
It's all radiant.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
And original bath amenities made from Kyoto's famous Misu yuzu
citron and cedar that they use within all of their
products in the bathrooms there. Japan is quickly becoming one
of the most sought after vacation destinations, as are many
other exotic destinations, so you want to be sure to
(22:55):
put this one on your list. I will tell you
many years ago I traveled to Japan. I may have
told you this Chris off Air, but I'd love to
share this with our listeners today. It was a life
changing experience for me. I'll never forget standing in Japan
and actually in Tokyo, at the top of the hill
(23:15):
called Rapungi, and I was there and looked down the
hill and it was like just this giant carpet of black,
which of course was the black, dark hair of all
the Japanese people. It was so crowded, literally shoulder to shoulder,
but it was completely quiet. It was the most peaceful
(23:36):
and tranquil place I'd ever been with that many people
before in my entire life. And I thought, Man, if
we could just exist in a world where we could
enjoy that kind of peace and that kind of togetherness
all together as one. It was an amazing, beautiful site.
And I do I really encourage people put Japan if
(23:59):
you you have not put that on your list of
amazing places to travel to, and.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
One of the things that's really interesting to me about
Japan and about fall and think about trees and changing.
We always think of maple trees here in North America.
In Japan, the ginko trees change colors, and they're supposed
to be especially beautiful too. I'd really like to see.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
That ginkgo trees have special meaning for and I think
there's a meaning about longevity and life and love that
are connected to the gink leaf actually on the tree.
You'll see it in a lot of decor.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
We have a ginkgo tree right outside the building here,
and my wife picked one of the leaves up last
fall and gave it to me sitting in my office.
I think so, I think that's probably why she did that.
I think so probably too. But really and truly, Japan should,
as I said, be at the top of anybody's list
of places to go Kyoto. If you're interested in the fall,
(24:54):
you won't find a more beautiful fall foliage display.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
Just know this.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
Kyoto is very busy in the fall. It is there
one of their peak seasons of the year. So that
would be something you would want to actually give us
a call about. We'd love to be able to put
something together for you to be able to experience that
most amazing city and that most amazing site. Moving on
through our list today, I did tell you that we
(25:19):
were going to talk about the best destination for a
romantic escape in the fall, and Chris, I'm going to
throw it back to you again. Do you have any
ideas where this might take us?
Speaker 1 (25:33):
I got lucky on the Japan Paris.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
Paris would be a great guess. And actually, you know,
I wouldn't say you probably venture too far off the mark.
That might be number two. But coming in at number
one is Sonoma, California.
Speaker 5 (25:49):
Interesting.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Yeah, fall in California's wine country is magical, and yes
it is very very romantic. You can actually Tourma's famous
vineyards and wineries while they are just cloaked in these
beautiful colors of red and orange and yellow foliage. And honestly,
(26:10):
I got to tell you that sounds a lot like
Virginia to me, you know, But Sonoma took the top spot.
Who am I to argue with that? But while the
wineries can seem overwhelming in number, it's very hard to
go wrong in Sonoma. I had to share one of
my favorites with you. Of course, and that would be
a place called Flowers Vineyards and Winery. And I chose
(26:32):
that because for a lot of people who don't know
who listen to us here on a life less ordinary,
The wishing Well, the agency that Harry and I own,
is also an event and floral boutique, and so I
had to choose for a romantic destination. Of course, a
winery called Flowers Vineyards and Winery and House of Flowers
(26:52):
is one of those places that's just bursting with inspiration
at every turn. Actually, I encourage you to go to
their website right now if you can, and you're listening
to me and you've got a computer in front of you,
you want to go to Flowers Winery dot com. You
will understand very quickly while I point to this location,
(27:14):
to this venue, to this wanery as one of the
most romantic destinations in Sonoma, California, it is utterly breathtaking.
I remember when I was putting the show together the
other day in the office and I pulled this up
on the website and I said, Harry, come over here.
You have to see this place. It is absolutely stunningly gorgeous.
(27:37):
It absolutely is.
Speaker 4 (27:38):
And when you combine what mother nature's done out there
with what California is famous for. You mentioned wines already,
but also the culinary experience that you get out there
in many parts of California, the Old Napple Valley area
absolutely to the wine country region. It's just a fantastic place.
And it's also very easy to get to places. And
(27:58):
also you don't need a passport exactly. The things we'd
like to mention on the show about traveling a lot
of places you can go. There are magnificent places, and
you don't need a passport exactly.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
And the gardens around this place, the interior design, the architecture,
and the light. It's just a place for daydreaming. I
call it a living Pinterest board, if you will. The
Sonoma Coast Wanery high elevation, pino noirs and the chardonnais
are produced organically and biodynamically by a winemaker there called
(28:30):
chantal Fourthun who harnesses the grapes, coastal freshness, the minerality
and the nuance paired perfectly with the House of Flowers
culinary team and this picturesque Waneri's generous tastings are an
absolute must, and it's just a perfect thing for couples
(28:51):
I mean absolutely. I mean one, beauty of great weather.
All of that really goes hand in hand for romance,
I think. Now. Another great activity to engage in in
Sonoma is to take a ride on the open air
Sonoma Valley one trolley, just a cute little thing. When
you're in Sonoma, you can go up and down and
(29:11):
do some sight seeing. On when you need a break
from sipping Veno, you can kind of go for an
easy hike two on the East Trail at Bordega Head
for some absolutely beautiful sweeping ocean and bay views. And
then afterwards you can kind of sit back and refuel
with some fresh seafood at the property. And of course
(29:31):
you can need a great place to stay. My choice
is very clear. I am a huge, huge fan of
the Montage properties. The one that I chose for the
Sonoma area is Montage offering a luxurious stay, plenty of
opportunities to kind of immerse yourself in those fall colors
that I talked about earlier, with outdoor yoga classes, miles
(29:55):
and miles of hiking trails, and guided e bike tours.
Completing Sonoma as as I said, one of the most
romantic destinations in the world, for fall. To be sure,
have you ever been out to California, Chris, I'm not.
This is a place that I think you and your
wife would really enjoy. As Harry mentioned, it's just a
(30:18):
short plane ride away. Direct NonStop flights are available into
the Napa area and a beautiful place to stay. Montage
Haroldsburg is an absolutely gorgeous, luxurious place and you're right
there with all of that beauty. You know, that's a
second honeymoon for sure.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
Yeah, it absolutely is.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
Yeah, the California image that a lot of people have
in mind, or the big cities you talk about San Diego,
San Francisco, Los Angeles, but when you get to that
northern part of California that Terry's talking about, it is
it's like a different state. It's the difference between New
York State and New York City here on the East coast.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Yeah, and remember this exactly, And remember one of the
second tiers of importance for today's show was not just
the foliage, but that certainly would be beautiful there, but
also helping our listeners find places where they can find
fewer crowds. And to your point here, that's exactly what
Sonoma represents as opposed to NAPA as opposed to some
(31:19):
of the other more populated areas of California where the
wine country is king. You know, Sonoma is really more
laid back in that.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
Now, the next area that we want to be going
to and heading to is going to take us to
the best destination for northern lights.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Let's do that next here on a Life Less Ordinary.
Speaker 4 (31:39):
Who would think of driving off to a new destination
without guidance from Google to Syria. Let the Wishing World
guide your next travel experience.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
Travel the world as you enjoy the very.
Speaker 4 (31:49):
Best destinations and all they offer at the best prices.
Our mobile travel app keeps your vacation on track and
keeps you connected with our team of experts for help.
If you need it, call us at five four zero
zero nine zero eight two thirty three three, stop by
two forty three nef Avenue, or visit us at the
Wishingwell dot bizz.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
And welcome back to a Life Less Ordinary. Every Saturday morning,
at this time, we discussed travel on this podcast and
radio show with our friends from the Wishing Well. You
can find them on neph Avenue and Harrisonburg. They're online
at the Wishingwell dot Biz or you can give them
a call at five four oh nine, eight twenty three
(32:28):
thirty three. And we're here this morning with Terry and Harry.
Our show is entitled Earth, Wind and Fire September, and
we have talked about a lot of fiery color in
the fall and a lot of other fall travel locations.
You tease us with Northern Lights.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
I did, and I love today's show because I like
to think this is like a sort of throwing a
blanket over all things fall, fall foliage views where you
can see pretty colors, the romance that fall has, where
people can go maybe experience fewer crowds because it's not
peak season in many cases in a lot of areas
(33:06):
that we're talking about, and you can still see all
of that stunning scenery that we just love. I did
talk about the best destination for the Northern Lights before
we took our break, Chris, and I challenged you with
what do you think this destination is?
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Somewhere in Canada?
Speaker 3 (33:29):
That's good? Actually, you're very good, Harry. Do you have
a guess?
Speaker 4 (33:33):
Well, I thought that Canada is a great guest too,
and anywhere in the tip top of North America.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
Well, you're both right.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
Because we are going to a place very probably very
few people have ever heard of called yellow Knife, Canada.
And again, you want to talk about fewer crowds, this
is definitely the place where they aren't. Yellow Knife is
often described as one of the best places in the
world to see the northern lights, but it's so much
(34:04):
more than that. As a matter of fact, I was astounded,
you guys, to learn that yellow Knife, the capital of
the Northwest Territories, is an isolated mining town built on
gold and now it's sustained by diamonds, and it's an
outpost of civilization surrounded by a vast, austere landscape of
(34:28):
rock and tundra and water, most notably the enormous Great
Slave Lake, on whose shure the city is built. So
that gives you some kind of perspective as to where
we are, what this town is all about. And the
magical and elusive Aurora borealis is easier to see dancing
across their sky from mid November to April than in
(34:52):
any other place. So if you want to head north
to the only city in Canada's Northwest Territories at the
tail end to fall to catch this super celestial phenomenon,
and if you get a little thirsty, well, short autumn
days are easily filled here with craft brews from the
(35:12):
NWT Brewing Company. Dog sledding adventures are very popular here
and other snow activities, and you could probably imagine it
gets much colder there, earlier, snows fall quicker there than
they do in other areas that are more southern, So
you're going to be able to experience and enjoy some
(35:33):
of that dog sledding and other snow activities much earlier
than you can in other places.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
Sounds like I might actually want to wear a coat.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
You might, But then again, we both know how you
love the winter, so I'm not sure I think short's weather,
but I really do think you would enjoy it, Chris.
But everybody knows that if you are in fact headed
to Yellowknife, Canada, you're definitely on a mission to see
the northern lights. And one of the best places to
accomplish this is a place that I found called Aurora Village. Now,
(36:04):
while they don't offer accommodations at Aurora Village itself, there's
a reason why they call it a village. They have
recreated a traditional village environment here where people can come
together to enjoy the surroundings. With twenty one white teepees
that dot the perimeter by this private lake, every visitor
has a place to call quote unquote home. It's complete
(36:27):
with a warm wood stove and your choice of hot drinks.
That sounds fun, and while northern lights and cold nights
go together, it's part of what makes their environment so spectacular.
You don't have to be uncomfortable. They don't want you
to be uncomfortable. They actually will. This is so funny.
Rent you all the winter clothing you need, and their
facilities even include heated seats and washrooms, everything necessary for
(36:52):
an amazing experience fun. It really does, and there's some
great places where you can actually partner with the Aurora
A Village if you're looking for a total package to
complete your stay with hotel, accommodations and some amenities to boot. So,
if it's the Northern Lights, if that's on your list,
(37:12):
your bucket list of things to do and you want
to know you're gonna see them, the folks that aroar
a Village are the folks to talk to and to
deal with. If you you and your family want to go.
Those white teepees sound like a lot of fun, I think.
So how do you get there? Terry checking what the
airport is? What airport would you fly into, Chris to
(37:33):
go to yellow Knife, Canada?
Speaker 1 (37:35):
I have no idea.
Speaker 4 (37:36):
Well, yes, just intuitively you're going to here's a clue,
yellow Knife, Canada, the.
Speaker 6 (37:42):
Yellow airport there you go. Yeah, the yellow Knife Airport,
that's where you're gonna fly into. But what a fun
thing to do, you know. And these are some things
that really our fall season becomes all about. Are some
of these great phenomenons we see that with the changing
of the leaves on the trees. But man, and when
you can look up in the sky and you can
see a changing landscape up there as well, that's dreams.
(38:06):
That's when dreams come true.
Speaker 3 (38:07):
You know.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
That's on my bucket list.
Speaker 3 (38:10):
Yeah it is. I know here recently that we were
told by some of our weather folks that the Aurora
borealis could be seen from here in Virginia. Sadly I
was not awake.
Speaker 2 (38:23):
I had some friends who posted pictures on Facebook up
in the Broadway area. It looks like they got to
see it better than we did here. But yeah, all
I saw was the inside of my eyes.
Speaker 3 (38:31):
Yea. And most recently, some of our clients just returned
from Alaska and Chris, they brought back some of the
most beautiful pictures of the Aurora Borealis I have ever
seen in my entire life. It was just it looked
like a modern oil painting. Really, the colors were just vibrant.
So if you're interested in the northern lights, don't forget
(38:56):
yellow Knife, Canada. That's a place that you're going to
want to definitely put on your boat list. If nothing else, good, Lord,
go to mind some gold and maybe diamonds, you know,
I mean, if that's the second most great feature of Yellowknife, Canada. Now,
our next travels are going to take us moving on
to the most underrated hidden gem destination. This one didn't
(39:18):
surprise me very much, but it's one that was very
unlikely to come to my mind. I'm not sure if
you have any guesses about this, but I'll give you
a little hint. It's in our southern region of the
United States. Anybody have any guesses either one of you guys. No, So, Greenville,
South Carolina takes this award as the most underrated hidden
(39:40):
Gem destination. Why exactly, I'm calling Greenville South Carolina the
most underrated, hinting gym. Well, it's largely due to all
of the things that I'm going to bet you never
knew about this typical southern town. It's actually nestled up
against the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the
heart of South Carolina's what they call upcountry, not the
(40:01):
low country, but the upcountry. And some of the state's
best state parks are nearby, including Paris Mountain, Jones Gap,
and Caesar's Head. And you're going to find Greenville situated
just about halfway between Charlotte, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia.
So if you're unfamiliar with where Greenville, South Carolina is,
(40:22):
and I know a lot of people are, they just
don't know. They go, yeah, I know, it's in the
South somewhere, But there's where it is, folks. It's halfway
between Charlotte and Atlanta. And in Greenville, they just have
this really friendly vibe as you could probably imagine.
Speaker 1 (40:35):
They're Southerners.
Speaker 3 (40:36):
Of course, they do a thriving downtown with loads of
things to do literally year round. From one of a
kind shops, They've got boutiques, art galleries, museums, all kinds
of tours and as you can imagine, a lot with
all those national parks, a lot of outdoor activities, which
makes sense now the in upstate North South Carolina when
(40:57):
it comes to look like fall, Greenville really makes the
ideal based camp if you are a leaf peeper. With
their hikes and drives and all that they offer. Now,
when you come to Greenville, talk about a hidden gym,
you're going to want to stay at a place called
the Grand Bohemian Lodge. Wow, this is a massive a
(41:19):
state perched really just on top of a hill, on
top of the falls of the Reedy River. Now, from
here you can take trips out to Table Rock State
Park or I mentioned Jones Gap State Park before, fabulous
dose of nature. In both of these parks. In town,
you can admire some of the foliage with a picnic
(41:40):
at Falls Park. Maybe embark on a self guided brewery tour. Yes,
there are breweries in Greenville. Or you can rent a
bike from Reedy Rides and pedal along the Prisma Health
Swamp Rabbit Trail. Now, there's nothing really massively exciting about Greenville,
South Carolina, except the fact that they really are all
about reconnect their visitors with nature and the great outdoors.
(42:03):
It's relatively quiet, it's peaceful. It's just a great hidden
gem to escape the rest of the crazy world for
a spell. And to me, that sounds pretty darn wonderful.
Right now, this place that I told you about, the
Grand Bohemian Lodge, this is really what I would kind
of liken to the beautiful estates that surround built Moore
(42:30):
Village in Asheville, North Carolina. This is very much akin
to the places that you would find there. It's called
the Grand Bohemian Lodge. If you are able to look
this up on your computers while I'm talking to you
for today's show, this is a great place. It's also
I love this because it's also very drivable from here
(42:51):
in Virginia. This is certainly a place that you can
fly to. There is an airport in Greenville, South Carolina.
I have a lot of people who go there, but
you can also drive there.
Speaker 4 (43:03):
And as you look at Greenville and you look at
some of these other places, what's particularly interesting to me,
Terry's You've talked about places in different parts of the world,
but also different parts of just North America, and as
we think about fall season, everybody wants to be a
leaf peeper. As you said, you can move and you
could really create a wonderful fall adventure moving around the
(43:27):
country and following the leaves as they're moving into that
final part of the season, and also experiencing lots of
different cultures. When you get up into the northern part
of Canada and you are up what a couple hours
north of Vancouver, I think, oh yeah, up in the
northern part of Canada, all the way down to traditionally
the southern part of the United States and the Appalachian Mountains.
(43:50):
It's just a wonderful opportunity for people to experience fall
again and again and again and again, each with a
different flame.
Speaker 3 (44:00):
So sadly, we are coming close to the end of
all of this categories that I wanted to cover today
for fall foliage views, fewer crowds, stunning scenery, earth, wind,
and fire. This is the one, Chris, when you were
talking to me earlier when you mentioned what about that
wind part, Well, this one might fit into that category
(44:21):
really nicely, because this is one of the best destinations
for a warm getaway still in the fall. It breaks
a lot of people's hearts to see fall come because
they know that's the end of summer season. You know,
that's not the way I feel about it, but a
lot of people do. And if you're one of those people,
I get it. You know you're still seeking someplace warm,
(44:42):
sand and sun and fun and all that. So one
of the best destinations for a warm weather getaway is
one of my favorites. It's Bermuda. Now, this is a
destination where you can really trade cooler autumn temperatures for
the those warm Bermuda temperatures in the fall. The average
(45:04):
daily actually reaches anywhere in the mid eighties in September
and October. Now that's really optimal weather for relaxing on
Bermuda's iconic pink sand beaches. And yes, that is correct.
Bermuda really does have pink sand beaches, and they are beautiful.
And you know the reason that they're pink, it's because
(45:27):
they are pulverized coral. That's what makes the sand there
that pink, beautiful pink que Plus, from many East Coast
traveling hubs, it's less than a three hour plane ride
to this beautiful British Overseas territory, which is literally Chris
only about six hundred miles off the coast of North
Carolina from Washington, d C. It's only two hours in
(45:50):
the air to get to Bermuda, which is fabulous. I
mean to think that you could go from cold weather
to someplace nice in the mid eighties in less than
three hours time. You're there on a beautiful pink sand beach. Yes, please,
thank you, I think I will. Now let me tell
you something. It's all here folks, world class chefs. You've
(46:11):
got these indulgent spas, unforgettable adventures, beautiful artwork in Bermuda.
Also a lot of the stores that I typically saw
when I went to the UK in downtown London in Ireland,
these storefronts are actually you'll find them peppered throughout Hamilton
Street in downtown Bermuda, which is amazing. Now on the
(46:34):
water or in the city, from relaxing to partying, whatever
you're looking for, Bermuda really delivers everything. So that's why
it made it to the top of one of my
favorite places to go in the fall. Let's also chat
in just equip minute about the cuisine in Bermuda, if
we can hahuh la la fresh catch with a twist
(46:57):
into that a creative rum cocktail, savory, soul warming traditional
dishes steeped in the melting pot of Bermuda's rich heritage.
Oh my goodness. And that's really a blend of British, Portuguese,
African Caribbean and Native American influences is all there. It
all comes together on the island's culinary table. They have
(47:19):
a little bit of everything. And that's why people really
love Bermuda's because not only is it just such a
great atmosphere, but it's a great place to eat too,
And we love that, right, We talk about that a
lot here on the show. Chris, I know you enjoy that.
Any place you can go where you can get a
really unique meal, I mean something you can't get here
at home. It's always adds to the flavor of the destination,
(47:42):
I think. And sure you've had seafood, but have you
tasted fried wahoo on a fresh baked raisin bread topped
with coal, slow and hot sauce. Let's wahoo? I'm not
even sure, but it sounds amazing. Risk it's a fish. Yeah,
it's fish. That sounds amazing, it does, yeah, or sipped
(48:04):
on a fresh fish chowder infused with black rum, and
spicy cherry peppers. Sure I mean to tell you, or
indulged in low quat gold liqueur cake. When you get
to Bermuda, you're just gonna want to dig in and
explore all the deeper flavors of Bermuda. It's just a
two hour flight from the US East Coast, but it
(48:26):
tastes like a whole nother world away. Now, if you're
looking for a great place to stay, well, you really
have to look no further than a place called the
Rosewood Bermuda. Talk about luxury, It's classic but memorable. Accommodations
at Rosewood Bermuda offer some of the most refined comfort
(48:48):
and seaside styles in all of Bermuda. I think second
I had a tough one with this one, because the
best place to stay I've chosen is Rosewood Bermuda. But
another one of my favorites there has to be the
Saint Regis. I love the Saint Regis. There's butler service
for every room type. It doesn't matter if you come
(49:09):
in at an entry level room, the Saint Regis is
still going to offer you butler service. But if you
really want an elevated experience with high level luxury the
Rosewood Bermuda is all of that. Each one of the
eighty eight guest rooms and suites there includes a full
bath with a deep soaking tub. It's a beautiful thing,
(49:30):
fun natural finishes, that beautiful red mahogany wood that you
find in Bermuda. Full array of amenities to ensure that
you enjoy a comfortable stay, plus just great service and
additionally very important for today's multi generational traveling families, ocean
view suites here at Rosewood Bermuda. They offer two bedroom
(49:54):
floor plans with those spacious indoor and outdoor living areas,
a kitchen, a dining space together for families or small
travel parties up to four guests.
Speaker 1 (50:05):
So it's great.
Speaker 3 (50:06):
And if you really aren't interested in that kind of
upscaled luxury, but still you want to be treated nicely,
the Laurnette Pink Beach and the Hamilton Princess, both of
which are among the most popular accommodations on the island.
Speaker 1 (50:21):
So there you go, folks.
Speaker 3 (50:22):
We covered just about everything when it comes to great
places to go for fall. We covered the best fall foliage,
We covered the most romantic places to go, We covered
the northern lights, the best hidden gym destination and the
best destination for warm winds and getaways for fall. So
(50:43):
I think, Chris, think we covered the planet today.
Speaker 2 (50:47):
I think one of the areas we missed was Skyline Drive.
If you just need a Saturday away from your normal
hustle and bustle of your life, go up to Skyline
Drive in the fall and you want to do some
leaf people and get beautiful mountain views. And I mean,
what's better than our national park system.
Speaker 3 (51:06):
Everybody listening today agrees wholeheartedly with you, Chris. I actually
decided to make the Skyline Drive the top of the
list of places that I was going to venture to
at least a couple of weekends this year, and I've
already done that.
Speaker 1 (51:21):
I fully intend to go up there this fall. Harry,
you got any places that you want to go this
fall before the cold weather sets in? Yeah.
Speaker 4 (51:29):
I've got to throw in one plug for a place
that I was before I moved to Virginia, and that
is a beautiful state of New Hampshire. And one of
the nice trips you can take, also very easy trip
to take is take a train trip up to New Hampshire,
go visit the White Mountains, the White Mountain Hotel and
resort up there is just an extraordinary place. And if
you want to talk about being back into nature, you
(51:50):
want to see the fall leaves, you want to ride
a cog railway, that's yet another trip. And I guess
the point of this, Chris, is there's so many trips
Terry talked about. There's this kind of trip. There's so
many things you can do to enjoy what mother nature
has that earth, wind, and fire.
Speaker 2 (52:07):
Don't be trapped in this idea that you have to
take your vacations in the summer.
Speaker 1 (52:11):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (52:12):
You talk on the show all the time about you know,
going in the off season, getting more bang for your buck,
going on vacation at a place that you want to
go at a time you want to go, and if
that's in the fall so you can see leaves, or
you don't like the beach like me, you don't like
the heat and all the water, find somewhere fun this
fall to go.
Speaker 1 (52:32):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (52:33):
We've got so many people these days, Chris, that are
retired working from home. They can really vacation anytime they
want and work from wherever they want. Why not take
us up on some of these deals, especially that we
talk about The wishing Well is a great place for
you to start with your planning.
Speaker 2 (52:49):
We talked early in the show we had some hot deals.
There's always places that you can go on whether you
have a small budget or money's no odds. It's all
about the experience and you are an expert at finding
that location for your customers.
Speaker 3 (53:06):
We like to thank so Chris, and we would like
to invite all of our listeners to look us up
at the wishing Well. We're easy to find. We're located
at two forty three NEF Avenue in the Valley Center.
You can call us at five four oh nine oh
eight two three three three or look us up on
the web. We're at the Wishingwell dot biz.
Speaker 2 (53:25):
This has been a Life Less Ordinary the travel show
from your friends at the wishing Well at two forty
three nep Avenue in Harrisonburg. If you have any questions
on topics discussed today, please reach out to The wishing
Well online at the wishing Well top biz or five
four oh nine oh eight twenty three thirty three. Past
episodes are available on the iHeartRadio app. And we'll see
you again next Saturday morning at ten for a Life
(53:47):
Less Ordinary from the wishing well
This is a Lifeless Ordinary.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
It's a travel show and podcasts from your friends at
the wishing Well two forty three f avenue in harsmerg
and online at the wishing Well dot this.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
The wishing Well is your ultimate.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Luxury concierge, travel agency and a Lifeless Ordinary is a
travel show and podcast hosted by Terry Dean, bringing her
over forty years of experience in the travel industry to
help guide you to great experiences in your travel, whether
it be around the block, around the country, or around
the world.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Let's bring in Terry Dean.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Say hello, hey, Chris, how are you this wonderful Saturday morning.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
I'm doing well. I appreciate yes, and it's very kind.
How's your week?
Speaker 3 (00:34):
You know, not bad, not bad, little rainy to start with.
I know we had a little much needed rain. Not
everybody was completely thrilled about it, but I think you
might have been.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Well.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, we threw some grass seed around the yard last
week and it sprouted with all the rain we had
earlier in the week. And shockingly, it looks like we
knew what we were doing because the yard is green again.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Green is a pretty color.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Yeah, I feel bad for our farmers though they kind
of rough year and they really needed the rain.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
But maybe just a little too late for that.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
They're saying a day late and a dollar short, but
you know what, we'll take it even still.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Yeah, well we we get to this Saturday morning. This
is part of the show where we always talk about,
you know, big travel news, what's happening in the world
of tourism and travel.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
It's always busy. I mean, there's always more news than
what we can cover here on the show. But I
have asked Harry to kind of limit it to some
of the top news stories this week, So Harry, if
you want, well, I didn't even say hi to Harry. Oh,
well you can do that, do that.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Well, Hi, Chris, I'm just here, so sorry, Harry. Hey,
all's good. All's good.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
You know, we're so busy and have so much to
talk about, and I want to get into the news
because one of the things that I want to talk
about this morning is what's going on with travel. And
I've pulled some statistics looking at what's going on between
twenty three twenty four, and the trend just continues. People
are traveling. The twenty four figures for the first half
(02:03):
of the year are up over twenty three by more
than fourteen percent. And also looking ahead, Chris, what's happening
for twenty five twenty six, We're seeing sales are already
thirty eight percent above what they were this year. So
people are not slowing down, they're moving. We're real excited
about that. And they're looking at some of the top destinations,
(02:25):
and the ones on the list probably would not surprise
you a whole lot. One we've talked about a lot
are Italy, France, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Spain.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Of course.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
One of the areas that was a little bit of
a surprise, And Terry and I were talking about this earlier,
looking at year to year growth of a destination. The
one that really surprised me is Canada. Canada sales are
up one hundred and sixty eight percent.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Okay over last year. You can blame Terry for that,
or she can take credit for it. Whichever way you want.
I'm going to take credit. She she talked about her
Canada trip and it was I was like, Yes, put
me on a flight tomorrow, let's go.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
Yeah. What they call they call those people on the internet,
what are you?
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Influence? Influencer? Definitely an influencer. Tris maybe that's it. I mean,
terry tip credit, I'm taking it.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
Yeah, there you go. So one of the other places
where sales were up a lot was Japan. A lot
of people are going to Japan. And one of the
other parts of the survey that I took away, uh
information on is that some places are actually getting a
little bit less popular and some of the places that
heaven popular are lowering in popularity because people, I think
(03:44):
are just getting tired. And whilst Italy is still a
very popular destination, it's trending down a little bit, is
what the sales said here. The other thing that was
interesting is ultra Lux travel is up, and we've talked
about that. I mean, that's the theme of the show,
is that it is ultra lux travel. We're talking about
expedition cruises, exotic destinations, Fiji, Maldives, Thailand, and African safaris.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Those are all up.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
So as we look at the news, those are big
things that we're seeing in there. One of the other ones,
people are not only headed to those warm destinations, but
a new word coolcations. Alaska, Please, Alaska's on there. In
Northern Europe, Canada, all of those are up. Scandinavia. Scandinavia
(04:31):
is not on my list, but I would say it
should be on the.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
List absolutely for sure. Switzerland.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Yeah, just this week I had people traveling to Switzerland.
Actually two groups of people came in this week wanting
to travel to Switzerland, one of my favorite destinations, especially
going back to one of the shows we did not
too long ago talking about train travel. What a way
to do Switzerland in skydiving and skydiving, Yeah, there you go.
(04:57):
So that's one of the big things. And travel is
just that increase keeps going on and on. Congress is
interested in travel, and with all the incidents we've talked
about this over the last couple weeks at airports and
with air traffic control and airlines, Congress has gotten interested
in this too, and they are looking at this whole
(05:19):
area of cybersecurity and trying to figure out what airlines
need to do, what the governments around the world need
to do, to make investments in resilient and redundant information
technology systems so that we don't have these kinds of
travel interruptions that just throw chaos into the system. Because
an interruption, an interruption anywhere just ripples down the stream
(05:43):
and causes problems all day long, all week long. SeaTac
Airport is one of the big ones that they talked
about in there, and we just got to keep looking
looking at that. And Congress is looking at taking some
action to require some changes to take care of cybersecurity.
(06:03):
One of the other things that I saw this week
in news is looking at some of the traffic in Alaska.
Juno had record breaking traffic this last year, and they
are starting to say we need to slow the arrival
of cruise ships into Alaska. You mentioned Alaska earlier one
of my favorite destinations too. But we're going to see
(06:26):
more and more of what we talked about happening over
in Italy and Venice with the kind of restrictions on travel,
restrictions on visitors. We might see some of that in Alaska.
So that's one of the things that we are looking
at and going to be watching as we move forward.
So those are some of the big things in the
news this week.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
Thank you, Harry Terry. Do we have hot deals this week?
We absolutely do, Chris. I got some great deals that
floated across my desk this week, and I actually think
anytime a deal rolls across my desk and it's under
a thousand for seven eight day trip including airfare. That's
very worthwhile to talk about here on a Life Less Ordinary,
(07:09):
because it's not too ordinary to find deals like that.
So one of the first ones on my list today
is a seven day Azores vacation. Now, in case you're
not familiar with where the Azores are located, they are
in the mountainous regions of Portugal. Okay, you would actually
fly into Ponta Delgada for this particular trip, and these
(07:34):
are more independent type trips, not escorted, So your airfare
is going to be included, a hotel for the duration
of your trip, breakfast every day. But then aside from that,
you get to choose independently what you want to do
in these localities. So a seven day Azores vacation again
(07:54):
including air You ready for this, Chris five hundred and
ninety nine dollars per person five ninety nine. Now, there
are specific dates for that to apply, so it's going
to be off season rates that are going to apply.
High season will not, So just so you know that
if you are one of those people who can go
anytime anywhere, that's a deal that would probably interest you.
(08:19):
The next destination very similar setup. It's an independent vacation
six days round trip airs included hotel in no less
than one of my favorite cities in the entire planet, Madrid, Spain,
and for a six day air inclusive vacation with hotel
breakfast every day six ninety nine per person for that
(08:41):
great deal. And then we're going to move on over
in Spain to Barcelona, another great independent deal for a
six day vacation. Of course you're air included, you know,
the Drill hotel with breakfast seven forty nine for a
six day vacation.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
There.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
I've got a combo tour that I want to talk
to you about, an eight day Madrid and Barcelona together
by rail, so you would connect to these two cities
by Spanish rail. That's included in the price of your
ticket airline round trip hotels in three nights in Madrid,
three nights in Barcelona again with breakfast none to ninety
(09:20):
nine per person. And finally we've got an eight day
Paris in Barcelona. This is a very popular combination that
I see your round trip air three nights in Paris
with breakfast, three nights in Barcelona with breakfast. So as
you think about these deals, these are all including one
meal of the day for you, and that means that
(09:40):
in Europe, because you're on a different time zone anyway,
maybe one extra meal is all you're going to need
that day, eat a late lunch or whatever, and then
turn in early. But these deals are great, all of them.
Every single one of these I mentioned under one hundred
dollars I'm sorry, under one thousand dollars per person. Begar
part the next deal that I have. And again, anytime
(10:02):
I think we find deals that include free airfare or
at least even two for one airfare, that's worthy of
a mention. Here on a lifeless ordinary, I've got one
of our preferred vendors that's offering companions fly free when
you purchase one airline ticket to some of our popular destinations,
(10:24):
which are Dublin, Ireland and even some destinations in Scotland.
Combination tours are available, so you've got the Scottish Claire
and castles, you've got a combination of the Scottish Highlands
and Irish dreams. All of these are going to include
the companion flies free when you purchase one airfare. So
(10:46):
that's a great deal when we're thinking about airfare these days.
Just so you know, folks, typical round trip airfare to
Europe right now is roughly thirteen to fifteen hundred dollars
round trip in economy. Yeah, that is a big ouch.
And so if you're able to get that included or
find deals like I just mentioned first under one thousand
(11:07):
dollars per person, let me tell you something. Those are
deals you probably want to jump on if you are
interested in flying somewhere and going somewhere on the cheap
or something that's inexpensive. The last thing that I wanted
to mention today, this is big in my mama's house.
Let me tell you is the MLB. And if you
(11:28):
don't know what I'm talking about, that's the Major League Baseball.
There are some matchups across the country going on, and
right now you can actually land some tickets for their
home games. New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, and
the San Francisco Giants. Their home games are running about
(11:48):
fifteen dollars in up for games. So if you're interested
in that, obviously there's some great city tours there to
be had as well. I think if you give us
a call. We could hook you up with some of those.
I can give you advice too, I'm sure you can.
What might that be, Chris.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
I mean, that's what I did for a vacation one
year exactly that I traveled. I went to Yankee Stadium,
I went to Tiger Stamen Detroit, I don't remember what
it's called, all American Ballpark's at Cincinnati, Saint Louis Bush Stadium.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Went to all of them in a week's time. That's great.
Went to I think it was six seven baseball games
over the course of nine days and had a blast.
Makes for a great vacation these.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
You know, if baseball isn't really your thing, go to anyway,
sit in the stadium, get a hot dog, get a beer,
and just enjoy watching people. Yeah, it is such a
great way to spend a few hours out of a
trip somewhere is to go to a baseball stadium.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
And just you know, my dad passed about sixteen years ago,
and it was one of my mom and dad's favorite
pastimes was to watch the Baltimore Orioles on TV, and
whenever they got a chance, they would go actually to
the games. To this day, my brother every Christmas still
gets my mom tickets to a Baltimore Orioles home game
at some time during the season. And I promise you,
(13:10):
if you go right now to my mom's house anytime
during baseball season, you are going to be watching and
have to wait for commercials to talk the Baltimore Orioles
play their games. I don't know how they're doing this year,
but I guarantee you she could tell you.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
So our show today has the title alone, is interesting,
isn't it. It's called earth Wind and Fire. It is September, huh,
which we've got about a week left.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
In Yeah, we do.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
And I know it's not about the band or the song.
So I'm really curious what we're getting into next.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
So I really wanted to focus on some of the
best fall vacations, Chris, where you can see fall foliage.
I wanted to let people know where they're going to
maybe find some fewer crowds, stunning scenery. And that's all
involved in what I decided to entitle to earth Wind
and Fire.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
We'll get into that next year.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
On a Life Less Ordinary, Protect your vacation investment with
guidance from a travel professional, The Wishing Well knows travel
and help you avoid pitfalls that can spoil your hard
earned vacation. We'll plan your trip and have you back
as you travel. All of this without support or so
called convenience fees. We're on the web at the Wishingwell
dot biz or call us at five four zero nine
(14:25):
zero eight two three three three has five four zero
nine zero eight two three three three. The wishing Well
really does make dreams come true.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Yeah, welcome back to a life less ordinary. This is
the travel showing podcast from your friends at the wishing Well.
Find them on f Avenue in Harrisonburg, online at the
wishing Well dot biz, or give them a call at
five four nine twenty three thirty three. Terry, what's the
first line of this song? You know it gets stuck
in your head. You can't help it.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
Do you remember the twenty first night of September and
today is the twenty first of September.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Earth Wind and Fire, by the way, because we have
planned that any better. I think you planned it perfectly.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
And you know, people right now are hating on me
because they're like, I cannot get that song out of
my head. But really it's just such a great song
and it's a great song, I think, especially to sort
of introduce fall and the false season. If you listen
to that song, it just to me it sounds like
the crisp leaves and the weather of fall.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
I love that song.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
I love earth, wind and fire, and I love that
we are actually focusing all the attention on that today
because fall is my favorite time of year. I can
tell it is. It's mine too.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
I really get excited about fall because I get a
lot more energy. You know, after the summer hot summer
is over. I feel like I can breathe more. I
love to be outside. I hate being cooped up, and
that's what winter does to me. And the hot, hot,
hot summer, I have to stay in the air conditioning,
and in the winter I have to stay in the warmth.
(16:02):
But in the fall and in the spring, I'm a
whole different person.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
So I love fall because it is ushering in cooler weather.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Absolutely, I love sweatshirt season, football season.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
And where you and I part ways is I love
winter as much as I love fall. I can work
out in the yard all winter, except for when it
gets down to like five degrees. I don't wear a
coat and took it's to be about twenty Okay. I
know some folks like and then I love spring just
as much.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Yeah, right up until that first day that it's sort
of rainy and humid and you go, oh, summer's coming.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
Yeah, exactly, it's a warning signal, it is. Yeah, but
we are going to have some fun today. And I've
noticed lately, honestly, leaves actually appear to be changing a
little quicker than in previous seasons. This year, I've noticed that,
I mean even here in the town of Hersonburg where
we're broadcasting today from I notice there's some trees that
(16:58):
are bright, bright red and orange, and that surprised me really.
And for those that are out there seeking some enjoyable
time away, and I mean away from the normal touristy crowds,
some of the best foliage views and some stunning scenery.
I actually crafted today's show just for you, well me too,
(17:20):
but for you too. But we always talk about how
summer goes hand in hand with travel, but fall might
be the.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Best time to take a vacation.
Speaker 3 (17:30):
And I'm going to be sharing with you today some
of the very best places to experience all of those
things that we love. But I think we can agree
that it's things like cooler temperatures. Harry mentioned calcations earlier
in today's news fewer tourists that certainly make destinations like
New York City and Maui, Hawaii ideal for autumn getaways
(17:51):
and outdoor adventures can certainly be found near Jackson, Hawayoming.
We've actually talked about that here on the show just recently.
Flag Staff, Arizona all close to some of the country's
best national parks. But I want to say, whether you
want to see the leaves of Japan maple leaves change
in their home country, or you think you might want
(18:12):
to just head to a sunny island to maybe squeeze
in a few more beach days before winter. I've rounded
up the best fall vacations for every type of traveler
here today, and today's show is all about the earth,
wind and fiery colors of our beautiful planet, and truly
(18:33):
today is all about a life less ordinary, right, So
I want you to stay with us as we are
going to explore the best destination for fall foliage, the
best destination for a romantic escape, the best destination Chris
for northern lights. That one's going to be interesting, the
(18:53):
most underrated hidden gem destination, and the best destination for
a warm get away. Now I want to roll into
these individually, because those are the categories that we're going
to be taking a look at together today on the show.
But our best destination for fall foliage, I want to
(19:14):
ask you if you have any guesses about that. And
this is what this is not me saying this, okay,
this is what some of the experts who analyze this
information actually say.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
My initial response would be anywhere up in New England,
but then you mentioned Japan. Now I want to go
to Japan and watch the Japanese maples turn.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
You are one hundred percent correct. Kyoto, Japan is the
best destination for fall foliage, and actually, to Harry's news earlier,
Japan is beguning to be one of the most highly
requested destinations. There's a lot of reasons for that. But
autumn in Kyoto may be overshadowed by the more touristy
(19:58):
cherry blossom season. We'll all know about that, but the
city is truly at its shining peak during one of
the best fall foliage seasons in the world. Now, the
Japanese maples, there frame a lot of those famous temples
that we've seen in the Pagodas, they line their urban
streets just really dousing the entire downtown area with this
(20:23):
bright crimson color. It's a tradition for temples across the
city to show off they're colorful trees with nightly lights.
In November, which is their peak of fall foliage season.
We get that a little bit earlier, and you absolutely
don't want to miss the spectacle at Toji Temple, which
is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There it's stunningly beautiful.
(20:46):
The colors are especially stunning on the hillsides of popular
site seeing district in Kyoto in its bamboo forest.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
And if you're.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
Hoping for a fully immersive nature retreat here, I would
courage you to take a look at Mooney Kyoto. This
is a small luxury hotel of the world. It is
absolutely gorgeous, but there's something so compelling about it. It's
i would say, kind of a minimalistic hotel where there's
(21:16):
not a lot inside the room, but it's lovely. It's
a retreat really and it's very zen like you could
imagine that it would be. It's in Kyoto, Japan, so
there's that zen quality of the hotel, but the landscaping
around it is just stunning. They've got kind of a
modern appearance. They make use of a lot of natural
(21:36):
materials like wooden stone to create this sense of warmth
and tranquiquility, and that blends just seamlessly into their environment.
They've got generous sized guest rooms here with large windows,
so you can really kind of connect with the outside world.
And it's got a fusion of that Eastern and Western luxury,
(22:00):
like the B and B Italian furniture. I mean, a
lot of people who have been there and stayed there said,
you know, it looks a little bit like it could
be Italian furniture, but it's not. They have this, which
I think is amazing, an underfloor radiant heat and cooling system,
so seamlessly and without too much fanfare in the room,
(22:21):
you get this natural cooling and heating of the room
without anything to sort of give it away tho thermostats,
nothing like that.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
It's all radiant.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
And original bath amenities made from Kyoto's famous Misu yuzu
citron and cedar that they use within all of their
products in the bathrooms there. Japan is quickly becoming one
of the most sought after vacation destinations, as are many
other exotic destinations, so you want to be sure to
(22:55):
put this one on your list. I will tell you
many years ago I traveled to Japan. I may have
told you this Chris off Air, but I'd love to
share this with our listeners today. It was a life
changing experience for me. I'll never forget standing in Japan
and actually in Tokyo, at the top of the hill
(23:15):
called Rapungi, and I was there and looked down the
hill and it was like just this giant carpet of black,
which of course was the black, dark hair of all
the Japanese people. It was so crowded, literally shoulder to shoulder,
but it was completely quiet. It was the most peaceful
(23:36):
and tranquil place I'd ever been with that many people
before in my entire life. And I thought, Man, if
we could just exist in a world where we could
enjoy that kind of peace and that kind of togetherness
all together as one. It was an amazing, beautiful site.
And I do I really encourage people put Japan if
(23:59):
you you have not put that on your list of
amazing places to travel to, and.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
One of the things that's really interesting to me about
Japan and about fall and think about trees and changing.
We always think of maple trees here in North America.
In Japan, the ginko trees change colors, and they're supposed
to be especially beautiful too. I'd really like to see.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
That ginkgo trees have special meaning for and I think
there's a meaning about longevity and life and love that
are connected to the gink leaf actually on the tree.
You'll see it in a lot of decor.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
We have a ginkgo tree right outside the building here,
and my wife picked one of the leaves up last
fall and gave it to me sitting in my office.
I think so, I think that's probably why she did that.
I think so probably too. But really and truly, Japan should,
as I said, be at the top of anybody's list
of places to go Kyoto. If you're interested in the fall,
(24:54):
you won't find a more beautiful fall foliage display.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
Just know this.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
Kyoto is very busy in the fall. It is there
one of their peak seasons of the year. So that
would be something you would want to actually give us
a call about. We'd love to be able to put
something together for you to be able to experience that
most amazing city and that most amazing site. Moving on
through our list today, I did tell you that we
(25:19):
were going to talk about the best destination for a
romantic escape in the fall, and Chris, I'm going to
throw it back to you again. Do you have any
ideas where this might take us?
Speaker 1 (25:33):
I got lucky on the Japan Paris.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
Paris would be a great guess. And actually, you know,
I wouldn't say you probably venture too far off the mark.
That might be number two. But coming in at number
one is Sonoma, California.
Speaker 5 (25:49):
Interesting.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Yeah, fall in California's wine country is magical, and yes
it is very very romantic. You can actually Tourma's famous
vineyards and wineries while they are just cloaked in these
beautiful colors of red and orange and yellow foliage. And honestly,
(26:10):
I got to tell you that sounds a lot like
Virginia to me, you know, But Sonoma took the top spot.
Who am I to argue with that? But while the
wineries can seem overwhelming in number, it's very hard to
go wrong in Sonoma. I had to share one of
my favorites with you. Of course, and that would be
a place called Flowers Vineyards and Winery. And I chose
(26:32):
that because for a lot of people who don't know
who listen to us here on a life less ordinary,
The wishing Well, the agency that Harry and I own,
is also an event and floral boutique, and so I
had to choose for a romantic destination. Of course, a
winery called Flowers Vineyards and Winery and House of Flowers
(26:52):
is one of those places that's just bursting with inspiration
at every turn. Actually, I encourage you to go to
their website right now if you can, and you're listening
to me and you've got a computer in front of you,
you want to go to Flowers Winery dot com. You
will understand very quickly while I point to this location,
(27:14):
to this venue, to this wanery as one of the
most romantic destinations in Sonoma, California, it is utterly breathtaking.
I remember when I was putting the show together the
other day in the office and I pulled this up
on the website and I said, Harry, come over here.
You have to see this place. It is absolutely stunningly gorgeous.
(27:37):
It absolutely is.
Speaker 4 (27:38):
And when you combine what mother nature's done out there
with what California is famous for. You mentioned wines already,
but also the culinary experience that you get out there
in many parts of California, the Old Napple Valley area
absolutely to the wine country region. It's just a fantastic place.
And it's also very easy to get to places. And
(27:58):
also you don't need a passport exactly. The things we'd
like to mention on the show about traveling a lot
of places you can go. There are magnificent places, and
you don't need a passport exactly.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
And the gardens around this place, the interior design, the architecture,
and the light. It's just a place for daydreaming. I
call it a living Pinterest board, if you will. The
Sonoma Coast Wanery high elevation, pino noirs and the chardonnais
are produced organically and biodynamically by a winemaker there called
(28:30):
chantal Fourthun who harnesses the grapes, coastal freshness, the minerality
and the nuance paired perfectly with the House of Flowers
culinary team and this picturesque Waneri's generous tastings are an
absolute must, and it's just a perfect thing for couples
(28:51):
I mean absolutely. I mean one, beauty of great weather.
All of that really goes hand in hand for romance,
I think. Now. Another great activity to engage in in
Sonoma is to take a ride on the open air
Sonoma Valley one trolley, just a cute little thing. When
you're in Sonoma, you can go up and down and
(29:11):
do some sight seeing. On when you need a break
from sipping Veno, you can kind of go for an
easy hike two on the East Trail at Bordega Head
for some absolutely beautiful sweeping ocean and bay views. And
then afterwards you can kind of sit back and refuel
with some fresh seafood at the property. And of course
(29:31):
you can need a great place to stay. My choice
is very clear. I am a huge, huge fan of
the Montage properties. The one that I chose for the
Sonoma area is Montage offering a luxurious stay, plenty of
opportunities to kind of immerse yourself in those fall colors
that I talked about earlier, with outdoor yoga classes, miles
(29:55):
and miles of hiking trails, and guided e bike tours.
Completing Sonoma as as I said, one of the most
romantic destinations in the world, for fall. To be sure,
have you ever been out to California, Chris, I'm not.
This is a place that I think you and your
wife would really enjoy. As Harry mentioned, it's just a
(30:18):
short plane ride away. Direct NonStop flights are available into
the Napa area and a beautiful place to stay. Montage
Haroldsburg is an absolutely gorgeous, luxurious place and you're right
there with all of that beauty. You know, that's a
second honeymoon for sure.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
Yeah, it absolutely is.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
Yeah, the California image that a lot of people have
in mind, or the big cities you talk about San Diego,
San Francisco, Los Angeles, but when you get to that
northern part of California that Terry's talking about, it is
it's like a different state. It's the difference between New
York State and New York City here on the East coast.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Yeah, and remember this exactly, And remember one of the
second tiers of importance for today's show was not just
the foliage, but that certainly would be beautiful there, but
also helping our listeners find places where they can find
fewer crowds. And to your point here, that's exactly what
Sonoma represents as opposed to NAPA as opposed to some
(31:19):
of the other more populated areas of California where the
wine country is king. You know, Sonoma is really more
laid back in that.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:28):
Now, the next area that we want to be going
to and heading to is going to take us to
the best destination for northern lights.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Let's do that next here on a Life Less Ordinary.
Speaker 4 (31:39):
Who would think of driving off to a new destination
without guidance from Google to Syria. Let the Wishing World
guide your next travel experience.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
Travel the world as you enjoy the very.
Speaker 4 (31:49):
Best destinations and all they offer at the best prices.
Our mobile travel app keeps your vacation on track and
keeps you connected with our team of experts for help.
If you need it, call us at five four zero
zero nine zero eight two thirty three three, stop by
two forty three nef Avenue, or visit us at the
Wishingwell dot bizz.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
And welcome back to a Life Less Ordinary. Every Saturday morning,
at this time, we discussed travel on this podcast and
radio show with our friends from the Wishing Well. You
can find them on neph Avenue and Harrisonburg. They're online
at the Wishingwell dot Biz or you can give them
a call at five four oh nine, eight twenty three
(32:28):
thirty three. And we're here this morning with Terry and Harry.
Our show is entitled Earth, Wind and Fire September, and
we have talked about a lot of fiery color in
the fall and a lot of other fall travel locations.
You tease us with Northern Lights.
Speaker 3 (32:44):
I did, and I love today's show because I like
to think this is like a sort of throwing a
blanket over all things fall, fall foliage views where you
can see pretty colors, the romance that fall has, where
people can go maybe experience fewer crowds because it's not
peak season in many cases in a lot of areas
(33:06):
that we're talking about, and you can still see all
of that stunning scenery that we just love. I did
talk about the best destination for the Northern Lights before
we took our break, Chris, and I challenged you with
what do you think this destination is?
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Somewhere in Canada?
Speaker 3 (33:29):
That's good? Actually, you're very good, Harry. Do you have
a guess?
Speaker 4 (33:33):
Well, I thought that Canada is a great guest too,
and anywhere in the tip top of North America.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
Well, you're both right.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
Because we are going to a place very probably very
few people have ever heard of called yellow Knife, Canada.
And again, you want to talk about fewer crowds, this
is definitely the place where they aren't. Yellow Knife is
often described as one of the best places in the
world to see the northern lights, but it's so much
(34:04):
more than that. As a matter of fact, I was astounded,
you guys, to learn that yellow Knife, the capital of
the Northwest Territories, is an isolated mining town built on
gold and now it's sustained by diamonds, and it's an
outpost of civilization surrounded by a vast, austere landscape of
(34:28):
rock and tundra and water, most notably the enormous Great
Slave Lake, on whose shure the city is built. So
that gives you some kind of perspective as to where
we are, what this town is all about. And the
magical and elusive Aurora borealis is easier to see dancing
across their sky from mid November to April than in
(34:52):
any other place. So if you want to head north
to the only city in Canada's Northwest Territories at the
tail end to fall to catch this super celestial phenomenon,
and if you get a little thirsty, well, short autumn
days are easily filled here with craft brews from the
(35:12):
NWT Brewing Company. Dog sledding adventures are very popular here
and other snow activities, and you could probably imagine it
gets much colder there, earlier, snows fall quicker there than
they do in other areas that are more southern, So
you're going to be able to experience and enjoy some
(35:33):
of that dog sledding and other snow activities much earlier
than you can in other places.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
Sounds like I might actually want to wear a coat.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
You might, But then again, we both know how you
love the winter, so I'm not sure I think short's weather,
but I really do think you would enjoy it, Chris.
But everybody knows that if you are in fact headed
to Yellowknife, Canada, you're definitely on a mission to see
the northern lights. And one of the best places to
accomplish this is a place that I found called Aurora Village. Now,
(36:04):
while they don't offer accommodations at Aurora Village itself, there's
a reason why they call it a village. They have
recreated a traditional village environment here where people can come
together to enjoy the surroundings. With twenty one white teepees
that dot the perimeter by this private lake, every visitor
has a place to call quote unquote home. It's complete
(36:27):
with a warm wood stove and your choice of hot drinks.
That sounds fun, and while northern lights and cold nights
go together, it's part of what makes their environment so spectacular.
You don't have to be uncomfortable. They don't want you
to be uncomfortable. They actually will. This is so funny.
Rent you all the winter clothing you need, and their
facilities even include heated seats and washrooms, everything necessary for
(36:52):
an amazing experience fun. It really does, and there's some
great places where you can actually partner with the Aurora
A Village if you're looking for a total package to
complete your stay with hotel, accommodations and some amenities to boot. So,
if it's the Northern Lights, if that's on your list,
(37:12):
your bucket list of things to do and you want
to know you're gonna see them, the folks that aroar
a Village are the folks to talk to and to
deal with. If you you and your family want to go.
Those white teepees sound like a lot of fun, I think.
So how do you get there? Terry checking what the
airport is? What airport would you fly into, Chris to
(37:33):
go to yellow Knife, Canada?
Speaker 1 (37:35):
I have no idea.
Speaker 4 (37:36):
Well, yes, just intuitively you're going to here's a clue,
yellow Knife, Canada, the.
Speaker 6 (37:42):
Yellow airport there you go. Yeah, the yellow Knife Airport,
that's where you're gonna fly into. But what a fun
thing to do, you know. And these are some things
that really our fall season becomes all about. Are some
of these great phenomenons we see that with the changing
of the leaves on the trees. But man, and when
you can look up in the sky and you can
see a changing landscape up there as well, that's dreams.
(38:06):
That's when dreams come true.
Speaker 3 (38:07):
You know.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
That's on my bucket list.
Speaker 3 (38:10):
Yeah it is. I know here recently that we were
told by some of our weather folks that the Aurora
borealis could be seen from here in Virginia. Sadly I
was not awake.
Speaker 2 (38:23):
I had some friends who posted pictures on Facebook up
in the Broadway area. It looks like they got to
see it better than we did here. But yeah, all
I saw was the inside of my eyes.
Speaker 3 (38:31):
Yea. And most recently, some of our clients just returned
from Alaska and Chris, they brought back some of the
most beautiful pictures of the Aurora Borealis I have ever
seen in my entire life. It was just it looked
like a modern oil painting. Really, the colors were just vibrant.
So if you're interested in the northern lights, don't forget
(38:56):
yellow Knife, Canada. That's a place that you're going to
want to definitely put on your boat list. If nothing else, good, Lord,
go to mind some gold and maybe diamonds, you know,
I mean, if that's the second most great feature of Yellowknife, Canada. Now,
our next travels are going to take us moving on
to the most underrated hidden gem destination. This one didn't
(39:18):
surprise me very much, but it's one that was very
unlikely to come to my mind. I'm not sure if
you have any guesses about this, but I'll give you
a little hint. It's in our southern region of the
United States. Anybody have any guesses either one of you guys. No, So, Greenville,
South Carolina takes this award as the most underrated hidden
(39:40):
Gem destination. Why exactly, I'm calling Greenville South Carolina the
most underrated, hinting gym. Well, it's largely due to all
of the things that I'm going to bet you never
knew about this typical southern town. It's actually nestled up
against the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the
heart of South Carolina's what they call upcountry, not the
(40:01):
low country, but the upcountry. And some of the state's
best state parks are nearby, including Paris Mountain, Jones Gap,
and Caesar's Head. And you're going to find Greenville situated
just about halfway between Charlotte, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia.
So if you're unfamiliar with where Greenville, South Carolina is,
(40:22):
and I know a lot of people are, they just
don't know. They go, yeah, I know, it's in the
South somewhere, But there's where it is, folks. It's halfway
between Charlotte and Atlanta. And in Greenville, they just have
this really friendly vibe as you could probably imagine.
Speaker 1 (40:35):
They're Southerners.
Speaker 3 (40:36):
Of course, they do a thriving downtown with loads of
things to do literally year round. From one of a
kind shops, They've got boutiques, art galleries, museums, all kinds
of tours and as you can imagine, a lot with
all those national parks, a lot of outdoor activities, which
makes sense now the in upstate North South Carolina when
(40:57):
it comes to look like fall, Greenville really makes the
ideal based camp if you are a leaf peeper. With
their hikes and drives and all that they offer. Now,
when you come to Greenville, talk about a hidden gym,
you're going to want to stay at a place called
the Grand Bohemian Lodge. Wow, this is a massive a
(41:19):
state perched really just on top of a hill, on
top of the falls of the Reedy River. Now, from
here you can take trips out to Table Rock State
Park or I mentioned Jones Gap State Park before, fabulous
dose of nature. In both of these parks. In town,
you can admire some of the foliage with a picnic
(41:40):
at Falls Park. Maybe embark on a self guided brewery tour. Yes,
there are breweries in Greenville. Or you can rent a
bike from Reedy Rides and pedal along the Prisma Health
Swamp Rabbit Trail. Now, there's nothing really massively exciting about Greenville,
South Carolina, except the fact that they really are all
about reconnect their visitors with nature and the great outdoors.
(42:03):
It's relatively quiet, it's peaceful. It's just a great hidden
gem to escape the rest of the crazy world for
a spell. And to me, that sounds pretty darn wonderful.
Right now, this place that I told you about, the
Grand Bohemian Lodge, this is really what I would kind
of liken to the beautiful estates that surround built Moore
(42:30):
Village in Asheville, North Carolina. This is very much akin
to the places that you would find there. It's called
the Grand Bohemian Lodge. If you are able to look
this up on your computers while I'm talking to you
for today's show, this is a great place. It's also
I love this because it's also very drivable from here
(42:51):
in Virginia. This is certainly a place that you can
fly to. There is an airport in Greenville, South Carolina.
I have a lot of people who go there, but
you can also drive there.
Speaker 4 (43:03):
And as you look at Greenville and you look at
some of these other places, what's particularly interesting to me,
Terry's You've talked about places in different parts of the world,
but also different parts of just North America, and as
we think about fall season, everybody wants to be a
leaf peeper. As you said, you can move and you
could really create a wonderful fall adventure moving around the
(43:27):
country and following the leaves as they're moving into that
final part of the season, and also experiencing lots of
different cultures. When you get up into the northern part
of Canada and you are up what a couple hours
north of Vancouver, I think, oh yeah, up in the
northern part of Canada, all the way down to traditionally
the southern part of the United States and the Appalachian Mountains.
(43:50):
It's just a wonderful opportunity for people to experience fall
again and again and again and again, each with a
different flame.
Speaker 3 (44:00):
So sadly, we are coming close to the end of
all of this categories that I wanted to cover today
for fall foliage views, fewer crowds, stunning scenery, earth, wind,
and fire. This is the one, Chris, when you were
talking to me earlier when you mentioned what about that
wind part, Well, this one might fit into that category
(44:21):
really nicely, because this is one of the best destinations
for a warm getaway still in the fall. It breaks
a lot of people's hearts to see fall come because
they know that's the end of summer season. You know,
that's not the way I feel about it, but a
lot of people do. And if you're one of those people,
I get it. You know you're still seeking someplace warm,
(44:42):
sand and sun and fun and all that. So one
of the best destinations for a warm weather getaway is
one of my favorites. It's Bermuda. Now, this is a
destination where you can really trade cooler autumn temperatures for
the those warm Bermuda temperatures in the fall. The average
(45:04):
daily actually reaches anywhere in the mid eighties in September
and October. Now that's really optimal weather for relaxing on
Bermuda's iconic pink sand beaches. And yes, that is correct.
Bermuda really does have pink sand beaches, and they are beautiful.
And you know the reason that they're pink, it's because
(45:27):
they are pulverized coral. That's what makes the sand there
that pink, beautiful pink que Plus, from many East Coast
traveling hubs, it's less than a three hour plane ride
to this beautiful British Overseas territory, which is literally Chris
only about six hundred miles off the coast of North
Carolina from Washington, d C. It's only two hours in
(45:50):
the air to get to Bermuda, which is fabulous. I
mean to think that you could go from cold weather
to someplace nice in the mid eighties in less than
three hours time. You're there on a beautiful pink sand beach. Yes, please,
thank you, I think I will. Now let me tell
you something. It's all here folks, world class chefs. You've
(46:11):
got these indulgent spas, unforgettable adventures, beautiful artwork in Bermuda.
Also a lot of the stores that I typically saw
when I went to the UK in downtown London in Ireland,
these storefronts are actually you'll find them peppered throughout Hamilton
Street in downtown Bermuda, which is amazing. Now on the
(46:34):
water or in the city, from relaxing to partying, whatever
you're looking for, Bermuda really delivers everything. So that's why
it made it to the top of one of my
favorite places to go in the fall. Let's also chat
in just equip minute about the cuisine in Bermuda, if
we can hahuh la la fresh catch with a twist
(46:57):
into that a creative rum cocktail, savory, soul warming traditional
dishes steeped in the melting pot of Bermuda's rich heritage.
Oh my goodness. And that's really a blend of British, Portuguese,
African Caribbean and Native American influences is all there. It
all comes together on the island's culinary table. They have
(47:19):
a little bit of everything. And that's why people really
love Bermuda's because not only is it just such a
great atmosphere, but it's a great place to eat too,
And we love that, right, We talk about that a
lot here on the show. Chris, I know you enjoy that.
Any place you can go where you can get a
really unique meal, I mean something you can't get here
at home. It's always adds to the flavor of the destination,
(47:42):
I think. And sure you've had seafood, but have you
tasted fried wahoo on a fresh baked raisin bread topped
with coal, slow and hot sauce. Let's wahoo? I'm not
even sure, but it sounds amazing. Risk it's a fish. Yeah,
it's fish. That sounds amazing, it does, yeah, or sipped
(48:04):
on a fresh fish chowder infused with black rum, and
spicy cherry peppers. Sure I mean to tell you, or
indulged in low quat gold liqueur cake. When you get
to Bermuda, you're just gonna want to dig in and
explore all the deeper flavors of Bermuda. It's just a
two hour flight from the US East Coast, but it
(48:26):
tastes like a whole nother world away. Now, if you're
looking for a great place to stay, well, you really
have to look no further than a place called the
Rosewood Bermuda. Talk about luxury, It's classic but memorable. Accommodations
at Rosewood Bermuda offer some of the most refined comfort
(48:48):
and seaside styles in all of Bermuda. I think second
I had a tough one with this one, because the
best place to stay I've chosen is Rosewood Bermuda. But
another one of my favorites there has to be the
Saint Regis. I love the Saint Regis. There's butler service
for every room type. It doesn't matter if you come
(49:09):
in at an entry level room, the Saint Regis is
still going to offer you butler service. But if you
really want an elevated experience with high level luxury the
Rosewood Bermuda is all of that. Each one of the
eighty eight guest rooms and suites there includes a full
bath with a deep soaking tub. It's a beautiful thing,
(49:30):
fun natural finishes, that beautiful red mahogany wood that you
find in Bermuda. Full array of amenities to ensure that
you enjoy a comfortable stay, plus just great service and
additionally very important for today's multi generational traveling families, ocean
view suites here at Rosewood Bermuda. They offer two bedroom
(49:54):
floor plans with those spacious indoor and outdoor living areas,
a kitchen, a dining space together for families or small
travel parties up to four guests.
Speaker 1 (50:05):
So it's great.
Speaker 3 (50:06):
And if you really aren't interested in that kind of
upscaled luxury, but still you want to be treated nicely,
the Laurnette Pink Beach and the Hamilton Princess, both of
which are among the most popular accommodations on the island.
Speaker 1 (50:21):
So there you go, folks.
Speaker 3 (50:22):
We covered just about everything when it comes to great
places to go for fall. We covered the best fall foliage,
We covered the most romantic places to go, We covered
the northern lights, the best hidden gym destination and the
best destination for warm winds and getaways for fall. So
(50:43):
I think, Chris, think we covered the planet today.
Speaker 2 (50:47):
I think one of the areas we missed was Skyline Drive.
If you just need a Saturday away from your normal
hustle and bustle of your life, go up to Skyline
Drive in the fall and you want to do some
leaf people and get beautiful mountain views. And I mean,
what's better than our national park system.
Speaker 3 (51:06):
Everybody listening today agrees wholeheartedly with you, Chris. I actually
decided to make the Skyline Drive the top of the
list of places that I was going to venture to
at least a couple of weekends this year, and I've
already done that.
Speaker 1 (51:21):
I fully intend to go up there this fall. Harry,
you got any places that you want to go this
fall before the cold weather sets in? Yeah.
Speaker 4 (51:29):
I've got to throw in one plug for a place
that I was before I moved to Virginia, and that
is a beautiful state of New Hampshire. And one of
the nice trips you can take, also very easy trip
to take is take a train trip up to New Hampshire,
go visit the White Mountains, the White Mountain Hotel and
resort up there is just an extraordinary place. And if
you want to talk about being back into nature, you
(51:50):
want to see the fall leaves, you want to ride
a cog railway, that's yet another trip. And I guess
the point of this, Chris, is there's so many trips
Terry talked about. There's this kind of trip. There's so
many things you can do to enjoy what mother nature
has that earth, wind, and fire.
Speaker 2 (52:07):
Don't be trapped in this idea that you have to
take your vacations in the summer.
Speaker 1 (52:11):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (52:12):
You talk on the show all the time about you know,
going in the off season, getting more bang for your buck,
going on vacation at a place that you want to
go at a time you want to go, and if
that's in the fall so you can see leaves, or
you don't like the beach like me, you don't like
the heat and all the water, find somewhere fun this
fall to go.
Speaker 1 (52:32):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (52:33):
We've got so many people these days, Chris, that are
retired working from home. They can really vacation anytime they
want and work from wherever they want. Why not take
us up on some of these deals, especially that we
talk about The wishing Well is a great place for
you to start with your planning.
Speaker 2 (52:49):
We talked early in the show we had some hot deals.
There's always places that you can go on whether you
have a small budget or money's no odds. It's all
about the experience and you are an expert at finding
that location for your customers.
Speaker 3 (53:06):
We like to thank so Chris, and we would like
to invite all of our listeners to look us up
at the wishing Well. We're easy to find. We're located
at two forty three NEF Avenue in the Valley Center.
You can call us at five four oh nine oh
eight two three three three or look us up on
the web. We're at the Wishingwell dot biz.
Speaker 2 (53:25):
This has been a Life Less Ordinary the travel show
from your friends at the wishing Well at two forty
three nep Avenue in Harrisonburg. If you have any questions
on topics discussed today, please reach out to The wishing
Well online at the wishing Well top biz or five
four oh nine oh eight twenty three thirty three. Past
episodes are available on the iHeartRadio app. And we'll see
you again next Saturday morning at ten for a Life
(53:47):
Less Ordinary from the wishing well
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