Off to Ecuador and The Galapagos!

Well, it's FINALLY here!

We are off to South America!  I am traveling this week with 34 other Travel Professionals from the Southwest United States for an exciting and educational trip to Ecuador and The Galapagos Islands!  The agents are all members of "The Association of Travel Agents of America" (ATAA), of which I am the current President, and get the pleasure of co-hosting this trip with fellow board member Bruce Iacobelli.  Hey - tough job, but SOMEBODY has to do it!  :)

Today we are flying all flying to Quito, Ecuador for two nights before heading off to the Islands and our Adventure!

Quito is at approximately 9500 feet, and one of the highest airports in the World.  It is also very near the Equator (Lat. 0 00'00" S) - and one of the highlights of our tour tomorrow morning!

Upon my return from the trip I will upload pictures, commentary, etc. right here - so stay tuned!  We have a Travel Show in Tucson the weekend of my return, so it may take until the following week to get everything uploaded and ready for you - but I promise I will get it done!

Fiesta Bowl 2008!

Hello Everyone - sorry for the few month absence, but I'm back!  And have just gotten home from an AMAZING couple of days in Glendale Arizona and the FIESA BOWL!

It all started with a phone call from my mom, asking if I was interested in going, as she has some good friends from West Virginia that were going to the game and had access to tickets!  My mom, always the adventurer (now you know where I get it) immediately said yes and called to see if I wanted to meet her and the group for the game.  Of course, I too said "YES!" and set out to find some rooms and learn about the teams.

Mountaineers?  Sooners?  I was not familiar with either team, but does it really matter!  It's the FIESTA BOWL - and in the new Glendale Stadium to boot - home of the upcoming Superbowl XLII!

We decided to stay at the Wigwam Resort, as that is where Mom's friends were staying (Doug, Susan, their daughter Lindsay and husband TJ) - and it is very close to the Stadium.  We arrived on New Years Day around 2PM - just in time to take in the Florida vs. Michigan Game by the pool and meet everyone.  After Michigan beats Florida, we were off to Scottsdale for the W.V. Mountaineers Founders reception and party!  The ballroom was filed with fans from not only West Virginia, but all over the country - here in Arizona to cheer their team to victory!  By now, mom and I were honorary "Mounties", with our Blue and Gold on and as excited about the game as everyone else!

After the party we headed back across town (Even with the 101 loop done - the Scottsdale to Glendale drive is about an hour!) and decided to make a stop at the new Margaritaville that opened up right next door to the stadium.  As you can imagine - this was my idea - and mom got to learn about Parrotheads, Phun and all kinds of new things.  

Well - on game day the resort erupted in a sea of Blue and Gold - and Red and White, with the Sooners Fans outnumbering us 10 to 1.  We had to listen to the news of the Mounties impending doom, how they did not have a chance as the coach had quit, and how Sooners were due a win - yada, yada, yada...   We headed out to the stadium about 1:00 PM after Mexican food and some killer Prickly Pear Margaritas near our hotel - recommended by Lindsay!  Great Call!

We got to the stadium and started to meet up with friends of Doug and Susan's from WV.  Many of them had their motorhomes and tailgate parties where in full gear already!  We hung out here for awhile and met some people who had extra tickets - so they swapped with us and our tickets went from the endzone to the 20 yard line!  SWEET!  We bought some WV "gear" enjoyed all the excitement, the rivalry, the energy and headed into the stadium around 5PM for the 6PM game.  The stadium is beautiful and very well laid out.  If you are lucky enough to get to go to the Super Bowl (I'll be there if my SD Chargers are!) or to a Cardinals Game - you will see what I mean.  The concourse and concessions are set up perfectly, lines were minimal and it was very easy to get in and out of the stadium parking - even for a sold out game!

The Mounties came out strong, and never looked back!  It was a beating like no one imagined!  The WV Mountaineers looked awesome and beat the Sooners by 20 points!  It was a great game and I can't wait to visit WV in the future and try to take in a game!

I'm off to the Galapagos in a week - and will have LOTS of great pictures when I return!  Speak to you then!