Ok close your eyes and imagine its the day you leave for your vacation you booked from www.DebbieandDaveTravel.com its a Saturday morning around 8:00 am, you are loading your vehicle with 2 suitcases filled with summer clothes & swim wear.  You are now driving to Chicago Rockford Airport it takes about 20 minutes (give or take) to get to the airport.  You drop your significant other off curbside at the front door of the airport, they walk in about 10 steps, they get in line while you park your car for free next to the International building.  Before you know it you check in, walking up the stairs to go thru security.  Make sure any liquids you want to carry on with you are in 30z bottles & they all fit in one quart size baggy or security will throw them away. 

You board the plane at Gate 1, you find your seats, your plane takes off & you arrive in Cancun Mexico 15 minutes early only a 3 1/2 hour plane ride.  Ok again  imagine you get off the plane & step down the stairs onto the runway, the sun is shining & its a warm 75 degrees. You are then directed to a building where you go thru customs, sometimes its a big crowd.  Than you get your luggage, go thru another building, in this building just ignore the sales people & look for people holding up Apple Vacation signs by the door going outside.  These people will direct you to the bus that will take you to your resort.  You might have a few stops before they get to your resort but that is OK cause you can enjoy the scenary & check out the locations of the other resorts.

You get to your resort, maybe a couple or two you flew with get off with you cause they are staying at the same Resort.  You check in, you go to your room, you notice the king size bed, then the balcony facing the Ocean (what a view).  You notice the mini bar & you go for a bottled water, you also notice there really is a liquor dispenser, Oh my premium Vodka, Jack Danials & Tequila.  You throw on your swimsuit & cover up, you head to the snack bar to get something to eat before heading to the beach.

Ok imagine you get to the white powdery sand beach you look out into the transparent water, the big beautiful blue Ocean.   You take a few deep breaths in & out as the sun warms you up, you are running to the ocean, yes the ocean is warm, the waves move you back & forth, up & down, you swim alittle.  You stay out on the beach until around 5 pm, you head up to your room to shower & get ready for dinner.  (Your 1st evening you will likely have to eat at the buffet your 1st night cause you will need to make reservations the day before to eat at a sit down restuarant).  The dress code is Casual Formal menare required to where long pants.  Dinner was better than expected, remember  its all-inclusive so its all  you can eat & drink, so you enjoy a cocktail or beer with dinner.  The tip is included with all-inclusive so if you feel like tipping its a good thing, the wait staff will remember you, and next time they will get you a great table with a great view.

There is a disco & a show with live music, you choose the show, its very entertaining & remember drinks & tips are included in the price you already paid   After the show you head to the Sports Bar offering snacks 24hours a day, you have some carbs than you head up to your Ocean View Junior Suite.  Imagine walking into your room, you head to the balcony & look out onto the ocean, listen to the waves crashing against the beach.  The sound then puts you to sleep.  You wake up refreshed,  you go eat, go to the beach, enjoy the sun & ocean for 6 more days.  The END:)

Ok close your eyes, now imagine your at your Dinner table or at your favorite restaurant and sitting across from you is your significant other or your best friend. Imagine eating your favorite main course, vegetable & drinking your favortie drink. You look at your significant other, you see a smiling face & they speak these words “I’m having the winter blues, I wish we could just go away to somewhere warm & sunny, that doesn’t cost alot of money, I just need to get away from all this weather (snow).”

 Your significant other or best friend says “72 to 82 degrees sounds wonderful, all inclusive sounds even better, but Mexico what about the drug related killings they where talking about in the news last spring?”

You smile and say “know need to worry, security experts say tourists can safely travel to Mexico — if they stay within known resort areas, avoid traveling to Mexico by road and steer clear of  U.S. border areas.  Most of the drug -trade crime within Mexico is narcotics on narcotics violence or violence against police.”

You finish eating, clear the table, or pay your bill.  You power up your computer, you type www.DebbieandDaveTravel.com the main page comes up, you look to the bottom left & click on the Apple Vacation icon, the Apple Vacation booking engine pops up.  You select your departure city, just click the down arrow to Chicago Rockford, IL., select the destination city the same way to Mexico Cancun Hotel Zone or Cancun Riveria Maya.  The departure dates are important because flights only fly on Sunday, Wednesday & Saturdays.  Booking tip:  flights are very popular & are going fast so there is a chance your idea dates will not be available.

Wow look you find a 7 night all-inclusive vacations at Riu Palace Las Americas, Junior Suite, 5 Golden Apple Superior, for 789.99 per person and this includes Round-trip air from RFD, round-trip transfers & hotel.  At this Resort all-inclusive also includes all meals, snacks, unlimited non alcoholic & alcoholic domestic drinks & non-motorized water sports.  (Price is per person based on double occupancy & does not include taxes or insurance.)  You investigate the Resort further & find its walking distance from shopping & nightlife.  It has 2 swimming pools facing the ocean, features 4 restaurants & snack bar, five bars & a disco.  Childrens playground & kids pool.  Your room is an ocean-view junior suite with 1 king size bed, ocean view balcony, ceiling fan, satellite TV, mini bar, liquor dispenser, air conditioning, shower & hairdryer.  You decide since you have up to date passports & its such a great deal you book it in.

Imagine that has more to imagine and will continue with this story  tomorrow same time

Get your Apple Vacation to Cancun Mexico flying out of Rockford Airport at www.DebbieandDaveTravel.com  There are all sorts of All-inclusive Resorts you can choose from but here are just a few deals going on right now for a limited time:  Cancun Riu Palace Las Americas 5GA+ all-inclusive leaving Sunday -Sunday from $1149.99pp. These trips include round-trip air from RFD, round-trip transfers, & hotel. Price per person based on double occupancy & does not include taxes or insurance, all-inclusive hotel packages include meals, domestic drinks.
This is a great deal why would you go to Chicago airport when you have free parking at RFD airport. All Apple Vacation flights are leaving RFD Sundays, Wednesdays or Saturdays at 10:00 am & you get to Cancun by 1:45 pm. You can do a 3 night 4, 6, or 7 nights stay. All flights back to RFD leave Cancun at 2:45 getting back to RFD by 6:30. Non stop Flight, round-trip transfers, hotel, meals, drinks.
You don’t need to rent a car, cause you can take the bus if you want to eat off site or go to a night club. Depending where you stay you can even walk to shopping, food & clubs. Call me for more tips on booking, what to do, where to go 815-543-2938 Happy New Year:)

Did you know, the average temperature in Cancun Mexico in January is 81 degrees during the day & 67 is the low in the evening.  Do you love the Ocean & need a quick, convenient get away?  You can book an Apple Vacation from debbieanddavetravel.com, start your  travel  leaving any Wednesday starting January 9th thru Jan. 30th,  3 nights all-inclusive, air-fare included (flying out of Rockford) to the Sea Adventure Resort Cancun Mexico for as little as 369.99 pp, double occupancy doesn’t included taxes or insurance, for a limited time only.   

GREAT!!  Apple Vacations (due to popular demand) has added flights between RFD & Cancun this winter season. This is a beautiful thing for the surrounding Rockford area residents who want the CONVENIENCE of free parking that Rockford airport has to offer, it only takes 3 hours &45 minutes to fly to CANCUN Mexico, its all-inclusive meaning meals,drinks (domestic) & non-motorized water sports is included with hotel stay, round-trip transfers to hotel.  I think its so GREAT my husband & I have taken a Sat. thru Sat. trip practically every years its been offered.  And if you know Debbie and Dave you can support my small home based business and book your Flight, Hotels, Vacation & Cruises from debbieanddavetravel.com, If you are already going online to book travel you will pay pretty much the same price no matter who you book it from:) just plugging myself alittle here:) Important: you need a passport.

Debbie and Dave have been to Cancun Mexico with Apple Vacations 4 times so if you need any advise or tips call us.  Happy Travels

Being In/Experiencing Alaska was breath taking, no it made me breathe in big, fresh, crisp air. I was so happy to finally be there. 

The first day we were at sea, this is the time to explore the Cruise Ship. On the 2nd day we docked in Ketchikan, Dad & I did some exploring on are own, which was more fun then the actual tour we took later that day.

The 3rd day we planned an all day adventure in Juneau.  We did 2 hours of exploring on our own, part of that was walking  in Tongass National Forest by ourselves, we were lucky we did not run into any Bears.  We paid to do a Shore Excusion of  Whale Watching  & it was worth to money, we saw humpback whales & about 200 sea lions.  The next day Dad told me he had to see the ships Doctor.

We got some bad news from the Ships Doctor, (dad has heart disease)  he had a new onset of Angina.  The Doctor told us we had to cut the vacation short so dad could see a cardiologist ASAP.  We were docked in Skagway that day, we decided to take it easy & stayed on the ship.  We decided to not take to Land Tour portion of the vacation, so Dad could see a cardiologist right away.

The next two days we were scheduled for Glacier Scenic Cruising, so we took it easy & took in the Sights of the Beautiful Blue Glaciers.  One great thing about our cruise is we had a naturalist  onboard narrating & pointing out wildlife sightings.  We  saw Black Bears, wolves, humpback whales, sea lions, sea otters, eagles.  We saw Calving Icebergs, now that was cool, cause all of a sudden you’d hear a loud crackling noise, you than look for the falling iceberg and see it tumbling into the water with a big splash sound.

So that is my brief talk of my Alaska Trip, I do have photos & videos I will post later & I  plan on going into more detail later if you’d like to read some more.

After our 7 night Cruise (from Vancouver,B.C. to Anchorage Alaska) we board the Denali Express Rail, Saturday am, to Denali National Park approximately 9 1/2 hour ride. EXCITING isn’t it. We will have an evening at our leisure, staying at the Princess Wilderness Lodge. We will be surrounded by soaring snowcapped mountain peaks & endless wilderness teeming with wildlife, from bear to moose, eagles, Dall sheep, OH MY. Towering above it all is the venerable Mt. Mckinley, the highest point in all of North America. The next day we have a 5 hour Natural History Tour of the park(this is included in the price of the Cruise), & the rest of the day for an optional land excursion. Monday morning we have at our leisure than we board a coach that takes us to Downtown Fairbanks where we catch a Riverboat:)

We will be taking a Sternwheeler Riverboat Cruise to our hotel our final destination before we catch our flight back home. The Riverboat Cruise is also included in the total package price, its a fully narrated cruise along the Chena & Tanana rivers on the Discovery 11 or 111. Alaskan Native guides will take us ashore at an authentic Athabascan Village where we will experience traditional Native lifestyles, an Athabascan beadwork artist, & meet Susan Butcher’s famous Iditarod sled dog team. AWESOME.

We have 2 days of Scenic Cruising, 1st day Glacier Bay. With no road access, GB park is a marine wilderness which can be explored only by water travel, most visitors experience the park through the deck of a cruise ship or tour boat.
Glacier Bay is a vast Y-shaped fjord on the Southeast coast of Alaska, sheltered from the ocean by the Fairweather range. To travel up the bay is to retrace the path of glacial retreat, from the lush mature spruce and hemlock rain forest near the visitor center at Bartlett cove, to the more thinly vegetated areas more recently de-glaciated, and eventually the glaciers which calve icebergs into the water with a sound described by the Tlingit Indians as “white thunder”. Cool

2nd day of Scenic Cruising College Fjord,
College Fjord is a fjord located in the northern sector of Prince William Sound in the U.S. state of Alaska. The fjord contains five tidewater glaciers (glaciers that terminate in water), five large valley glaciers, and dozens smaller glaciers. It is a popular destination for cruise ships. From one place, it is possible to see eight of College Fjords Glaciers at once. Now thats something to see.
College Fjord was discovered in 1899 during the Harriman Expedition, at which time the glaciers were named. The expedition included a Harvard and an Amherst professor, and they named many of the glaciers after elite colleges.

The Land Tour day 1 we will disembark in Anchorage (Whittier) Alaska, board the Denali Express Rail to Denali National Park, we will be on the glass domed train for 9.5 hours taking in the vast scenery. Arrive at Princess Wilderness Lodge located one mile from the Denali National Park entrance.
Land Tour To Be Continued

You bet we are going to make the most of this Adventure/Vacation. We will board the Diamond Princess in Vancouver. The first day we will be at Sea this is a perfect time to explore the Ship, eat, relax, take in a show at the theater.

Our 1st shore excursion will be in Ketchikan, where we will take a floatplane  to Neets Bay in Tongass National Forest. Take a guided, quarter-mile walk along a  trail to Neets Creek, where the annual gathering of fish is a huge draw for the region’s most plentiful concentration of Black Bears. Watch bears fishing for and feeding on Salmon and view  Bald Eagles, scary but exciting at the same time.

2nd Day is in Juneau where we will take a HELICOPTER and fly over the  rainforest, deep blue crevasses and glacier-carved peaks on a spectacular flightseeing tour to a Dog Sled camp on the Mendenhall Glacier. Hear tales of the renowned Iditarod race, then we get to drive your own  team of dogs, OMG.  After our ride we get to visit with the mushers and take pictures with  nearly 300 dogs and puppies before your helicopter flight back to Juneau.  I’m screaming right now.

3rd Day in Skagway we will go GOLD PANNING at  the Klondike Gold Fields, where we will learn the art of gold panning and practice our technique in warm-water troughs. Gold is guaranteed in every pan!  Then we get to check out  one of the finest collections of gold nugget jewelry in the Gold Parlor.  I hope to strike it rich so I can pay for this trip.

So that is the first 4 days of our trip, I will write more later.  To Be Continued.

Smile:) Someone asked me why are you going to Alaska. To be honest with you I’ve never considered taking vacation to Alaska until last year.

 I started traveling without the supervision of my parents at age 16. I fell in love with going to the Caribbean for my vacations. My favorite place - All Of Them- the beaches of Florida, Bahamas, Jamacia, Turks & Caicos, Puerto Rico, St. Martin, St. Johns, Martinique, Grenada, Grand Cayman, Cancun, Riviera Maya, Costa Maya, Belize.  Yes there are more Caribbean Islands to visit, but do you get my point, I’m all beached out.  Of course I’ll always travel to the Caribbean  if the price is right.

For the last 10 years my dream vacation was Hawaii, I went to Maui Hawaii in December of 09,  WOW MORE BEAUTIFUL  than the Caribbean. 

Ok already Why Alaska?  I became a Referring Travel Agent for YTB Travel Network about 2.5 years ago, it was during a training class when someone from  Princess Cruise Lines said the best way to see Alaska is on a Direct to the Wilderness Tour.  There are about 10 different Alaska Cruise Tours and the Direct to the Wilderness Tour is the Best Bang for your Buck, so I did some more investigating, now I’m making it happen.  I cannot believe I’m going to Alaska, its exciting & scary at the same time.

Yes I am excited,  booked, paid  & confirmed for my Alaska trip this August 2010.  I am taking a 10 Night Direct to the Wilderness Cruisetour.  It’s a 7 Day Cruise Northbound on the Diamond Princess from Vancouver to Whittier.  We start our 3 night land tour by Rail Denali Express to Denali National Park  for 2 nights my last night will be in Fairbanks.