What does one tenth of one percent look like? In my world when I envision .001 I see Judi Chaitman, Vice President and Manager of Great Getaways. Judi has been selected as one of the TOP TRAVEL SPECIALISTS in the world by Conde Nast Traveler Magazine (August, 2007 edition)! This marks the SEVENTH (7th) year Judi has received this amazing honor! Wendy Perrin, Consumer Affairs Editor of Conde Nast Traveler, annually selects the best of the best in the world of travel providers. This is a tall order by any stretch of the imagination because, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are over 88,950 travel “agents” in the US alone!

Sorry to sound bossy—just consider me your “Travel Mom”! Like a regular mom I have your best interests at heart. I’ve suggested for years that everyone should get a passport and the zoo that we fondly call the passport application process is proof positive you need to get a passport! Having a passport is like the way we used to think about the American Express card (not anymore, thank God!) with their slogan, “Don’t leave home without it!” It’s official, it’s uniform, and it is accepted all over this planet as proof of citizenship.

So, what are you waiting for? Download an application at www.travel.state.gov

Need a certified copy of your birth certificate for the passport application? While you’re ordering one, I suggest you order two and keep the extra one in a safe place. I promise the day will come that you will once again be asked for a birth certificate for some yet to be invented government form, and, voila, you’ll already have one!

Also, be sure to check the entry requirements of the country(ies) you’ll be visiting. Many require that your passport be valid for 6 months past the date of your visit. Others require multiple blank, facing Visa pages (which you might not have because you’ve used them on previous journeys we created for you!).

Create 2 photocopies of your passport and take one copy with you (not in the same place you store your real passport) and leave one copy with us (or should you, for some reason not understood in the world of logic, use another travel company, give them a copy–hopefully, they’ll know to keep it safe for you!). If that moment we all fear, the loss of our passport, does occur, then having copies will expedite the replacement process.

There, now don’t you feel better? See how your mama loves you! Now, brush your teeth and go to bed. That’s what I’m going to do!

  Please, please, please click on the image to preview the ultra cool Save the Date card we’re sending for Great Getaways 15th Anniversary Bash!

Now, for those of you who aren’t susceptible to my pleading here’s the info in readable text:

SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD 15TH ANNIVERSARY BASH!  SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH AT ARTichokes IN MISSION FARMS

 If you tell me you can read the image to the left without enlarging it, I want the name of your opthamologist! It reads:

The Leawood travel agency that gives you the luxury of experience is turning 15! Treat yourself to a night of experience at ARTichokes, Leawood’s premier art space in Mission Farms, Sunday, September 16, 2007, 7 – 10 PM, ARTichokes, 10557 Mission Road, Leawood; Light Hors d’ Oeuvres; Cruise & Vacation Silent Auction to Benefit Alzheimers Association; Sponsored by: Great Getaways, Virgin Galactic, Holland America Line, Creative Leisure, ARTichokes, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, SPACES magazine

No need to read on because I know you’re anxious to put the date in your calendar, pda, or perhaps create a tasteful tattoo reminder!

 

 

One year from today the Kings will be at Kings Pool and we’re told the locals will have their ears flapping! Translation: Michael and I will be on safari in Botswana next year! Our first stop will be Kings Pool, a luxury tented camp in Northern Botswana, known for its elephant herds. Don’t let the word “tent” scare you! Remember, my definition of camping is staying at a Holiday Inn with a black-and-white TV and no pool (the TV part could actually be a valuable antique now!). These “tents” are permanent—they have thatched roofs, plush beds, plunge pools and private viewing areas (salas). From Kings Pool we head to Vumbura Plains (similar accommodations, plunge pools, etc) and our final camp visit will be Mombo, considered by many to be the best game viewing in Botswana. Mombo has lots of “cats” and is known for its lions. From Botswana we’ll wing our way to Mauritius and enjoy 3 nights at the Oberoi http://www.oberoihotels.com/mauritius/turtlebay/oberoi-mauritius/overview/index.asp?leftinfo=1&leftitem=1.

 

We planned the itinerary and our friends at Wilderness Safaris http://www.wilderness-safaris.com/ and Oberoi Hotels & Resorts http://www.oberoihotels.com/ turned it into a reality. Thank you, Gordon (at Wilderness Safaris), Sharon (Oberoi USA) and Jennifer (Oberoi Mauritius), for your detailed planning and guidance!

Because we’ll celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary and my 60th birthday in 2008, we decided to plan a special journey. Can you imagine what it’s like for two travel fanatics to decide where to travel? We played with many ideas—all of which remain on our list of “to savor” or to “savor again”: cruising Antarctica; trekking Bhutan; safari in India with a few days in the Maldives; North Island of the Seychelles; a couple of weeks in Tuscany and Sardinia; and gorilla trekking in Rwanda. We also considered inviting our friends and clients to join us wherever we finally decided to experience. The votes are in and Botswana won and we decided this is “OUR” vacation; if we had others join us, we’d don our “travel consultant/tour guide” hats and that didn’t seem to fit well with words like “anniversary,” “celebration,” and “romantic!”

We’d be happy to share our custom designed itinerary with you so you, too, can indulge yourselves in the amazing beauty we call “Africa!”

One last comment: ever wonder what Africa looks like from Space (come on, folks, I AM THE SPACE GODDES after all!)??? Here’s a photo taken from Apollo 17 as it headed towards the moon: