Welcome to the October 2005 edition of SINGLE PARENT TRAVEL e-zines - a continuing series of monthly newsletters created for the community of single adults who travel alone with kids.
To sign up for our newsletter go to http://www.SingleParentTravel.net. Forward this newsletter to a friend!
In this issue:
I. GLOBAL BRENDA'S MESSAGE
II. THE INN AT EAST HILL FARM
(paid advertisement)
III. SINGLE PARENT TOURS
IV. A JOURNEY THROUGH PATAGONIA - PART II
V. SINGLE PARENT FAMILY FRIENDLY SPECIALS
VI. SUBSCRIBERS SPEAK UP-REQUESTS, INQUIRIES, COMMENTS
I. GLOBALBRENDA'S MESSAGE
Dear Readers,
From time to time I recommend books that I feel are worthwhile additions to the family travel library. One such book is the recently published "Healthy Travel" by Michael P. Zimring, M.D. & Lisa Iannucci. Those of you who participated in one of our early Rocking Horse Ranch Resort weekends will remember meeting Lisa Iannucci, who, with her children, joined us for a Saturday and interviewed several of our group members. The book is easy to read, well organized, and full of helpful information whether you are traveling for business or a family vacation. The book costs $14.95 plus $4.00 shipping. To order call toll-free 1-800-575-8890. Tell them Single Parent Travel sent you!
Our feature article this month is Part I of a two part series on Patagonia. Learn about the southernmost city in the world (Ushuaia) and an area that contains glaciers six times the size of Manhattan (Calafate).
We are considering offering a summer 2006 trip to either Costa Rica or Guatemala. The Guatemala trip will feature Tikal National Park and a side trip to Yaxche, where the popular TV show "Survivor" was filmed. Drop me an email and let me know your preferred choice. I welcome your feedback.
Happy Trails! GlobalBrenda
II THE INN AT EAST HILL FARM, Troy, NH
(Paid Advertisement)
Open year round providing guests with a relaxing hands-on farm experience, including cow milking, collecting chicken eggs, churning butter, making cheese, and feeding the animals. There are children's recreation activities, indoor and outdoor pools, and outdoor seasonal activities including hiking, boating, horseback riding, ice skating, snowshoeing, and cross country skiing. Call -800-242-6495 or visit http://www.east-hill-farm.com .
III. SINGLE PARENT TOURS
ROCKING HORSE RANCH RESORT - NOVEMBER 18-20, 2005 For the first time ever we had to cancel a weekend at Rocking Horse. These weekends have traditionally been a sell out, with anywhere from 12 to 15 families participating and all family members having a wonderful time. This time we had six families interested, but no one wanted to be the first one to sign up. Consequently, no one signed up and since we did not have a core group, I had to release the space back to the hotel 30 days out, and cancel the weekend. This was very frustrating and befuddling for me. The resort will sell out, as it always does for this fall weekend, and our single parent families would have had a terrific time.
SPRING TRIPS 2006 We have a spring weekend planned for April 28-30 at Rocking Horse Ranch Resort as well as another April weekend planned for the D.C. area. (Details to follow).
SUMMER TRIPS 2006 We are awaiting the August dates from Sandals in order to post our annual Beaches Boscobel weekend in Jamaica. We will also offer Beaches Turks and Caicos once again this summer. In addition we have our cruise from New York, June 26 to July 1 and we will be offering a trip to either Costa Rica or Guatemala. Stay tuned to the newsletter for more details or click on http://www.singleparenttravel.net and go to the tours section on the left.
IV. A JOURNEY THROUGH PATAGONIA - PART II
USHUAIA Part I of my journey through Patagonia ended in the Peninsula Valdez. Grab your South American maps once again and run your finger all the way down to the bottom of Argentina. See that town with the unpronounceable name - Ushuaia? That is my next stop - the southernmost city in the world. It is pronounced OOSH SHW EYE AH, the name given to it by the native indigenous settlers called the Yamanas. This unique port city promotes its unusual location in many ways. It offers the southernmost golf course, the southernmost ski area, the southernmost squash court, even the southernmost parakeet - and a big one to boot!
Read the rest here:- http://www.singleparenttravel.net/Writing/Patagonia.htm
V. SINGLE PARENT FAMILY FRIENDLY SPECIALS
We will not have a speials section this month as we were overwhelmingly busy with other commitments at work. We will have some for you next month.
Check out all our single parent travel specials at http://www.singleparenttravel.net/Specials/
* Don't have a travel agent? Then find one in "The Single Parent Travel Handbook" which has a listing of over 75 travel agents who specialize in single parent travel. Buy the book from any place books are sold or get an autographed copy from GlobalBrenda, the author, at http://www.SingleParentTravel.net/Book/
VI. SUBSCRIBERS SPEAK UP-REQUESTS, INQUIRIES, COMMENTS
Laura writes: I live in Italy. Are there other members from Italy or Europe? GlobalBrenda responds: We have a number of readers from all over Europe. Just how many are from Italy I could not say. My newsletter reaches over 7,000 people nearly 100% of whom sign up electronically without my intervention. When people individually email me with questions, I can see by the country tagline on the email where they are emailing from. That is how I know I have European readers. If you would like to know who lives in Italy, post a notice to our newsletter. I will also post your message in a future newsletter. (Readers can respond directly to Laura at pally8@yahoo.it
Sydney writes: I live in CO and would love to see more trips offered in the west. How about the Utah national parks, Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Colorado ski areas? It would also be nice to see trips offered occasionally for people that might not necessarily be on a bare bones, absolute minimum budget for vacations. Many thanks. GlobalBrenda: We ran a Rocky Mountain snowshoe weekend in March 2 years ago. Several people expressed interest, especially outside Colorado, but no one signed up. National parks are tricky, because they require heavy advance deposits and they do not discount. It has been our experience that single parent travelers do not wish to pay a supplement for accommodations, merely for the privilege of traveling with other single parents. We also ran a one-week dude ranch trip to Oregon last summer in mid June. Both the dude ranch and Single Parent Tours promoted it as a single parent family week, but only a couple of single parent families signed up. I am open to specific suggestions.
Deborah writes: Do you ever know of any tours/trips aimed for single parents in the west coast? I am in California. Michelle writes: Are there ever any trips to the southeast? Do you know of a group that Does the Southeast? I would love to attend some of these outings but they are all so far away. Thanks for your help and all you do. GlobalBrenda writes: One of the best organizations for local outings for single parent families is Parents Without Partners. I have forwarded your inquiry to PWP so that your local PWP state organization will contact you.
Carole writes: Good Morning! My name is Carole and I am a 42yr old widow, single parent of an incredible 14 yr old son. Holidays are difficult for us...last year for the first time I booked a wonderful trip to the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. There were lots of other teens and Elliot hooked up right away, giving us time together and some time apart. Do you have any suggestions for the same time period? Also could be between Christmas and New Years for a resort that caters to single families during the Holidays? We live on St Simons Island GA. GB writes: Check out our Single Parent Family Specials on our Web site. Readers are also welcome to email Carole at copel@giorgiofoods.com
Kimberley writes: Thank you so much for your great messages. How do I post a request to find other single parents and children traveling on a Disney cruise in February 06? GB writes: Post it on our bulletin board and I will post your message in my newsletter. (Readers can email Kimberley at nvabride2006@yahoo.com
Deborah writes: Hi Brenda, I have been looking at the site after seeing it written up in my local paper. I was really interested in your section on traveling with a child out of the country without getting a notarized letter from the other parent. I have recently experienced this - he would not sign the statement so I could get my daughter her passport. I applied for it anyway as you can fill out a section stating why the other parent wouldn't sign. I am curious to see if it goes through. If it DOES go through, are you saying that most countries will still require a letter anyway? I can't believe that because he won't sign something because he doesn't want me to take her anywhere - just because - no real reason - that my daughter and I can't travel out of the country. That just seems ludicrous - especially with the divorce rates in this country. It seems like I may have to take him back to court on this issue. I like to go on cruises and I can see where this could be a real problem. GB writes: We are not saying that most countries require a notarized letter from the absentee parent. Quite the contrary. If you read the Documentation section of my Web site, it says that you must check with each country or the travel supplier, such as the cruise line or airline that you are using to get there. Regulations change. For example, Mexico used to require this letter. They no longer do. Also, keep in mind that the fact that there are many divorced couples in the USA does not mean that regulations should ease up for their convenience. Some people in your situation would prefer regulations to be tightened, thus making it more difficult to kidnap children or take them out of the country illegally. We do not set the rules; we are merely trying to help you abide by them and make your trip smoother.
Barbara writes: I am planning a trip to CA either after Christmas or in June. Can someone who has been to LEGOLAND in the Los Angeles area tell me if it is worth a trip from NY? And how many days should I plan to spend there for a 10-year-old boy? What else do people recommend in that area to see and do? Which time of year would be better - winter or summer? (GB: Readers can answer Barbara directly at bctv22@yahoo.com)