WHEELS UP A Quick Tour of Travel Tips and Tricks

by Amy Phariss

ONC: Is it more expensive now, with this resurgence?

EA: The airfare is making it more expensive for some places. All-inclusive resorts and cruises are trying to come back in full force, but they just don’t have the workers yet. They had to reduce capacity during COVID, and it takes time to get that back. They just don’t have the manpower to provide the services they provide the services they used to. It’s not back 100%. What’s great is that resorts and cruise lines are really working with travel agents to entice people to come back and are offering amenities and upgrades. They’re trying to make the experience as good as it can.

ONC: Do you see any differences in people’s attitude toward travel post-COVID?

EA: People just have a different level of excitement. If someone was excited to go to Spain for the first time, or they wanted to go to Europe before COVID, now they’re doing it. We know what it feels like to have our travel taken away from us, and now people aren’t taking it for granted. People are being more adventurous.

I’m also seeing a lot of multigenerational travel. Families are all meeting, on a cruise for example. Retirees love a cruise, and they love seeing grandkids. So, multigenerational travel has become huge. Instead of going to grandma’s house, let’s all go to the Dominican Republic together.

ONC: How are resorts and cruises accommodating multigenerational travel?

EA: Mostly cruises and resorts accommodate best. There are adults-only sections and family sections. Adults can go to both, but they can also have some time with adults only. The grandparents can go relax by the pool with a book in the adult-only section after spending the day at the pool with the kids. So, they get it all in one trip. Parents can have a date night and leave the kids with the grandparents.

The key, and when you work with a travel advisor, you want an advisor who will get to know you and get to know your family so they can get you linked up with the right cruise or the right resort, the right vacation.

Every cruise or all-inclusive vacation has an overall theme or environment, and you want to get paired up with the right place or ship. Getting to know your advisor is key.

ONC: What are the biggest mistakes people make booking trips?

EA: One of the biggest mistakes I have seen is not knowing the expectations when it comes to passports. I’ve had people come to me after they booked it themselves and they were denied boarding. Either they didn’t have a passport and were denied getting on a cruise. Or one client had a passport card, and she thought she could get on a plane and go to Cancun. But she couldn’t. She was denied boarding. Or people’s passport’s expiration date is coming up in a few months, there are certain countries that want your passport to be valid for 6 months after you’ve returned home. Most people don’t think about this. They expect their passport to be valid.

Also, people’s passports were expiring while on vacation. Some people got sick while on vacation and the passport expired that way.

There are also just little mistakes an advisor can help you with. For example, some Caribbean countries find camouflage patterns as disrespectful and in some counties, it’s even illegal. So, an advisor can help you just be sensitive to the culture. Bikinis are frowned upon or even unacceptable in some countries.

ONC: What are the top travel destinations right now?

EA: The Caribbean are doing really well. The Dominican Republic is a great option for east coast. It’s close and there are a lot of flights. They have a really nice, newer airport, which was created for travelers. I tell my travelers, working with a travel advisor, we’ll work with airports that have airports for travelers. You don’t want to end up at a local airport if you can avoid it. The DR has beautiful beaches, they love tourists, and I feel like it’s one of the safer options right now. That’s a really happening spot right now.

Another one I would say is Argentina is a great place to go. It’s very European, with a very European feel to it. There are a lot of European immigrants, and it’s a lot less expensive to go to than Europe. You can have that environment without having to pay the price of going to Europe.

The U.S. and Canada are tapping into the travel by rail market.

You can have a really beautiful rail experience in the U.S. and Canada. For someone who has envisioned going to Europe and seeing countries by rail, you can do that here. It’s upscale and luxurious.

The food and amenities are top notch, and the cities they go to all have 4-and 5-star hotels. It’s a beautiful experience. You can go in and out of Canada and the US all in one excursion and see beautiful nature and stay at these luxurious hotels. These trips are really geared toward 55+. Because it’s in the U.S., you really save on airfare.

Once you get there, it’s a guided tour. There is an itinerary. There are excursions planned. The biggest part, though, is being on the train and seeing the scenery. The food is high end. The wine selection is high end.

ONC: What is less popular for travel right now?

Everyone is different. There is something for everyone in the travel industry. These hotels and resorts and cruises really do try to make everyone happy, but I’d say freestyle cruising is really popular now. You don’t have to eat at a schedule or wear certain clothing. It’s more relaxed. It’s not so much buffet style but more upscale food with Michelin star chefs. They really try to make it more of a dining experience. You can go to a steak house, a burger joint, get sushi. These cruises are more like going to a destination. You have so many more options and so much more freedom.

ONC: Where do you recommend cruising?

EA: I think every destination is going to bring it’s own magic. The most accessible is the Caribbean. But if there are people out there who either aren’t into the islands or have more sensitivity to motion, I often times recommend river cruising. You do have to go to Europe. You can river cruise and hit so many ports. It’s more intimate and are immersed in the experience and the environment.

The ships are smaller. Small-ship cruising and river cruising have become really popular, especially with the retirement crowd. It’s just more intimate, more curated.

You’re not going to a huge port. Also, going to Europe in small groups. People have gotten away from large groups, the guy with the flag and 50 people following along. More people want to go in small groups. These can include solo travelers who are maybe widowed, for example. They can go on a small tour, and they’re with other people but it’s not a big, overwhelming crowd.

I can also do a trip for a small group and make it a tour without a tour guide or group. A garden club, for example, may go to Italy together. We map out a plan that a tour group would offer, but we just take out the tour guides. It’s just them. It’s really fun.

Booking trips yourself became such a thing when the Internet became popular. Travel advisors still continue to exist but we work with a lot of people who could book it themselves but they don’t’ want to – its’ overwhelming or they don’t have the time. I’m here to facilitate that. Also, there is insight advisors have that I can offer when you just don’t know what to pick. Things do change. After COVID started seeking out travel advisors because they were so burned during COVID. When COVID happened, nobody was answering the phones. A lot of online companies just disconnected their phones. They didn’t know how to deal with the surge of people trying to get their money back. I have clients who are still waiting to get refunds for lost trips and money during COVID. Advisors can go straight to the company. We have that inside link. We can give your name a face. You’re not just a booking number. There is a whole backstory to everyone’s vacation. I’m here for that, to put more of a personal touch to what you’re planning.

ONC: I have a somewhat sensitive question, but I’ll ask it anyway. How do travel advisors get paid?

EA: A lot of people don’t understand that when you’re booking something online, you’re paying a commission and it just stays with the resort. If you use the travel advisor, I get paid a commission, but it doesn’t make your price more expensive. If someone books a resort online, and it’s $500. If they book it with me, it’s the same price if they book it

No one likes to be in pain. In fact, I have spent the past 20+ years helping people get

ONC: Any final tips or tricks for planning the best trip?

you hurting? There are many different reasons due to Medication, Psychological reasons, or Nutrition

with me. But I can actually call the supplier and make little additions, touches. I also use a tracker to keep up with COVID and other travel restrictions, so you don’t have to try to do that all yourself. Travel advisors, such as myself, check these restrictions daily. You’re paying for my service whether you use it or not, so you might as well work with someone who can help ensure everything is right for you.

I can also give first-hand knowledge of a resort. I’ve been there. I’ve been trained on it. I have clients who just got back from that resort. So, it’s not just reviews online from people you don’t know. I know if a family would love Cabo San Lucas vs. the Dominican Republic. Resorts appreciate this because their guests will be happier on their vacations and have a good time at the resort. Being able to match their desires with the right resort is beneficial to the client, to the resort and to the advisor. At the end of the day, we want people to love what they invested in. It’s a huge investment, money and emotions. We want to be sure you’re investing properly, just like a realtor would want you to pick the right house. We’re here to do the same with your vacation.

Many health care professionals diagnose pain by Special Tests. During these tests, your practitioner will use their hands to push, pull and twist the areas that are causing you pain. These tests are very useful to find what structure is causing you pain. If you place stress on a structure and it increases your pain, it is likely that structure is contributing to your symptoms. Although helpful, many of these special tests are only 60-80% accurate. While this may look good at first, changing the way the question is framed will show that this also means they are 20-40% inaccurate. Misdiagnosis of pain can be very costly. At best it keeps you in pain longer, while in other cases it can allow symptoms to intensify. When you are dealing with pain, missing your favorite activities and sleepless nights… you want to be as accurate as possible!

The addition of Diagnostic Imaging in Physical Therapy has revolutionized the way pain is addressed. By utilizing Diagnostic Imaging, PT’s are now able to look inside you and diagnose your pain with over 98% accuracy. That means that we can find the real problem, or problems, and address them from the beginning. No more trial and error. No more “try this for a few months and if it doesn’t get any better we will try to get an MRI”. With the addition of Diagnostic imaging, your Physical Therapist can now say “From my evaluation it looks like you have a problem in ____. We are going to do a Diagnostic Ultrasound and confirm this and fully check your joint.” In a matter of a few days, we can have your test performed, results given to you and a new, more comprehensive plan to improve your pain.

EA: Don’t be afraid to try something new. We live in a very modern world. Even if you go somewhere very different, with the right planning and information, you can try just about anything. I love it when someone steps out of their comfort zone. It’s a lot easier now than it was 20, or even 10 years ago, to do that.

ONC: Final question, what has been your personal favorite destination?

Diagnostic imaging in physical therapy includes:

1. Musculoskeletal Ultrasound (MSKUS)

EA: That’s a tough one! I loved Argentina. I loved it. It had a very European feel. I love music, so they have the beautiful tango music. They also have gauchos, cowboys. It’s like going to Texas. It’s like having so many cultures in one. And South America is just very reasonably priced.

My favorite future trip is going to India. You can go have a luxury vacation for the price of a standard vacation. If you don’t mind going far, you can get some amazing experiences and a lot of bang for your buck.

MSKUS is a safe diagnostic tool. It is used to diagnose structures such as tendons, muscles, bursas, ligaments, nerve entrapment/pinching and joint structure changes. Like a video, MSKUS captures real-time images of body structures and can assess a joint/area while it moves. This feature is especially useful as many times pain does not occur at rest, only with movement.

Open Arms

Mediterranean 3-Bean Summer Salad

Beans are a staple of the MIND diet, which recommends 4+ meals per week of beans. This summer salad comes together quickly, and the ingredients are easy to find and easy on the budget.

Ingredients:

• 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 1 cup fresh or frozen edamame

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive

• ½ cup chopped shallots or red onion

• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped garlic (or to taste)

• 1 cup chopped carrots

• 1 cup diced cucumber

• 1 cup chopped bell peppers (use a variety of colors)

• Handful of chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley, mint and/or basil

• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and toss to combine.

2. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. The longer the salad sits, the better the flavors will meld together.

3. Serve chilled as-is or over a bed of leafy greens.

Grilled Summer Peaches

Grilling is a great way to enjoy summer fruit without too much fuss. Peaches are full of vitamins and minerals including vitamin A and C and potassium. They also have 2 grams of fiber per peach.

Ingredients:

• 2 freestone peaches, still firm when squeezed (really ripe peaches have more sugar and will burn more easily)

• 1 tbsp. olive oil

• Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat grill to medium heat.

2. Cut peaches in half and remove the stone. Brush lightly with olive oil, which will keep the peaches from sticking to the grill.

3. Grill peaches for 4-5 minutes on each side. Avoid moving the peaches around. Simply let them sit and absorb the heat, then turn once.

4. Remove from the grill with tongs. Serve with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream, or enjoy these gems all on their own.