Please enjoy this digital edition with our compliments. Barbara King, ASA Great Getaways Travel 913-338-2244 barbara@greatgetaways.travel   78:: Your Travel Dreams Revealed The fifth annual Travel Dreams Survey uncovers where nearly 14,000 of you want to go next. 86:: The Virtuoso Traveler Everyone has a go-to vacation style: Meet the Cruiser, the Adventurer, the Beachgoer, the Culture Seeker, and the Family. 96:: Top Ten Trips You told us where you want to go. We rounded up 10 of the hottest new trips out there.   Fares, schedules, Virtuoso exclusives, events and amenities are subject to availability and blackout dates and may change without notice. Unless otherwise stated, prices are in U.S. dollars, per person and based on double occupancy. Restrictions may apply. See your Virtuoso travel advisor for more details and applicable restrictions. Virtuoso is not responsible for any errors in pricing. The trademarks VIRTUOSO, the Globe Swirl Logo and SPECIALISTS IN THE ART OF TRAVEL are registered trademarks of Virtuoso, Ltd. Virtuoso, Ltd. has a U.S. copyright registration for the Globe Swirl Logo, ©2000. All rights reserved. Virtuoso CST#2069091-40 561107 07/11 © 2011 Virtuoso, Ltd. | 505 Main Street, Suite 500 | Fort Worth, TX 76102 | CST#2069091-40

Barbara King, ASA Great Getaways Travel 913-338-2244 barbara@greatgetaways.travel Greetings from Barbara King, ASA — Start 2011 off on the right foot with one-of-kind experiences from Virtuoso and our partners around the world. Whether you are looking for a sophisticated city weekend in London or a spa retreat deep in the Australian countryside, we have just the ticket for a rejuvenating start to the year. Contact your Virtuoso travel advisor today for the best availability, rates and exclusive bonuses!

Fares, schedules, Virtuoso exclusives, events and amenities are subject to availability and blackout dates and may change without notice. Virtuoso Voyager Club events may require a minimum/maximum number of participants. Unless otherwise stated, prices are in U.S. dollars, per person and based on double occupancy. Restrictions may apply. Virtuoso is not responsible for errors in pricing. MASTERCARD and the MasterCard Brand Mark are registered trademarks of MasterCard International Incorporated. The trademarks VIRTUOSO, the Globe Swirl Logo, and SPECIALISTS IN THE ART OF TRAVEL are registered trademarks of Virtuoso, Ltd. All rights reserved. Images: Shutterstock CST#2069091-40 351001

It must be close to lunch time because I was looking at an article from Intelligent Travel (a Natgeo company) and every photo triggered my stomach to sing, "Take me out to the restaurant, take me out for a meal!" Thought I'd share this with you to see if your stomach has the same reaction...by the way, if you have a favorite sandwich, share your nominee in the comments below and tell us how many of the countries and cities you've visited:

From: Intellingent Travel

The Traveling Kings have been at it again-this time we've been exploring Western Australia. Starting in Perth, we had time to have our body clocks conform to the actual time difference of 13 hours. A visit to Rottnest Island, a former penal colony for Aborigines and an internment camp in WWII, was fun, very touristy but fun. We had the good fortune to see pigs fly by us when Barbara courageously tried riding a mountain bike around the island. The last time we saw pigs fly was when Barbara made Michael's birthday cake from scratch a few months earlier. Pigs are certainly getting a workout these days!

 

Next stop was Broome, a resort area favored by locals in the winter (Yes, it's winter Down Under--you know, the Equator thing!). The place we stayed is not one we'd recommend, unless, that is, to avoid staying there. We prefer out of the way, small boutique accommodations and Cable Beach Resort had none of those qualifiers. It was very commercial and the major excitement was to watch the gorgeous sunsets over the Indian Ocean or to take a camel ride on the beach (which we did NOT do because we weren't sure how the animals were cared for). While Broome may be a haven for Australian families seeking a respite from the chill of winter, US families can get the same or better without traveling over 20 hours by plane.

 

Following the commercialism of Broome, we experienced a remote tented camp, Sal Salis, on Ningaloo Reef, a fringing coral reef in Northwest Australia. The reef is famous for its population of whale sharks, which are seen most often from March through June, and as a breeding ground of the loggerhead, green and hawksbill turtles, manta rays, and over 500 varieties of fish. Be sure to pack your wet suit if you plan to dive or snorkel. The water is quite cold and the wind is very strong by American standards. Sal Salis is billed as "eco- luxury" and we certainly applaud the "eco" and sustainable efforts. However, the luxury could only refer to the food and quality of the guides, in our humble opinion. We've traveled to many remote places and Barbara especially seeks the SOFT part of soft adventure. So, not having hot water to shower and the absence of hot water bottles to warm the beds during the winter nights puts Sal Salis in the "Adventure" category---nix the "Luxe."

 

Our first 3 stops in Western Australia would make our list of "interesting experiences not to be repeated" and then we arrived in Margaret River. Our advice: Get thee to Margaret River NOW! Rich in lush treed landscapes and bordering the Indian Ocean, the Margaret River area  is home to dozens of wineries, art galleries, and gourmet dining. In addition it boasts of several cheese factories, chocolate shops, and olive oil sites that turn out both a light oil and a variety of olive oil infused soaps. We've been well taken care of at the wonderful Cape Lodge, both aesthetically pleasing and oh so yummy. We also recommend stopping at Knee Deep Wineries for a wonderful meal and we adored Wild Thyme Cafe (It's for sale, maybe we should move here and become restauranteurs???)

The grounds are magnificent, dotted with small ponds, tall trees, and colorful plantings. The staff is attentive, friendly, and has given us wonderful suggestions for sightseeing and dining. In fact, we could envision ourselves disappearing to Margaret River for some quality time to soothe both mind and body.

 

 

Tomorrow we leave this Land of Sensory Replenishing and head to an equally amazing place, Tree Tops Lodge near Rotarua, New Zealand. What started out as an exploration has turned into a wonderful life experience!

Barbara and Michael King are winging their way on Air New Zealand to Perth, Western Australia. On a journey designed by Swain Tours, the Kings will call the InterContinental Burswood Resort Perth their home for 3 days. Perth, capital of Western Australia, is set on the banks of the Swan River, a few miles from the beautiful beaches of the Indian Ocean.

 

 

“Good-bye, I love you”—how many times have I said those words and why are they bittersweet? When Josh began 4^th grade, we walked into the school together (that wouldn’t last long-that mother-son walking into school together thing—geez, Mom!), found his new classroom and we hugged. “Good-bye, I love you!” I said and slowly walked away. That was a fun “gbily” –my first time as Josh’s mom to escort him to his first day of a new school year.

 The previous May Josh and Lauren’s dad, Michael, and I married---on May 24, 1998 to be exact! They had recently lost their wife/mother, Lana, to metastasized breast cancer. Several years before that I experienced the sudden loss of my only child, my son David, at the age of 2. So, as Josh aptly described the union, “God put us together. We needed a wife and a mom and you needed a husband and a son.” Lauren was the “gift with purchase”, the daughter I never had, and with whom I have laughed, cried, argued, celebrated, distanced, drawn together, distanced again and today we are both finding our way to acceptance and love.

 So, back to “gbily”--- my next memory of a poignant “Good-bye, I love you” was when Michael, Josh and I drove to Camp Chi in Wisconsin, Josh’s first adventure to be away from home, from us (How will he survive? How will we survive? Quite well, on all counts, as it turned out!). I remember the fragrant towering pine trees and giving Josh the biggest hug I could muster (Come on, Mom, this is embarrassing!), offered the standard “gbily”, turning and walking down the road towards our car with tears streaming down my face.

 Another choked up “gbily” was when I took Josh to middle school---this growing up thing is going way too fast! Add a dash of “gbilys”  on those occasions that we traveled abroad and weren’t able to include Josh on those journeys (poor kid has only been to more places than most adults have ever experienced—including but not limited to Hawaii, Alaska, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, France, England, Kenya, the Galapagos, Ecuador, Argentina, Chile, Tanzania, South Africa,  Zimbabwe, Botswana and countless United States!). When Josh was 16, he and Michael climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.  As they unloaded their duffel bags at the airport, I hugged them both and said, “Please be safe! Good-bye, I love you” with a major lump in my throat. The good news was that Lauren and I were going to Kenya a week later to meet our intrepid climbers and go on a family safari (As an aside, Africa is my favorite continent and we’re headed back there in September!).  There were two more “gbilys” of note during high school: the first was when Josh drove by himself after having received his driver’s license (Please God, keep him safe and thanks Dateline NBC for airing the scary segment on teen driving that very same evening—oy!); the second was when Josh, along with 37 other Kansas City Jewish teens, participated in The March of The Living, which visited the very real and very sobering death camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau followed by a week of celebration in Israel.

 It seems there have been a flood of “gbilys” in the past couple of yea or maybe, just maybe, they seem so poignant because they are so recent (like, how about today????). Two years ago Michael and I took Josh to the University of Arizona---“Good-bye, we love you!” we said as we boarded the plane to fly to Vegas to attend Virtuoso’s annual Travel Mart (a very important and exhausting travel industry event we’ve participated in for the past 14 years). The next “gbilys” ran together---Josh’s transferring to KU (only 45 minutes from home—maybe we’ll see Josh more often—oh wrong-o, Mom who doesn’t want to let go!), the abbreviated summer after Freshman year (“Hey, Mom and Dad, I’m moving out the beginning of August into an apartment near campus!”), the Thanksgiving dinner (“I’m staying in Lawrence. What time should I be home for Thanksgiving dinner?”), the Winter Break (break from school AND break from coming home other than a couple of short visits! Come on, Mom, lay off the guilt!), the new and very special relationship with Desi, and Josh and Desi giving birth to their son, Tristan, on July 2^nd.

 Some things are as they should be. How many times have I heard the saying, “We teach them to walk and we teach them to walk away?” Oh, please, can you say “Vomit?” Haven’t you read my script, Universe?  Don’t you know that Josh was supposed to be our Peter Pan, our “I won’t grow up” kid? And why, this spewing of my feelings today, you ask? A couple of hours ago Michael and Josh loaded Josh’s bed and chest of drawers into a U-Haul truck to move to the new duplex Josh, Desi and Tristan will call home for the next year. He took his bed!!!!!!!!! He took the photos of Lana he kept next to the bed!!!!!!!!!! Where will Josh sleep when he comes home? And, that is the cause of the angst---he won’t be coming home…

 I could have ended with a dramatic flourish but I assure you that this moment of pain, of self-pity, is in fact, just a moment. In my heart I know I will have many more life experiences with our son, Desi, our grandson, our daughter ( who now lives in Hawaii but is coming home to visit in September!) and her friends, our travels, our friends, our newest business venture (TBA in a couple of months)…but, God, could you just give me a little sneak preview?