Seaside Haven With Shoreline Journeys: Wrapping Up A Busy August

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How in the world is August almost over already?

I feel like I was just sitting down to write my latest Seaside Haven, catching everyone up on our summer travels, and suddenly we are heading into September. August has looked a little different around here because, for once, I wasn’t the one traveling. After our trips earlier this summer, I was more than happy to spend a few weeks at home catching up on Shoreline Journeys Travel, working with clients and finally getting some of those vacation notes out of my head and onto the blog.

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And there were a lot of them. Every time we travel, I come home with photos, notes on my phone and a running list of things I want to write about. Some are the big things everyone asks about, like rooms and restaurants, but a lot of them are the smaller things you don’t necessarily think to ask until you’re actually planning the trip. Those are usually the things I have the most fun writing about because they’re the same conversations I have with friends and clients.

So August has been a good catch-up month. I’ve been home, but Shoreline Journeys Travel certainly hasn’t been quiet. One of my clients headed to Sandals Royal Barbados this month, September has more clients heading to the Caribbean, and I’ve been doing a LOT of writing in between. Here’s a little of what has been happening around here.

August Gave Me A Chance To Catch Up

After traveling earlier this summer, I needed a month at home. I love going away, but I also love that stretch after a trip when I can finally go through everything without thinking about what needs to go into the next suitcase. August gave me some time to do that, and apparently my version of catching up involves spending a ridiculous amount of time writing about vacations.

August also gave me time to get back to the blog. I still had a ton of stuff from Sandals Halcyon Beach, Sandals Grande Antigua and Disney World that I hadn’t written about yet, so I’ve been slowly working my way through it. Every time I finish one post, I seem to remember two more things I wanted to write about, so the list isn’t getting shorter nearly as fast as I thought it would. At least I’m making progress, and there is still a lot more from those trips that I haven’t shared yet.

August has also been a nice chance to just be home for a while. I’ve been catching up on all the normal things that get pushed aside when we’re traveling, spending time at home and enjoying not having another suitcase waiting to be packed. I love our trips, but I don’t need to be going somewhere every month to be happy. Sometimes a few weeks at home is exactly what I want, and August has been one of those months.

What’s New On The Blog

If you have visited Shoreline Journeys lately, you have probably noticed quite a few new posts. I had every intention of writing and scheduling posts ahead of time this summer, and that didn’t happen. Between traveling and everything else going on, I fell pretty far behind and now I have a lot of catching up to do. The good news is that my own travels are finished for a while, so I finally have more time to sit down and write. And considering how many things are still sitting on my list, I’m going to need it.

Here are some of the newest things you’ll find on the blog:

• Sandals Halcyon Beach – Our Saint Lucia trip gave me plenty to write about, so I’ve been building out a much larger collection of Sandals Halcyon Beach resources. That includes our resort experience, dining, rooms and some of the extras you can add to your vacation.
• Sandals Halcyon Beach Dining Guide – I went restaurant by restaurant with information about the different dining options, what we ate, reservations and some of the things that are helpful to know before your trip.
• Sandals Halcyon Beach Extras – There are plenty of things you can add once you’re at the resort, from spa treatments and excursions to photography and shopping. I put together a guide to help decide which extras might make sense for your vacation.
• Sandals Grande Antigua Mediterranean One Bedroom Butler Villa With Private Pool Sanctuary Review – Our room at Sandals Grande Antigua gave me a lot to talk about. I covered the private pool, outdoor space, butler service, room layout, location and the things I would want someone to know before choosing this category.
• Saint Lucia History And Important Events – Some of what we learned while exploring Saint Lucia made me want to dig deeper into the island’s history. This post looks at the people and events that helped shape the Saint Lucia we know today.
• Fun Facts About Saint Lucia – This one is a little lighter and full of those interesting things that are fun to know before visiting. Saint Lucia is so much more than the Pitons and beautiful beaches.
• Disney Caribbean Beach Resort Room Review – Our Disney World trip also gave me plenty of new material. I’ve been breaking the resort down into more useful guides rather than trying to cram everything into one giant resort review. First up was a review of our preferred room at Disney’s Caribbean Beach resort.
• Old Port Royale At Disney Caribbean Beach Resort – Old Port Royale is such an important part of staying at Disney Caribbean Beach Resort that I gave it its own post, including dining, shopping and some of the practical things you’ll find there during your stay.
• AmaWaterways River Cruises – Cruise content is growing on Shoreline Journeys too. I’ve started adding more information about AmaWaterways and river cruising for anyone who has wondered how this type of vacation compares with the ocean cruises they may already know.
• Virgin Voyages – I’ve also been working on more Virgin Voyages content. It’s a completely different cruise experience from some of the other cruise lines I talk about, and there is a lot to cover for anyone considering their first sailing.

August ended up being a much better writing month than I expected, especially after getting so little done over the Summer. It feels good to finally see some of those posts make their way onto Shoreline Journeys instead of sitting half-finished on my computer.

Shoreline Journeys Clients Are Heading To Some Of My Favorite Sandals Resorts

While August was a stay-at-home month for me, Shoreline Journeys Travel clients have been doing some traveling of their own.

One of my clients spent six nights at Sandals Royal Barbados in August. This is such a fun choice because staying there also gives you Sandals Barbados right next door. With the two resorts together, there are so many restaurants, pools and places to explore that you can easily spend the entire vacation going back and forth between them.

I always love when a client travel day comes around, especially after we’ve spent months talking about the trip and getting everything ready. By the time travel day gets here, we’ve gone through the planning, the questions, the countdown and all of those little things that happen between booking a vacation and actually getting on the plane. Then it’s finally time for them to go enjoy the vacation we’ve been talking about for months.

September is going to keep that going with clients heading to Sandals Halcyon Beach and Sandals Grenada, which happen to be two of my favorite Sandals Resorts.

Sandals Halcyon Beach is still very fresh in my mind after our trip earlier this summer. It’s a smaller resort, easy to get around and has a completely different feel from some of the larger properties. After spending so much time writing about it over the past few weeks, it’s going to be fun knowing that one of my clients is there experiencing it for themselves.

Then there’s Sandals Grenada, which has been one of my favorites for years. I’m a little jealous every time I send clients there because I would happily go back tomorrow. I already know there are going to be things I want to ask them about when they get home, especially where they ate, what they thought of the resort and which spots became their favorites during the week.

It’s also just fun sending clients to places I really enjoy myself. Sandals Grenada and Sandals Halcyon Beach are very different resorts, but I have great memories from both of them. I hope my clients come home feeling the same way.

My Car Is Basically A Beach Vacation Now

One of the things that has been making me smile lately is my new Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts car wrap. My car is now about as beachy as a car can possibly be, and it’s pretty fun walking outside and seeing palm trees and Caribbean water. It’s also become quite the conversation starter. People notice it, ask me about it and sometimes stop to take a closer look, which still makes me laugh a little.

And I have discovered that I am never going to lose my car in a parking lot again. I can spot it from halfway across the lot now. Apparently, when your car is covered in palm trees, beaches and Caribbean blue water, the whole “where did I park?” problem pretty much takes care of itself. Considering how many times I’ve walked down the wrong row looking for my car over the years, this may be my favorite part.

A Little Look At What’s Coming In September

I may have made a pretty good dent in my writing list during August, but September’s list isn’t exactly getting any shorter.

There is a lot more coming to Shoreline Journeys, and I’m purposely not going to give all of it away yet. Some of the posts are coming from trips we’ve already taken, while others are the kind of practical travel questions that come up over and over again when I’m talking with clients. I have more Disney World content planned, more Sandals Resorts information to work through and more cruise content that I’ve been wanting to add to the site.

I came home from Sandals Grande Antigua with far too many notes and photos to stop with our room review. I also want to spend some time talking about Antigua itself because there is so much more to the island than the resort. I’ve already started working on several of those posts, and you’ll start seeing them pop up throughout September.

Antigua isn’t the only thing I have planned. Over the next few months, I’ll be mixing in more Disney World, Sandals Resorts, cruising and a few other travel topics that have been sitting on my list for a while. There is still quite a bit from our Summer travels that I haven’t gotten around to sharing yet, so I have plenty to keep me busy through the Fall.

Ending August With A Big Thank You

One thing I don’t say often enough is how much I appreciate everyone who reads Shoreline Journeys. Some of you have been following along for years, some found me while researching a Sandals Resorts vacation or Disney World trip, and others started as readers and eventually became clients. I love hearing that someone found one of my posts while trying to choose a resort or figure out a room category and ended up reading three or four more before they were finished.

I also really appreciate the questions people send me. A lot of the posts on this site start because someone asked me something and I realized it deserved a much better answer than I could fit into a quick message. If one person is wondering about it, chances are someone else is searching for the same thing. Those questions have helped Shoreline Journeys grow into a much bigger travel resource than I ever expected when I started writing.

So keep the questions coming, keep telling me what you want to know, and keep checking back. I have a pretty full list for September, including more from Antigua, Sandals Resorts, Disney World and cruising, along with a few things I haven’t talked about yet. Thank you for spending a little bit of your August here with me. I’ll see you in September.

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