Select Traveler January February 2018

THE MAGAZINE FOR BANK, ALUMNI AND CHAMBER TRAVEL PLANNERS

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SAMPLE SOUTHWEST MISSOURI

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Terms and conditions: For new bookings only. Not combinable with other offers. Minimum group size must be achieved in order to qualify. Savings of $1000 per person in balcony suites or $500 per person for staterooms applicable to any sailing in 2019. All offers are subject to availability and may be recalled at any time. $500 non-refundable deposit must be received on or before May 31st, 2018 to qualify for this offer. Full payment is required 90 days prior to departure. 2019 itineraries, hotels and inclusions are accurate at the time of printing but are subject to change. Contact Emerald Waterways groups department for specific information on the Emerald Groups Value points, which vary by destination and departure date. ©Emerald Waterways | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | One Financial Center, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02111. Ad Code: 17_EW422, December 2018

THE MAGAZINE FOR BANK, ALUMNI AND CHAMBER TRAVEL PLANNERS

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VOL.26 NO.1

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018

PUNTA CANA:

RELAXATION PERFECTED

contents checking in: KELI MULKEY

toolbox: conference marketing:

AIRPORT LAYOVERS

PREVIEW

FACEBOOK ADS

ON THE COVER: A grocery owner welcomes visitors to his shop in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Photo by Gary Taylor.

career:

DAY TRIPS

10 12 14 54 56

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MAC T. LACY CHARLES A. PRESLEY BRIAN JEWELL ELIZA MYERS HERBERT SPARROW DONIA SIMMONS DAVID BROWN ASHLEY RICKS CHRISTINE CLOUGH SAVANNAH OSBOURN KELLY TYNER

STACEY BOWMAN

888.253.0455

ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR

STACE Y@ BANK TR AVELMANAGEMENT.COM

Founder and Publisher Partner Executive Editor Associate Editor Senior Writer Creative Director Art Director Circulation Manager Copy Editor Staff Writer Director of Sales & Marketing

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RESTAURANTS

MISSOURI

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T R AV E L G U I D E

Select Traveler, the Magazine for Bank, Alumni and Chamber Travel Planners, is published bimonthly by The Group Travel Leader, Inc., 301 East High Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40507 and is distributed free of charge to qualified travel program directors throughout the United States. All other travel suppliers, including tour operators, destinations, attractions, transportation companies, hotels, restaurants and other travel-related companies, may subscribe to Select Traveler by sending a check for $49 for one year to: Select Traveler, Circulation Department, 301 East High Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40507. Copyright The Group Travel Leader, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of editorial or graphic content in any manner without the written consent of the publisher is prohibited.

NAME OR ADDRESS CHANGES: If your copy of Select Traveler should be mailed to another manager in your organization, or if you personally know another travel director who is not receiving Select Traveler, please send your correction to: Select Traveler, 301 East High St., Lexington, Kentucky 40507, or call (859) 2530455.

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perspective P U B L I S H E R ’ S

I

recently retweeted an interview with the CEO of Delta Air Lines that SKIFT published following its annual forum in New York. As I have previously written, I recommend its free daily e-newsletter about travel industry issues and trends. You can sign up at www.skift.com.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian admitted he thought his company’s business would be

down in 2017. He mentioned terrorism incidents around the globe, nationalistic initiatives in various countries and political decisions at home that would curtail travel to the United States as factors in his thinking.

To his pleasant surprise, he was wrong. His airline had its best year ever. In his explanation, he used the term “resilience” to describe the mind-set of travelers in general.

“Resilience” is a great term, but I don’t believe it adequately describes what is happening with worldwide travel right now. It’s much more than that.

The right to travel and enjoy other cultures has become inalienable to many people in many countries. Restrictions on travel just aren’t tolerated anymore by many populations throughout the world.

For example, Chinese travelers are coming to America by the millions. They still live in a country whose government is in many ways oppressive, but more than 60 million Chinese now have passports, and they are not going to be told they cannot travel. That genie is out of the bottle.

In our country, threats and life-altering incidents are not deterring Americans from seeing the places they want to see. You may have members who cannot afford a trip from time to time, but they’re never going to stop seeing travel as one of the most enriching aspects of their lives.

Email me anytime with your thoughts at maclacy@grouptravelleader.com.

Mac Lacy 6

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P L A N N E R S

T A L K

B A C K

what is one thing you’ve learned over the past year?

LIBBY GIERACH

PRESIDENT/CEO | HILLIARD AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Travel ☼ Thoughtfully Designed ☼ ☼ Delightfully Executed ☼

HILLIARD, OHIO “Using social media extensively to promote our trips has been very successful in reaching potential travelers, who then become travelers with us.

Videos and testimonials on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter work for us to promote our trips.”

KATHY LEESEKAMP

CONNECT CLUB DIRECTOR | FARMERS STATE BANK MARION, IOWA “Travel brings people together. We all see and feel different things when we travel, so it is great to be able to share your experience with a group of people who have been on the same tour as you. Travel allows you to build strong bonds with your fellow club members that last a lifetime.”

CAROLYN BERENS

VICE PRESIDENT | FIRST BANK KANSAS SALINA, KANSAS “We aim to be organized, have detailed itineraries, stay on schedule, play games on the bus and have fun. Our passengers love the all-inclusive trips we offer.”

DIANNE DE WIT

SIGNATURE AND REGIONAL EVENTS COORDINATOR | DORDT COLLEGE SIOUX CENTER, IOWA “On the last two trips, we’ve gifted our guests with a coffee-table photo book of the trip. This has been greatly appreciated and is a great way for them to share with others.”

JAY WOLZ

DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS | SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY

888-55-TRIPS

www.gotripsinc.com 8 selecttraveler.com

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MISSOURI “I’ve learned to trust the knowledge and experience of our travel partners. They have the expertise to coordinate travel experiences that wow our tour participants.

Our partner travel organizations, including Collette and First Class Travel of Cape Girardeau, have also taken the time to know our organization and members, which helps ensure that our tours are as flawless as possible.”

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FEEDING GIRAFFES AT THE ZOO WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF OUR TOUR ‘TIL WE HIT THE DESSERT TRAY AT SCHMIDT’S

Great tours are Made in Cbus. Pair a visit to the zoo Jack Hanna calls home with a cream puff at iconic Schmidt’s in historic German Village. As a leader in experiential tours, Columbus is a perfect fit for a group of any size (or taste)!

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checking in KELI MULKEY

W I T H

K E L I

M U L K E Y

RETAIL BANKING OFFICER AND TRAVEL COORDINATOR

PEOPLES BANK CUBA, MISSOURI

Chartered in 1901, Peoples Bank is the oldest and largest bank in Crawford County, Missouri. The bank’s assets are estimated at more than $200 million.

Born: Fort Ord, California Education: B.S. in accounting and management from Columbia College and M.B.A. from Webster University Employment: After high school, Mulkey deployed to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield. After serving in the military, she moved back to Missouri and worked various jobs while finishing her master’s degree.

She has served as travel coordinator for Peoples Bank for the past 16 years.

Family: Mulkey and her husband, Jim, have been married for 24 years.

They have two children.

Hobbies: She enjoys showing Boer goats at the county fair, scrapbooking, photography and camping.

The Peoples Travel group poses during a fall trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado.

BY ELIZA MYERS

I

nstead of staying in familiar Missouri after high school, Keli Mulkey chose a more hair-raising path. She enlisted in the U.S. Army and quickly found herself in one of the most dangerous places in the world: Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield.

Mulkey took the discipline she learned from that experience back with her when she returned to Missouri. She finished her master’s degree and got a job offer at the local Peoples Bank.

She also returned with an even more cemented love of travel, which had started as a young child.

“My parents were both in the Army,” said Mulkey. “I lived in Africa from ages 2 to 4. I’ve been lucky to go all over the place. Because I enjoy traveling so much, my husband and I take our kids on trips often so they can see there is more to the world.”

Her determination and enjoyment of travel helped her land an

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ideal job 16 years ago when she took over as coordinator for Peoples Bank’s travel club. Today, she still looks forward to helping others discover new destinations and cultures.

CIVILIAN LIFE

While working full time after she returned to Missouri, Mulkey completed a master’s in business administration by taking night classes. During those five intense years, she worked for an adolescent treatment facility, the Army Reserves and Columbia College.

When she moved to Cuba, Missouri, she started part time as a teller at the Peoples Bank. She soon went full time doing various tasks before Joyce Stewart recruited her to help with the bank’s travel club.

“Joyce said, ‘You’re in the Army, and you used to travel,’” said Mulkey.

“So I said, ‘Sure!’ Joyce was going into semiretirement, so I helped out, which led me to taking over the whole shebang once she officially retired.”

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Mulkey started going on day trips with the club. She would take one bus while Stewart would take the other.

“I thought the new job was exciting,” said Mulkey. “It allowed me to meet more people in the community. It’s still a blast.”

The Peoples Bank’s travel program has altered greatly since Stewart started it as a senior program in 1980. It now welcomes all ages for a yearly average of two trips by air, two trips by motorcoach, and two or three day trips.

“I think opening the age limit has helped,” said Mulkey. “If you get some of those younger folks coming on your trip, they tell their friends, which boosts club participation.”

TEARFUL MEMORIES

One of the most powerful memories from Mulkey’s time as travel coordinator involves an emotional trip to the nation’s capital.

“We were visiting the Vietnam Memorial,” said Mulkey. “We had a lot of men on that trip who had not only been there but had lost people. To see people looking at the wall in tears was heart wrenching. It was good, but tough.

“I think it’s important to think about what our country has been through and how that affects even our own towns and neighborhoods.”

Peoples Travel members also go back to Ireland, Alaska and Hawaii time and again. Mulkey receives feedback from surveys to determine future trips, and those three destinations remain so popular that the club regularly rotates them back into the offerings every three or four years.

But far from recycling old trips, Mulkey strives to dazzle members with something unexpected on every club trip.

“I always try to find some extra stop that isn’t on the agenda that I can surprise them with,” said Mulkey. “You find out things about your travelers, such as maybe they used to live there many years ago. So we’ll YOU R try to find their house.”

If Mulkey overhears someone mention something about the place that holds meaning for them, she will work to quickly fit it into the tour.

Her goal is to elicit astonished faces when she reveals the special tour stop.

LIKE CATS IN AN AIRPORT

The Army may have prepared Mulkey for many things in life, but little could prepare anyone for navigating a group of restless people through an airport.

“That’s the hardest part,” said Mulkey. “Everybody wants to go in a different direction. All you want to do is to get to the next gate. One of my customers joked that I needed kindergarten ropes with the straps so we can all just hold on and follow.”

Mulkey has learned to tell everyone to first go to the gate, and then they can roam as they wish.

“I reiterate that often,” said Mulkey. “But I don’t know if that’s a good way to do it because they still scatter like cats.”

Many other travel-planning lessons Mulkey has learned work with more regularity, such as encouraging word of mouth, promoting trips on

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Facebook and using the club to bolster relationships with clients.

“As a banker, my job is to build relationships with our customers,” said Mulkey. “Besides them coming in and opening an account, I may not have the opportunity to do that other than the travel club. It gives them a sense that the bank cares, because we take care of them.”

T R A V E L

tips

• Carry flyers for your travel club in your purse.

I have given many out at church, the beauty parlor and school events.

• Post your travels as they are occurring on your Facebook travel page and on your personal one.

Everyone loves to see them, and I get tons of comments or questions while on the trip.

• Remember that life is a journey and you hold the map. Make every trip a great one because your travelers are taking their hard-earned money to travel with you.

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T R A V E L

T O O L B O X

here’s the lowdown on layovers

BY BRIA N JE W E LL

W

hen you think about the most-anticipated moments of your next group trip, a long layover in an airport probably doesn’t come to mind. But if you travel far enough, your group is going to have to fly. And unless you live near a major gateway city, chances are good your itinerary will involve changing planes in a connecting city, which often comes with a long wait in the terminal.

At best, airport layovers are benign convenience stops, offering travelers a chance to use the restroom, stretch their legs and get something to eat before continuing on to their destinations. But there are plenty of ways they can go wrong: Few things are more stressful than a layover that is too short or more boring than a layover that is too long. Experienced business travelers are adept at handling these situations. But for large groups, which might include inexperienced or nervous flyers, a layover gone wrong can cause considerable trouble.

Next time your group travel plans call for an airport layover, keep these five tips in mind to make the experience as positive as possible.

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A LLOW PL E NTY OF TIME When you travel alone, you might book flights with short connection times — say 45 minutes — between flights. But avoid this temptation with groups. Your travelers won’t move as quickly in a group as you do by yourself, and you need to allow plenty of time for pit stops, meals, questions, etc. Shoot for a layover time of 90 minutes to two hours. If you are traveling internationally and will have to clear customs and immigrations between flights, build in a three-hour layover to allow for delays.

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USE G ROUP MES S AGING Lots of unexpected things can come up during layovers, such as flight delays, gate changes and other surprises that you’ll want to communicate to your travelers quickly. If they are spread about the terminal doing things on their own, the best way to get the word out quickly is through a group messaging system. Collect everyone’s cellphone numbers before the trip, and set up a group text thread to keep people up to date in real time. If your group is more than 20 people or so, you may need to use a group messaging service like GroupMe to communicate with everyone at once.

OF F E R A TRE AT To help stave off boredom and turn long layovers into positive experiences, consider setting aside money in your budget for an inexpensive group treat at the airport. You could host a round of drinks at a bar, buy everyone their favorite coffee creations at Starbucks or offer a cone from an airport ice cream shop. With some advance arrangements, you could hand out prepaid gift cards in small denominations so that each traveler can treat themselves to what they crave at the moment. This small gesture could help you earn loyalty from your travelers and put them in a good mood from the outset of the trip.

P RINT MAP S If your layover is longer than 90 minutes, you’ll probably want to turn travelers loose to spend time on their own. Every major airport in the country has maps of its terminals available online, so why not print copies of those maps and distribute them to your travelers ahead of time? This will give them a handy guide to restaurants, shops and other conveniences in the airport. And if your connection calls for switching from one terminal to another, a map will help them find their way to the gate where you’ll catch the next

S E T U P HEA DQUA RTE RS

flight when the time arrives.

During a long layover, you may be tempted to wander around the airport or spend time perusing shops along the way. But less-experienced travelers in your group are likely to want to know where you are at all times.

Make it easy for them by choosing a spot in advance where you will set up your headquarters for the layover. This can be a restaurant near your departure gate, a table at the food court in the center of the airport or the boarding area for your next flight. Let everyone know they can find you there and they are welcome to join you in waiting there if they wish.

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C O N F E R E N C E

connection

TOUCHDOWN AT THE WIRE!

SEE THE SUPER BOWL IN THE DERBY CITY Muhammad Ali Center

D

BY DAN DICKSON

elegates to the 2018 Select Traveler Conference are in for a pleasant surprise when they meet in Louisville, Kentucky, a unique city that is a little Midwestern and a little Southern but has its own brand of originality and energy. The conference, February 4-6, will be held at the Galt House Hotel, along the Ohio River in downtown Louisville. The Galt House has long had a reputation for being one of the best hotels for groups in the city.

This national conference will attract up to 300 travel planners representing banks, alumni groups and chambers of commerce, as well as travel destination providers from the around the nation. This is also an opportunity for Louisville to host convention delegates who can potentially bring visitors to the city.

“We as a destination are firm believers that there is no better way to sell our city than to get these travel planners and destination professionals here so we can get them interested in Louisville,” said Nicole Twigg, vice president of tourism development for the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“We think it is best to just go to the source and meet all of our counterparts over several days to get them as excited about Louisville as we are.”

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Louisville, Kentucky’s largest city, is on the Kentucky-Indiana state line and claims a population of about 625,000. Over the past few decades, the city has transformed itself into an exciting destination, with such wide-ranging signature visitor experiences as Churchill Downs, the Kentucky Derby Museum, the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory, and the Muhammad Ali Center. And, of course, most of the world’s supply of bourbon, Kentucky’s signature drink, was formulated and aged in Kentucky and distributed from the state. Louisville produces its share of the spirit: There are even distilleries right in the downtown area along what is known as Whiskey Row.

DELEGATE VALUE

The travel planners will get to chat with travel providers during hundreds of six-minute meetings spread out over three marketplace sessions. You might call it the speed-dating of the travel world. These quick get-to-know-you opportunities can pave the way for future business dealings for both parties. It’s almost unheard of for a travel planner to meet and chat with so many destination providers in such a short period.

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Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory

Evan Williams Bourbon Experience All photos courtesy Louisville CVB

At last year’s Select Traveler Conference, held in Ontario, California, delegates said they found tremendous value in the marketplace sessions. One of the delegates, Allyson Krull of the Mason City, Iowa, Chamber of Commerce. She told Select Traveler magazine, “The atmosphere of meeting so many people in a short time was huge for me. I was excited to see what the vendors offered.”

On the travel industry side, Heidi Ryan of the Lodge at Mount Magazine in Paris, Arkansas, was successfully scouring for new business. “I wanted to get more tour groups into my facility, and I think I’ve done that with some new leads and old leads. It’s been a really good conference,” she said.

GAME DAY PARTY

The Select Travel Conference will once again open on Super Bowl Sunday, and you can be sure the Louisville CVB is planning a big party for delegates that night. “This party is going to be hosted at Tavern on Fourth, part of our city’s Fourth Street Live! outdoor entertainment district,” said the CVB’s Twigg.

“We will be in our own private area for the party, which will

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include fine Kentucky cuisine and bourbon, but anyone can then branch out and visit other nearby sports bars to watch the Super Bowl. There will be special Super Bowl activities going on all around the complex.”

Fourth Street Live! is one of the leading dining and entertainment destinations in Louisville. In a compact few blocks, there are more than a dozen restaurants, bars and other nightspots to explore. Dining ranges from sophisticated to supercasual. There are fun retail stores in which to shop. Fans pour into the complex to watch the most anticipated sports events live on big-screen TVs. Louisville is a huge college basketball and football town. Fourth Street Live! is also a site for romantic dates, corporate after-hours gatherings and family fun, with bowling, billiards and arcade games.

“This is a stop we encourage travel planners to make when they come to the city,” said Twigg. “They can drop their attendees there for lunch or dinner or an event. There are tons of activities in and around the immediate area.”

On special occasions, Fourth Street Live! is the scene of some of Louisville’s most popular citywide festivals and concerts. Select Traveler Conference delegates will be right in the

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C O N F E R E N C E

connection thick of things on Super Bowl Sunday.

Louisville is gaining a reputation for serving good food.

Southern Living magazine called Louisville “one of the Top 10 tastiest towns in the South.” The publication singled out, among others, The Oakroom, a AAA Five Diamond restaurant located in the historic downtown Seelbach Hotel.

Belle of Louisville

CONFERENCE SPEAKERS

Who doesn’t need a little career motivation occasionally?

That’s Mark Linquist’s specialty. This memorable motivational speaker and entertainer will appear at the Select Traveler Conference to deliver, as Linquist loves to say, “a little jolt; a little kick in the pants” to audience members. He will talk about passion and what it was that led you into your career in the first place. “If you have a big dream for the next level in your life, I’m the guy who is out there showing you that it is possible,” he said.

Linquist also sings professionally. Some delegates may have heard him perform the national anthem before sporting events or other major gatherings around the country.

A second conference speaker will play with the mind: Corporate entertainer and mentalist Steve Haffner will fascinate delegates with his “Conquering Virtual Mind Blocks” production. It’s designed to help audience members improve their personal growth and make better decisions.

“My audience participation includes things like mind magic, virtual mind-reading, prediction, insights into subliminal influences and lie detection,” said Haffner, who promises he will do all this with gentle humor and intelligent fun. Haffner will bring his 30 years of experience in the corporate world to the conference as he reveals the subconscious influences that might be holding us back from being more productive in our career paths.

DESTINATIONS FAM TOURS

The Select Traveler Conference has arranged both pre- and post-conference FAM tours for delegates. It includes cities directly across the river from downtown Louisville in southern Indiana such as Jeffersonville, Clarksville and New Albany. The cities work with the Louisville CVB, and together they crosspromote the wider area and offer visitor experiences on both sides of the river. However, some Select Traveler Conference attendees may want to return to Louisville at another time to see the sites. The Louisville CVB will be glad to customize a future FAM tour with travel planners.

“We have a lot of Louisville original attractions here,” said Saundra Robertson, tourism sales manager for the Louisville CVB. The Evan Williams Bourbon Experience is an interesting artisanal distillery and museum that pays tribute to the state’s first commercial distiller, established in 1783. Visits to this Main Street stop are highly recommended. More such distilleries are coming to the same neighborhood this year.

Another Louisville signature attraction is the Belle of Louisville, the oldest river steamboat in operation in the United

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A Louisville Slugger factory tour

States. It is an excellent choice for spring, summer or fall group trips up and down the Ohio River from downtown. A slightly smaller boat, the Spirit of Louisville, is also available for group outings.

The CVB promotes various combinations of attractions for groups to enjoy. One example is called Bourbon and Baseball; attendees combine a visit to the various bourbon distilleries downtown with a stop at the Slugger factory and museum or a Louisville Bats baseball game at Louisville Slugger Field. The Bats are the AAA-affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds.

Another combination could have a downtown museum theme. Two group stops could include the Muhammad Ali Center, which provides a fascinating look at the worldwide impact of the heavyweight champion boxer and human rights advocate. Ali was a Louisville native. Another interesting collection is at the Frazier History Museum, which brings together everything in which the people of the Louisville area take pride.

Louisville has an intriguing history tied to the river, and it’s even more interesting how the city grew to become a modern American city.

The CVB staff say every time they schedule a FAM tour for a group of travel planners, new business springs from it. “Seeing is believing,” said Susan Dallas, senior marketing communications manager for the CVB. “We are very accessible, group friendly and affordable. There are many unique things you can see and experience here that you can’t get in other places.”

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T H A N K S TO THESE

SPONSORS LOUISVILLE CVB Opening Dinner EAST COAST TOURING Breakfast – Day One TRIPS Breakfast – Day Two COLLETTE VACATIONS Luncheon – Day One GLOBUS FAMILY OF BRANDS Luncheon – Day Two FRENCH LICK RESORT Dinner – Day Two Conference Padfolio TOURISM AUTHORITY OF THAILAND Icebreaker Reception Presentation Time EXPERIENCE PARK TOURS Buyer Breakouts ISRAEL TOURISM Marketplace Sessions ISLANDS IN THE SUN CRUISES & TOURS Super Session GO AHEAD TOURS Seminar Delegate Registry Advertisement Floor Graphics A & S SIGNATURE JOURNEYS Marketplace Drape STEP AND REPEAT Media Backdrop ANDERSON VACATIONS Delegate Orientation EUREKA SPRINGS ADVER./ PROMOTION COMM. Destination Showcase GO NEXT Destination Showcase CHEROKEE NATION CULTURAL TOURISM Hotel Key Cards GRAND CIRCLE/ OVERSEAS ADVENTURE TRAVEL Marketplace Kickoff One STAR DESTINATIONS Marketplace Kickoff Two U.S. TOURS Name Badges

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WE ATE there

Bouchon in Las Vegas serves French bistro fare that changes seasonally.

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Courtesy Bouchon

don’t miss a chance to dine at these landmarks

BY RACHEL CARTER

W

hat makes a restaurant an institution? Maybe it’s sheer longevity, or perhaps it’s sheer genius on the plate. For some, it’s a combination of both. Some of the most famed restaurants can be difficult for groups to get into, but these iconic establishments, including a nearly 200-year-old Boston restaurant and a retreat for Hollywood elite, eagerly welcome groups.

The quintessential Peter Luger meal features sliced tomatoes and onions with Peter Luger steak sauce and sizzling thick-cut bacon as appetizers, the USDA Prime dry-aged porterhouse steak, German fried potatoes and creamed spinach.

WWW.PETERLUGER.COM

UNION OYSTER HOUSE PE T ER LUG E R S T E A KHOU SE BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

Peter Luger Steakhouse originally opened as Carl Luger’s Café, Billiards and Bowling Alley in 1887 in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. Peter Luger owned the restaurant, and his nephew Carl managed the kitchen.

In 1920, businessman Sol Forman set up his decorative metalware factory across the street and often brought clients to the restaurant; his New York Times obituary said Forman “sometimes ate a steak or two a day at Peter Luger.” So 30 years later, when the restaurant closed and went up for auction, Forman won it as the sole bidder.

Today, Forman family members still choose the restaurant’s USDA Prime beef short loins and shell steaks, also known as bone-in strip steaks, which are dry-aged at either the original Brooklyn location or the second location in Great Neck on Long Island.

Both locations offer group dining, said party coordinator Maria Fontanez. The Brooklyn location’s banquet room is on the second floor and is accessible only by stairs. For lunch, the restaurant usually seats groups of 13 or fewer downstairs in the main dining area, but parties of 14 or more use the second-story room, which can seat up to 65 guests.

For dinner, the restaurant takes groups at either 5:45 p.m. or 7:45 p.m. for up to 65 guests, except on Friday nights, when they cap groups at 20 people. On Saturdays and Sundays, the restaurant takes groups only for lunch.

Groups must order from a prix fixe menu, but it “has all our signature dishes on there,” Fontanez said, including “the meal we’re known for.”

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BOSTON

Pubs along the Blackstone Block in Boston are where the Sons of Liberty would gather to drink, debate and plan the Revolution. On the same block, travelers will find a landmark, both culinary and historic: the Union Oyster House, one of the nation’s oldest restaurants.

The Union Oyster House is a Boston fixture; the restaurant is housed in a pre-Revolution-era building that housed Capen’s silk and dry goods store more than 80 years before it became a restaurant.

Today, diners can sit in the exact same place where the wives of John Quincy Adams and John Hancock often sat in their stalls sewing.

The Union Oyster House started serving food in 1826 and, since then, has had only three owners. The wood booths and horseshoeshaped oyster bar are still in their original locations.

The restaurant has several private dining and function rooms that can accommodate groups of 20 to 250 people. For meals, Webster’s Den can seat 125, the Freedom Trail Room can seat 50, and the Union Bar can accommodate 250.

The Union Oyster House often welcomes tour groups, both motorcoach and cruise ship groups, said Julia Clark, with the restaurant. The Union will put parties of 40 to 50 people in regular dining areas but will reserve private dining or function rooms for larger groups. Visitors may be lucky enough to be seated in John F. Kennedy’s favorite booth, which the restaurant dedicated in memory of the former president.

Groups, especially those that come in regularly, have set menus but can also arrange to order from the regular menu. Oysters and lobster are popular, Clark said, but groups often opt for the New England broiled scrod.

WWW.UNIONOYSTERHOUSE.COM

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ANTOINE’S NEW ORLEANS

Peter Luger Steakhouse Courtesy Peter Luger Steakhouse

Antoine’s interior

Antoine’s chef Courtesy Antoine’s Restaurant

Courtesy Antoine’s Restaurant

New Orleans’ long history and diverse cultures have helped make it legendary for its cuisine, and Antoine’s restaurant is legendary among legends.

In 1840, Antoine Alciatore established his restaurant that is still owned by his relatives 178 years and five generations later. When the restaurant outgrew its original location, he and his wife moved Antoine’s to St. Louis Street in 1868, the same location where it dishes up French Creole fare today.

Their son Jules invented Oysters Rockefeller in the same kitchen in 1899, and the recipe remains a closely guarded secret to this day. For the popular appetizer, oysters are topped with a mix of finely chopped greens and extravagant amounts of butter and are then baked in their shells. It got the Rockefeller name because the sauce is so rich that it had to be named after the richest man of the era.

The French Quarter building that houses Antoine’s allows the restaurant to have 14 lavishly decorated dining rooms upstairs and downstairs. Each room has its own personality, giving groups a wide range of options. Patrons dine beneath original chandeliers in the Main Room, and during Prohibition, guests entered the Mystery Room through a door in the ladies’ restroom.

Antoine’s various private rooms can accommodate 14 to 300 guests, and the restaurant has a total seating capacity of more than 700. The two largest dining rooms are the first-floor Large Annex, which can seat 170 for meals, and the second-story Japanese Room, which can seat 200.

Three of Antoine’s private rooms are named after Carnival krewes — Rex, Proteus and 12th Night Revelers — so they’re fittingly decorated with Mardi Gras memorabilia. The Hermes Bar is available only for private parties with a restaurant buyout.

WWW.ANTOINES.COM

AUTHENTIC DELTA SOUL. ELEVATED. Searching for a destination to captivate discerning travelers who’ve seen it all?

Greenwood’s unique melting pot of high-end and down-home cultures inspires foodies and film buffs, Blues fans and bibliophiles, sophisticates and outdoor enthusiasts. Come experience a place where history, legends, and an authentic vibe blend seamlessly with Southern charm, upscale amenities, and one-of-a-kind memories that win rave reviews.

Talk to us about designing a custom itinerary for your group.

662.453.9197 www.visitgreenwoodMS.com

Paid for in partnership by Visit Mississippi.

1948 “Dinner at Antoine’s” and light bulb from Thomas Edison Courtesy Antoine’s Restaurant

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BOUCHON LAS VEGAS

Chef Thomas Keller has transcended celebrity chef status to that of a fine-dining guru and restaurant magnate. Keller has too many accolades and awards to count, and his suite of restaurants reads like a who’s-who list of fine dining.

Although The French Laundry was not his first restaurant, it landed Keller in the national spotlight when he took ownership of the Yountville, California, restaurant in 1994.

The French Laundry remains Keller’s flagship restaurant, but it can be tough for larger groups to visit; the restaurant offers private dining for eight to 14 people. Keller opened his first Bouchon restaurant in 1998 just down the street from the French Laundry, and the original location offers French bistro fare and an extensive raw bar. However, its main dining room, which can seat 60, and courtyard, which can accommodate 28 for seated dinners, are only available for private event buy-outs.

The answer, then, for larger groups to enjoy Keller’s genius may be his second Bouchon location, which opened in 2004 at the Venetian casino resort in Las Vegas. The restaurant is housed in the Venezia Tower and, much like the original location, features antique light fixtures and murals hand painted by French artist Paulin Paris. The larger Las Vegas location offers more flexibility for groups, which can choose from a 14-seat private dining room or a 48-seat private dining room. Exclusive use of the restaurants accommodates up to 170 seated diners or up to 350 guests for receptions when also using the courtyard.

Although the menu changes with the seasons, some of Keller’s perennial favorites can be found on the menu year-round, including roast chicken, croque-madame and pot de creme.

In Minnesota, the best moments aren’t measured in time. They’re measured in paddles on the lake and pedals throughout the city. In 130-foot pines and 20-ounce pints. Rock shows and rocks on the shore.

Lighthouses and northern lights.

Lost forests and newfound friends.

How will you measure yours?

WWW.THOMASKELLER.COM/BOUCHONLASVEGAS

Bouchon omelet

Courtesy Bouchon

Union Oyster House exterior

Courtesy Greater Boston CVB

1920s Union Oyster House

Courtesy Union Oyster House

P L A N YOU R M I N N E S O TA T O U R AT E X P LOR E M I N N E S O TA .C OM C A L L 1–8 8 8 –8 4 7 – 4 8 6 6 F O R M O R E I N FOR M AT I ON

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MUSSO AND FRANK GRILL LOS ANGELES

Opened in 1919, The Musso and Frank Grill in Los Angeles offers many of the same menu items it did 90 years ago.

Courtesy Musso and Frank Grill

There’s nowhere as quintessentially Hollywood as the Musso and Frank Grill in Los Angeles. Though the restaurant is famous as a favorite among Hollywood elite during the golden age of cinema, it was also a hangout for burgeoning literary giants.

The restaurant opened in 1919, and its location on Hollywood Boulevard is just a couple of blocks from the historic El Capitan Theatre and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, which hosted the Academy Awards in the mid-1940s. The Hollywood Walk of Fame stretches past the restaurant’s front door.

Everything about Musso and Frank’s is classic: the mahogany bar, the waitstaff’s smart red jackets, the worn red-leather seats in the wood booths, the menu not so different from the one French chef Jean Rue created. The menu features steakhouse fare and Italian staples, but the “Classics Made to Order” section includes dishes such as Welsh rarebit, oyster stew, calf’s sweetbreads and grenadine of beef.

It was in the 1930s that Musso and Frank’s sealed its spot in Hollywood history. Stanley Rose opened his famed bookshop a few doors down from the restaurant in 1935, drawing writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, James M. Cain and Raymond Chandler to both the bookstore and the Musso and Frank’s bar. But the restaurant also opened its storied Back Room in 1934 to serve the film industry with an unyielding maître d’ who decided who got in. Although that space is no longer part of the restaurant, the New Room, the dining room that was expanded next door, today houses the Back Room’s original bar, light fixtures and furniture from 1934.

Private parties may be arranged on Sundays and Mondays, when the restaurant is typically closed to the public. Private parties and group dining for up to 300 people can also be scheduled during regular business hours, and menus can be customized.

WWW.MUSSOANDFRANK.COM

CORRECTION T HE ALLUVIAN H OTEL

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TH E AL L U V IA N S PA

V I KING C OOKING SC H OOL

•

GIA R DINA’S

A cosmopolitan boutique hotel deep in the Delta 318 Howard Street Greenwood, MS 662.453.2114 thealluvian.com

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An article in the Nov/Dec issue incorrectly listed the location of the Ocean House hotel. It is located in Watch Hill, Rhode Island.

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BRING YOUR GROUP TOUR TO LIFE.

Fall in love with the rhythm of the waves with hands-on experiences and uncommon access offered exclusively for groups. Plan your group’s Live the Life Adventure at VisitVirginiaBeach.com/GroupTour.

Chilling

Dominican IN THE

BY MAC LACY

“FOR MY PART, I TRAVEL NOT TO GO ANYWHERE, BUT TO GO. I TRAVEL FOR TRAVEL’S SAKE. THE GREAT AFFAIR IS TO MOVE.”

WE WENT ALL IN FOR AN ALL-INCLUSIVE

— Robert Louis Stevenson

C

ountless writers better than I have sought to define the notion of wanderlust that drives many of us to travel.

Like Stevenson, they have said the best travel is not defined by a destination but by the going itself. I, too, have long held to that philosophy. When I travel, my imagination is fired more often by the unknown than the known.

To highjack a sentence, “It’s the journey, stupid.”

My wife, Kim, and I recently took a trip with two other couples, Mark and Vicky Pulliam and Jay and Lisa Allen, to the Secrets Cap Cana Resort and Spa in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and it defied every travel sentiment I have held sacred for so long. It was entirely about the destination.

We knew exactly what to expect, how long it would take to get there and how we’d spend our days. We even paid for it all beforehand. How adventurous is that?

On the last night, when we gathered for our happy-hour drink, as we had every night before, I asked them numerous questions about what they enjoyed most about this all-inclusive resort. They, however, had only one question for me: “Will you all come with us again?”

I’ll save my answer for later.

Thatched umbrellas offer shelter from sun and cares at the Secrets Cap Cana Resort and Spa.

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By Preto Perola

An aerial shot of Secrets Cap Cana Resort

The infinity pool overlooks Juanillo Beach on the Carribean.

Photo courtesy Secrets Cap Cana Resort and Spa

ADDICTIVE WEATHER

Honestly, the weather for a week in this Caribbean island nation was almost perfect. Except for one day when it rained until midmorning — which just happened to be the morning I had a tee time at the nearby Punta Espada Golf Course — the temperatures were around 84 during the day and almost 80 in the evenings. A slight wind blew most of the time, which was just enough to cool off the lounge chairs that rest beneath thatched umbrellas anchored to the beach. If you weren’t careful, a gust might flip the pages of your book. What a hassle that was.

There’s no other way to say it: The climate in Punta Cana was marvelous around the clock. It was like a weeklong reset button for all the real-life stuff we’d left behind. The weather defined our days.

A BEACH RIGHT OUT OF THE MOVIES

Not having been to a Caribbean beach in years, I thought of scenes from various films shot on tropical beaches: Dudley Moore’s character in “10,” Ben Stiller’s in “Along Came Polly.” The water on Juanillo Beach shimmered in constant sunlight, and you could walk out sev-

The wait staff prepares the drink of the day.

Photo courtesy Secrets Cap Cana Resort and Spa

eral hundred yards to gentle breakers. Beyond that, noisy tourists splashed and snorkeled off catamarans that went out every morning and afternoon fully loaded.

The ever-present waiters and waitresses, the exotic drinks, the glamorous swimsuits on unglamorous bodies — this beach had it all. Our routine was to grab a spot in the morning beneath a thatched umbrella and keep it for most of the day. We got to know our favorite server right away. Her name was Rosanna, and she was good. Over the course of the week, she talked us into frozen margaritas, banana mamas, bloody marys and a few Presidente beers. We’d tip her once at the end of the day, and we never shorted her.

Each day, the resort offered fresh hors d’oeuvres like fruit on skewers, custom drinks like fresh sangria in copper cups and a buffet lunch like seafood paella with salad. During our visit, crews worked constantly with heavy machinery to clear seaweed that had been stirred up by the hurricanes the month before. To me, that seemed a minor inconvenience when I considered the massive damage that occurred in neighboring Puerto Rico.

One tip for the beach: Don’t come without a book. I noticed more reading on the beach than at the pools, but there were a lot of books in Punta Cana. I finished my copy of “The Accidental Life,”

Make mine a frozen margarita!

By Mac Lacy

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By Mac Lacy

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FROM THE MOUTHS OF

L

ISA: “I do these resorts to escape from work. I’m looking for rest and relaxation. We like the beach, and we’ve stayed at hotels on the beach in places like Fort Lauderdale. Some were very nice, but they weren’t all-inclusive. We like that aspect a lot. There were no surprises, which is great. My favorite time of day is when you first get to the beach and have the entire day ahead of you.”

JAY: “I enjoy the ambiance. The service staff was much more engaging here than at others we’ve been to. I love the size of the place and how easy it is to get around.

I think we could do this with a few more couples, a larger group of friends. Meals might be harder to do together, but that wouldn’t be a big deal. You don’t need an entertain-

friends ment committee — everyone does whatever they want during the day.”

MARK: “I was very happy with the attention we got from our butler, Ovideo. We’ve asked a lot of him, and he’s been awesome. I’ve been to enough of these now to know what level of service I can expect. The infinity pool over there is awesome, the best we’ve been to anywhere. At first, we were doing five nights, then six, and now we’re up to seven. When we retire, we’ll be doing 10 or so. It’s hard to leave a place like this.”

VICKY: “I had shrimp cocktails at lunch every day. Our room was great, and Ovideo always got us whatever we needed. I liked the red light/green light on the doors so the maids knew when and when not to come in. We got jerked around a little bit at the airport coming in, but that’s not the resort’s fault. Everything here has been wonderful.”

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an autobiography by longtime magazine editor Terry McDonell, who dishes on the egos and idiosyncrasies of iconic writers like Hunter S. Thompson, George Plimpton and James Salter, among others.

POOLS TO RIVAL THE BEACH

Often, we’d leave the beach in the afternoon for the resort pools.

There were two: a smaller, more intimate one for preferred members — a status we enjoyed by way of our friends’ memberships — and a huge pool for all guests that included several sections, recreational activities, a swim-up bar and an infinity pool. That’s where we hung out.

Kim did morning water aerobics several times, and in the afternoons, there was always a supervised water basketball or volleyball game going on. The infinity pool was never crowded, and its backdrop was the Caribbean, so we often ended our days there.

ROOMS WITH A VIEW

Our friends had adjoining accommodations with walk-out patios adjacent to the private pool and Rosewater Bar. Kim and I are early risers, and most mornings, we spotted Jay on his patio with coffee and something to read. These ground-level rooms included secluded outdoor showers about which both couples raved. Our second-floor room had an ocean view with a balcony, but the balcony was overwhelmed by a Jacuzzi that we never used. A simple balcony with chairs from which to enjoy the ocean would have been much more useful to us.

‘EXCELENTE! WOW!’

On the day we arrived, we wanted to celebrate at dinner, so we headed to Himitsu, the resort’s Asian/hibachi-style restaurant. The chefs there engaged everyone in the room in a boisterous give-and-take as they prepared dishes on a sizzling grill. Their “Excelente! Wow!” rose from the din to become the central theme of that beverage-driven dialogue. That became the guys’ mantra for the week whenever anything fun happened, and our wives heard it ad nauseum.

The resort featured four internationally themed evening restaurants.

We had our choice of French, Italian, Asian and Mexican eateries and dined at all of them during our stay. We never had a wait, and we ate both indoors and al fresco, based on what was available at the time. We also dined poolside a couple of evenings at the dressy Oceana and the more casual Seaside Grill. Steaks and seafood were the featured entrees at those.

We agreed that the resort food was good but not five-star cuisine.

Little John was a pleasant diversion.

By Mac Lacy

Don’t forget to bring books!

Photo courtesy Secrets Cap Cana Resort and Spa

Nonetheless, we all looked forward to happy hour and dinner because we went our separate ways much of the time during the day. Over the course of the week’s dinners, we laughed our way through the kinds of conversations that meals with friends inspire: How long do we have to pay our kids’ cellphone bills? If we lost our spouse, would we remarry, and who would have us? Why do we have retirement accounts if we don’t plan to retire? That sort of thing.

MAKING A BREAK FOR IT

About midweek, Kim and I decided to hit pause. The idea of staying within the confines of this luxurious resort for a week without ever venturing out was more than we could handle. So after about four days, we bolted one morning for a shopping excursion in town and bought a few trinkets. When they loaded us up in the white resort van with six other guests, Kim made the comment of the week: “I feel like we’re on work release.” All eight of us laughed. When we passed a crew of local road maintenance guys in orange vests carrying weed-eaters, it became even funnier.

We also bolted by way of a long walk on the beach after two guys at the pool told us about Little John, a wonderfully nondescript openair cafe down the beach. It might have been half a mile away at most, and they recommended the frozen margaritas and fish tacos. We bit. We ended up going twice for lunch and loved everything about it. The food, the crowd, the servers, you name it.

The second day we went, I put our two Corona beers on the ledge with the ocean in the background and tweeted we had “found our beach.” Call it commercial, but it sure felt that way to us. To be honest, I even enjoyed paying the bill at Little John. It just felt right after all those meals at Secrets that had been paid for months earlier.

HERE’S A TIP

The best advice Mark gave me before we left was to bring a couple hundred dollars or so in ones with us for small tips throughout the week.

I also brought some fives and tens for larger items like meal service.

I realized throughout the week that many people did not tip much, if at all. Maybe they feel like they’ve paid enough for their vacation on the front end. I disagree. The front-line service staff was wonderful, and they work hard to earn their livings.

Evenings are tropical moments in time.

ABOUT THAT QUESTION…

So, will we do it again? Absolutely. We’d like to do this with them every few years if they’ll have us. We had a ball, and we fell very easily into the relaxing rhythm a resort like this creates. We’ve come back from many a trip across the world less relaxed than when we left, but we’re OK with that. This was not an adventure, but it was a wonderful week with friends that we won’t forget. It’s easy to see why groups led by the readers of this magazine choose to do an all-inclusive from time to time.

Relaxation is its own reward.

Photo courtesy Secrets Cap Cana Resort and Spa

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S T A T E

o f

M I N D

no metropolis needed

IT PAYS TO GO SMALL IN SOUTHWEST MISSOURI

BY MAC LACY

Bicyclists in Dogwood Canyon Nature Park

H

ow do you describe a region of Missouri where you dine for breakfast on rock ’n’ roll and doughnuts at Hurts Donut in Springfield and then dodge “throwed rolls” during a raucous lunch stop at Lambert’s Café in nearby Ozark? The word “Americana” does it for me.

My trip through southwest Missouri took place last March when I joined a group of writers organized by Travel South USA. We enjoyed places as well-known as Branson and as tiny as Lamar, a blink-and-you-miss-it community that happens to be the birthplace of President Harry S. Truman.

For many reasons, southwest Missouri grabs its share of groups. Carthage, Springfield and Joplin are frequently packaged with Branson, and the George Washington Carver National Monument in tiny Diamond adds a dose of gravitas to the lighthearted fun so prevalent in the area.

We began in Springfield with an overnight in the hip Hotel Vandivort. It seems right that Springfield, as the childhood home to Brad Pitt and the late PGA Tour favorite Payne Stewart, would have a hip hotel or two. Our trip got off to a delicious start the following morning at the Aviary Café and Creperie. Floral arrangements cascade from the ceiling, and the menu features a variety of crepes and breakfast dishes.

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LAMAR

S P R IN G F IELD JOPL I N

CAR T HAG E

BR AN S ON

AMERICAN ICON

We made our way to the Carver national monument. I remember studying George Washington Carver a lot in my elementary school days, which I find pleasantly reassuring. Even though the public schools of my youth in the 1960s had only begun the long process of racial integration, this remarkable man was well known to me. I knew him then as a brilliant botanist, scientist and humanitarian.

How telling it is that we don’t even know the birth year for a

man of his stature. It could have been as early as 1861 or as late as 1864, but he was born into slavery on a farm at this site. Carver was largely self-taught and was denied formal education until his 20s. He then earned a master’s degree in agriculture from what became Iowa State University.

He was a skilled artist but decided his expertise in research would better serve others.

Carver’s work at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama related to peanut processing for items like inks, dyes and hair products was revolutionary. His discoveries ultimately caught the attention of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford; both sought him out for his ideas.

This rural site includes a visitor center and museum, classrooms — which were filled with kids when we arrived, a Carver family home and the Carver Trail. The “Boy Carver” statue rests in a grove of trees and is worth the brief walk.

“Selfishness and self are at the bottom of a lot of troubles in this world,” Carver once wrote. “So many people fail to realize that serving God and one’s fellow men are the only worthwhile things in life. It is service that counts.”

“Boy Carver” statue in Diamond

Courtesy Dogwood Canyon Nature Park

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By Mac Lacy

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SAIGON AND NEON

We drove through Carthage, a popular stop for travelers doing a Route 66 itinerary through Missouri. The 66 DriveIn Theatre, complete with neon sign, is just one of several stops these travelers seek out. It is remarkable how much travel this old highway generates. International groups from China, Australia and European countries build entire vacations around Route 66, as do motorcyclists, recreational vehicle travelers and motorcoach groups.

Consider Boots Court, which still stands at the intersection of Route 66 and Highway 71.

Built between 1939 and 1946, this motel entertained Clark Gable not once but twice and is still popular for its rooms with ceramic tile bathrooms and radios.

Red Oak II, an artists village in Carthage, is another stop for

Boots Court is a Route 66 landmark.

Courtesy Carthage CVB

Carver as depicted by a student y

By Mac Lacy

many pilgrimages on Route 66.

This picturesque enclave was assembled by shade tree artist and Carthage native Lowell Davis, and re-creates 20th-century simplicity complete with a church, a service station and a general store.

It was something else entirely in Carthage that most fascinated me. Hundreds of Vietnamese refugees arrived there after the Vietnam War, and their families have since grown and dispersed throughout the United States. Each August, thousands return and gather in this small town to have what amounts to an immense family reunion.

“Many came originally from Saigon, and they gather at the Catholic seminary here to spend four days celebrating their faith and native Vietnamese foods and music,” said Wendi Douglas, executive director of the Carthage Convention and Visitors Bureau. “They also create

“ S O M A N Y P E O P L E FA I L T O R E A L I Z E T H AT S E R V I N G G O D A N D O N E ’ S F E L L O W M E N A R E T H E O N LY W O R T H W H I L E T H I N G S I N L I F E .

I T I S S E R V I C E T H A T C O U N T S . ” — GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER

Thomas Hart Benton mural in Joplin

Courtesy Joplin CVB

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a huge farmers market on the monastery campus. Visitors and townspeople are welcome to stop by and enjoy an event that is extraordinary for a town this size.” This year’s dates are August 2-5.

MURALS AND MEMORIALS

We made our way westward on historic Route 66 to Joplin, where several of us were captivated by a work of the noted American artist Thomas Hart Benton, who lived from 1889 to 1975. Born nearby, Benton got his career start in Joplin as a 17-year-old cartoonist for the local newspaper. The town leaders convinced him at the age of 82 to create a mural that depicted Joplin at the beginning of the 20th century. It hangs prominently in their City Hall.

“I figured I was too old to go

Cunningham Park memorial Courtesy Joplin CVB

Vietnamese families gather in Carthage.

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11:21 PM

Courtesy Carthage CVB

on climbing up and down ladders. And I was,” he said at its dedication.

It is a huge work — 14 feet long — and depicts a Midwestern city filled with promise: laborers at work, streetcars and horse-drawn wagons, dirt roads and bright skies. It was the last great mural the artist painted.

Our local host in Joplin, Patrick Tuttle of the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau, took us to Cunningham Park, which commemorates the city’s darkest hours in 2011 when a monster tornado zeroed in on this neighborhood and destroyed it. On Sunday, May 22, an EF5 multiple-vortex tornado obliterated hundreds of homes and businesses, taking 161 lives and doing an estimated $2.8 billion in damage. It was the deadliest tornado in the United States since 1947.

Six years later, Cunningham Park commemorates the lives of the victims and sits on a hill

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overlooking a vast area of reconstruction. Outdoor facilities have been built for picnics and reunions, a restoration fountain greets visitors, and a butterfly garden offers a tranquil place for reflection.

Tuttle treated us to dinner at a landmark steakhouse in Joplin. Wilder’s has been around since 1929 and offers excellent food in a decor I’d describe as Route 66 redux. I had its ribeye with a Wilder’s Wedge salad.

Tuttle knows the proprietor well and knew it was a suitable place for a bunch of writers. It’s the only restaurant where I’ve dined and the server has handed me her business card.

Cap’s Cabin is a favorite in Lamar.

By Mac Lacy

Hurts Donut sweetens Springfield.

PRESIDENTS AND CAPTAINS

Most people would tell you that Lamar is a one-horse town.

It’s the birthplace of one of America’s most popular presi-

President Truman marker

By Mac Lacy

By Mac Lacy

dents, but I’m going to give it two horses because of our lunch stop there.

We toured the birth site of President Truman, who remains the only Missourian ever elected to the White House. The small frame house is authentic — it’s where Truman was born and spent the first year of his life, and he attended its dedication on April 19, 1959.

We topped off our visit to this community of 4,500 with a meal at Cap’s Cabin, a delightful seafood joint that beats customers off with a stick. I couldn’t believe how many staff were working in its tiny kitchen just to keep up. There couldn’t have been more than a dozen or so tables in the whole place.

We had cream cheese poppers and fried okra bites as appetizers, then I had the deckhand dinner with fried flounder, shrimp and clams. The restaurant has moved to larger quarters since I was there, but I wouldn’t go to Lamar again without visiting Cap’s.

JOHNNY MORRIS MAJESTY

Toasting a stop at Wilders in Joplin

Our tour ended in Branson, and I had the opportunity to visit two new stops for me in mid-America’s entertainment mecca. Both can be attributed to the vision and business acumen of Missouri’s best-known entrepreneur, Johnny Morris, who founded Bass Pro Shops.

Our group had dinner one evening overlooking Table Rock Lake in Morris’ Top of the Rock resort. The resort is magnificent, but it was the golf course beneath us that ran off with my imagination. Carved into the Ozark Mountain hillsides, this immaculate layout was brilliantly lit for our arrival, and a few fortunate souls were hitting balls on the range under a clear evening sky while we dined.

The next day, we spent a morning at Morris’ Dogwood Canyon Nature Park, a half-hour or so outside Branson. Morris bought much of the property years ago and then created a nonprofit foundation to fully develop it for guests. Comprising more than 10,000 acres in the southwest Missouri woodlands, Dogwood Canyon is a favorite with families and lovers of the outdoors for its bicycling and hiking trails, horseback riding, guided flyfishing and tram excursions. We said our goodbyes with a farewell lunch at its Mill and Canyon Grill restaurant. www.travelsouthusa.org

Courtesy Joplin CVB

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known

F O R

DOWNTOWNS

BEALE STREET

RIVERWALK

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Courtesy Memphis CVB

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, is both the home of the blues and the birthplace of rock ’n’ roll, and its downtown delivers plenty of each.

Beale Street is a 1.8-mile historic stretch that played an important role in the history of the blues and the city’s top attraction. Block after block is lined with barbecue joints cooking and blues clubs jumping beneath the gleam of neon signs. Nearby, visitors flock to the historic downtown Peabody Hotel, famous for its trained ducks that march to and from the lobby fountain every day.

Groups can explore downtown on their own feet or on wheels: bicycle rentals, Segway tours or the city’s vintage steel-wheel trolley system, which is slated to start running again this spring after being refurbished for safety reasons. The historic trolley acts as both transit and tour, and the restored passenger cars’ gleaming wood interiors transport riders to another time as they rock and sway through downtown.

Visitors can further explore Memphis’ music history at the Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum and the home of W.C. Handy, who was known as the Father of the Blues.

Just a short stroll from the blues clubs of Beale Street, the new Beale Street Landing on the Mississippi riverfront offers a modern transition from land to water. The Landing features a grass roof that connects to Tom Lee Park, the Front Porch restaurant and the dock where Memphis Riverboats departs for 90-minute sightseeing cruises.

By Bob Howe, courtesy visitsanantonio.com

TEXANS ARE PROUD of their state and their history, and San Antonio has played a major role in both. The city’s Spanish Colonial heritage is most evident in downtown, also home to San Antonio’s most-visited attractions.

People who have never been there may be surprised to realize that the Alamo sits in the heart of downtown. The 1756 mission chapel, better known as the Alamo for its role in the Texas revolution, still stands, and a few original outbuildings house exhibits.

In a small park behind the church, re-enactors demonstrate how turkey quills were used to light cannons or the techniques doctors used to locate bullets.

La Villita was San Antonio’s first neighborhood, established nearly 300 years ago on the banks of the San Antonio River. The area has been preserved as a historic landmark and transformed into a modern cultural art hub with cobblestone streets, plazas and fountains. Nearly 30 historic homes and commercial buildings serve as art galleries, boutiques and artisan shops.

La Villita backs up to downtown San Antonio’s most-famous attraction: the River Walk. The River Walk is a pedestrian route alongside the channeled river, which is one story lower than the downtown streets. Restaurants, bars, hotels, shops and even an outdoor theater line its banks, and diners often wave to passengers floating by on water taxis and river tours.

WWW.VISITSANANTONIO.COM

WWW.MEMPHISTRAVEL.COM

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BY RACHEL CARTER

RIVERSPORT ADVENTURES

MONROE STREET BRIDGE

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA Courtesy Oklahoma City CVB

THERE ISN’T JUST ONE downtown Oklahoma City; downtown is home to several districts, each with its own distinct OKC personality. Bricktown is a former warehouse quarter that is now the hip hub of downtown nightlife directly east of the convention center.

The neighboring Boathouse District is a hub of outdoor adventure.

The Bricktown Canal cuts through the industrial-chic entertainment district just below street level, and Bricktown Water Taxi offers narrated water-taxi tours, private charters and dinner cruises. Groups can dine at Mickey Mantle’s Steakhouse, catch a show at Michael Murphy’s Dueling Piano Bar, and play games at Brickopolis or HeyDay. In May 2016, a $45 million whitewater rafting facility opened in the Boathouse District, and groups can raft down both its recreation and Olympic channels multiple times.

“You can stay in Bricktown and go whitewater rafting the same day and be back in two hours,” said Tabbi Burwell, communications manager for the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Nearby, groups can zip line across the river, zoom down threestory-high stainless-steel slides and tackle SandRidge Sky Trail, an 80-foot-tall, six-level aerial obstacle course structure.

The city is also building a six-mile-long, modern streetcar system that will link several districts in and around downtown OKC, including Bricktown, when it opens later this year.

WWW.VISITOKC.COM

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SPOKANE, WASHINGTON

By Craig Goodwin, courtesy Visit Spokane

DOWNTOWN SPOKANE, Washington, “is walkable, it’s beautiful, and it’s this quirky mix of urban and natural,” said Kate Hudson, public relations manager for Visit Spokane. The downtown core straddles the Spokane River, with historic, arching bridges connecting both sides.

City officials have emphasized renovating and repurposing historic buildings, so the area maintains much of its original character.

The Historic Davenport Hotel is a must-see for visitors, who can get a drink in the lobby bar or take a self-guided walking tour of the 1914 building, Hudson said.

Shoppers will find higher-end stores at River Park Square, and local businesses and independent restaurants dot the entire downtown.

Downtown is also home to about two dozen breweries and taprooms on the Inland Northwest Ale Trail. In the Cork District, visitors will find 18 wineries with tasting rooms within walking distance of each other.

The river is a major downtown attraction, and groups can go whitewater rafting, paddleboarding or biking on the riverfront trail.

Spokane Falls Skyride offers rainbow-infused waterfall views as the gondolas glide over the river. The tram was built in 1974 along with Riverfront Park to host the Expo ’74 fair. The park is undergoing a $64 million restoration, and a new “ice ribbon” just opened in December as part of the project. Skaters can step off the meandering path of ice to warm up at nearby fire pits, Hudson said.

WWW.VISITSPOKANE.COM

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WHITE STREET

EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS

IN EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS, nothing is flat, including its downtown, which is lined with historic stone buildings and elegant Victorian homes that stair step up hillsides and steep streets. Downtown can be a little tricky for groups because motorcoaches aren’t allowed on the hilly, hairpin roads, but a tram can easily shuttle groups downtown.

The Eureka Springs Tram Tour showcases the city’s history, including that of the historic downtown business district, which is dotted with natural springs, and the adjacent neighborhood, where many of the ornate homes are now bed-and-breakfasts, said Gina Rambo, publicist with the Eureka Springs Advertising and Promotions Commission.

During a Downtown Underground Tour, groups can see what used to be the street level of downtown Eureka Springs, which went underground when the city raised Main Street — nicknamed Mud Street for how often it flooded — an entire story. The Mud Street Café is housed in the original first level of an 1888 building, which means it’s now in the basement. There’s a window in the floor that shows the spring beneath the building that caused the flooding.

Downtown is almost chain-free, populated instead with chef-owned restaurants, independent boutiques and art galleries where visitors can find works by local artists.

Eureka Springs has 64 springs within the city limits, Rambo said, and in downtown, “every 100 feet or so, there’s a natural spring.” Basin Spring Park, home to one of the most prominent springs, acts as a gathering spot for free concerts, art festivals and craft fairs.

WWW.EUREKASPRINGS.ORG

Courtesy Eureka Springs CAPC

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GET READY FOR HORSES, HISTORY

AND A WHOLE LOT OF BOURBON Grab your group and get away to a city that’s nearing the completion of a $1 billion transformation. A city full of new group-friendly hotels, bourbon heritage experiences and tried and true favorites like the historic Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum.

Get a different taste, visit GoToLouisville.com/TravelProfessionals.

@GoToLouisville

CARIBBEAN C A C H E

A Cuban coffee in Little Havana All photos courtesy Greater Miami CVB

MIAMI IS A CULTURAL CELEBRATION

BY ELIZA MYERS

W

hen families from Cuba, Haiti, the Bahamas and the Caribbean arrived in Miami, they brought with them colorful art, carefully rolled cigars, foot-stomping music and other cultural customs. Four heritage neighborhoods preserve these vibrant cultures with museums, art galleries, historic buildings, restaurants and other attractions.

Groups can immerse themselves in these intriguing traditions by watching a show at the Lyric Theater or exploring Bahamian art in Coconut Grove. Various attractions also offer hands-on experiences, such as rolling a cigar at a Cuban cigar factory or learning a hipshaking dance at the Little Haiti Cultural Center.

“A lot of people think of Miami as just the water and the weather,

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but these heritage neighborhoods broaden the scope of the area,” said Connie Kinnard, vice president, multicultural tourism and development. “They have a lot of art and entertainment to offer. We are promoting them more than ever.”

LITTLE HAVANA

One does not simply roll a Cuban cigar. The three-step process involves twisting, binding, pressing and rolling.

Groups can attempt this handed-down tradition by rolling their own cigars at one of the many cigar factories in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. Even those who don’t want to smoke a cigar will find the process fascinating.

Cuban cigars came to Miami when more than a half-million Cubans fled their country after Fidel Castro took over in 1959. The refugees settled in what became known as Little Havana, which turned the area into a sort of cultural museum.

Guests might feel they’ve left the country as they walk down cobblestone streets past colorfully painted and mosaic-tiled murals. The beat of rumba music and the smells of fresh cortado and other delicacies permeate the air. Locally owned bakeries, open-air fruit markets,

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coffee stands and restaurants line the streets, making it easy to taste the sweet and savory Cuban flavors.

To take home a new skill, groups can learn salsa steps at a local club.

“Little Havana is one of our most established historic neighborhoods when it comes to leisure travel,” said Kinnard. “It is walkable with lots of culture, history and hops. If you haven’t been to Cuba, you can get some of those experiences in Little Havana.”

HISTORIC OVERTOWN

Known as the Little Broadway district northwest of downtown Miami, Historic Overtown once shone with the bright lights of AfricanAmerican nightclubs and music halls. Headliners like James Brown, Ray Charles and Ella Fitzgerald once entertained crowds with blues, jazz and soul music across the neighborhood.

This golden era ended in the 1960s when two expressways went through the center of the neighborhood and displaced 20,000 residents. The Lyric Theater, however, stood through it all.

Today, groups can glimpse Historic Overtown’s remarkable past during a visit to the ornate 1913 theater. Apollo-style talent shows, jazz concerts and other performances regularly welcome groups seeking to relive the theater’s glory days.

The 1946 Jackson’s Soul Food remains another favorite group stop. One of the oldest restaurants in Overtown, the restaurant serves meals that combine American Southern and Caribbean flavors. Diners can choose from classics like fried catfish and biscuits, oxtail, collard greens and peach cobbler.

Other heritage stops include a look at the murals at the Overtown Folklife Village and a tour of the Black Police Precinct Courthouse and Museum.

“The museum was an actual police precinct in the area,” said Kinnard. “During the civil rights era, African-Americans were charged with policing their own area. The precinct had its own courthouse and jail in Overtown’s historic African-American neighborhood.”

COCONUT GROVE VILLAGE WEST

Before Miami’s skyscrapers and urban trappings, a group of Bahamian fishermen established a historic settlement in Miami’s Coconut Grove. These settlers traversed the waters separating the Bahamas from Florida to work at the Peacock Inn in the 1870s.

Though relatively poor, the community constructed simple houses of coral rock built to withstand storms. Many of these durable homes still stand for groups to admire in a section of Coconut Grove called Village West.

Since that time, the area has burgeoned into an art mecca with Caribbean-inspired art and other works.

“The Kroma art gallery is a central place in the area that brings together the art in the community,” said Kinnard. “Groups frequently will go there for a tour to learn about Bahamian art and culture.”

The Kroma strives to connect Coconut Grove to its Bahamian past through its art, as well as showcase art of all types. The gallery consists of 19 art studios and two communal exhibition spaces. Groups can meet resident artists, attend an art workshop or tour the facility.

This summer, the gallery will host Miami Goombay, an event designed to bring the energy of the Bahamas to Miami with art, crafts, food and music.

Coconut Grove also offers attractions not related to the Bahamas that groups love, such as Cocowalk, a luxury outdoor mall. Many visitors also rent paddleboards to explore the area’s mangroves and piers.

www.miamiandbeaches.com

Jackson’s Soul Food

Little Haiti Cultural Complex

LITTLE HAITI

Political, economic and natural disasters have led scores of Haitians to Miami for many years. Visitors can glimpse the proud Haitian culture at Little Haiti, where a walk down the street passes markets selling sugar cane, signs written in Creole and murals commemorating significant events in Haitian history.

“The Haitian population is one of the largest demographics in Miami,” said Kinnard. “You can explore its historic culture in Little Haiti. The hub of the Haitian experience for groups is the Little Haiti Cultural Complex.”

The Little Haiti Cultural Complex offers experiential ways to connect with the Haitian lifestyle, including a cultural dance class and a ceramics workshop. Art exhibits from Caribbean-American artists rotate regularly at the center. The 2009 center also houses a 270-seat theater where Haitian folk artists and musicians perform.

The popular monthly Big Night in Little Haiti turns the center into a Port-au-Prince-style party with Haitian music, Creole cooking, handcrafted art and lots of dancing.

Groups can explore more of the area’s culture at the Haitian Heritage Museum, the Caribbean Marketplace and numerous quality Haitian restaurants. Leela’s Restaurant draws many foodies for its Haitian classics. One sought-after dish is the restaurant’s griot plate, which combines fried pork, rice, peas and plantains.

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Coconut Grove’s Goombay Festival

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Blue Blood Brewery

Lakehouse Farm

Historic Haymarket District

Lakehouse Farm greenhouse

TASTE THIS

TOW N

BY ELIZA MYERS

Historic Haymarket District All photos courtesy Lincoln CVB

lincoln lures foodies to nebraska

F

ood isn’t an afterthought during a tour of Lincoln, Nebraska. It is the tour. Groups can sip on a local beer inside a cave that once sheltered outlaws at the Blue Blood Brewing Company. They can meet the cows that provide the creamy milk at Prairieland Dairy.

Citizens of Lincoln take their reputation as a thriving culinary destination seriously and offer tours surrounding many of their local eateries. Dinners on the tours come with either a history lesson at the Historic Haymarket District or a sustainability lesson at the Prairie Plate Restaurant.

Each foodie destination not only provides the necessary calories but also serves as a delicious way to become better acquainted with the capital city of Nebraska.

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BLUE BLOOD BREWING COMPANY

According to legend, Jesse James hid inside a 5,000-square-foot underground complex known as Robber’s Cave during one of his bank robbery sprees. Though the story’s veracity is debated, groups love to hear the lore of the cave while sampling popular brews from the Blue Blood Brewing Company.

Founded in December 2011 by three buddies from the Lincoln Police Department, the Blue Blood Brewing Company offers 20 taps: 15 of its own beers and five from other Nebraska brewers. In 2016, the local craft brewery moved to a 12,000-square-foot brewery and taproom that sits above Robber’s Cave.

Today, groups can learn about the background of the brewery, dine at the full-service restaurant, sample some of the flavors and tour the man-made sandstone-cave tunnels from an entrance inside the brewery. Originally created as a place to brew lager in 1869 by Lincoln’s first brewery, Pioneer Brewing Company, the cave houses little beer these days. Instead, guides lead groups through the tunnels that recount its history and show messages left by generations of locals who used the cave for parties.

“You wouldn’t think about visiting a cave in Nebraska or guess how large it is,” said Kelsey Meyer, sales development manager for the Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It’s a really fun and

Courtesy Kentucky Bourbon Trail

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drinks at nebraska’s capital

A

fter a day packed with touring Lincoln’s sites, groups can unwind at any of these stops for drinks and a peek into local life.

For Foreign Wine: Started by a French chef, Lawrence De Villiers, The Normandy delivers authentic French cuisine to Nebraska. De Villiers tells his story of coming to America after a childhood steeped in wealth and French politics.

For the Nightlife: Groups can walk up and knock on a back-alley door to enter the hidden bar named The Other Room. Designed to mimic a speakeasy with its mysterious address, The Other Room serves specialty cocktails and earned distinction as a James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Bar in 2015.

For Beer and a Meal: Lazlo’s Brewery and Grill offers award-winning house-brewed ales and comfort food grilled over a live hickory fire. In the Historic Haymarket District, the 1991 brewpub offers many options for groups, including an outdoor patio and private dining.

For Wine and a View: To sit back and take in the sunset over the Lincoln skyline, groups can sip wine at the Capital View Winery and Vineyards. The site offers entertainment, wine samples and a relaxing ambiance.

The Normandy’s caviar The Normandy

Lazlo’s Brewery

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unique interactive experience for groups. They love to take the full experience of dining in the restaurant, sampling the beers and walking through the cave while listening to stories about what happened there.”

PRAIRIELAND DAIRY

In 1998, four families joined together to rethink the dairy farm model. They wanted to create a new kind of dairy farm that prioritized sustainability.

Just outside Lincoln, Prairieland Dairy offers 60-minute to 90-minute group tours explaining how the milk starts from happy and healthy cows and ends up in the grocery store. Tours also showcase the farm’s innovative sustainability measures, such as the efficient facilities and composting system.

“You can smell the aromas and see where the cows live,” said Meyer.

“It’s a very interesting experience for a group that has never seen the process of a working farm. The tour guides are the actual farmers and are really great at answering all the questions that groups come up with.”

Visitors meet the cows while learning how they are fed, milked and kept comfortable. Then the tour illuminates the process of filtering milk, storing it and bottling it. Guides also explain the complicated equipment needed for each step to keep the operation sustainable and manageable.

The site operates an extensive composting system that collects manure, community yard waste and food waste to produce more than 20,000 tons of compost per year. Guests learn how the compost is used on the farm and sold to divert waste from the landfill.

After seeing a day in the life of a dairy farmer, groups can experience the taste of an all-natural dairy product with milk and cheese tastings.

HISTORIC HAYMARKET DISTRICT

With tastes of flavored licorice, homemade ice cream and locally made wine, guests can immerse themselves in part of Lincoln’s thriving culinary scene. The Historic Haymarket District houses dozens of local restaurants and shops that reflect the authentic flavors of the area.

“The Haymarket District was originally a warehouse district where farmers could go and sell their produce,” said Meyer. “It’s been restored, and now it is a booming area with a lot of restaurants, attractions and shopping areas. In 2013, we expanded on to the district to add an entertainment district.”

Volunteers give walking tours of the district to help participants picture the area as a produce market in the late 1800s. When the city adopted a redevelopment plan for the area in 1984, workers transformed the largely vacant, crumbling 1920s buildings into a vibrant part of downtown Lincoln.

Groups can easily spend an afternoon touring the district’s inter-

Prairieland Dairy

Robber’s Cave

“ Y OU W OUL DN’T T HINK A B O U T V IS IT ING A C AV E IN NE B R AS K A O R GUE S S HOW L A R GE IT IS . ” — KELSEY MEYER esting shops, such as Licorice International, which boasts the largest selection of licorice in the United States. Other popular stops include old-fashioned ice cream tastings at Ivanna Cone and wine tastings at the From Nebraska Gift Shop.

For dinner, groups can choose from a variety of restaurants, or they can arrange a progressive dinner with a cocktail, a main course and a dessert, each at a different venue.

PRAIRIE PLATE RESTAURANT

Many foodies seek restaurants that source local food. However, few restaurants can boast food sourced from only a few yards away.

The Prairie Plate Restaurant serves meals to diners using what they call a “farm-to-the-kitchen-to-the-table” approach.

Owners Jerry and Renee Cornett first opened Lakehouse Farm, a certified organic farm just outside Lincoln in 2011. In 2014, they opened the Prairie Plate Restaurant, which features a seasonal menu to ensure that 85 percent of the vegetables offered come from the attached 40-acre farm.

Both Jerry and Renee spent time working for and traveling with the U.S. Navy, which exposed them to many cultures that use flavors from their native environments, such as fresh mangos in Indonesia and local wines in Tuscany.

The Cornetts applied the concept to their farm and restaurant.

During a group visit, the owners can also share their sustainable farming techniques, such as drip irrigation, covered crops, contour farming and crop rotation. They also compost kitchen scraps from the restaurant to mix into their soil.

Items the couple doesn’t produce — namely, meat, dairy and grains — come from local farmers and suppliers. The restaurant sits in a former farmhouse renovated by the couple.

“A group of 50 can take over the restaurant and have an intimate experience with the chef and owners,” said Meyer. “It’s a peaceful experience. The restaurant overlooks a lake on a prairie.”

www.lincoln.org

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FOUNDERS’

FAVORITES

BY KEREN HAMEL

COLONIAL SITES HIGHLIGHT A TRIP TO THE NORTHEAST

Courtesy Plimoth Plantation

I

f history is best understood by walking the ground where it happened, a lesson on Colonial America means a trip to these sites in the Northeast. At each location, historians have preserved the early stories of sacrifice, dedication and devotion that led to the creation of a nation.

TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Courtesy Discover Newport

Courtesy Discover Newport

Top: Re-enactors make a trip to Plimoth Plantation come to life.

Middle and bottom: Trinity Church in Newport, Rhode Island, is a historic treasure.

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NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND Built in Newport in 1726, Trinity Episcopal Church has remained largely unchanged for more than 290 years. The tall, three-tiered pulpit still looks out over the original pews, among them the pew where George Washington once sat as a distinguished visitor. Though the church is still an active parish, history buffs from the congregation volunteer to show groups around their precious piece of Colonial history.

“We are tied into the very founding of Rhode Island,” said the Rev. Canon Anne Marie Richards, who climbs the 10 large steps to the pulpit to preach each week. “People came to Rhode Island in order to have a place where they could worship — or not worship — as was their desire.

We stand as a beacon for that wonderful heritage of religious freedom.”

The building itself is unusual for its large size and its impressive number of windows, which allow anyone walking by a view of services. During tours, volunteers point out the gold-tipped staffs used to prod sleepers during lengthy Colonial services, a 1728 chandelier original to the building and the rear balcony organ with a decorative crown in honor of Queen Anne.

Regular tours run from May to October, but groups can call to request a tour in any season. Richards suggests visiting Trinity in conjunction with three other religious sites: Touro Synagogue, America’s oldest Jewish house of worship; Newport Congregational Church, with glass

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windows designed by John La Farge in 1857; and St. Mary’s Catholic Church, where Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy married. The website www.4faiths.org provides an organized tour of the four.

WWW.TRINITYNEWPORT.ORG

INDEPENDENCE HALL

PHILADELPHIA The birthplace of the United States, Philadelphia’s Independence Hall holds some of the nation’s favorite memories. Originally Pennsylvania’s Statehouse, the redbrick building with its clock tower and steeple is where Congress gathered after the British first attacked. In the same assembly room, Washington was appointed commander in chief, the Declaration of Independence was signed, and the Constitution was adopted.

“We have the hall set up to look as it did in the 18th century,” said Andrew McDougall, special-use coordinator for Independence National Historical Park. “As rangers guide groups through the tour, they can imagine Washington and Jefferson ironing out our new system of equality.”

In addition to telling the hall’s history, rangers point out the silver inkstand used by delegates to sign the Declaration of Independence and Washington’s iconic Rising Sun chair. The hall also contains an exhibit of founding documents, including the final draft of the Constitution and the first printing of the Declaration of Independence.

An unusual way to view the hall is on the Independence After Hours

Independence Hall

Tour organized by Historic Philadelphia. After dinner at a reconstructed Colonial tavern and a visit by Thomas Jefferson, the group gets exclusive evening access to Independence Hall, where actors play the Founding Fathers as they discuss the Declaration of Independence.

WWW.NPS.GOV/INDE

NATHAN HALE HOMESTEAD

COVENTRY, CONNECTICUT Hanged by the British for his service as a spy in the Continental Army, Nathan Hale came from a family full of patriotic heroes. Six of the eight Hale brothers served in the American Revolution, and three died of war wounds. It’s Nathan Hale’s last words that live on: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

The Hale brothers grew up on a 17-acre farm in Coventry that has remained relatively unchanged since 1776. The Georgian-style home purchased by their wealthy father in 1740 is furnished with family possessions, including Nathan Hale’s chest from the war, and other period antiques. Site guides focus on the story of patriotism through sacrifice, describing Hale’s journey from teacher to spy, which ended in his early death at age 21.

“Nathan Hale is someone who made the ultimate sacrifice for his ideals,” said Sheryl Hack, director of Connecticut Landmarks, which operates the homestead. “Touring the site prompts the soul-searching questions about what we’re willing to sacrifice.”

In addition to a house tour, groups can request specialty tours of the farm, which adjoins the 1,500-acre Nathan Hale State Forest. Two other popular requests are the hearth-cooking and tea programs, where participants learn to prepare a meal at the hearth and the importance of tea to Colonial life, respectively. This year, the homestead renovated the original 18th-century Hale family barn and a 19th-century dairy barn, which can now be used by groups as a lunch or dinner space.

WWW.CTLANDMARKS.ORG/NATHAN-HALE

Nathan Hale Homestead

By Jeff Fusco, courtesy Philadelphia CVB

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Courtesy Connecticut Landmarks

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PLIMOTH PLANTATION

PLYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS Against the backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean stands Plimoth Plantation, the first permanent English colony in New England built by the Pilgrims on the shore of Plymouth Harbor. The re-creation is pure 1627, with thatched roofs, cramped quarters, open fireplaces and long-horned livestock. Role-players who have adopted the stories and daily lives of original Pilgrims never break character.

“Our living-history educators love to engage visitors on daily life, but you can’t get them to talk about anything beyond the 17th century,” said Kate Sheehan, manager of media relations for Plimoth Plantation.

“That’s why we have modern guides alongside them, answering anything a Pilgrim wouldn’t know.”

Near the Plymouth Colony is the Wampanoag homesite on the banks of the Eel River. Native people in traditional dress — not actors — describe what it was like to live alongside the colonists in the 1620s.

Though a visit to Mayflower II is usually a must, the ship is now being restored at Mystic Seaport; it will return to Plymouth in the spring of 2019.

For groups, the museum has put together a list of professional speakers who give tours on a wide range of specific interests — early gardens, Colonial religion and Native culture among them. Another specialized tour includes a 30-minute walk along Plymouth waterfront and a view of Plymouth Rock. For the ultimate experience, groups can dine like a Pilgrim on 17th-century fare alongside actors who teach groups how to eat without a fork. “A Colonial meal might not sound great, but it is delicious,” Sheehan said. “My mouth is watering just thinking about it.”

Plimoth Plantation cooking demonstration

WWW.PLIMOTH.ORG

NEW CASTLE COURT HOUSE

NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE Historic New Castle and its beautiful, old buildings have been standing since the late 1600s. At the heart of the city is one of the oldest surviving courthouses in the nation. The original 1732 courthouse is built over the remains of a 1689 courthouse and served as Delaware’s first Capitol, where the state declared its separation from Pennsylvania and England.

“New Castle is the real thing, not a reconstruction,” said Cindy Snyder, site manager for New Castle Court House. “Our buildings have been in use for the last 300 years, and the layout is just as it was in George Washington’s time. If he were to come back today, he might not recognize the lights and electric cars, but he’d recognize everything else.”

Snyder likes to compare her courthouse to its Georgian counterpart in Philadelphia. “It’s not as ornate as Independence Hall, but there’s still a majesty to it,” she said. The redbrick floors are original, as is the English bar with a prisoner’s stock.

Tours relate the courthouse’s central role in Colonial politics leading to a new nation. When Congress issued the Declaration of Independence, proud citizens gathered to hear it read aloud from a balcony on the second floor. Guides also point out period portraits, furniture, artifacts and decorative arts.

“It’s the best starting point,” Snyder said. “You can gather the big picture, then go exploring throughout the rest of town.”

Courtesy Plimoth Plantation

New Castle Court House

By Bruce Burk, courtesy New Castle Court House

WWW.HISTORY.DELAWARE.GOV

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ICONIC

COLLECTIONS

BY KEREN HAMEL

YOUR ART BUFFS WILL LOVE THESE NORTHEASTERN MUSEUMS Courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art

T

he Northeast is home to two of the largest art collections in the world and has more than its fair share of world-renowned masterpieces. The region’s best museums, large and small, have also amassed collections relevant to the Northeast and the nation and have become iconic parts of their destinations.

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

Courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Top: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Temple of Dendur is an Egyptian religious structure from Roman times.

Middle: The Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art reveals some interesting cultures.

Bottom: The Greek and Roman art exhibit comprises of more than 17,000 works.

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NEW YORK With a footprint of more than 2 million square feet, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is the largest museum in the country. The treasury of rare and beautiful objects is housed in an enormous Beaux Arts building in Central Park on Fifth Avenue.

“Once you’re in the doors, you discover a whole slew of things that appeal to different interests in your life,” said Haley Ward, head of tourism sales and marketing at the museum. “I still show up to work and discover new things. We have over 2 million objects of art at any given time.”

The collection has been growing since the museum opened in 1870 and now spans 5,000 years of human history from every part of the world. There’s the American wing; European paintings and sculptures; Egyptian art, which includes the Temple of Dendur, a 10 B.C. temple gifted to the United States and installed in its own wing; Greek and Roman art; medieval art; arms and armor; art of the Arab lands; Asian art; photography; drawings; prints; musical instruments; modern and contemporary art; and arts of Africa, Oceana and the Americas.

Groups can bypass admission lines and select private tours with a trained museum guide or elect for the exclusive EmptyMet tour. “This is our VIP early-morning tour that happens before the Met opens to the public,” Ward said. “One of the museum’s most-engaging guides leads

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you through a fast-paced tour of the highlights of the museum. It’s a lot of fun, and there are lots of great photo opportunities.”

WWW.METMUSEUM.ORG

PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART

PORTLAND, MAINE Maine’s oldest museum, the Portland Museum of Art (PMA), carries a robust collection of iconic American art in addition to remarkable European and contemporary collections. Since a significant number of the country’s most notable artists, among them Winslow Homer, Andrew Wyeth and Frederic Edwin Church, looked to Maine for inspiration, the PMA boasts many of their most iconic works.

“Maine, as a place, extends from artists colonies and a generation of premier artists who have chosen to do incredible work in Maine,” said Graeme Kennedy, the museum’s director of marketing and public relations.

For groups particularly interested in American art, the museum runs shuttles to Homer’s studio, just a 20-minute drive away. The studio was Homer’s primary residence and workspace from 1884 until his 1910 death.

“You get to visit the spot where Homer painted his most excellent

Shelburne Museum’s historic steamboat

works,” Kennedy said. “You get to walk in his steps, see what he saw, step onto the same cliff walk — it’s really a rare experience.”

The PMA also specializes in creating original experiences for groups, and organizers can request customized tours by docents, curators or even the director on any topic. And since the museum’s entire collection is online, group organizers can request pieces not currently on display to be presented in the art study room when the group arrives.

WWW.PORTLANDMUSEUM.ORG

STRAWBERY BANKE MUSEUM

PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE On Portsmouth’s original seaport, the Strawbery Banke Museum, which is named for the original 1600s settlement, is a living-history museum that depicts life from the late 1600s through the 1950s. “Most living-history museums focus on a specific time,” said Stephanie Seacord, director of marketing for the museum. “We’re covering many centuries of life in the same waterfront neighborhood.”

Forty buildings and several gardens from the Colonial, Federal, Georgian and Victorian eras dot the 10-acre grounds. Some structures have been restored and furnished to their periods; others are used for exhibits or shops for artisans practicing traditional trades. The most elegant building is an 1860 mansion that belonged to Gov. Ichabod Goodwin.

The Shapley-Drisco House, circa 1795, shows how buildings adapted over time; half is a Colonial dry-goods store, and the other is an intimate 1950s home.

In addition to information from a docent, groups will hear from roleplayers across the property. “Our actors really get into the spirit of the moment,” Seacord said. “You never know if you’re going to meet someone from 100 years ago or 200 years ago.”

Groups can take the traditional tour or request themed tours on topics like archaeology, architecture, gardening and maritime history.

The museum can also arrange for groups to do breakfast or lunch in its Revolutionary-era tavern, with a role-player welcoming guests to make themselves comfortable in one of the many small dining rooms in her father’s tavern.

WWW.STRAWBERYBANKE.ORG

Courtesy Shelburne Museum

Portland Museum of Art

Strawbery Banke Museum Courtesy Strawbery Banke Museum

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Courtesy Portland Museum of Art

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SHELBURNE MUSEUM

Historic toys at the Shelburne Museum Courtesy Shelburne Museum

Museum of Fine Arts Boston

SHELBURNE, VERMONT Founded by sugar heiress Electra Havemeyer Webb in 1947, the Shelburne Museum is a wonderfully unconventional museum of art, design and Americana nestled in Vermont’s scenic Champlain Valley. The heiress’ “collection of collections” is exhibited in the historic structures she relocated to her property from across New England.

“Mrs. Webb’s interests were as broad as they were deep,” said Geeda Searfoorce, communications and marketing manager for the museum. “She started with horse-drawn buggies and ended up collecting buildings.” They include a dry-docked steamboat that once toured Lake Champlain, an 1871 lighthouse, a jail, a one-room schoolhouse, a covered bridge and a restored 100-year-old carousel.

Today, more than 100,000 works fill 39 unique buildings on a sprawling 45-acre campus studded with trees and gardens. The collection includes impressionist works by Monet, Manet and Degas; several pieces by American masters Grandma Moses, Andrew Wyeth, Homer and Thomas Eakins, among others; and prized folk art like weathervanes and quilts.

“Mrs. Webb was one of the first collectors to respect folk art as something other than kitsch,” Searfoorce said. “It was truly revolutionary at the time.”

Because the collection is so broad and scattered, groups should block off at least three hours for a highlights tour or connect with the museum to come up with a customized tour.

WWW.SHELBURNEMUSEUM.ORG

MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS

BOSTON Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) holds one of the most comprehensive collections in the world: 450,000 pieces dating from prehistoric times to modern day. Paintings by Rembrandt, Renoir, Van Gogh, Gauguin and Cezanne, as well as 37 Monets, the largest collection outside of Paris, stand alongside treasures from the ancient world, an unrivaled collection of Asian art and one of the truest representations of American art.

The sprawling Art of the Americas wing showcases iconic pieces from pre-Columbian times to the 20th century, including galleries lined with Homer, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe and Jackson Pollock.

Befitting the city’s important role in the American Revolution, the MFA boasts a peerless collection of Colonial art, including John Singleton Copley’s famous portrait of Paul Revere, Gilbert Stuart’s unfinished portrait of George Washington, and Revere’s silver teapots and tableware.

“Something that makes us special is that our city is rooted in the beginning of the history of the naScenic Boat & Train Cruises tion,” said Gary Mak, the museum’s marketing director. “But that’s only part of the story, which is why Museum & Castle Tours we are dedicated to representing all of America.”

Itinerary Ideas & Development Mak said the highlights tour would be the best bet for most groups, unless they want to request guides for a specific interest. In the best-case scenario, groups will find themselves at the MFA on the first Friday of the month, when they can enjoy music, cocktails and tapas as they peruse miles of art.

Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts Boston

New Hampshire’s Lakes Region

www.NHlakesgroups.com

• • •

WWW.MFA.ORG

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marketing Y O U R

P R O G R A M

HERE’S A MARKETING

BY ELIZA MYERS

I

f you craft the perfect Facebook post but no one sees it, did it really exist? It may exist on your page, but if it’s not reaching your intended audience, it is a waste of time.

However, that doesn’t mean you should give up on Facebook. Two billion people use Facebook every month. Not only that, but the platform offers unparalleled advertising targeting capabilities; the demographics are so selective that you can target only 45-year-old women in Denver who like to travel to see your ad.

Relying on your free travel-club posts alone to reach your customers can fail because of Facebook’s complicated algorithm that frequently displays your posts to only a small number of people.

Learning to advertise on Facebook can help you harness its full power to raise brand awareness and, ultimately, gain more travelers.

STEP ONE: CHOOSE A PURPOSE

If you’ve decided to step your toe in the intricate world of Facebook advertising, it is imperative to first set goals. That way, once you launch your ad, you’ll be able to determine its success.

For example, things you could easily track on Facebook include new page “Likes,” page engagement and website clickthroughs. Choose a goal that you can quantify, such as 100 new “Likes” a month.

Facebook Ads also allow you to set a daily budget for the average you’ll spend each day and a lifetime budget for the maximum you’ll spend overall. For example, you could choose to spend $5 a day for 20 days until you spend your total of $100.

to take a source audience and then use demographic and preference information to generate new potential customers. Facebook Ads allow you to find a source audience in various ways, such as compiling those who’ve already watched your videos, responded to one of your previous social media calls to action or those who simply like your page.

Once you’ve chosen a source audience, Facebook Ads uses their personal information to seek out similar users who may be more interested in your travel club than the average person.

STEP THREE: SCULPT THE PERFECT AD

For a newbie jumping into Facebook’s ad formats, the options seem endless. A few tips can help you navigate the numerous decisions involved in Facebook advertising.

Start with choosing an objective for the specific ad. The three broad ad objectives are brand awareness; consideration, which means collecting leads or sending people to an event; or conversion, which means claiming your promotional offer or visiting your shop.

Next, determine the ad placement, with options such as mobile News Feed, desktop News Feed and right-hand column. Ads can also run on Instagram if requested.

STEP TWO: TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE

To inform only the pertinent people about your travel club, target a custom audience through Facebook Ads. The site walks you through how to choose people based on demographics, like age, gender, relationship status, education, workplace and job titles.

Think about the types of people who would be most receptive to your ad and who you would like to attract. To attract boomers, create a specific ad targeting that age group and then set as many demographic qualifiers as will help you narrow your field to those who may want to travel with your group.

If your travel club is limited to a certain area, that setting will further narrow your choices. Or if you already have a lot of connections in one town but would like to try a nearby city, this setting can help you target them directly.

Facebook’s Lookalike Audiences capability allows advertisers

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IDEA YOU MIGHT ‘LIKE’ The ad format can also prove a challenging decision, since Facebook offers new options all the time. For example, you can choose from a single image, scrollable images, a single video or combinations of images and videos. To simplify things, you can also choose an existing post to sponsor so it reaches more of your custom audience.

When choosing the text to run with the ad, include a call to action to engage viewers more, such as “like our page” or “request more information.” Keep the text straightforward to hold your viewers’ attention. Some experts recommend limiting the ad text to about 14 words.

For photo selection, grabbing the attention of the distracted viewer is paramount. The goal is to attract eyeballs and then intrigue the audience enough so they will click on your ad. Use photos with reds, oranges and greens to contrast with Facebook’s white-and-blue color scheme.

Facebook will also reject text-heavy ads, so bear that in mind when laying text over images.

STEP FOUR: TEST AND TEST AGAIN

With so many different options for Facebook ads, how do you know which specific ad type and audience to try? Trial and error is the best way to determine what works best for your travel club promotions.

Continually tweak the audience, the ad type and the ad message. Try a different age group, or switch between photo and video ads. Then keep track of Facebook’s ad reporting systems to see if there was any difference.

Experts say it is possible to saturate your audience with too many messages. If you note diminished engagement despite tweaking the ad and audience demographics, try pausing the campaign and coming back once you’ve created new value for your audience.

d r o f r e h t u R r e v o Disc

IF YOU CRAFT THE PERFECT FACEBOOK POST BUT NO ONE SEES IT, DID IT REALLY EXIST?

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STONES RIVER NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD ANTEBELLUM HOME TOURS VIBRANT DOWNTOWN DISTRICT CULTURAL ARTS VENUES AGRITOURISM EXPERIENCES MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVALS NISSAN PLANT TOURS MORE THAN 4,200 HOTEL ROOMS OVER 300 RESTAURANTS FREE COUNTY-WIDE PARKING

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C A R E E R

C O R N E R

trip

LENGTHS

DAY TRIPS

here’s your day trip day planner

BY BRIAN JEWELL

G

reat group trips don’t always require traveling halfway around the world. Fantastic experiences can be found close to home, sometimes much closer than you think.

Day trips are a staple of the group travel industry, and they should be part of your program. These quick excursions offer several benefits: They allow you to offer activity with more frequency, since they are easier to plan and consume less of your time. They allow members that don’t have the time or money to join longer trips to still participate in the travel program. And the serve as an excellent recruitment tool, as new participants who have fun on a day trip are more likely to join your loyalty program or sign up for a longer trip in the future.

To help you make day trips a successful part of your travel program, here are five ideas for outing activities, as well as five practical considerations to keep in mind as you plan.

TRIP IDEA: SPECIAL EVENTS

Sports, concerts, theatrical performances and other ticketed events can be a good foundation to a day tour.

If you live near a city that offers these activities, consider building day trips around them. It’s likely that people in your community are already fans and will enjoy attending the event while letting you take care of all the details. And the visibility of these events will make it easy for you to market the trips to potential travelers.

TRIP IDEA: SHOPPING

It’s no surprise that shopping is a popular part of almost any group tour, and you probably have travelers who complain that your usual itineraries don’t allow them enough time to shop. To remedy that, offer a full-day trip to a nearby outlet mall, a downtown retail district or other popular shopping destination. Work with the local tourism office to arrange some coupon books or other perks, and you’ll give your travelers a shopping experience that they couldn’t get on their own.

TRIP IDEA: WATER EXCURSIONS

Most Americans live within a short drive of a lake, a river or a coastline, which means they are surrounded by opportunities to get out on the water. In cities and waterfront communities around the country, groups can take sightseeing cruises, charter fishing boats, go whale-watching and otherwise enjoy the aquatic life. Dinner and entertainment cruises are a great value for groups, offering a meal, music, dancing and the chance to interact and build friendships.

TRIP IDEA: MEMORABLE DINING

For some travelers, food is the most exciting part of any trip, and chances are that a big city or a small town somewhere within a short drive of your headquarters has a restaurant that is well known among members of your community. Offer the food lovers in your membership a trip built around a meal at this establishment, and pull out all the stops to make sure they have a memorable, over-the-top experience. Since nobody must drive themselves home after the meal, people may feel freer to indulge.

TRIP IDEA: HOMETOWN TOURIST

We all tend to take for granted the interesting attractions and experiences in our own backyards. Chances are good that your own city has some things to offer visitors, and it’s likely that some of your group members have never taken time to explore them. So consider planning a day trip that doesn’t leave the area but instead focuses on touring the best sites in and around the city, just as you would if you took the group to another destination.

Top: The Keeneland spring meet in Lexington, Kentucky, courtesy Keeneland Opposite Page: Sandhill crane migration, by Don Brockmeier, courtesy Kearny CVB

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PRACTICAL TIP: TWO-HOUR DRIVE

Most day trips are going to involve some time on a motorcoach, but nobody signs up for an activity like this because they’re looking forward to the ride. Try to keep your day trips to within a two-hour drive of your home base. Any longer than that will begin to feel tedious, especially at the end of the day, when tired travelers must endure a long ride home.

PRACTICAL TIP: HOURS OF SERVICE

To offer as much value as possible, you might be tempted to pack a day-trip itinerary tight, with an early-morning departure and a late-night return. Before you get too far, though, check your proposed itinerary with your transportation provider. Federal hours of service rules limit the amount of time a driver can be on duty, even if they aren’t driving the whole time, and you may need to adjust your plans to conform to these regulations.

PRACTICAL TIP: AVOID TRAFFIC

Nothing can torpedo a day trip quite like a traffic jam. Traffic is the bane of life in big cities, and if your itinerary calls for departing from or traveling to a metro area, you would be wise to account for traffic in your planning. It’s best to plan travel so you’re not on the road during the crush of morning

and evening rush hours.

If you simply can’t avoid these times, make sure you build enough travel time into the itinerary to account for the traffic.

PRACTICAL TIP: ONBOARD HOSPITALITY

Since your group will be spending some time on the motorcoach for a day trip, most likely in the morning and the evening, consider adding some touches of hospitality to make that time more enjoyable. Come to the departure with coffee and pastries for everyone as they board the bus, and stock a couple of coolers and baskets with soft drinks and snacks. If your group enjoys beer or wine, offer some for the ride home.

PRACTICAL TIP: CREATE COMMUNITY

One of the best aspects of group travel is that it creates a sense of community among participants. It can be difficult to create that same environment on a day trip, though, when there isn’t much time for people to get to know one another.

So be intentional about helping people make connections.

Make a point of having a conversation with everyone in the group, and try to introduce people who don’t know each other but may have common interests.

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W H E R E

w e ’ v e

B E E N

hayward chamber of commerce HAYWARD, CALIFORNIA TRIP: Best of London and Scotland TOUR OPERATOR: Jet Vacations DATE: September 2017 An 11-day trip explored the highlights of London and Scotland with stops at the British Museum, Blenheim Palace, Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Edinburgh Castle.

“Our tour offered a balance of structured activity and free time designed to open the world of London and beyond for us to explore. London is the only city in the world to rival New York City in the richness and extent of its vibrant cultural activity. We took a train from London to Scotland, which gave our group time to get to know one another as the beautiful countryside passed by. We spent a few days seeing the sights in Scotland, starting with a panoramic city tour and the majestic Edinburgh Castle.”

— TINA LAMBERT, MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR AND TRAVEL COORDINATOR

planters bank HOPKINSVILLE, KENTUCKY TRIP: Virginia Beach Coastal Experience TOUR OPERATOR: Phillips DMC DATE: October 2017 For four days, the Passport 50 club explored the coastal treasures of Virginia Beach. Some of the group’s favorite attractions were the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse, Cape Charles, the Cherrystone Aqua Farm, Chatham Vineyards and the Virginia Contemporary Museum of Art. “This trip was one I had been planning for my group since I attended the Select Traveler Conference several years ago. Our hometown of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, is the birthplace of the famous clairvoyant and prophet Edgar Cayce, so visiting the Edgar Cayce A.R.E. was definitely a highlight of this trip. Touring the aqua farm and learning about the harvesting of oysters was also fascinating. Our group enjoyed staying at a hotel property located on the beach with all rooms being oceanside.”

— CAROLYN ANNE COBB, PASSPORT 50 PROGRAM DIRECTOR 58

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