PRESCOTT: THE PERFECT LAUNCH PAD

by Tori Ward, ROX Travel, Cruise and Resort Specialist
Recently my husband turned to me while we were watching a cooking show and asked, “Where did we just have such good Indian food?”
I don’t know whether he didn’t get enough sleep or is becoming travel-jaded. I looked at him and said, “India.”
He slapped his forehead when he answered, “Oh yeah.”
We are so fortunate to live in Arizona, specifically Prescott. It’s an easy launch pad to the rest of the world. Great Lakes Airlines recently increased its daily round trip flights to Los Angeles to two per day. When calculating the cost of a round trip flight versus either driving and paying for parking or taking the shuttle to Phoenix, we have found the flights both more convenient and often more economical.  We traveled through over 20 countries during the past year. Each provided a unique experience that we’ll remember. These experiences usually involved the people we met, food we enjoyed or unexpected places we discovered.
My best friends and I went to Paris on a much-talked about trip just before Christmas. We loved the sights and smells of the Christmas markets, but our favorite time of day was morning when the breakfast room echoed with the sounds of knives scraping across butter dishes before landing on hot croissants and the sputter of hot milk splashing into our coffee.  During the planning stage of our trip, we promised ourselves one memorable meal. The remainders were serendipitous surprises including the delicious lunch we enjoyed at the Musée d’Orsay. We felt as if we were eating in Marie Antoinette’s dining hall with all the gilt embellishing the high ceilings and creamy walls.
My birthday present in January was a trip to Toronto. I know, Toronto in January! Are we crazy? We had vowed to go during the winter for at least a week to determine whether we could tolerate the cold.  The food scene in Toronto (Lawrence Street Market, Beer Bistro, Origins Restaurant and Brick Street Bakery in the Distillery District) makes us crave a trip there at least every two years. The warmth and friendliness of our Canadian neighbors make this destination a top return-to-trip again and again. Air Canada has an overnight flight from Phoenix that gets you there quickly and the recent addition of train service from Toronto Pearson International Airport into town is a piece of cake.
April found us on a 10-day cruise to Mexico as a Mother’s Day surprise for our two moms. After a short half-day drive to the port in Long Beach, we boarded the Ruby Princess^® for a wonderful vacation that our two ladies could enjoy without having to do a lot of packing or unpacking. They could order a light breakfast in their stateroom if they woke up before us and eat on the balcony. While they preferred to spend time reading and playing cards on the ship, my husband and I took an excursion to a small island off of Loreto where we watched a local resident catch fish and grill them on a rocky outcropping above the beach. While he was playing cat and mouse with a snake, a seagull snatched one of his fish and took it back to the beach where he spent the next few minutes trying to defend his booty from other winged relatives. We snorkeled in the sparking turquoise water where brilliant colored fish darted away from our splashing fins.
With air fares as low as they currently are, now is a perfect time to make Prescott your launch pad too. Give me a call and I’ll help you plan your perfect adventure.
Victoria “Tori” Ward is a cruise and resort specialist with an interest in traveling and seeing the world since she first began to crawl. For more information on these trips and others, contact Tori at tori@roxtravel.com or 928-254-9968.