What's In A Name?

Have you ever thought about what you would name your business if you started one?

For me, I put a lot of thought into what to name my Travel Agency.  At first, I wanted to specialize in cruising.  My husband and I LOVE cruising.  It's more fun with family and/or friends.  You only have to unpack once, yet you still get to see multiple destinations.  There are tons of activities on the ship during the day and you can still meet everyone for dinner at night.  So, there's the 'Voyages' part of my name and why.

When I was picking a name, I wanted something that kept my roots to my home state and where I treasure a part of my life.  Stillwater Mine was the first thing that popped into my head.  I met my husband underground and I have a lot of great memories from working there.  As  many of you know, they mine Platinum and Palladium.  What does Platinum mean to you?  I chose Platinum because it means a lot to the people of  the Stillwater Valley and surrounding areas.  It means jobs, security, revenue, and a way of life.  To me it also means top of the line, better than gold standard.  I want this to portray the value of my services offered to you,  not the cost of a vacation.  My services are free, but my resources, knowledge and dedication to your vacation is priceless.

River cruising will be one of our next adventures, in Europe.  The next phase is to incorporate scuba diving into my business plan, whether it be on cruise ships, liveaboards or resort stays.  Josh and I plan on testing the waters.... literally!

Las Vegas Home Based Travel Agent Forum, May 1-4 2011

I wasn't sure what to expect from this seminar since I have never been to one on this high of a scale. There were over 1,300 travel agents registered at this show!! What a turn out! You can see what was offered here: http://www.lvtravelshow.com/

I met some great people. One of those happens to be my Host Agency owner Anita Pagliasso of Ticket 2 Travel. This woman has so much compassion for what she does! I truly believe I made the right choice with her as my Host Agency. She had a small reception for all of her agents that showed up at the Forum in her hotel room and it gave us all a chance to introduce ourselves and learn a bit about each other. It was a fun filled night as Josh and I returned back to our room at 2:30 in the morning!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the seminars or the Trade Show. But, I will share with you the ones we took around the hotel and strip.

We got an excellent rate at the Venetian because they hosted the event. The suites were very roomy! Honestly, the bed was a bit hard and I didn't sleep well on it but that is really my only complaint.

This was our view as we walked into the hotel just past the check in desk. Beautiful artwork!

The foyer into the Grand Canal Shoppes

Our Suite

The amazing part about this picture is it's inside the hotel, on the 2nd floor! What you are looking at is a painted ceiling!

I had to get a picture of this guy for the kids. They never would have believed me that he painted himself to look like a statue! I was skeptical until he winked at me ;-)

Sign inside of Gilley's that I liked.

I love food and have to take pictures of it whenever I go!  This was a pulled pork burrito from Gilley's and it was Yummy!

Fashion Show Mall - need I say more?

Back at the Venetian - Gondola rides - this time outside the hotel.

The Pool area at the Venetian on the 10th floor.  There were several hot tubs surrounding the pool. Very relaxed atmosphere!

Another view of the pool.

Jimmy Buffet's...

So I like pictures of pretty drinks too!

Josh met this very nice mate from Australia at the hotel and he walked the strip with us all afternoon.  Thanks for taking our picture Dane!

Blackened Mahi Mahi tacos!  Mmm...mmmm... Good!

I was so excited to see this booth at the trade show since I am an Aussie Specialist. This baby Kangaroo was so soft and cuddly! Australia has some amazing sites to see!

Drawing from the Business Expo in Columbus

Social Media

Tonight is day 3 of Social Media Marketing class in Columbus.  I have learned a lot already about Facebook, Twitter, Google, You Tube etc, but it's only the tip of the iceberg!  All this talk about codes, submitting your webpage for SEO and sitemaps makes my head spin!  BUT, I will trudge on and figure it out!  


I try to be a bit on the frugal side and do things myself.  I am the type of person that has to figure out why things are and what makes them work.  


So, please be patient while I work through this and try to make my sites the best I can!

Mi Vida Loca

I have to apologize for not getting more content on here.  It has been crazy busy around here!  Between kids, school, work and forever helping neighbors and friends we have had little time to travel.  But, that will all change here in the next 2 weeks.  


My husband and I will be off to Vegas for the Home Based Travel Agent seminar for 5 days!  I'm very excited to meet the other Travel Agents that I work with.  We are flying on Allegiant for the first time.  Normally we fly Alaska Airlines and we love them, but I would be unable to get there in time for the events on Sunday, so we're trying something new.  


We are also looking forward to our vacation on the Carnival Dream cruise later this year!  We will be celebrating 10 wonderful years of marriage and Kelsey's sweet 16 birthday as well!  We've got some scuba diving excursions planned and deep sea fishing with Go Fish! Charter Fishing and Adventures in Playa Del Carmen.  We will be flying Alaska Airlines on this vacation - using our companion fares it's 1st class all the way!  Flying out of Billings, everything with Alaska/Horizon is routed through Seattle but that gives us the chance to visit our wonderful friends that we have there.  


This will be our 3rd trip to Playa - there is something special about that place.  The water is beautiful, the people are pretty great and we just keep going back!


I'll put some updates and pictures on here from Vegas.  'Til next time.......