Janet and Jim:

Jim and I live just out of Hillsboro, OR. Hillsboro is west of Portland. Jim worked for the OR dept. of transportation for 22 years before he was forced to retire in 2001 due to medical reasons. I ran a computer business out of our home until 2003, when I decided there were more important things than building computers. Jim and I have been married for 37 years and have one daughter (33) who is living with us while she goes back to school. She is at Willamette U. this fall with 2 majors!

FEATURED OWNERS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

How long have you been a member of WorldMark? Where have you visited?
We became members in Jan. 1997. We had seen the presentation before, and liked what we saw, but knew we would never be able to vacation like that. When we saw it again, (going for the freebees) we decided that without WM, we would never take a true vacation. Our first vacation was to Ocean Shores, WA. We walked into our room, and we were hooked! We didn't use it much for the first few years, as both of us were working. The relatives used it more than us! Then we discovered the forum. We upgraded our points, this time through resale. We read everything on how to use our membership. Those early years we made one or two reservations. By 2002 we made 13 reservations for ourselves, friends and relatives. In 2003 we set our record of 40 reservations! (Thank you, 4Mers!) 2004 saw 29 reservations and 2005 has 15 and still counting. We have been to Depoe Bay, Gleneden, Schooner's Landing, Seaside, Eagle Crest, and Running Y in Oregon. We have been to Surfside Inn, Mariner Village, Birch Bay, and the Camlin in Washington. In Canada, we've been to the Canadian, and Victoria. We have been to Windsor, Bass Lake, Angel's Camp, Clear Lake, Reno, and Las Vegas Spencer St. We have exchanged to Mexico two times. While we hope to visit a lot more WM resorts, Jim's health is not the best, so we go while we can.

What is your favorite WorldMark resort? What do you like about it?
Our favorite resort is probably Depoe Bay. It's close to us and (before renovations and IRIS) easy to get into in the winter. Just relaxing in front of the fire and watching the storms come in, is the best. We love the staff at Seaside, but not the crowds during the summer.

Depoe Bay is the best to just relax and enjoy the view. All the rooms have spectacular views! When there is a storm, the waves hitting the rocks below, splash all the way up to the lawn. You can walk into "town" for the world's second best clam chowder at "Mick's". Mick's is a very small lunch counter place that serves some of the best seafood (caught that morning - by Mick). Oceanus and Tidal Raves are also an easy walk (If you want pizza, the Tide Pool is for you!)

What things do you like to do when visiting this resort?
We love to go to Depoe Bay in the winter. We love to watch the storms while sitting by the fire. What a great way to "get away" and totally relax. Summer is great for whale watching. Just look out your window and when you see a bunch of whale watching boats in one place:..get out the binoculars! There be whales here! (Sometimes very close, as they feed in the kelp beds right next to the rocky banks.)

Tell us about the people you travel with - are they family? friends? co-workers? If you have children, what are their travel preferences?
We have invited friends and family with us on several occasions. It is very difficult to plan a vacation without our daughter figuring out how she can join us. She loves WorldMark, and would go anywhere, but always puts in her vote for Canada. We have given trips to friends for anniversaries and getaways. Almost everyone loves the beach, though we do know a few skiers.

What is your most exciting vacation memory?
Exciting?? Well, we have enjoyed every trip that we have taken. Some of the best ones were when our daughter could come with us. Jennifer and I had a great time at the Canadian in Vancouver, B.C. Jim dropped a coffee cup in the kitchen and broke it and then promptly stepped on it and cut his foot. He used this as an excuse to stay in the room and read. Jennifer and I really covered a lot of ground! We took public transportation everywhere. We even took the tram to Grouse Mt.

Have you ever had some kind of vacation disaster threaten to ruin your trip? Tell us your story!
Whoa! A lot of you know our "vacation disaster" story. We were to leave on a "road trip" on Labor Day of this year (September 5th 2005). On September 1st, Jim went to the doctor and was told he was going to the hospital. I asked him if I should cancel the vacation, and he said to just wait, maybe we'd be able to go anyway. Not so, I canceled on Labor Day and by that afternoon Jim was in ICU and on life support. There were so many of our "forum family" prayed for us. Jim was in the hospital almost the entire month of September. I called owners services and they said we would get all of our credits back if the doctor would fax in something on his letterhead saying Jim couldn't travel. The doctor said he would do this. In the mean time, I figured that the time would be picked up by others so I checked with owner services. Because our trip was multiple resorts, only the first two were canceled. (they were picked up). We got our credits back for them, but the penthouse at Victoria went empty, and the weekend at Ocean Shores and the penthouse at Seaside. After several calls to Owner Services, I was on a first name basis with 2 of the people. Each time I called, the doctor had not sent the fax. By the 3rd call, they just said not to worry about it and gave us all of our credits and all housekeeping markers and credit for the TOT back to us. We rebooked our trip (same road trip) for September of 2006. I don't recommend the hospital as a trade for a WorldMark vacation!

What activities do you and your family enjoy besides vacationing? (i.e. camping, walking, painting, etc)
We like just being together. We both like to read and, because we are on a couple of acres just out of the city limits, we like to watch the wildlife out our back door.

Do you have a hobby? What is it and what makes it special to you?
I like to cook. Just look at my picture! Many of you know about our "open door" policy when at a WorldMark resort. Come in and there will be something to eat! I usually try to have things that all can eat: new recipes for diabetics, something for vegetarians, etc. No wonder the staff likes us. I cook for them, too!

Other than a WorldMark destination, what is your favorite place to visit for rest and relaxation?
If you can't count WM, that's a little hard. We've done a couple of exchanges, but for just relaxing, there's no place like home.

If you could choose to live anywhere in the world, where would that be and why?
The Pacific NW, of course! Why? Just watch the weather channel or world news.

How did you choose to become a WorldMark owner? Or, why did you choose WorldMark over other timeshare companies?
We had been to a presentation before, and it looked good, but we didn't feel that we could afford anything at the time. The next time we went (for the freebies), we decided that we would never go on a true vacation without something like this. WM was flexible enough that even we could use it. We were never interested in a regular timeshare. We didn't want to go to the same place every time. WM looked like timeshare made usable.

What do you enjoy most about being a WorldMark owner?
Wow! Where to start? The most important thing to us is FLEXIBILITY! We don't have to commit to a week in one place. Our "road trip" for example, had us starting at Windsor, going on to Bass Lake, then to Angel's Camp, then Clear Lake, then Running Y and home. It was a great vacation with lots of stops in great condos instead of Motel 6!

What do you like best about this WMO website community you have helped create?
This site has just gotten better and better. I love the forum and the fact that you can ask anything, and get answers. I love the people who participate, because they are family. I love all the information that is available, including the "sightings". I learned so much from the WM forum before it was shut down and now this forum has become the treasure trove of info for all vacation questions.

What suggestions do you have to enhance it?
It's good now, but how about more input (myself included) on the resort reviews and more pictures! We all have some pictures, how about uploading a couple to the resort section?

Do you have ideas for contests and giveaways that we could possibly incorporate in the future?
How about pulling out those pictures from resorts (or GOOs) and line up 10 or 12, and have a poll where people could vote for their favorite?

click on thumbnail for a large picture

Janet and Jim