Manoj, Renuka and Shiva:

We are Manoj, Renuka and Shiva Empranthiri from Santa Clara, CA., and we are very fortunate to be WorldMark owners. Manoj and his immediate family migrated to the US in early Eighties and Renuka joined about a decade after. We are originally from Kerala, South India where the people have attained 100% literacy rate and boast a high standard of living. Manoj works in the hi-tech industry while Renuka works as an Office Manager for a small business.

We love to go on vacations and enjoy our WorldMark ownership very much. Our goal is to visit all the 50 states by 2015. Wish us luck :-)

FEATURED OWNERS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

How long have you been a member of WorldMark? Where have you visited?
I have been a WM member since 1999. My wife and I went to a presentation in Santa Clara and the sales folks were great. They did not pressure us and gave us time to think things over. We liked the idea of paying once for vacation and having our initial payment pay for most of our vacations for the rest of our lives was pretty impressive.

We have had a slow start. We didn't go on our WM vacation until the Summer of 2001! We tried to go on WM vacations before that, but whenever we call the Vacation Planning Center, we would be put on hold and we would never find any availability at our preferred destinations. It was starting to frustrate us. Then we received a call from Trendwest reminding that our credits would be expiring if we won't use them. So, we agreed to go on an adventure on our very first long drive! We booked 4 days at Klamath Falls and 3 days at Clear Lake on a week-long adventure. For the trip all sorts of food, water, cooking vessels, rice cooker, and spices were packed and we left early morning from San Jose. Even after stopping at Lake Shasta etc. we made good time and arrived at the beautiful Running Y resort by early afternoon. What a fantastic resort! We realized we would never have to take out half of what we brought since those things were already in the unit! We visited Crater Lake, Klamath Lake and the Rogue River around Grants Pass. The Pacific Northwest was one of the places I always wanted to visit because I heard this area gets a lot of rain, just like the area of India where I was born and grew up. This trip (and WorldMark) made it possible!

Here is a list of resorts I have visited in 6 years of WorldMark ownership:

Angels Camp, Bass Lake, Clear Lake, Depoe Bay, Discovery Bay, Gleneden, Klamath Falls, Lake Tahoe 1 and 3, Las Vegas, Marina Dunes, Oceanside, Pismo Beach, Reno, Rosarito Beach, SouthShore, St. George, Victoria, Windsor.

Last August, my brother and family stayed at the Dolphins Cove resort for a few days while visiting Disneyland. We are yet to stay at that location.

We will be visiting WorldMark Orlando during Thanksgiving weekend.

What is your favorite WorldMark resort? What do you like about it?
SouthShore probably is our favorite resort because of its proximity to the Bay Area, the "newness" of the resort, access to hiking and biking trails and being so close to the lake.

A close second is the Gleneden Beach resort. We loved our stay their because of it being right on the beach. If it were closer to us, we would be going there all the time!

What things do you like to do when visiting these resorts?
Beachcombing is our most favorite activity. Hiking and biking on nice flat trails, and window shopping are the other activities we really like.

Would you share some of your favorite vacation web links and/or photos from this resort and the surrounding area?
Yes. I will compile a list and provide that to you shortly. For the time being, please visit http://www.kapeesh.com/travel I plan to keep it updated with my travel pictures and trip reports etc.

Tell us about the people you travel with - are they family? friends? co-workers? If you have children, what are their travel preferences?
Half of the time just the three of us (my wife, our 10 year old son and myself) travel on WM vacations. The other times, we mostly travel with my parents and on occasion we would have family friends join us too. Our son likes to spend a lot of time at the pool and in the game room. He is completely satisfied with the resorts' amenities and we will have to drag him out to go on hikes etc. I think his attitude is changing and he has started to spend more time on beaches etc.

When I go on mini-vacations with my friends from work we occasionally stay at WorldMark resorts. They particularly enjoyed their stays at Southshore, Reno and Windsor.

What is your most exciting vacation memory?
Two years ago, I was able to book a few units at Angels Camp on Inventory Special and have all of my family come with us and get an idea of what timesharing is all about. The clan took over the pool and the club house on one day and played in the snow the day after. Our son still talks about that being one of the most memorable WorldMark vacations.

Have you ever had some kind of "vacation disaster" threaten to ruin your trip? Tell us your story!
Fortunately we have not had any major vacation disasters, and we are NOT looking forward to those.

What activities do you and your family enjoy besides vacationing? (i.e. camping, walking, painting, etc)
I have lived the majority of my life in the U.S., however I still have a passion to the fine arts of India. My family loves to listen to South Indian Classical and Pop music and enjoy participating in Indian cultural activities. We are actively involved in various groups that encourages cultural awareness within the community. We could be seen at the San Francisco Giants game on one day and at the India Cultural Center the next day!

Our son swims at the Santa Clara International Swim Center where a lot of Olympians had trained in the past and new ones are being molded. We spend a good amount of time volunteering at the Swim Center. We also enjoy attending swim meets where he competes.

My wife is learning Classical South Indian Dance and participates in cultural events with her dancing buddies :-)

Do you have a hobby? What is it and what makes it special to you?
I "doodle" a lot. Everyday, I draw lots of doodles. While most of those end up in the waste basket, some are preserved. When the time is right, I scan them into the computer and edit them and at times I would even dare to publish one or two on the web.

Other than a WorldMark destination, what is your favorite place to visit for rest and relaxation?
We make a point to go to India every few years to visit family and friends. As far as I know, the most peaceful place in this world is the little village in South India I grew up in. I yearn to go spend a few months just living the life of a villager where the river is always flowing, the mango trees are blooming and the landscape is always lush! Waking up to the sounds of the monsoon, sitting on the verandah watching school kids walking with their colorful umbrellas and even more beautiful dresses, while sipping a cup of piping hot home made coffee (with palm sugar added!): pure heaven!

I have also visited Malaysia and spent a few days there. I would like to go back there and spend time at the tropical rainforests. It is a much more "developed" country where the infrastructure is better built and more tuned to the Western taste.

If you could choose to live anywhere in the world, where would that be and why?
From the time I arrived in the United States, I always dreamed of living in the Pacific Northwest. (That is before I learned about Kauai and the islands of the Carribean!) I love to listen to the rain, and I was told the Pacific Northwest is famous for all the rain it receives. I still dream of living in that region, for all the rains, the lush landscape, the wonderful people, and the close proximity to all the wonderful WorldMark resorts! When I drove through this region my decades old dream came true, and without WorldMark, it would have been difficult for me to make the trip possible.

How did you choose to become a WorldMark owner? Or, why did you choose WorldMark over other timeshare companies?
I have attended a few presentations prior to attending a presentation for WorldMark. I liked the concept of being able to stay at different resorts at different times without having to depend on some exchange company. I also liked the pitch about controlling my vacation costs. The flexibility WorldMark privides is a sure winner. That is why I plan to be a WorldMark owner for a long time.

What do you enjoy most about being a WorldMark owner?
I get to dream about all the wonderful places I could visit. Isn't it great that one could visit the various WorldMark resorts in 6 countries without having to go through an exchange company? WorldMark's awesome exchange power enables me to vacation in any part of the world! I dream of the day when I can spend a week at a castle in Europe; another week in Nepal; a carefree week at some island in Micronesia:

What do you like best about this WMO website community you have helped create?
I love to see everyone helping one another. I love the family feel of this website. We share our dreams and our pains with people who really cares about each other.

What suggestions do you have to enhance it?
I would love to see more people actively participating at this site. Some of the areas we can improve are the resorts review section, and the FAQ section.

I would like to see a "suggested improvements" area for this site.

I would like to see the site updated so that members can easily upload pictures from their trips and GOOs etc.

click on thumbnail for a large picture

Manoj, Renuka and Shiva