|
Alberta and Dennis:
It all started about six years ago when Alberta was giving Dennis a birthday party to celebrate the "big one". It was a nice sunny Saturday afternoon and everyone was enjoying their time outside on the back deck. Alberta was in the kitchen preparing some things when Dennis hollers at her to come and look at the airplane. Well, both working for the Boeing Co. and directly involved with the airplanes this didn't really seem to be so exciting. But nonetheless, Alberta goes to the patio door, looks up and sees a Cessna airplane with a banner flying which read "Alberta will you marry me, love Dennis". The only words that could come out of her mouth were "Oh my God". All the guests kept saying "what did she say" and by this time Dennis was on one knee with a ring proposing and finally she said that magic word "Yes". That was just the beginning of a wonderful journey ahead.
Dennis and Alberta had close friends that both belonged to WM. They took them on a couple outings and of course they were sold. Perhaps a little skeptical at first, but within two years Dennis talked Alberta into purchasing WM for them. Like many others they started with a small number of credits and it just seems to keep growing. They have to admit they don't think there is any amount you could have that you would say "Ok that's enough".
They take many weekend trips with family or friends. They are all fun and exciting but they really enjoy taking the grandchildren. They are the highlight of their lives and they want to share one of the best parts of their lives:..WM membership. They frequent Seaside often but also love Leavenworth and the Camlin. Of course Las Vegas and Depoe Bay are right up there as well. Other than WM they love riding their tandem bike or going on cruises. They are really waiting for retirement in a few short years so they can travel more often. A tour of the United States would be nice to start off with.
Dennis and Alberta live in the Seattle area and have many resorts they can drive to within a two to three hour drive. They were excited to be part of the Seattle GOO this year. Meeting other owners is always part of the fun. Talking to them and finding out how they use their membership is a fulfillment of owning WM.
Members of the wmowners forum have saved us truly hundreds of dollars; that is no joke. With the information we received from other owners on this site it's possible to use our membership to its maximum. We hope to meet many more owners and become even more involved with this forum.
FEATURED OWNERS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
How long have you been a member of WorldMark? Where have you visited?
Three and a half years.
Seaside (16X), Eagle Crest (1X), Birch Bay (4x),
Ocean Shores (11x), Windsor (1x), Running Y (1x), Dolphins Cove (1x),
Depoe Bay (3x), Camlin (6x), Las Vegas (4x), Leavenworth (10x), Victoria (3x), Discovery Bay (4x), Vancouver (1x)
What is your favorite WorldMark resort? What do you like about it?
One of us loves Seaside best because it is a great place for things to do, whether it be shopping or going to an arcade. It's a great place to take the family and enjoy the beautiful beach for taking that daily stroll or flying kites, building sand castles or squishing your toes in the sand. Or enjoying the boardwalk and enjoying the priceless view of God's creation. This resort is in the best location anyone could ask for in Seaside. The other one of us loves Leavenworth best because of its Bavarian town and because of it's location in the middle of the mountains. One of the best times is the Christmas season during the Christmas Lighting event when the whole town is lit up in a domino effect when all the activities of the joyous season begin. Although, October Fest is a great time to see the fall colors changing and enjoy the town's celebration of fall season. Great time to do some hiking or biking too; But golf is usually a must when we visit there.
What things do you like to do when visiting this resort?
Seaside we love the beach yet we love and enjoy the resort. Walking on the beach, on the boardwalk, visiting the town and riding the bumper cars, playing at the arcade, doing a few rounds of the Tilt awhirl ride (loosing your stomach but anything for the grandkids) shopping at the outlet mall and ending up with an elephant ear from the corner bakery. Or maybe it's ending up with fudge from the Portland Fudge Co. or a great Carmel apple. The best though is just sitting and watching the ocean from the ocean front units and soaking up the views. Doesn't matter if it's sunny or stormy it can take your breath away just taking it all in. Or sightseeing at Fort Clatsop and seeing the Astoria pinnacle or taking a run down to Tillamook to the cheese factory. Not to leave out the air museum while visiting Tillamook. Leavenworth, we love to walk by the river and going for adventurous rides in the mountains. We love to take in Icicle Junction with the water boats, train ride and playing a round of putt-putt golf ending up with the arcade. The resort pool and hot tub are always included in the daily events of things to do. If you go in the winter the sleigh rides or snowmobile rides are fun things to add into your day. ; Although if you don't leave the resort you can have fun sledding down the hill at the resort. It's just the getting back up the hill that is challenging. The tree lighting festival is one of the best events of the year. It's a great way to start your holiday season out and will be memorable for a lifetime.
Would you share some of your favorite vacation web links and/or photos from this resort and the surrounding area?
Yes of course.
Tell us about the people you travel with - are they family? friends? co-workers? If you have children, what are their travel preferences?
We love to vacation with family and friends. Our most two precious travelers are our grandchildren. They love to "condo" and hate to leave the resorts as much as we do. The times spent together are our most memorable and we cherish each trip. Could never put a price on them for they are priceless. The one preference is a swimming pool. One week long visit at Seaside we spent thirty hours at the pool. We know the meaning of "shriveled or prunes" but would do it all over again. And when their mom and dad can come too it is a treasure mom keeps forever. Nothing better than family being together and making memories. But we do take friends along as well. Memories with them are just as precious to us for we consider our friends family too.
There is one thing that makes us really sad about WM vacations. It happens on the last day of our stay. If we open our door in the morning we see a blue condo box sitting there. If we have lost track of which day it is because we are having so much fun we are for sure reminded which day it is when we see that blue box sitting there. It is our last day and we must leave. I try not to open the door and see the box but live in denial for the few moments that are left. My last comments are "Just one more day would be perfect". But that's ok because when I get home I check out what reservations are out there to be booked so we can do it all over again.
What is your most exciting vacation memory?
Although every time we go on a WM vacation whether it be for a week or a weekend we always say "this is the best vacation ever" but truly I believe spending Thanksgiving at Seaside has to be the ultimate. We had all our family members there, celebrated with the traditional turkey dinner while taking in the magnificent view from the penthouse. Being able to go a day early and spend it with special friends before family arrived was an added blessing. We walked the beach and boardwalk, did the traditional shopping the day after Thanksgiving, celebrated a birthday, played at the arcade, went on the rides and made gingerbread houses with the grandchildren. Even though it was cold and sometimes rainy we still managed to go to the swimming pool and of course the hot tub. If there was nothing else to do the resort itself is wonderful to relax in and take those deep breaths and think to yourself am I really here taking all of this beauty in. If you stay in the penthouse you get spoiled very easily. I remember someone saying "I think we need more credits so we can do this every time." Sounds like a plan to me.
Have you ever had some kind of "vacation disaster" threaten to ruin your trip? Tell us your story!
Lucky for us another WMO had to give up their time in one of our favorite resorts, Seaside, so we gladly took the reservation off their hands. So we planned our trip, invited our son and his family and were excited to have another family time together at the beach. Couldn't wait for the day to come and when it did I wasn't feeling so good. Thinking it would wear off I decided to finish getting ready to go and rest on the way. Well about an hour into our journey I got very sick and had to call the doctor. They had me come back home and go to emergency. My son and family were on their way to the resort. So as sick as I was I managed to call WM and give permission for my son to be able to check in before we arrived. They denied the request and said it was not possible. Only I could check in because it was in my name and I did not own the account so I could not change it. I tried to explain the situation and it was an emergent need but needless to say they still denied my request. I traveled back home, went to see the doctor then left for Seaside. All I could imagine that my small grandchildren had no place to stay. I am sure everything would have been ok, but especially when you don't feel good and things aren't going right everything seems more stressful. Ended up we made it there, I checked in and then finally got to relax, rest and we all enjoyed the family time together.
What activities do you and your family enjoy besides vacationing? (i.e. camping, walking, painting, etc)
We love to ride bikes, especially our tandem, go for walks and mostly just enjoying our time with each other. Spending time with the grandchildren is the best activity we could ever ask for. We also play in the parks and do science experiments too.
Do you have a hobby? What is it and what makes it special to you?
Our hobby is vacationing. And we love doing that. We can't wait to retire and do our hobby full time trying to visit as many WM resorts as possible. Now that's a dream come true. One of our hobbies is spending way to much time on the wmowners website if that is at all possible.
Other than a WorldMark destination, what is your favorite place to visit for rest and relaxation?
I wouldn't necessarily say it is a place but other than going to a resort we love to go on a cruise. It is extremely fun and restful as well. We take in all the activities and enjoy the ship for all it's amenities as well. Just so happens, our son and family love to cruise with us too.
If you could choose to live anywhere in the world, where would that be and why?
There are so many wonderful and exciting places one could live in the world but we would love to live on the beach and enjoy those views everyday. Can you imagine having "flying your kite" as one of your regular daily activities. We are game!
How did you choose to become a WorldMark owner? Or, why did you choose WorldMark over other timeshare companies?
We had friends that took us to a WM resort and we feel in love with it. Although we thought about the purchase for quite some time before buying. We wanted to make sure it was right for us. One of us wanted it and the other didn't. I thought we could take the money and put in an account just for traveling, make interest on it and come out in the long run. But I will be the first to tell you that theory is all wrong. I found that I would never take "that much" money out and spend on a hotel even though I had saved it just for that purpose. I am so glad we purchased this membership because we would have lost out on making family and friends memorable trips. Family things we would have never experienced in our lifetimes without being owners and enjoying the resorts as much as we do. We have family members as young as five years old that has fallen in love with the Las Vegas resort and can't wait to go back. It memories you could not put a price tag on for they are priceless in our eyes.
What do you enjoy most about being a WorldMark owner?
We love visiting the resorts and making the memories of a lifetime. The resorts are the best you could ask for with the amenities for everyone.
One of the things we really enjoy besides all the memories of family and friends is meeting new friends. We have met some great people and feel blessed by doing so. The Seattle GOO was one of the best times together getting to know one another and seeing how everyone else uses their membership. We also spend many hours a week viewing wmowners and learning more about our membership. It has become a part of our lives as we look forward to our next trip. We like the availability of having so many resorts within a three hour radius of where we live. And we love the spectacular service we get while we are at the resorts. Being able to enjoy so many vacation spots is the best.
What do you like best about this WMO website community you have helped create?
It is the best source of information anyone could ever get. I like the honesty and openness presented here. You need an answer to something just ask and everyone is there to help. I like seeing people working together to help one another. They are always trying to improve the website adding new features or tools. It has literally saved me hundreds of dollars by the advice I got on wmowners making the best of my membership.
What suggestions do you have to enhance it?
I would like to see the vacation tools activated. Not sure why they aren't but I could have used the vacation calendar a few times myself. Also would like to see an icon for "suggestions" on the home page. And perhaps a little extra have a recipe site for those who would like to submit their vacation ideas for cooking out.
I notice some of the pictures didn't say where they were taken from. Like Barb and Barry had some great pics that I would like to have known where that condo was at etc. So maybe adding where they are from or a little info about it would be nice.
Do you have ideas for contests and giveaways that we could possibly incorporate in the future?
Not sure right now but will think on it and will use the new "suggestion" icon if it gets incorporated when I do come up with something.
 |
|
|
|
click on thumbnail for a large picture
|
Alberta and Dennis
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
