This week was a pretty exciting week for The Roaming Boomers®. It was just last week when we found ourselves on the front page of The Arizona Business Gazette, and this week we were honored to be featured on the front page of the Arizona Republic’s Business Section.
When we started our online travel magazine, we wondered if anyone would care, much less subscribe to our enterprise. So far, as it turns out, thousands follow us on a daily basisthrough this website, on our Facebook page, and on Twitter. Wow!
For our measure of success thus far, we are very grateful and say “Thank You!” to those who follow us.
We have BIG plans for 2011, and we’re glad to have you along for the journey.
Make certain that you:
Follow Us – using Facebook, Twitter, or our e-mail subscription option.
Join Us – we will soon be rolling out our freeRoaming Boomers Rewards Club where we will bring you special travel deals, our monthly newsletters, and a chance to win free stuff!
You can follow us and join us in the right column of our website ————————>
Note: You can find all of our mainstream media appearances on television, radio, and print in our In the Media section right here. Go take a peek! 🙂
You may have noticed a little dust flying in the air on our website in the past few days. We are doing a little remodeling as we are making room for our upcoming Roaming Boomers Rewards Club.
We’ll tell you more about that later, but for now, please watch your step!
Oak Creek with Cathedral Rock ~ Sedona, Arizona – Sedona, Arizona is certainly in no short supply of beautiful locations to snap a photograph.
However, if you look at a great many of the glossy publications touting the area’s red rocks, you are very likely to encounter a photograph of Oak Creek with Sedona’s Cathedral Rock in the background.
Photographers flock here during the various seasons , and you can find them here for sunrise, for sunset, for moon glow, for starry nights, for snow covered peaks, and for fog. Why, there must be millions of variations of this very scene.
For years, as I have traveled all around Sedona, I never found a spot where I could capture water and long range views of Sedona’s red rocks.
Now, if I share this with you, you have to promise not to tell anyone. Promise? Is your right hand in the air?
Head west on Verde Valley School Road. Go to the very end where you encounter signs that says “drive no farther”. Park your car in the parking lot, and walk down to the very end of the road (about 1/4 mile). Do not hop on the hiking trail that has a trail-head at the parking lot. Stay on the road.
When you reach the end of the road, go down to Oak Creek, turn right, and walk another 1/4 mile until you find the perfect spot to snap your photograph.
There! I shared a photographer’s secret with you.
Now, as payment for this grand gesture, you must promise to refer one of your friends to our online travel magazine. That’s only fair, right?
Schnebly Hill Road Scenic Drive ~ Sedona, Arizona – The Roaming Boomers® love to explore back-country scenic drives, and this one will take your breath away.
The road starts right out of the town of Sedona and provides jaw-dropping vistas as you ascend nearly 2,000 ft. on seemingly countless switchbacks.
Shortly after you leave town, the road becomes gravel and can be quite bumpy in spots. You should be fine driving the road to the summit in a passenger vehicle, but you will want to drive carefully and keep your eyes peeled for Pink Jeep Tours bopping up and down the mountain road.
At the summit, there is a parking lot to pull over and enjoy the view. You might want to bring a picnic lunch as the scenery is likely to keep you captivated for quite some time. If you do intend to spend some time at the summit, you will need a Red Rock Pass. If you simply give the summit a quick gawk, you will be fine without the pass.
If you are not in a high-clearance vehicle, it is from here that you will want to turn around and head back down the hill. The road does continue all the way to I-17, but a high-clearance vehicle is required.
Here is a short video that we put together to highlight a bit of this remarkable scenic drive. Enjoy!
There are a great many things that make up the health of the leisure travel market. Perhaps the one with the most stealth is the movement our our nation’s residents from one state to another.
For example, a fine dining establishment is a critical part of the travel and leisure industry. Yet, a restaurant lives, breathes, and dies by its ability to generate the good will of the local community. With very few exceptions, restaurateurs will generate a significant portion of their annual revenue from those who live in their community.
Therefore, a healthy local economy is one of the ingredients for a healthy local leisure travel market.
Allied Van Lines just reported its 43rd Annual Magnet States Report. This report identifies the states with the highest use of Allied services, but interestingly, they also consider the states with the greatest net gains and losses.
Consider:
Texas realized the highest net relocation gain (inbound moves minus outbound) of 1,640, which is lower than the nearly 2,000 families it attracted in 2009, but it far outpaced all other states. Colorado came in second place, with net relocation gains of just over 400 and Florida, South Carolina and Arizona rounded out the top five states with the largest net relocation gains.
Michigan again experienced the highest net relocation losses (more outbound than inbound shipments), followed by Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Economic woes and a soft housing market are probable causes for this decline. Allied Van Lines’ logged 2,352 outbound shipments from Michigan in 2010 compared to 1,203 inbound moves for a net relocation loss of 1,149. Illinois experienced the second largest net relocation loss with 1,050 more outbound than inbound moves, closely followed by Pennsylvania with a net relocation loss of 972, and New Jersey with a loss of 699.
I am not arguing that our nation’s residential movement will make or break a region’s health in the leisure travel market. However, I am arguing that this large movement, primarily to sunshine states, will clearly have an impact on a regions ability to support a healthy leisure travel market as more and more people come and/or go.
If I were going to invest millions of dollars in a new hotel, I’m likely to be headed not only to where the leisure travel market might dictate, but I am also going to be paying strict attention to the coming and going of our nation’s residents and their wallets.
The Roaming Boomers
