When people hear that I am a travel writer, they often ask my favorite trip. I’ve been to a lot of exotic places, but my hands-down favorite vacation was at Beaches Resort in the Turks & Caicos.
It was my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, and my parents, my brother and I – with our spouses and kids decided to celebrate by spending a week at an all-inclusive Caribbean resort. It was the ideal choice—and not for the reasons we originally anticipated.
At the time our kids were young: five, four and two years old, so we chose Beaches, a resort with a kids’ program and babysitters. As it turns out, we never used the kids program, although it was nice to know it was there. With our rooms all within a few doors of each other, we could pop in and out at will. At the same time, my parents liked being able to put out their “do not disturb” sign when they’d had enough of the little ones.
We quickly fell into a rhythm. Each morning, we would gather at “our” area of the beach as we were ready, and where we could find each other throughout the day. It was the ideal mix of togetherness and privacy. There was no pressure to do anything—and plenty to do. We took turns going snorkeling, went for long walks on the beach, ate meals separately and together. And paying for everything upfront meant no discussions about who would pay for each meal or activity.
We all enjoyed watching the kids play together, and there was always an adult or two ready to supervise. My dad also organized some fun excursions. The kids especially loved the day my dad rented a boat and took us to the iguana refuge on Little Water Cay, and the dinner at Kimonos, where chefs chatted as they artfully cooked tableside.
That trip is one of still one of my fondest memories—all the more precious now that my dad is no longer with us. Carpe diem!
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