My travel career began in 1980 with Tag-A-Long Tours, a White-Water River Expedition Company in Moab, Utah. My position was to take the reservations for guests doing the white-water river expedition, then coordinate all the pre-trip travel and doc...
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My travel career began in 1980 with Tag-A-Long Tours, a White-Water River Expedition Company in Moab, Utah. My position was to take the reservations for guests doing the white-water river expedition, then coordinate all the pre-trip travel and documents. This was the beginning of my 39-years in the travel industry. My career then took me to Orem, Utah where I expanded my knowledge as a travel agent and assisted in helping the Osmond Family travel to their concerts. I also gained expertise in providing group tours to watch BYU (Brigham Young University) compete in out of state football tours including the Hawaii Bowl. From Orem I moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where I had an exciting an informative travel adventure with the largest travel agency in Nevada, of which I became the director.
In 1999 I married Bentley Hedges and moved to Oklahoma City. AS VP of Sales and Marketing for Bentley Hedges Travel Service, I use my years of experience to market and promote our company, keeping us on the minds of the traveling public. After 49 years in business, Bentley Hedges Travel is now helping its Fourth Generation of Travelers.
I especially enjoy preparing group travel packages. In 2016 we took a group to Rome where we saw the Pope, then cruised from Civitavecchia to ports of call in the Western Mediterranean. I’ve assisted with group planning for The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, Church Groups, Special Interest Groups, and Seminars at Sea. Little did I know that my little bits of experience planning tours for BYU would prepare me for helping Bentley Hedges Travel plan University of Oklahoma Football tours and Bowl Game trips beginning with the National Championship in 2000 when we took 1100 people to Miami. I will always enjoy helping people plan their “Dream Vacations.”
Throughout our 20 years of marriage I have had the privileged of traveling all over the world with Bentley. One of my favorite adventures was traveling to England. We visited London then traveled to Essex, England where we stayed in a castle. After the castle stay, we cruised from South Hampton to New York City where we awoke on my birthday to see the Statue of Liberty waving at us and welcoming us home. A true adventure was cruising around Cape Horn from Chile to Argentina with Celebrity Cruise Lines. Along the way we enjoyed the majestic beauty of the fjords and my favorite port of call Montevideo, Uruguay where the roses were as big as dinner plates. In Rio De Janeiro, Brazil we stood under the Statue of Christ the Redeemer overlooking the 200,000 seat Macarena Football Stadium, and then later we strolled on the beach in Copacabana.
My favorite way to visit Europe is on European River Cruises. Unpack once and simply enjoy the included shore excursions. The time I spent in New Zealand and Australia will rank right up there as my favorite; remember New Zealand or Australia is only “three eats and a sleep away.”
I have favorite places that I will go back to over and over, one of which is the El Dorado Royale located outside of Cancun, Mexico. My latest favorite get-a-way is Aruba, known as One Happy Island.
Over the years I have cruised on most of the major cruise lines. My bucket list cruises are on Regent Seven Seas cruising the British Isles and Oceania Cruise Lines cruising around Spain. A 51-day sailing on Norwegian Cruise Lines in a Haven Suite would also be amazing.
Personally, I enjoy going to places where I can learn more about World War II History. In July 2019 we are taking a group to Paris with Globus Family of Brands that will include a tour of the D-Day Landing and Beaches of Normandy. I invite you to join us on this remembrance tour of the Landing at Normandy 75 years ago.