Welcome to the August 2002 edition of SINGLE PARENT TRAVEL e-zines - a continuing series of monthly newsletters created for the community of single adults who travel alone with kids.

In this issue:
I. GLOBAL BRENDA'S MESSAGE
II. OUR SPONSOR: TRY FOR DRY
III. BUY "THE SINGLE PARENT TRAVEL HANDBOOK" NOW; SAVE $$$!!
IV. GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
V. UNCOVERED - SINGLE PARENT SPECIALS
VI. TOOTING THE HORN - GLOBALBRENDA IN THE NEWS
VII. SUBSCRIBERS SPEAK UP-REQUESTS, INQUIRIES, COMMENTS

I. GLOBAL BRENDA'S MESSAGE

The Emails Continue to Pour In... It is so delightful to hear from each of you. We have formed a wonderful community of single parent and non-traditional family travelers. In response to my comment in the previous newsletter, many of you are keeping the thread when we write back and forth. Thank you so much. I have another request: When you inquire about activities for your kids, please mention the ages of your child or children. Also, when you ask for ideas on vacation destinations, especially if it is for a weekend, please tell me the town or general area where you live so I can provide suggestions tailored to your needs.

Documentation
I regularly receive email requests for documentation information and sample permission letters. There is a section on my Web site dedicated to this topic, which includes a sample letter. Documentation is listed under FAQs or click on: http://www.singleparenttravel.net/Writing/Documentation/index.htm

The Book is on Its Way
After an exciting hiking vacation in Glacier National Park (see story below on Glacier NP) I returned home to an exhausting schedule of editing the edits on my book, forming my own publishing company (GlobalBrenda Publishing LLC), and preparing the promotional material, press kit, and book cover for "The Single Parent Travel Handbook."

My daughter Monique has been busy on the business side of things, negotiating for a typesetter and printer and arranging a publication date for the book. Advance book reviews from journalist friends and associates have been outstanding. My editor left this week for a vacation in Zion National Park. She plans to follow some hiking suggestions in my book and she doesn't even have kids!

We are pleased to offer first edition copies of "The Single Parent Travel Handbook" at a special pre-sale price of $11.67 for our readers. That is 35% off the $17.95 cover price!! See details below in the newsletter or on our Web site http://www.singleparenttravel.net/book/index.htm.

Happy Travels,

Brenda Elwell

II. OUR SPONSOR: TRY FOR DRY
(Paid advertisement)

Help Your Child Stop Bedwetting. Millions of children every night wake up in wet beds. It is important to know that bedwetting is not a result of your child's laziness or poor parenting and it can be corrected. A child who wets can dampen your travel plans. (Read Article: http://www.singleparenttravel.net/Writing/TryForDry.htm) Learn how you can help your child overcome bedwetting. Read "Getting to Dry" and visit http://www.tryfordry.com .

Previous sponsors: http://www.singleparenttravel.net/ads/Sponsors.htm.

Founder's Note: TRY FOR DRY addresses an important issue regarding family travel. Many camps and children's programs exclude children who bedwet. Both my kids suffered from this problem in their childhood. Many a night's sleep was interrupted, both at home and away, until they outgrew the condition. Had TRY FOR DRY existed when my kids were little, I would have tried it. It seems to be a very good program.

III. BUY "THE SINGLE PARENT TRAVEL HANDBOOK" NOW; SAVE $$$!!

Finally! You can now buy "The Single Parent Travel Handbook". We are pre-selling the book at a 35% discount, or $11.67. The book will retail for $17.95.

Why the discount?
Two reasons:
* You are purchasing the book directly from us. (No middleman distributor).
* Book pre-purchases enable us to gauge how quickly our first edition will sell. That information is valuable so we encourage the pre-sales by offering a substantial discount.

This price is a limited offer; we urge you to buy your copy quickly. "The Single Parent Travel Handbook" will be printed in October and in your hands by November. Why not order some extra copies as Christmas gifts for family and friends? Many of you have told me how much you enjoy my writing and research on my Web site. My book is not a rehash of these articles, but rather a comprehensive start-to-finish guidebook to travel for non-traditional families that is both informative and entertaining.

HOW TO PURCHASE THE BOOK

WHAT IS THE BOOK ABOUT

IV. GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

Located in the northwest corner of Montana and spilling over into Canada, Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park is more than a million acres of spectacular scenery, Class One air quality, and a stunning array of wildlife. There are thirty-seven glaciers in the park, all but one of which are expected to disappear by the year 2030. The list of family-friendly activities and attractions in Glacier is endless. Even after a full week's vacation, we couldn't cover them all. There are, however, three attractions in Glacier National Park that every visitor should experience...to continue the article click on http://www.singleparenttravel.net/Writing/Glacier.htm

V. UNCOVERED - SINGLE PARENT SPECIALS

Once again, we have found specials that don't discriminate against the single parent family. You may contact your travel agent to help you book any of the specials below.

SP Special #1 - Servitours in Venezuela Frommers.com listed a seven night special provided by Servitours in Margarita, Venezuela. For those who love the Caribbean, but not the price, consider this Caribbean Island off the coast of Venezuela. Servitours offers the all-inclusive special for $799 (including airfare) at the 293-room Portofino hotel. The Portofino is modern, on the beach, has all sorts of amenities, but it doesn't have a single supplement! If you would like to increase your stay, each additional night is $55. This deal is good through September 2002. To book, contact your travel agent or Servitours 877-774-6651, http://www.Servitours.com.

SP Special # 2 - Single Parent Travel for those Down Under Singles Travel Connections offers two tours for Australian-based single parents and their families: one to Namibia and one to Peru. There is quite a bit of detail on both those trips on their Web site http://www.SinglesTravel.com.au , so I am not going to repeat it here. The trips look great and we are glad to have found something that our Australian readers can take advantage of! Feel free to contact Judith at 08-8293-6988 (inside Australia) or 61 8 8293 6988 (outside Australia) or your travel agent to book.

SP Special #3 - Club Getaway Although all their weekends are sold out this year, I still wanted to tell you about Club getaway for next year. In the summer of 2003, they plan on devoting three family weekends. These weekends are advertised as single parent weekends, but Elaine at Club Getaway told me that they attract double parents, grandparents and other sorts of families. Club Getaway is an all-inclusive resort 3.5 miles outside Philadelphia. Elaine explained to me that they charger per-adult and per-child, so you don't get slapped with the single supplement. Their brochures come out in August and she recommends booking at least a month in advance. Their Web site is http://www.ClubGetaway.com. Either book through your local travel agent or call 800-6 GETAWAY.

The single parent specials have become a collaborative effort. If you find any special that meets our criteria (see http://www.SingleParentTravel.net/Specials/suppliers.htm), then please let us know. We will research it and list it as a special. Also, if you have a recommendation for a place (even if it doesn't fit the criteria), we'll list your feedback in our comments section.

VI. TOOTING THE HORN - GLOBALBRENDA IN THE NEWS

On July 17, I was interviewed by Lori and Julie from FM 107, which is a new radio station for women in the Minneapolis/St.Paul area. I had a great time on their show and am glad that they helped me get the word out about single parent travel! If you are in the area, do listen in.

VII. SUBSCRIBERS SPEAK UP-REQUESTS, INQUIRIES, COMMENTS

P.B. asks if anyone has any information "on Punta Cuna, Dominican Republic for a Single Mother and two 14 year old twin girls?" If you do, please e-mail her at Patrice.afc@wspan.com.

J.R. wrote, "My daughter and I are accustomed to extended stay hotels in our interim moves and relocation efforts of the past. Well, the cost in the Virginia/DC region extended stay hotels that allow pets, are, to say the least somewhat prohibitive."

"Does anyone have any insight as to better deals on extended stay hotels that allow pets? How might I go about getting a lesser rate at Extended stay hotels... that allow pets?" If you have any suggestions for her, please e-mail her at JackieDRockwellATaol.com.

R.K. gave us a tip for lodgings in Rhode Island, "I was told of a place in Rhode Island that offers efficiency Apts. at $800.00 a week. It's called Willows Resort, and it's about 1/2 mile from the ocean on a salt-water lake. A new friend told me that she and her late husband took their children there for years. I'm all signed up for a week in Aug. They have a web site: http://www.willowsresort.com if you'd like to check it out."

J.M. wrote to us about a destination suggestion. "I am a single mom of a 4 & 5 year old just returning from a trip to North Carolina. We stayed at High Hampton Inn in Cashiers, NC. Http://www.highhamptoninn.com is their web site. This place is really geared toward kids of all ages. My boys loved the kids club, tennis, painting, swimming, and the annual teddy bear parade. During the day, and especially evenings, most gathered at the Inn lobby, which gave the kids and parents the chance to meet and play together. Being all-inclusive, the meals were great, and a huge advantage for us single parents. Although most guests were large families who come year after year, we felt very welcome being a single mom of two little kids. Some people have been coming back for 40 years, wow! Being a rustic inn, there are no TV's, phones or computers, but there are so many things to do, everyone was busy interacting with everyone else. Once you park your car, you can leave it there until time to go, if you like (& I did). There are several sites to see, things to do close by, if you like. We did on our way there and back, so we could enjoy the resort. The prices might seem a little high at first, but considering all-inclusive, pretty reasonable. Plus they ask you not tip, imagine that. I also was not penalized as a single parent, paying $215 per night. I will definitely go back every year (or two)."

R.S. gave us some feedback on Club St. Lucia Splash, which we mentioned in our specials section. "I went there last spring, and it was fine, not great, but a good buy. The children's program for kids over 5 wasn't very good (my son was bored witless and extremely hot to boot; they only got to swim for about 1/2 hour/day), for under 3 it was fine. They say they have five restaurants but for all intents and purposes you can only get into one. People were fab. The price was right, but I wouldn't go back again (or recommend it). But boy, did I LOOOOOVE St. Lucia."

Reporting from Scotland, C. H. writes, "I just wanted to tell you about a superb company here called Mark Warner which has about a dozen all-inclusive resorts in Europe, including Greece, mostly beaches with a few ski areas. They have a fantastic children's program and have gotten rave reviews on the BBC and this past week in the Scottish Sunday Herald, a mother/journalist gave a glowing account of her family's stay. They charge per person, very good rates, and there is no supplement for singles. If you found a cheap flight to London, then booked one of these, it would be very cheap. The Web site, which is quite good, is www.markwarner.co.uk." We got this information from C.H. just as we were putting the finishing touches on the newsletter, so we couldn't call and confirm. But since it looks like a single parent special, we'll follow up with them and post it on the specials list next month.

Thanks to everyone who gave us suggestions, comments, questions, etc. Keep the feedback coming!