AAA Traveler - Spring 2019 - 23

Tower of
London

The night before, Schulman tried to check in for their
plane travel. When she was unable to check in her husband,
she realized that David's passport was not valid for the
necessary full six months after their itinerary.
"I texted Shannon's email at 3 a.m., hoping she would see
it when she woke up," Schulman said. "She was emailing me
back at 4:43 a.m.! She went completely out of her way to
follow up every lead to help David. She worked tirelessly on
this crazy issue that seemed like it had no hope."
The only option was for David to drive to Atlanta to go to
a passport office that could offer a new passport in the same
day. He got back to the Charlotte airport with just 1.5 hours
to spare for an international check in. "It was insane,"
remembers Schulman.

European Vacation

Once the family arrived in Europe, they were completely
thrilled with the itinerary Ondecker had arranged for them
during one of the busiest weeks of travel.
"Shannon was able to find the best hotel closest to my son's
school," Schulman explained. "She arranged for someone meet
us at the airport and bring us right to the hotel and had preloaded cards so we could travel on the Tube. She also helped us
to exchange currency so we got a good return on our exchange rate."
After visiting the must-see spots in London, the
Schulmans quickly headed to their next country - Scotland.
"I told Shannon how I wanted to see the Highlands, but I
wasn't really sure what I wanted to see or what areas. She knew I
loved history and that I wanted to see castles. She came up with
an itinerary that took us on a Hogwarts-like train, the
Caledonian Sleeper, from London to Scotland! We went to sleep
in London, and woke up in Edinburgh, looking up at a castle!

Camden Market, London

To make sure they didn't miss anything after they
connected to the Highlands, Ondecker arranged a day trip
with a private tour guide. Schulman was thrilled to visit
Clava Cairns, Outlander filming locations, Urquhart Castle,
Loch Ness and even take a hike in the forest over waterfalls.
"Shannon made sure we were able to spend every possible
second we could before our tour guide, Laura Moon of
Inverness Custom Tours, dropped us off right at the train
station back to Edinburgh."
In Edinburgh, the family stayed in the heart of the city,
with a view of Edinburgh Castle and a full day itinerary that
was maximized to see as much as possible before taking an
arranged private transfer to the airport and flying on to Italy.
Once in Florence and Rome, the family enjoyed the sights
of two of the world's most famous cities, including an
audience with the pope on Easter Sunday in Rome!
The Schulmans have continued to be awed by Ondecker's
unwavering commitment to helping them plan extraordinary
travel. She helped them book a 25th wedding anniversary
trip to Iceland. Family emergencies meant the Schulmans
had to rebook their vacation. Even though Ondecker was on
maternity leave, she continued to stay in touch with them to
see how everything was going.
"That is Shannon," said Schulman. "She just had a baby
but is still worried about us."

Your dream trip is a breeze with your local AAA Travel Agent at the helm. Call 800-750-5386 and plan your
next adventure!
TRAVELER SPRING 2019

AAA Traveler - Spring 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AAA Traveler - Spring 2019