Another reason why flying is frustrating and driving is a plus

by Jamie Rhein on

When I lived in Albuquerque, going to New York to visit family meant flying there. It’s too far to drive for a quick trip. Then, when I moved to Singapore from Albuquerque, flying was a definite must. The first time I visited New York after moving to Ohio, my brother asked me in a phone conversation, “So what time is your flight?”

‘We’re driving,” I said.

“Oh, that’s right. It seems weird that you’re driving.”

It did seem weird, but what a relief to not be rushing out of the house to try to catch a flight. When the car is loaded, we go. If we forget something and remember it by the time we get to the highway, we go back and get it. If we leave by 9 a.m., we arrive (with stops for a sit down lunch and gas) about eleven hours later. Along the way, we can see where we are going and know what has passed behind us.

There is such freedom in driving knowing that one can control time variables–unless of course, there is road construction or a wreck that slows down progress.

My dad about an upcoming trip that has reminded me, once again, why we’ve decided to drive to Montana this summer. In May, my dad is flying to Albuquerque from New York on a vacation, and he just received notice from Delta that his 6:40 a.m. flight is now at 6:00 a.m. His new departure time means a three-hour wait in Atlanta. As he said, “You can’t count on airlines when you’re making plans.” Because he has to drive a couple hours to the airport, this earlier flight is not welcome.

The unforeseen travel circumstances because of flying is one reason we’re getting our car tuned up and relying on our own volition to go from point A to point B during our summer trip. Flights have gone up in cost. Baggage costs more and delays are almost guaranteed. The past two years, we’ve flown, but it doesn’t seem worth it.

One beauty of driving is that we get to choose the places we may want to hang out for three hours or so to break up the scenery. My choice is an historic site over an airport. We’ll depart when we leave, and we will arrive when we get there. We can chose our route. Simple. We don’t charge extra for more luggage either.

The thing about driving, though, is that you have to have enough time to get there. We have the time and have friends we can stay with along the way to cut down on motel costs. Sometimes, you have to fly. In that case, make sure you check your departure time. It may be earlier than you think.

Check Flight Arrivals.com. It’s a Web site that lists the commercial flight schedules in the U.S. and Canada.

Travel with kids in Denmark: AAA virtual trade show tidbit

by Jamie Rhein on

One of my forays at cyberspace trade show through AAA was to email a travel agent about traveling with kids in Europe. In particular, I asked about Denmark since this is one place we’ve thought about going the summer of 2009.

I picked Bernadine Kenny from the travel agent icons in the lounge and she emailed me back immediately with a few more questions, promising to get back to me today which she did.

As it turns out, Bernadine’s office is with AAA Auto Club and located in Worthington, Ohio not far from where I live. From our e-mail conversations , I found out that if one is traveling with kids in Denmark, if you’re staying in a hotel, it’s cheaper to get two rooms with two beds than one room that will sleep three or four. Bernadine found that a centrally located three-star hotel with two twin beds in Copenhagen is $178 per night, on average. The cost includes taxes and breakfast. A room for four people is $467. With two rooms you’re spending a total of $356. I haven’t checked out hostel prices, but I do know that Denmark is probably one of the more expensive places to go in Europe. Luckily, we have friends who will probably let us stay with them. If not, there’s a villa in Italy that looks pretty spiffy.

Asking Bernadine for information was a good move. I never would have thought about splitting up a family to save some bucks.

Renting a villa in Tuscany: AAA travel show tidbit

by Jamie Rhein on

In the chat room lounge at the AAA travel show, “Europe is Closer than You Think,” questions and answers were batted between participants. Someone would post a question and eventually people responded. It was like listening to several conversations at once, but you could scroll back to see what was missed.

One person asked a question about traveling to Europe with her children ages 2, 4 and 7. She wanted to know if she should wait until they are in grade school. One of the travel agents suggested traveling in Ireland or renting a villa in Tuscany. Another suggested waiting until the kids are a bit older to take a river cruise with short shore excursions. The woman asking the question jumped on the villa in Tuscany idea, though and that sparked my interest as well.

Here is a Web site I found that lists villas to rent in Tuscany. I have never rented a villa in Tuscany. I have toured historic villas before near Padua, but stayed in a friend’s apartment. Friends of mine with small children have rented a villa in Tuscany and the experience actually made them want to buy a villa in Tuscany. They liked it that much.

Here is another villa I found. Advantages of renting a villa is that you could stay in one place, cook meals or eat out and children would have a place to play outside. What a wonderful home away from home. One way to have an even more relaxing, less expensive villa experience is to rent one in the fall. If any of you have a villa in Tuscany experience to share, do tell.

Duct tape: A traveler’s friend

by Jamie Rhein on

A few months ago I “waxed” poetic about the uses of dental floss. Duct tape can also be a traveler’s friend when it comes to fixing things that need fixing, or making the passage of time more interesting when you hit the road. The following ideas came from Debbie who writes Delicious Baby, a blog about traveling with babies (older kids included).

Debbie, a frequent traveler with her two young ones, doesn’t leave home without a small roll of duct tape tucked in her gear. Colored duct jazzes up the options. She suggests:

  1. Repair broken luggage with duct tape. (I actually had a zipper break once. Taping a suitcase closed is a great idea.)
  2. Outside of the U.S., and its regulations, tamper proof your suitcase by putting duct tape around it.
  3. Use duct tape to create a design on your suitcase to make it stand out on the conveyor belt so you can find it more easily.
  4. If you’re in a hotel room and the curtains won’t quite close to make the room dark, use the duct tape.
  5. Make an inside label for your suitcase by cutting a piece of duct tape and writing the label information in permanent marker on it.
  6. Seal a drain without a stopper with the tape so you can do laundry or take a bath.
  7. Make a hopscotch board or some other game with duct tape to keep yourself or kids entertained. Duct tape could be used to represent a highway for cars. ( I have a 6 year-old son. Great idea, Debbie!)
  8. If there is a fire, use the tape to seal the cracks around the door. Chances of this happening are less than in your own home, but good to know.
  9. Duct tape is a terrific addition to a First Aid kit. If you don’t have band aids, duct tape can work if you have cotton , some tissue, or a paper towel. (I actually made a band aid this way about a month ago, but with regular tape). You can get a splinter out with duct tape too. And you can make a splint with two Popsicle sticks.
  10. Check out baby proof your hotel room for some other ideas.

My idea: When I backpacked through Europe the first time, I had pitifully old sneakers and one of them ripped. I duct taped around the rip to hold it together. They were the only shoes I had and it was winter. So sad.

Skybus $20 promotion ended on the 5th and someone I know snagged a ticket

by Jamie Rhein on

No, I’m not the one who got the promotional price. And here’s why. On January 2, just before I was heading out of town with my husband and kids for jam-packed excitement in Cincinnati with friends, I got an email from Skybus announcing $20 each way flights to a few locations–one to Newburgh, New York. Since packing for the trip at hand, instead of planning for a trip in the future, was a priority, I put the deal on hold.

Two days later some of these flights on the weekend were still available. I went as far as picking the flight and starting to put in credit card information, but I choked. Here’s why:

1. I waffled about bringing my son. Should I or shouldn’t I? On one hand it would be fun. On the other hand, a solo trip would be great, but then that would leave my husband with my son for the weekend which is no big deal, but is it fair? I already won’t give my husband the left hand window seat of an airplane if we are sitting together. Wouldn’t leaving him with our highly energetic son on a weekend when he needs to get grading done be pushing it?

2. The weather in February, when I was planning to go, is so unpredictable. I could get stuck at my dad’s unable to get out. Being stuck in Columbus would be no big deal. I’d just eat the cost of the ticket, but the idea of being stuck on top of a mountain in upstate New York was not a happy thought. I spent my adolescence feeling stuck up there. No thanks.

3. Then there were thoughts of Skybus’s winter holiday snafus with the planes not working. Again, I could get stuck not being able to leave Newburgh. Without anyone to call how would you know if there was a problem? If there was a problem, does that mean that you have to stay in Newburgh until the problem is fixed? Does the airline inform people when the flights are going if you give someone a phone number? They do through the internet, but my dad doesn’t have internet. Again, there was fear of being stuck on top of a mountain, possibly forever.

4. If I couldn’t get out that would mean I couldn’t do any of my jobs which would mean a lack of income. A cheap ticket becomes expensive.

So, I decided to sleep on my decision-making. As what happens every time I wait on decision-making with Skybus, the ticket prices went up on the weekend that was the most convenient for me to travel, therefore I have decided to wait for the next round of cheap tickets. Once a price goes above $100, unless I have a specific reason to go on a trip, there’s a lot of things $100 will pay for. Psychologically, there’s something about not getting the cheapest deal that gets in the way.

Now, who is getting the cheap tickets.? My dad. I called him about the deal when I found out it was not good for me, Getting out of Newburgh was still cheap for him. He’s coming to Columbus for roughly $56.00 round-trip. Who wouldn’t?

I just looked at Skybus ticket prices. The days that used to cost $20, now cost $35, but they are mostly during the week. If you fly to Newburgh on this afternoon’s flight, it will cost you $35. That’s not a bad deal in an emergency. If you wait until tomorrow, it will cost you $180.

Here’s friend of mine’s take on SkyBus. Tom Barlow ‘s post “SkyBus: How cheap is too cheap,” at WalletPop reflects some of my concerns.