TopDawg Travel

Archive for the ‘Opinions’ Category

Vegetables for picking ©Carlanne McCrystal

So often we think we need to save up our vacation time and go “somewhere”.  So we either never go anywhere or we wait for that two or three weeks of vacation time to accumulate.  Then off we go to a foreign land, a remote island in the Pacific, the grand tour of Europe (i.e., 14 cities in 5 countries in 14 days), or languish in our own backyard, doing chores and wondering what happened to the “grand vacation”.

Since our family no longer accrues “vacation” days, or “sick” days or PTO (personal time off) days, we are learning to take the long weekend and turn it into mini-vacations.  One might wonder about a travel agent/travel advisor/travel consultant who does not take every opportunity to go on those so-called “free” trips that the industry is so noted for.

There are several reasons:

• Those trips are not “free”.  Usually air fares are not covered and if they are, there are still the fees the airlines insist upon charging (whether baggage fees, food and drinks on the plane, Wi-Fi, entertainment,etc.), the cost of meals not included, tips to housekeeping and busboys, and always something you do not expect.
• Those trips take time away from the family.
• These trips are not “vacations” – they are work and hard work at that.  On the “fams”, you are expected to see hotels, destinations, properties, events and restaurants.  You are up early in the morning, walking shoes on the feet and notepads and cameras in hand as you head out to view as many as 10 hotels and numerous restaurants and facilities.  It can be exhausting as you tumble into bed late in the evening, knowing you have to get up and do it again the next day. (My other half used to think I was going on a vacation till he went with me a couple of times and now says he would just as soon stay home with the dog as to go trek around at a hectic and exhausting pace with me.)

So as a family, we have become committed to finding the really interesting three- and four-day trips that we can do by car or train or even bus.  In order for the TopDawg to go along, it means a car trip.  If he stays home, public transportation is a viable alternative.  We just did a three day trip to Portland, OR by Amtrak Cascades.  A very relaxing way to get to Portland. Instead of the I-5 hassles, we sat back, drank our tea and coffee and surfed the Internet via the free Wi-Fi on the Cascades train.  Watching the cars streaming down I-5 towards Portland made me very happy to be on board a train.

Look around and see what is within a comfortable travel distance from your home and start thinking about those lovely two, three and four day weekends and what you can do to unwind and relax without waiting for the vacation/PTO/sick days to accumulate!

Here are some links to articles about Fall Activity related trips from around the country that might interest you…..

Autumn Apple Tours in Southernmost Illinois

Experiencing Santa Fe in the Fall

Two Chicago Area Farms Features Mazes and Pumpkins

Fall Fruit Picking at Battleview Orchards, Freehold NJ

Air travel today is such a mixed emotion that it colors every other form and function of travel. Good, bad and ugly describe every flight, every attempt to go from one place to another in an airplane…. read more

Yesterday afternoon officials at SEATAC airport received the anticipated numbers for the holiday traffic coming through the airport.  In speaking with Perry Cooper, Airport Media Officer, he reported that the numbers for the Thanksgiving holiday are in line with last year’s statistics.  The busiest day of the holiday will be on November 29th, Sunday with an estimated 94,000 passengers passing through the facility.  The next busiest days will be Wednesday, November 25th and Monday, November 30th, estimated at 92,000 passengers each day.  While the airport will increase the number of personnel to assist passengers, in the stores, security checkpoints and customer service representatives, the airport is more than ready to cope with the numbers of people passing through it.   Read more… Port of Seattle not concerned about Orbitz Insider reporting SEATAC no. 10 busiest during holidays

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If you are thinking about traveling over the holidays, keep in mind that SEATAC Airport has just been named the 10th busiest airport in the nation, so you need to plan ahead to avoid and/or deal with delays with a minimum of irritation.  Read more… Seattle Airport ranked number 10 busiest airport by Orbitz Insider for the holidays

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My fellow travel agent and I arrived at the hotel and were greeted with cold washcloths and a fruity (non-alcoholic) drink.  The desk person could not seem to locate our records (they use paper records here – how quaint).  He left with my passport in hand and then returned to pull my paperwork out of the box in front of him.  I did wonder what transpired with my passport in the back office. 

He gave me the check-in spiel – if I wanted to have the use of the safe in my room, I needed a lock.  There is no charge for the lock, unless I lose the key.  Then there is a $100 fee for the key replacement.  He checked out a remote to the TV to me (again, no charge).  And he handed me a card for pool towel check out.  He assigned me the room # 1810.  That was nice because it is on the top floor.  He then snapped a blue plastic strip around my right wrist which indicated that I was in the all-inclusive plan.  I would wear this wrist-let for the next 5 days.  It felt a bit like a one-sided hand cuff, but it does mean I eat and drink for no extra charge. 

I asked about internet access.  The price seemed to change as it left his mouth.  It ranged from $9 to $29.  The good thing is that you purchase a set number of minutes or hours.  I purchased 24 hours.  As long as you log on, and then log off when you are shutting down, you may use only a few minutes and 24 hours can last a whole week.  But if you don’t log off, it can be used up very fast.  I agreed to the 24 hour plan immediately and then he checked in the fellow traveler.  She was 2 doors down from me and we accompanied a bellman to the 8th floor.  He dropped me off and proceeded down the hall with her in tow. 

I walked into an oven.  It was hot outside and hotter inside.  I walked over and opened the drape.  I checked the balcony door and it was not locked.  I stepped outside and the heat was overwhelming.  I stepped back in and tried to lock the door, but there was not a working lock.  After checking the AC control, I called the front desk.  I want to say two-thumbs up for the response level of the staff.  There was a maintenance person in my room handling the lock ASAP.  The air conditioning was a whole other issue.

My fellow traveler and I agreed it was a good idea to adjourn to the bar for a drink.  After unpacking and laying out toiletries, we met at the elevator and headed to the pool bar.  There was a menu of drinks.  There were a number of fruity flavored margaritas, but not a straight up margarita.  The same was true of the martinis, the daiquiris and well drinks seemed out of the question.  We settled on mojitos.  Then we saw him break out a huge bottle of beer for a waiter and the next drink was destined to be beer.  “Sol” was the brand name, but it was beer and it was wet, so that worked for me.  We were both so hot and sweaty that we agreed to go put on swimsuits and take a dip in the infinity pool.  We gave up on making reservations for dinner as it was after 5PM and dinner reservations had to be made before 5PM.  We also were too late to get pool towels with our cards.  When we went to the front desk to see if we could check them out from there, there were no towels available for another 5-10 minutes.  We decided we could dip without a towel.  I grabbed the beer and headed to the pool, expecting a cool dip to help chill me out.  Oops.  Wrong again.  The pool is a bit warmer than body temperature.  But once in and kicking around, it did not matter.  I may have been warm but the sweat was gone and I was drinking a beer in the pool.  Life was ok by most any standard.   

Welcome to Puerto Vallarta.