This and That

Posted on March 21, 2011March 21, 2011 by Dusty Roads

Good Monday Morning!

I don’t have much to offer today. Getting excited about the upcoming Sedona trip in May. This is the last phase before we leave. The planning is done. Now it’s just the booking process. I always have mixed feelings about the booking process. First, it’s exciting because it’s no longer just a plan. Now I’m committed. On the other hand I hate, really hate watching my bank balance shrink. Of course, I do get over that part quickly. I’ll be posting our progress each day securing reservations so you, my readers will be a part of the process too!

Other than that I’m heading to work today. I picked up a few hours of OT. It will help toward the costs of the trip.

Saturday night was the “Full Worm Moon”. Nice name huh? Anyway, it’s been called a supermoon because it was closer to the earth than it’s been in 8 years and it was something like 14% brighter. I went out to try to get a picture. I envisioned a beautiful portrait of the Man in The Moon like you see on the news when they talk about it. Nope, my skills just weren’t up to it. I’d love to blame the camera but I think it was the person holding the camera (me).

I took one series of pictures in the parking lot of my office. Then I took another series in the park in Plymouth right on the harbor. I went there twice. Boy it was cold. But I can tell you, they light Plymouth Rock with colored lights and The Mayflower is back in out of her winter dry dock.

Well, that’s about all I have for you today. Hi Ho Hi Ho, it’s off to work I go!

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Reservation time~ Grand Canyon

Posted on March 19, 2011March 19, 2011 by Dusty Roads

Oh boy…It’s time to start booking the trip we all planned over the last couple of months.

My sister and I are going to conference call on Tuesday to get our flights. Last time I checked there was a big difference flying out of Harford instead of Albany. I was surprised by that because there usually isn’t that big a difference.

If we fly out of Hartford we have to deal with 2 cars and a room. If the savings are enough it’s something to consider but the rates were changing hourly. I was checking them on my web page…www.netTrav.com/travelplace and on www.kayak.com and of course, www.Southwest.com. It will be interesting to see what the fares are on Tuesday.

I want to start lining up the tours we want to do too. Grand Canyon Railroad with the Rim tour and lunch was one and the Bottom of the Grand Canyon was another.

Verde Canyon Railroad followed by the Blazin’ M dinner show is also a definite so we want to lock up those reservations too.

I just know this is going to be a great trip!

Better Late than Never!

Posted on March 18, 2011March 18, 2011 by Dusty Roads

In my excitement to share the Mexico interview with you I totally forgot it was St. Patrick’s Day. I had a little St. Patty’s Day post to share with you. I would so love to have an Irish Interview for next St. Patrick’s Day but for now a day late and a dollar short, I send you Irish Blessings.

An Irish Blessing :

(A Blessing from St. Patrick)

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
May the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

(Traditional Irish Blessing; origin unknown,
although some attribute it to St. Patrick.)

Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Posted on March 17, 2011March 17, 2011 by Dusty Roads

I was looking for something new to tell you about and thought of my friend Diane, not Rocky’s 2^nd favorite human Diane, but my other friend Diane. Now I know Diane has done quite a bit of traveling both before she got married and then later with her husband Joe so I thought I’d see if she would be willing to offer some travel stories from her trips.

I was so pleased when she said yes that we set up a time to meet right away.

Diane was such a natural that I offered to let her “guest blog” so she could tell her story in her own way. She will think it over but in the meantime she was very generous with her time and gave me a great interview. We decided to talk about her Birthday Trip to Mexico.

DR: Hi Diane. It’s great to see you again. I’m so glad you are going let me talk to you about your trip to Mexico. Now where was it you said you stayed?

Diane: We stayed on an island at the Villa Rolandi which is a boutique hotel off the coast of Cancun. The Island is called Isla Mujeres. It’s off the beaten path, not close to the town. The Island is pretty small. The resort had 35 rooms and the packages can be all inclusive if you want. There’s breakfast and lunch or breakfast and dinner. The restaurant is rated # 1 on the whole Island . Joe and I were spoiled rotten.

DR: How did you hear about it?

Diane: Joe’s boss had been there a couple of years prior to us going. He recommended it. The first time we tried to book it was completely sold out. The next time we tried we lucked out. We went in May, the weather was perfect. We had one rainy morning where we had to leave the beach for about 5 – 10 minutes. It was a totally indulgent week. They made us feel like royalty!

DR: How do you get there? Did you fly in?

Diane: We flew into Cancun. The hotel arranges for a taxi to meet you and they take you to a dock where the hotel’s private yacht picks you up to take you to the island. They call it a yacht but it’s really more of a speed boat. It takes you right to their private dock where the porter greets you with a cool towel and a tropical drink while you wait for them to prepare your room and take your luggage in. There were two other couples that were going at the same time so we all went over together. It’s about a 20 minute boat ride.

DR: What were the accommodations like?

Diane: The rooms are pretty. Each room had a hot tub on the balcony. We were on the 2^nd floor. There aren’t any high raises on Isla Mujeres. It’s almost like taking a step back in time… like Mexico probably was years ago. You can’t rent cars on the island but you can rent golf carts. We took taxis mostly.

DR: Did you do much shopping?

Diane: We went into the little town. It was only about 3 blocks of little shops and restaurants. The North beach is the big beautiful beach but the one at the hotel was certainly adequate.

Diane: Back to the golf carts, if you rent a cart it’s $50.00 for 24 hours which is a good way to see the island, go over to the side with the waves and the rocks but we were fine with the taxi which was only about $5.00.

Diane: There’s only 1 bank in the town but most of the little shops take dollars. The dollar is king down there. You don’t have to change them to pesos.

DR: So everything was right there on the Island. Once there you didn’t have to leave?

Diane: There is a ferry that goes back to Cancun but Joe and I were looking for a quiet vacation, a chance to relax on the beach and be catered to. They have a really nice pool and an excellent health spa. Like I said , we went into town a couple of days just to poke around and try a little restaurant. It was just beautiful down there.

DR: You said you went in May?

Diane: Yes we went May 8 -15^th. It was my birthday celebration.

DR: Did you use a travel agent or book your trip yourself?

Diane: I used Expedia.

DR: What was it like going through customs? After all Mexico is another country.

Diane: It’s not like going through customs here, It’s kind of antiquated. They randomly select you to go through your luggage. You can be walking along and you come to spots that you can either stop or go. You get a red light and you bring your whole suitcase over and they rummage through it.

Diane: Another thing to keep in mind when you’re going to Mexico is that when you get there they give you a tourist card and you have to keep it on you while you’re there and then return it when you leave. I guess it’s a way for them to keep track of who is in the country. I don’t know how long it’s valid for but I’ve never had a problem. I’ve been to different parts of Mexico probably 15 times in my life.

DR: Really! You’re really well traveled there.

Diane: Pretty much. Both east and west coast.

DR: So this vacation was pretty much a beach vacation for you.

Diane. Pretty much. We ate more than we normally do because the food was so good. Every night there was a special. I love fish so I had a lot of seafood. The waiters were very , very nice. In fact one of our waiters, Jesus, offered to take Joe and me to the turtle sanctuary on his day off. He came down and met us and took us to the sanctuary and gave us some education about it.. That was really above and beyond.

DR: Were you concerned about the unrest we hear about?

Diane: I know you hear about the crime and the drugs but I can’t say enough about this little hotel and the staff. Joe and I always felt safe. I think the problems we hear about are confined more to the border states and maybe some of the cities. I think Cancun may have some slight problems. On the island the only crimes we heard about was petty theft and maybe some pick pockets.

DR: Is there anything else you want to tell us?

Diane: I think you should go. The peso is so weak your money goes a long way. You really get a good bang for your buck.

DR: Well thank you Diane. That’s a great recommendation. It sounds like a wonderful place and that you guys had a great vacation. I’ll be looking forward to talking with you more about the other places you’ve been including other trips to Mexico.

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For more information, check out the links below!

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g150810-d154002-r64311446-Hotel_Villa_Rolandi-Isla_Mujeres_Yucatan_Peninsula.html#REVIEWS#CHECK_RATES_CONT

http://www.isla-mujeres.net/

Scouts Tips~Luggage, To Tag or not to tag, That is the question.

Posted on March 16, 2011March 16, 2011 by Dusty Roads

Scout

Hi Everyone,

Scout here with another Travel Tip. Last time we talked about shipping luggage, the pros and the cons, so if you decided that shipping wasn’t for you then you will need to get your luggage to your destination some other way. In other words, either by checking it or carrying it on board with you.

Whether you are traveling light enough to get away with just carry-on or you need to check a bag you will need to identify your luggage. I think we all know that when we check our bags the attendant makes sure there is a tag but for carry-on we are on our own.

Why do we need to tag our carry-on you ask? After all, we’re carrying it , right? Isn’t that what carry-on is?

Well yes and no. First of all most luggage looks alike and unless you plan to be handcuffed to the bag like National Security, you will be separated from your carry-on at various times in your travel. Right off the bat you will need to negotiate security check points and possibly customs. Now if you and your bag get right through security screening together all is good. But what if you get stuck behind someone who is setting off the alarms while your bag sails through the X-ray machine only to sit at the end of the conveyor belt while other bags pile up next to it? Even worse, what if you are selected for closer inspection by the TSA. You will be taken off to one side, maybe even to a separate room while your carry-on languishes at the x-ray machine. Lots of room for a mixup there.

So now you are ready to board. You put your nondescript carry-on in the overhead and settle in. You seat mates comes along and adds their equally nondescript carry-on to the bin right next to yours. Now in the confusion of deplaning you or your seatmate grabs the wrong bag and off you go.

Now lets say you are about to change planes. You get to the next plane and it’s a little”puddle-jumper” . You are met at the bottom of the stairs (yup no jet way for this little plane) by an attenadant who tells you that your little carry-on must take the next leg of your trip in the belly of the beast. The bins in the cabin are too small. He attaches an orange tag but it’s just like the orange tags on all of the other confiscated carry-ons. At your next stop all of these un-tagged bags will be piled near the plane door for retrieval. Now there’s a place for a mix up for sure.

Is that all or are there other places a carry-on can go astray? What about transfers? You know, from your plane to your destination be it a hotel or a cruise ship or even on the shuttle just getting to your car. Maybe you’re riding in a bus or mini-van to get from here to there. At this point your bag probably won’t get “lost” but it could get temporarily mixed up with someone else’s similar looking bag.

So what’s a traveler to do? At the very least you can tag your bags with the little paper tags available at the airline counters but you would be well served to get some of your own. Make them colorful and distinctive, add a ribbon. Some folks put a picture of their favorite pet on a tag on their bag. Keeps them from getting lonely and makes the bag really identifiable at a glance. (Note to Rocky, I said a picture)

Rocky

It’s also a good idea to put contact information inside the bag just in case the bag goes in one direction and the tag in another. A few years ago Dusty got some bright yellow tags that had a cruise ship on one side. I think she only has one left. Some just disappeared and last year one of the remaining ones was broken right in half when she retrieved her bag.

Security experts say that you should not put your address on the tags because then everyone will know you’re away. They suggest using a business address and that’s ok but if you want to be reunited with your luggage the best bet is a phone # and/or address or even your itinerary where you can be reached.

Well, that about wraps it up for today’s tip. Here’s hoping you and your luggage, be it carry-on or checked, enjoy a safe and uneventful trip and arrive…together…at your intended destination. You don’t want to be like that TV commercials where the guy says “My me time is when my luggage went to the Bahamas (pause) and I didn’t.”

Oh and one last note on identifying marks. Last I heard, pet hair is not considered a legal description.