Northern Exposure, Alaskan Style
We’re going to Alaska! Yay! It’s been a dream trip of mine for a while now. We are flying free, thanks to miles, and got a good deal on our cruise stateroom – including the unobstructed view balcony. We’re traveling with my parents (thanks for using miles on us too!) But we’re going to be gone for 2 weeks, so I’m carefully planning what I’ll pack.
We usually take at least 1 laptop, but this trip we’ll be taking both. I want to document my trip this time. Had great plans to do that for London and Italy, but by the time we got home it turned out to be too much of a hassle. So I’m planning a do it as I go thing this trip. Which won’t be too difficult since for a week we’ll be on the cruise. Days at sea can be very long.
Something I discovered over the weekend is that Lonely Planet had pdfs of their guidebooks available online to buy. You can buy the whole thing or inidivual chapters. They call it “Pick and Mix” and it makes incredible sense. Who wants to carry around every guidebook you buy for the trip – it just takes up that much more space in your luggage. I wish everyone – yes, you, Frommers and Fodors! – did this. I’d gladly by the whole book to be able to download pdf chapters.
Also, if you are planning a cruise of Alaska, Frommer’s Cruises & Ports of Call Alaska 2009 is a very handy book to have. It specifically mentions what excursions to do yourself and which to book through the cruise line. It gives great info on what’s within walking distance of port and transportation options to sights. Very handy to have when planning your shore excursions, which can get pretty expensive.
More Vaca Pics
I finally found our pics from Washington, earlier this year. So here’s an album!
Travelogue for May – July
In May we hit Miami, FL. That was awesome – really. Beautiful water, beautiful sand, an unfortunate amount of rain. It was relaxing though, since we spent quite a lot of time just playing WoW together. And I got my beach/ocean time. That was lovely.
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| Miami |
This month, we headed for San Antonio. It is drivable, therefore cheaper, plus my parents were already going and we thought it would be a good way to celebrate our anniversary. We had a really good time. We stayed at the Menger hotel near the Alamo, strolled the Riverwalk, ate at Mi Tierra and visited Mission San Juan on the way home.
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| San Antonio |
Things I Learned in Miami
- Some people can wear flip flops. I am not one of those people. I find them to be the most uncomfortable footwear ever invented.
- The one day I don’t go to the beach is the day I’ll get sunburned. I’d even prepared and gotten the Alba Hawaiian 30+ SPF sunscreen.
- Umbrellas are only really helpful if you bring them out with you instead of leaving them in the hotel room.
- A sunny clear day can suddenly turn into a downpour.
- Wet Converse can give you blisters. But so can uncomfortable flip flops.
- Sometimes it’s not about how much you can see, but how much time you spend together.
- It’s a good idea to invest in some silverware to travel with, as take-out places don’t always give you cutlery. (I’ll be buying some soon and making them part of my regular travel kit. Washable, reusable and sturdy is the goal.)
- Walks on the beach and romps in the ocean are romantic. Sand in crotch is not.
Mr. Watmough Goes To Washington
We’re planning out our vacations for the year. Considering one will be for Scotland, it’s going to take planning. However, we are very excited about an upcoming long weekend to Washington, D.C. Jon’s never been to our nation’s capital. We’ve booked an unusually nice hotel for ourselves, The Quincy. We normally stay at cheap out of the way places, but we’re treating ourselves for this trip.
Maybe we can do a second long weekend trip somewhere else in the Fall. Like Vegas, baby.
Homa from Roma
We made it back last night, eventually. I’m posting some pictures in lieu of an actual post. I’m too tired. You can see more pictures here.
Planning Our Roman Vacation
I’ve got most of the planning done for our trip to Rome in October. Yesterday I booked the hotel in Tuscany and I’m very excited about it. It’s call Hotel Certaldo and used to be a flour mill. It’s brand new, opened in June, and is 4 stars. They had an excellent price!
I also booked a hotel for our last night in Italy, in Rome. Plus, I booked a Papal Audience tour via Expedia. I’m getting revved up now for going. My parents are traveling with us, but I’m doing all the planning. Now, if I can just find a winery tour in Tuscany, we’ll be set!
Our itinerary:
Mon – Thurs in Rome
Fri – Sun in Tuscany
Mon in Ostia Antica
Fly home on Tuesday
Tourist At Home
I recently picked up Day Trips from Houston and have found a number of things I’d love to do.
It’s Roma in October
We bought our tickets to Rome for October this weekend. We’re going with my parents (who were lucky enough to use miles and only paid $87!). The plan is to rent an apartment in Rome for the week, and then drive into the Tuscan countryside over the long weekend.
I found a great article on MSNBC about travel etiquette. I wish everyone was required to read this before they even arrive at an airport. Here are the basics:
In the security line
1. Read the posted instructions during that endless wait in the line.2. Take your laptop out of its case.
3. Stash all your loose stuff (change, cell phone, PDA, keys) in your jacket pocket and then lay your jacket in the plastic bin. This not only speeds up the screening process, but your chances of leaving something behind on the conveyor belt are almost eliminated.
4. Remember the ban on liquids and have your stuff in its proper quart-sized plastic bag.
5. Be ready to take off your shoes as soon as you reach the scanner.
6. I know this sounds silly, but don’t carry knives or firearms. Believe it or not, thousands of people forget this rule every year.
7. Don’t pitch a fit if you are randomly selected for a more thorough search and screening. Someone has to do it.
On board the airplane
1. Help others stow their carry-ons. If you see someone struggling with carry-on luggage, don’t just stand by gawking — lend a hand. It will make everyone feel better and help get the plane loaded faster.2. Think before reclining your seat. Sudden reclines can damage laptops and topple drinks, so recline slowly or warn the person behind you. Straighten up during meals to let the person behind you eat more easily.
3. Try not to grab the back of the seat in front of you when you get up or move down the aisle. Pulling on the seat back can cause that passenger in front of you to spill a drink, and it is almost certain to wake anyone who was asleep.
4. Help folks sit together. If you see a couple or family who would like to sit together, help them out if it doesn’t inconvenience you. You might be in the same situation sometime.
5. Stow your luggage over your own seat. Taking storage space up front means that those seated up front have to come to the back to store their bags and retrieve them. Store the small bags and anything you might need during the flight, such as books or an iPod, under your seat.
6. Control your children. No one thinks it is cute to have his seat kicked for hours on end. Few appreciate screaming children. And I know flight attendants are not pleased with kids running up and down the aisle.
7. Leave a clean bathroom. Clean up after yourself. Flush the toilet. Wipe out the sink. Pick up any dropped tissues. Leave the facilities as least as clean as when you entered. Gads, it sounds like your Mom talking.
8. Don’t block the movie screen. If you must get up, try to find a place to stand where you are not blocking someone’s view of the movie.
9. Mind your space. Don’t hog armrests (my rule is that the poor person in the middle has a right to the two armrests). And don’t play your iPod at high volume — invading your seat mate’s world with your choice of music is just as bad as physically invading their space.
10. Deplane row by row. According to computer simulations, waiting your turn is actually the fastest way to get off the plane. Full Article
It’s all common courtesy/common sense items, but a lot of people don’t do this while traveling. I love visiting new places, but the getting there just gets worse and worse. Nothing infuriates me more than getting stuck behind someone who thinks the rules don’t apply to them.
I love the seat up during meals idea too, which I usually try to do. Personally, I think seats shouldn’t recline more than 2 inches anyway, and I hate when someone pushes their seat all the way back and into my face. It’s one thing if there’s no one behind you, or it’s a empty flight (when was the last time you were on one of those?!), but if someone is behind you, just be freaking considerate!
Ok, I’m done ranting. Fly nice, people and remember the Golden Rule still applies!
London Update
We’ve booked our flights to London. We’re going to use miles, which makes our out of pocket ticket costs under $200! We’re going from February 3 to 11. We’ve already bought 3 guidebooks and a map! Very exciting!
We’re planning what sites we want to see and have started to argue over a few. See, there’s a place Jon wants to go called Bletchley Park. Ok. Fine with me. It’s nothing I’m interested in, but I’ll go because he wants to.
But I want to see the Tower of London and the Sherlock Holmes museum and he’s dead against them. Tower of London is “boring” and he just can’t grasp the concept of a museum to a fictional character. I’m sure we’ll work it all out, but I’m not giving up Sherlock Holmes. I might give up on ToL just becuase the entrance fee is pricy. I guess it’s a good thing we have 2.5 more months to argue over it.
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