Travel

Back in December, I flew Virgin America for the first time to San Francisco.  The trip overall was pretty nice and the mood lighting made the plane look more like a trendy nightclub than a boring plane.  I noticed, however, that Virgin America allowed passengers to check one bag for free but charged $10 for the second bag checked.  At the time, other airlines allowed two checked bags for free.  I remember hoping that charging for luggage was not the new trend.

Fast forward six months and airlines are charging not only for the second bag checked but for the first bag as well.  American Airlines started this phenomenon reportedly due to rising fuel costs and the desire to lighten the load on board the plane.  Next to follow was suit was United and then US Airways who also took it a step further by charging $2 for the once free soda.

If I was still traveling for work this would not affect me personally as the company paid for travel.  However, as a personal traveler I think the airlines are asking a lot.  They want to nickel and dime us to death by charging for minor conveniences that used to be provided for free.  I’m not sure I buy the rising fuel costs as the only cause.  American Airlines is also now charging for seating preferences (window and aisle) and United has been charging extra for more legroom in it’s Economy Plus section for some time (I used to get that free too).  I suspect that airlines are making everything a la carte so that their fares still look competitive beside discount airlines like Southwest, JetBlue, AirTran and others.  Of course, by the time they’re done charging you for everything you’ve spent more than you bargained for.

This thing with the baggage makes it increasingly difficult because with TSA’s 3-1-1 rule, there’s a limit to how much liquid that can be carried in carry-on luggage.  I don’t have statistics but I’m willing to bet that the 3-1-1 rule has increased the amount of baggage being checked.  Men have probably not noticed a difference but for women it’s crucial as we tend to carry the specific beauty and health products we need because those products work.  The condition of our skin and hair can’t be left to using random soap and shampoo in hotel rooms.

As a seasoned business traveler, I’ve learned to pack light.  I have also adapted to the 3-1-1 rules as well because sometimes waiting for checked luggage takes too much time when you need to be at a client site as soon as possible.  Those that can’t or don’t want to pack light will have to pay the price.  One alternative, however, is to try one of the discount airlines that don’t charge for baggage.  Goodness knows that I hate the fact that seats are not assigned on Southwest but it’s not too bad if you check in early (online is best).  Passengers still line up by group for boarding but now one’s place in line is determined by the order in which he or she checked in.  That means that you don’t have to be in line the whole time at the airport so you can actually relax.

Southwest is by no means my favorite airline (I like JetBlue and Virgin America better) and you will find that I have absolutely no loyalty to any airline; or rather, whatever loyalty I do have is directly proportional to price and how I am treated.  I declare Southwest the winner in this case though as they had the foresight to protect themselves against rising fuel costs.

I’ve posted photos from last week’s trip to the Dominican Republic on Flickr.

I’ve got several photos of the beach (La Playa de Boca Chica) and the pretty blue water. I also have some photos from the Santo Domingo city tour and the “safari” tour.

My only regret is that I did not have a chance to check to make sure I had cleared my second memory card. I didn’t so I was forced to use my other camera after visiting the waterfall.

I took a mini-vacation to Seattle this past weekend. I used two free flight vouchers that I got last year that were due to expire this month. In addition, I used Marriott points for the hotel in Redmond. Yay free!

Anyway, we arrived there Friday morning. It was a clear sunny day and the air was crisp and clean. From the airport, we went to the Space Needle (touristy I know but we were tourists). It was chilly – no it was cold – at the top and I was amazed that many people were wearing shorts. I had on layers and was shivering. Although the day was clear, we were not able to see Mount Rainier.

The next day we took a ferry to Bainbridge Island. I was all giddy because I had never driven onto a ferry before. I remember taking a ferry on a field trip in kindergarten but that was many many years ago. On Bainbridge Island we pretty much just drove around and then walked around even though it was rainy. The town was really cute. The BF wants to move there. He would live in Redmond too.

On Sunday we went to the Seattle Aquarium and the Science Fiction Museum/Experience Music Project. The Aquarium was packed full of screaming children but still enjoyable for the most part. No photography was allowed in SFM/EMP so I only have photos from the outside.

The only thing we had time for on the last day was to pose for a photo with the Space Needle in the background while filling up the rental car.

See more photos on Flickr.

Tags: seattle

I’m on a mini-vacation right now. In honor of that I decided to post this video from my last vacation in June.

During our trip to Vegas, we went to the Grand Canyon West which is a new attraction opened by the Hualapai Nation in an effort to get tourism dollars to help their ailing economy. It includes the glass Sky Walk hanging over the canyon. The site is still under construction but the Sky Walk is finished.

Click To Play

Getting to this location was crazy. We turned down some road in Arizona and had to look out for a dirt and gravel road that would lead us to the reservation. The rental car was slipping all over the place as the road was hilly and bumpy. Driving behind any other car was difficult because the dust cloud was thick and we couldn’t see where we were going.Getting back was crazy too because Hoover Dam was closed and we were 40 miles from Vegas when we were told that we had to go back 60 miles in the opposite direction to take a detour through Laughlin, Nevada. The detour was at least 160 miles total.

This was my first attempt at being in front of the camera although the Sofa Cushion vs. Car video got posted first. My favorite part of the video is driving into the sunset on the bumpy dirt road at the end.

I like this video but I don’t like certain spots in it. I was not able to fix the audio. I attempted but decided that since I no longer have that camera that it didn’t matter. Also, the video is about 16 minutes long but the audio is only crappy in certain spots.

I have been contacted by Schmap again regarding permission to use one of my photos from Flickr – this time for their Schmap Turin Third Edition. The photo they would like to use is of a copy of the Shroud of Jesus. The photo has been shortlisted meaning they are considering it for their guide. It may or may not make it in should I give them permission to use it.

Surely I have better photos to use than that one. I love sharing my photos with anyone who wants to see them but I’d rather share the better photos. I guess it being a travel guide they are just looking for photos of the sites they are recommending instead of me trying various angles to make artsy photos.

As a side note, Yahoo! Photos will close on Thursday, September 20, 2007. (I never liked it so there’s no loss for me.) They have set up processes to easily move photos to Flickr, KODAK Gallery, Shutterfly, Snapfish, or Photobucket. Since I use Flickr, I chose to have my Yahoo! Photos moved there. As a result Flickr gave me 3 extra months on my Pro account. Cool.

Tags: schmap flickr yahoo photos turin photo inclusion

I made my hotel reservation at the last minute before flying out to Chicago on Wednesday. The only thing the Marriott had available was some type of concierge level room. When I’m checking in, the front desk attendant said that I was in a suite. When I walked into the room my first impression was “this is nice!” But then as I looked around the room set up like a sitting room and dining room, I noticed that there was no bed.

I had had one of these concierge rooms in Austin last year when the hotel had almost no room. The room in Austin was a very large living/dining area with a separate bedroom. So I walked around the corner looking for the bedroom and there was a bar – no bedroom. I tried the doors to the two adjoining rooms which were both locked. So then as I’m about to call the front desk to ask how they could give me a room without a bed, something about the large cabinet near the seating area got my attention. When I walked closer it was a little placard saying to call “At Your Service” if assistance is needed in lowering or raising the Murphy bed. Oops – user error.

I made my hotel reservation at the last minute before flying out to Chicago on Wednesday. The only thing the Marriott had available was some type of concierge level room. When I’m checking in, the front desk attendant said that I was in a suite. When I walked into the room my first impression was “this is nice!” But then as I looked around the room set up like a sitting room and dining room, I noticed that there was no bed.

I had had one of these concierge rooms in Austin last year when the hotel had almost no room. The room in Austin was a very large living/dining area with a separate bedroom. So I walked around the corner looking for the bedroom and there was a bar – no bedroom. I tried the doors to the two adjoining rooms which were both locked. So then as I’m about to call the front desk to ask how they could give me a room without a bed, something about the large cabinet near the seating area got my attention. When I walked closer it was a little placard saying to call “At Your Service” if assistance is needed in lowering or raising the Murphy bed. Oops – user error.

This post was written on my Blackberry so there might be typos.

I was on a 3:00 flight to National but moved to the 4:00 because I didn’t think I was going to make it. So I get to Hertz and just as they are handing me my receipt it starts raining – horizontally. The rain went at least 30 yards under the covered structure. We all (random folks) stood there waiting for it to taper down which it didn’t. We heard something that sounded like lightening striking something. When the shuttle’s door opened we all raided the shuttle. The rain was going over the bus to wet us up under the covered structure. So everyone is on the shuttle drenched and wearing suits. When we finally get to the terminal it was closed due to a tornado warning and they made everyone go downstairs. They finally opened everything back up and now I’m on the 6:00 flight which is scheduled to leave at 6:35. I’m standby on the 5:00 which is scheduled to leave at 5:35 but they don’t have a plane or a crew. So now I’m sitting here with wet clothes and wet hair while everyone else appears nice and dry.

Standby flight time changed to 5:55. I think they are going through the standby list now.

Update: At around 8:00 the standby flight was canceled. We boarded my confirmed flight at around 8:30 after hearing that all other flights to DC has been canceled and that many morning flights had been canceled as well. We sat on the tarmac with the engines off for a while and it wasn’t until after 10 that we actually took off. So I get home at 2 am. It took 11 hours total since I first set out for O’Hare to get home.

I feel bad for all the people probably still stuck in O’Hare with nowhere to go. I heard announcements that if O’Hare was not your final destination, that there would be no baggage reclaim meaning it must really suck for them.

This post was written on my Blackberry so there might be typos.

I was on a 3:00 flight to National but moved to the 4:00 because I didn’t think I was going to make it. So I get to Hertz and just as they are handing me my receipt it starts raining – horizontally. The rain went at least 30 yards under the covered structure. We all (random folks) stood there waiting for it to taper down which it didn’t. We heard something that sounded like lightening striking something. When the shuttle’s door opened we all raided the shuttle. The rain was going over the bus to wet us up under the covered structure. So everyone is on the shuttle drenched and wearing suits. When we finally get to the terminal it was closed due to a tornado warning and they made everyone go downstairs. They finally opened everything back up and now I’m on the 6:00 flight which is scheduled to leave at 6:35. I’m standby on the 5:00 which is scheduled to leave at 5:35 but they don’t have a plane or a crew. So now I’m sitting here with wet clothes and wet hair while everyone else appears nice and dry.

Standby flight time changed to 5:55. I think they are going through the standby list now.

Update: At around 8:00 the standby flight was canceled. We boarded my confirmed flight at around 8:30 after hearing that all other flights to DC has been canceled and that many morning flights had been canceled as well. We sat on the tarmac with the engines off for a while and it wasn’t until after 10 that we actually took off. So I get home at 2 am. It took 11 hours total since I first set out for O’Hare to get home.

I feel bad for all the people probably still stuck in O’Hare with nowhere to go. I heard announcements that if O’Hare was not your final destination, that there would be no baggage reclaim meaning it must really suck for them.

This is the second group of random clips on my hard drive.

Little Boy Driving Boat in Bahamas – May 2007

This little boy got on the water taxi and was messing with the controls. We all freaked out thinking that little boy was going to drive the boat. I said it out loud and everyone within earshot laughed nervously. As it turns out he was driving the boat. His father sat on top of the boat (you can see his feet) telling him what to do.

Venice Gondola Singer – July 2006

I wish I had looked at this video earlier so I can remember what the ruckus was about. I don’t even remember the names of the people on the tour anymore and I can’t find the contact information that we all exchanged. I do remember Patty’s name and I think that the ruckus person was either her or her sister in law.