The Roaming Gnomette

A new camera!

2010-05-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

I finally redeemed some of my miles for merchandise through United.com. I've been wanting the Samsung DualView for a while, but when it popped up on United, I knew I had to get it!

Here it is: Samsung DualView

It was 39,000 miles, but totally worth it.

Free entry to museums nationwide for active duty military.

2010-05-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

Pass it on!

This summer, more than 600 museums in all 50 states are offering free admission to active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day, May 31, 2010, through Labor Day, September 6, 2010 to show their appreciation for those who are serving this nation.

More information at Blue Star Museums.

Over 100,000 miles again!

2010-03-19T06:48:00.000-07:00

It took forever, but I finally crested the 100,000 mile mark on United again.

And that's enough for a free trip to Europe... or if I pay for a the trip, definitely enough for a first class upgrade. I prefer the second option... that's a long flight from California!

I haven't flown 100,000 miles, but I have my secret methods of acquiring miles. OK, not so secret. But I am dedicated. I have the United Debit Card, the United Visa, and the United Business Debit.

My next big hurdle is getting back up to Premier status. That's the base elite status, where you get to use the fast check-in counters, upgrade to Economy Plus, and automatically get at least 500 miles per flight. Most of my flights begin with an 83 mile flight to LAX, so that's alot of extra miles!

Now they're beefing up the program, so I can use my miles for all sorts of things. Car rentals, hotel rooms, even electronics. But I prefer to use them for something flying-related. AND I can use them on Lufthansa, my favorite airline.

I still haven't forgiven United for the SFO (San Francisco) disaster... but I think that has more to do with the airport than United. So I give my hugs back to United, but will try to only fly into and out of itty-bitty airports, like SBA and SMX.

A few related links:
United Mileage Plus

United Mileage Plus debit cards from Chase

United Mileage Plus Credit Cards

P.S. I'm not an affiliate for United or Chase! I don't make any money for promoting them, I just like the relationship they have, since it gets me free flights for stuff I already do...like shop! :)

Wow, too much traveling...

2010-02-18T19:25:00.000-08:00

...Not enough time to post!

At the end of January through the first week of February, I was able to go to Las Vegas for 9 days... for work! Of course, I took some time to play.

Then I spent this past weekend visiting friends in Vacaville, CA. And that meant spending Valentine's Day wine tasting in Napa Valley! Mmm.

New Year's Resolution

2010-01-11T19:59:00.001-08:00

I haven't been posting, but I have been traveling! Trips included going to Alabama (a state I LOVE) and also to Pasadena for the BCS Championship game (Roll Tide!). I promise to keep up with it more this year.

The Neverending Story - One family's adventure around the world

2009-10-29T09:57:00.000-07:00

http://www.soultravelers3.com/

Every once in a while, something will trigger my wanderlust. A few years ago, I watched "Under the Tuscan Sun" with my girlfriends, and we decided we were going to move to Italy and live happily ever after. (I'm in California, because life happened and two out of three of us got married.) I travel to Germany and Austria often, to ski, and when I board the plane to leave, tears stream down my windburned cheeks. (I usually declare I am going to brush up on my German and that I'll be back within the year, but it usually takes two.) I've been looking at jobs at the UN lately, and dreaming of getting a phone call asking when I'm available to come work in Geneva. (I would say, "I'll take it!" no matter what the job was, and promptly faint.) This last UN-inspired episode coincides with Christiane Amanpour's new show on CNN, and I dream of being her assistant and carrying her bags, like a journalist's caddy.

In the midst of this UN & Amanpour wanderlust attack, I found Soultravelers3 through links other travelers have posted on Twitter. I wondered what it would take to finally make the leap into a lifestyle of travel. I thought it was a quaint idea at first, but nothing that would compare to a Tuscan villa or Austrian chateau. But the more I delve into their story, the more adamant I become about living a life like this.

My hat goes off to you, DaVinci, Jeanne D'Arc, and Mozart! Keep us posted, you have more followers than you imagine. You're an inspiration.

Best wishes on your journeys, Soultravelers3.

Follow them here: http://www.soultravelers3.com/

You know you're a TCK when...

2009-10-22T08:21:00.000-07:00

This is a twist on the "You know your'e from (insert location here) when..."

This totally applies to me (and my sister)!

- “Where are you from?” has more than one reasonable answer.
- You’ve said that you’re from foreign country X, and your audience has asked you which US state X is in.
- You flew before you could walk.
- You speak two languages, but can’t spell in either.
- You feel odd being in the ethnic majority.
- You have three passports.
- You have a passport but no driver’s license.
- You go into culture shock upon returning to your “home” country.- Your life story uses the phrase “Then we moved to…” three (or four, or five…) times.
- You wince when people mispronounce foreign words.
- You don’t know whether to write the date as day/month/year, month/day/year, or some variation thereof.
- The best word for something is the word you learned first, regardless of the language.
- You get confused because US money isn’t colour-coded.
- You think VISA is a document that’s stamped in your passport, not a plastic card you carry in your wallet.
- You own personal appliances with 3 types of plugs, know the difference between 110 and 220 volts, 50 and 60 cycle current, and realize that a trasnsformer isn’t always enough to make your appliances work.
- You fried a number of appliances during the learning process.
- You think the Pledge of Allegiance might possibly begin with “Four-score and seven years ago….”- Half of your phone calls are unintelligible to those around you.
- You believe vehemently that football is played with a round, spotted ball.
- You consider a city 500 miles away “very close.”
- You get homesick reading National Geographic.
- You cruise the Internet looking for fonts that can support foreign alphabets.
- You think in the metric system and Celsius.
- You may have learned to think in feet and miles as well, after a few years of living (and driving) in the US. (But not Fahrenheit. You will *never* learn to think in Fahrenheit).
- You haggle with the checkout clerk for a lower price.
- Your minor is a foreign language you already speak.- When asked a question in a certain language, you’ve absentmindedly respond in a different one.
- You miss the subtitles when you see the latest movie.
- You’ve gotten out of school because of monsoons, bomb threats, and/or popular demonstrations.
- You speak with authority on the subject of airline travel.
- You have frequent flyer accounts on multiple airlines.
- You constantly want to use said frequent flyer accounts to travel to new places.
- You know how to pack.
- You have the urge to move to a new country every couple of years.
- The thought of sending your (hypothetical) kids to public school scares you, while the thought of letting them fly alone doesn’t at all.
- You think that high school reunions are all but impossible.
- You have friends from 29 different countries.
- You sort your friends by continent.
- You have a time zone map next to your telephone.
- You realize what a small world it is, after all.

Back issues of Budget Travel, Travel+Leisure, and National Geographic Traveler

2009-10-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

I just listed back issues of travel magazines on eBay. These magazines have so much information in them! They are where I get most of my travel ideas.

If you are going on a trip to Paris, for instance, you can pick up a couple of magazines like the National Geographic Traveler March 2008 issue (Pure Paris) and the Budget Travel April 2009 issue (Eat Your Heart Out in Paris). They'll give you tons of ideas!

My eBay username is roaming.gnomette (of course). Click here to go straight to the magazines.

Restaurant Deals @ Central Coast Finest

2009-09-20T16:12:00.001-07:00

I found another website that offers discounted gift certificates for restaurants. The restaurants are all local, either in Lompoc or Santa Maria. They have a much bigger selection of local restaurants than Restaurant.com does.

Only a certain number of certificates are available. When you view a restaurant, you can see how many certificates are left.

The Saletti's certificates don't go on sale until September 25, but you can bet I'm going to add that to my calendar! I love Friday nights there, listening to live music, sipping martinis at the bar.

Alfie's Fish & Chips and Texas Cattle Company are there too. I'm hungry just thinking about this.

Here's the link: http://ksni.centralcoastfinest.com/

I am also 87% Geek

2009-09-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

I AM
73%
OPTIMUS PRIME Take the Transformers Quiz

Übercheap Weekend Getaway to San Francisco

2009-09-18T22:46:00.000-07:00

The fabulous deal I got on next weeks trip happened like this. I went to United's e-fare website, where they post weekend deals every Tuesday morning. I found Santa Barbara (SBA) to San Francisco (SFO) for $74, round-trip. We'll leave Saturday around noon, and come back Monday around noon. The total price came to a little over $100 for each ticket, after taxes. Still, that's $100 for a round-trip ticket!

The hotel came through Priceline. Just like on TV, I bid a ridiculously low price for a 4-star hotel in San Francisco. The first bid was $50, which was declined. But Priceline said I could raise my bid by $14 and bid again. So I did, and it was accepted. So Saturday and Sunday night, we'll stay at the Hyatt Regency, for $64 each night. $155 after taxes.

And the rental car. I went back to United and used their offer for Hertz. A midsize car was $55 for two days, taxes and everything included. Plus we get a ton of United miles.

And then I went to Restaurant.com, typed in a zip code for San Francisco, and bought a few gift certificates for restaurants on Fisherman's Wharf.

The only thing I don't have are the Broncos/Raiders football tickets for Sunday!

Beam me up!

2009-09-10T07:03:00.000-07:00

On monday, my husband and I acted like tourists in L.A. We drove down Rodeo drive, cruised around Beverly Hills, and then drove over to the take a few pictures of the Hollywood sign. But the highlight of all this was this picture. That's Nichelle Nichols handprint! And my hands fit perfectly inside. I knew she was my hero. Uhura is the fictional version of what I do. I work in Space Command, and my on-crew job was basically to repeat the computer alarms and say, "Yes, Captain."

In Lompoc? Check out this Texas Cattle Company deal.

2009-09-07T18:18:00.001-07:00

I just found this deal for Texas Cattle Co. in Lompoc, California. It's a little reminder to you to always, always, always do a simple Google search before you go out to eat. Here's what I found.

A Google search for Texas Cattle Company Lompoc found this:

http://www.restaurant.com/microsite.asp?rid=317830&mcn=00013518

See how it says "$25 gift certificate for $10"? You read that right.

So proceeded to checkout with that, but then there was a box to enter a coupon code for Restaurant.com. So I searched for that and got this:

http://www.retailmenot.com/view/restaurant.com

Scroll down. I used the Allstate coupon, "ALL".

So in the end, I got a $25 gift certificate for (ahem) $5.

I wonder how many people wait for "something" in the Premier Check-In line?

2009-08-05T12:12:00.000-07:00

Leaving Bismarck, we stood in the line marked "Premier/First Class" to check-in for our flight. The regular line only had about 5 people in it, but I like to use my Premier perks whenever I can.

Except it meant nothing to the ladies at the check-in counter. They processed everyone else first. Even people that got in the Economy line AFTER us. My husband noticed this, and jumped into the Economy line to see if he would be helped faster. Sure enough, she even took him first.

After she finished processing everyone else and we were invited to step forward, we asked if there was any difference between the regular line and Premier line. She said (wait for it), "I didn't know if you guys were waiting for something else." Apparently, a lot of people like to stand in the Premier line at the United Check-In counter at 5am in Bismarck, while they wait for "something else." And then she informed us that she was "new." Holy smokes. I think she might be under-qualified for the job.

Comfortable at the Comfort Inn - Bismarck, ND

2009-08-05T12:10:00.001-07:00

Hey, free drink coupons, nice!

In the lounge, they also have a free appetizer mini-buffet for happy hour, and half-off drinks. Happy hour is a happy three hours, running from 3:30 to 6:30. We saved our free drink coupons for later, since a round of drinks for four people only cost $7.75. They don't mess around in Bismarck.

There is an indoor pool in the center of the hotel, and the rooms surround the pool, with sliding glass doors on the pool side of the room. The room did have a faint chlorine smell when we walked in. But all the standard amenities where there, even little makeup-remover towelettes.

The beds were comfy.

Free breakfast, with scrambled eggs, sausage, waffles, cereal, bagels, donuts, etc.

There are more than enough restaurants within walking distance. Try the Country House deli across the street, pass on the Hong Kong Buffet. Actually, go to the Hong Kong Buffet, because it was $41 for 4 people, and they had crab legs.

And if you want to go out, try Borrowed Buck's Roadhouse. It was cheap, clean, and fun. Not like the dive I was expecting when my brother suggested we go there.

Comfort Inn
1030 E. Interstate Ave.
Bismarck, ND, US, 58503-0547
Phone: (701) 223-1911

Room Rate: $76/night (Military/Government Rate)

Award Ticket Fees Dropped by United Airlines

2009-08-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

Somewhere in route, I was checking tweets on my Blackberry, and noticed a fabulous one from United Airlines. United is dropping all close-in award ticket fees! Yay! Previously, if you booked an award ticket, the closer you were to the travel date, the more it cost. Not free, folks. It could be up to $100! And now, it's free. I could come see you tomorrow, for free. Free is my favorite price.

United Airlines
United Airlines Mileage Plus
United Airlines Twitter : @UnitedAirlines

A Tour of the Western United States

2009-08-05T12:05:00.000-07:00

To use our award tickets, the only routing we could get was from Los Angeles (LAX) to Las Vegas (LAS) to Denver (DEN) to Bismarck (BIS). We left at 6am, and arrived in Bismarck around 3pm. Anyway, it was free, so I don't really have any complaints.

Shopping at LAS is far better than the shopping at LAX. Man, I could spend a day and a pretty penny in that airport.

A Bumpy Start - Radisson LAX

2009-08-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

We decided to stay at the Radisson-LAX on Wednesday night, since our (free award ticket) flight left at 6am on Thursday. The stay was OK at best.

The hotel is in the middle of remodeling... I think. Only two of the four elevators worked, so we actually had to stand in line to get on one of them. The decor in the room was mismatched. I'm not sure what they were going for, but some of it was contemporary (white linens, geometric designs on the drapes). And some of it was...polynesian?

The parking was $13 a day, and was about a block away. Not "across the street" as I was told on the phone when I called to confirm the reservation.

The business center was closed! No computers. One of the reasons I stay at the Radisson is for the business center.

It certainly isn't for the Sleep Number beds, which I could completely do without. Who wants to sleep on a glorified air mattress? Not I. And there was no refrigerator in the room, making it the first Radisson I've ever been in that did not have that amenity. And my husband noted the lack of a Gideon Bible! :)

They didn't even bother to put a trash liner in the trash cans. The bag was hanging over the side, as if to say, "You do it."

And no free drink coupons, bummer. The poor bartender, Cesar, could have used a hand. It was only Wednesday evening, but he was dealing with a full bar rail, a full lounge, and all of the room service calls. Add to that the customer frustrations with the service, and I'm very impressed Cesar kept his cool. He was always polite and respectful. And he made a nice French Martini!

I did get a ton of points for this stay though. Check out the breakdown below.

Radisson LAX
6225 W Century Blvd
Los Angeles, CA
(310) 670-9000

Room Rate: $99/night (Military/Government Rate)
Radisson Goldpoints Plus Points: 4480
Online Booking Bonus: 500
Express Yourself Point Bonus: 1000
1000 Points Per Night at 1000 Hotels Bonus: 1000
Stay Earning 20 Points Per US Dollar: 1980

La Super-Rica Taqueria, Santa Barbara

2009-07-19T07:17:00.000-07:00

On the advice of 1000 Places to See Before You Die, in the Drive-Up-Highway-101 part, there's a little taco shack called La Super-Rica Taqueria. Apparently, it was also endorsed by Julia Child. Since we were at the beach anyway, we had to check it out.

The line was long, which meant it must be good. It was, but I'm not sure I would stand in line again. We waited for a half an hour. And when they say most menu items are $4-$10, keep in mind you'll be ordering more than one. A menu item consists of one or two tiny tacos, and you'll definitely want more.

We did get a decent lunch, and were able to highlight another place in our book!

http://twitpic.com/a69h9 <- A link to a picture of the food we ordered.

From Frommers.com:
Cuisine Mexican
Hours Daily 11am-9pm
Address 622 N. Milpas St
Phone 805/963-4940
Prices Most menu items $4-$10
Credit Cards Not Accepted

Manhattan Beach for AVP Open

2009-07-19T07:04:00.000-07:00

Today, we're heading down to the 2009 AVP Crocs Slam Bud Light Manhattan Beach Open. First, I'd like to note that the addition of sponsors into the title of the event makes it cumbersome.

The drive should take a couple of hours. I've never been to anything like this, so I'll keep you posted. Cross your fingers that I don't get hit by a volleyball, and end up on TV. We did get courtside tickets :\

http://www.avp.com/Schedules-and-Tickets/Tournaments/2009-Crocs-Tour/AVP-Crocs-Tour-Manhattan-Beach-Open.aspx

Two Tickets to Paradise

2009-07-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

My brother's wedding is in fabulous Bismarck, North Dakota at the end of the month. It's super expensive to fly there. Although I hoard flight miles like they might save my life someday, I ended up using them.

There were no flights available from Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, or San Luis Obispo (I live in a saintly area). I got two roundtrip tickets out of LAX. That lovely Premier status means we get the bigger Economy Plus seats for free. We'll drive down the night before, stay at the Radisson (thus getting more miles), and fly out early the next morning.

I never fly out of LAX - the price savings isn't worth the time, the stress, or the the gas it takes to get there, not to mention parking fees. (Did I mention parking at Santa Maria airport (SMX) is free? Just a little FYI.)

The cost for two tickets was 50,000 miles, plus a $20 processing charge. The Radisson rate was $99, and they have parking for $13 a day. And we rented a car through Hertz for $180. And we are staying at the Prairie Knights Casino on the Standing Rock reservation for $50 a night.

James has never been to the Rez, so he'll be in for a real treat. Parts of it are like a 3rd world country, except they speak English, and I'm related to just about everybody. And the powwow is that weekend, too.

Total price for a 3 day vacay in paradise, about $400.

Current miles: 77,500.

United Mileage Plus and Radisson Goldpoints Plus

2009-07-01T11:19:00.000-07:00

From June 4-13, 2009, I stayed at the Radisson Inn & Suites in Colorado Springs. At check-in, I requested that my stay be credited to my United Mileage Plus account, like a good girl. The standard United offer for Radisson is 500 miles per stay, no matter how long that stay is. Better than nothing.

But wait! The gentlemen at the front counter recommended I join their Gold Points Plus program. I'm hesitant to join anything membership program that could distract me from becoming the queen of United flight miles, but I listened anyway. He said I'd earn way more than the 500 miles per stay if I collected the points on the Gold Plus card, and then converted them later. So I joined, and he gave me (another) plastic card.

The points I earned were stacked:

I got 17,040 points by earning 20 points per dollar spent.
I got 5,000 points for their 5000 Points 5th Night bonus.
I got 9,000 points for their 1000 Points Per Night promotion.

I earned 31,040 Gold Points on my stay.

I logged into the Gold Points Plus website to transfer my miles. 2000 points gets you 250 United miles. So I traded 30,000 points for 3750 United miles. Not too shabby for no work at all.

Current United Miles: 118,428

Fare stalking

2008-11-18T18:00:00.001-08:00

I spent weeks obsessing over the fares to Germany. Finding the best fares was easy, but the layovers were insane, and the travel dates were way out of our range. We are going to be travelling with a 7 year old, and spending hours in an airport in Amsterdam or London did not seem like a good time.

I checked every site, everyday. Kayak, Vayama, Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, CheapTickets... and the airline's websites, too. I signed up for every fare alert and deal detector I could find. I even tried FareCast, but they didn't have predictions for Denver to Frankfurt. I made bets with myself. I found cheap tickets, about $400 round trip, but that didn't include the extra $400 in taxes. And again, the layovers, ugh. I waited. And waited. For weeks.

Biting the bullet, I jumped on a chance to get all three tickets for $3000. Sticker shock? Yes. It was not the $1800 I had hoped for, obviously. But the itinerary was a breeze. Colorado Springs to O'Hare, a piece-of-cake one hour layover, and then direct from O'Hare to Frankfurt. The return itinerary is similar. The travel time is approximately 12 hours both ways.

I booked through Orbitz. The flights are on United, but the fare wasn't available on their website. Plus, Orbitz has this Price Assurance thing. If someone else books my itinerary at a lower price, they refund the difference.

Also, while booking, Orbitz offered a rental car for all 11 days for $350 from Avis. Seriously. Not Euros. Dollars. I got that too. It's a VW Polo, so it's small, but not Smartcar small. We'll fit. And probably get bumped to a higher class vehicle (cross your fingers!).

At any rate, the Germany/Austria Christmas 2008 trip is now definitely happening! I'll be dusting off the Rosetta Stone discs and brushing up on my German.

Auf Wiedersehen!

The Red Carpet is for me!

2008-10-07T18:37:00.000-07:00

I finally broke the 100,000 mile threshold with United's Mileage Plus plan!! And I have 30 Elite Qualifying Segments. Which makes me a "Premier" member. And you know what that means? Of course not, so I'll tell you.

1. I am now exempt from baggage fees. $15 for the first bag? $25 for the second? Over weight fees? Not here. I will pack as outfits as I want, and fill my bags with as many souvenirs as I choose, and I will never be charged. (Yes, I know if you're military on orders, they won't charge you.)

2. 25% more miles. Oooh, I have 100,000 miles already, and they are making it easier to get more... This is kind of like how movie stars get swag bags full of stuff they already have. Ha! Anyway, so now my 1000 mile flight now earns 1250 miles. AND it includes Lufthansa flights, which is my favorite airline.

3. Priority wait and standby. Have you ever flown standby, and wondered how you kept getting bumped farther and farther down the list? It's because Premier passengers like me are requesting to fly standby, and pushing you down the list. Don't hate. I spent more than my fair share of time hanging out in LAX because I could not get on a standby flight. It's my turn.

4. Premier check-in and boarding. You know that line with the red carpet? That's for me.

5. Automatic and free upgrades to the next class of service, if available. So if there is an empty seat in First Class, I automatically get it, even though I bought the back-of-the-plane-and-the-seats-don't-recline seat. And I automatically get Economy Plus, no matter what, if the plane has it (those are the extra-legroom seats).

6. And best of all, all these little luxuries apply to anyone flying with me!! If we're on the same itinerary, we all get bumped up. I told you I would never forget my friends on my rise to the top!

And you may think it's all because I've been flying back and forth to see James, and while that's part of it, that's not even close to the majority of miles I earned.

I have the Chase United Visa DEBIT card. So even my debit card transactions earn me miles. I also have the Chase United Visa CREDIT card.

I shop at Vons/Safeway, and with their Club Card, I earn miles there too (I had to link my United Mileage Plus number to my Von's card).

If I'm buying something online, I check the United Mileage Plus Mall - some of those stores earn 10 to 1 on the miles (spend $20, get 200 miles). A great deal if you were going to buy it anyway.

And finally, I do exclusively fly on United. They are usually the cheapest anyway, and they have the best schedules and fly into nearly every airport. I always check eBay for a United coupon before I book. People are always selling those vouchers they get for getting bumped. I can pay $20 and get a $100 voucher. It's like trading a $20 bill for a $100 bill.
Be careful of changing your itinerary, the fee is now $150 to do that. For you. Not for me. I'm Premier baby. I can change it whenever I want.

Roll out that red carpet!!!

Boston, Massachusetts

2008-09-21T17:25:00.000-07:00

James and I switched our flights from Sunday morning to Monday evening, giving us enough time to get our tourist on. We called my friend Will (a Brookline resident), and asked him to scout out a B&B for us to serve as our base of operations. The Boston In A Day tour was going to be a blitz. After the fiasco with the Sea Crest Resort, we were ready for anything.

The Bertram Inn was beautiful, marvelous, and fabulous. Good job with the recommendation, Will! James and I could live here. The staff was extra friendly, even Googling directions to Harvard and printing them out for us. Our room was adorable. James said it looked like something on Martha Stewart, and we all know Martha Stewart is my imaginary friend. It was perfect. And guess what? The price was the same as that ghetto Sea Crest Resort we stayed at the two nights before.

We started our tour at Quincy Market, on the recommendation of one of Jenn's wedding guests. She said it was a good place to find all kinds of food, street performers, and shops. We walked around for a little bit, then noticed the "Cheers" sign - a replica of the set of the TV show "Cheers" (duh). We almost stopped in for a bite there, but they had directions to the real Cheers, about a mile away, with walking directions. And we were off!

Lucky for us, the path to Cheers is also the path of the Freedom Trail. If you really intend to do Boston In A Day, you must include the Freedom Trail. It's a red-brick inlay into the cement sidewalks that snakes through the city. Once you find it (we found it outside Quincy Market), start walking.

The Freedom Trail is history overload. There a so many historic sights along the. The Latin School, King's Chapel, the Robert Shaw & 54th Regiment Memorial (of "Glory" fame), Frog Pond, Boston Common, lots of statues of famous dead people, and lots of creepy, soggy graveyards. Ew. The Robert Shaw Memorial was my favorite part, a particularly poignant reflection on the Civil War.

We made Cheers the last stop on the Freedom Trail. I think the trail went farther, but who wouldn't stop at Cheers? The outside is just like on TV, but the inside is not. This is the place that inspired the TV show. We got decent food, and great service. It is a tourist trap though, so there are catchy names for their cocktails, and at least 2 souvenir shops. But who can resist going to Cheers? So the tourist trappiness is forgiven. Plus, James needed another pint glass for his collection.

We walked back to the Quincy Market, though I'm not sure how. We went through Chinatown, my favorite stop in any big city, even though we were lost when we found this one. James bought nunchucks for the boys. We went to Boston Harbor, where James bought a yacht.

Back at the B&B, Will & Alyssa came to show us around a bit, and we took the T (the subway) right back downtown. We hoofed it to the North End, which is "Little Italy" in most other major cities. Dinner at Giacomo's Ristorante was the recommendation of another friend. It was good food, decent price, but a little bit too... ??? No reservations, no credit cards, guests have to wait outside in a line, it was far too cramped... they were creating their own hype. Excellent business practice, crappy experience. We felt rushed, especially watching the other people waiting outside in line. The food wasn't THAT good. Doesn't an authentic Italian meal take hours, with plenty of time for wine and dessert?

We picked up biscotti at Modern Bakery for the guy who told us to eat at Giacomo's. 3 lbs of biscotti is a lot of biscotti. (James put it in his carryon to bring back!)

Then we got gelato for ourselves at a little place across the street from Modern. You can't miss it. There's a big sign that says "Gelato". Ha. Let me tell you, I would kill a squirrel for gelato. And for gelato from North End, two squirrels.

With full bellies and light spirits we decided to kill our happiness with a walk through the Holocaust Memorial. It was eerie, and we could all do without the simulated coals burning below our feet.

Across the street was the Bell In Hand Tavern, which dates back to 1795. But it also a pretty happenin' place nowadays. Except for the fact that the windows were wide open, allowing the less-than-courteous cigarette smokers outside to share their smoke with us. We had a few rounds of drinks, and I was happy to be enjoying the evening with James, Will, and Alyssa. It was getting late, and time to head back to our beyond-cute B&B, so we took the T back to Brookline, and bid adieu to our sleepy-head friends.

Of course once we got back, James and I didn't want to sleep, so we went out to the Sunset Tap & Grille, because they had 200+ beers on tap. We don't even drink beer, but a place like that must have pint glasses, right?! Of course they do, and so we went. (The picture only shows one set of taps, there are many more.)

Our feet hurt from walking, we experienced a ton of history, we went to where everyone knows our name, we had great food with great friends, and we ate gelato in the North End. I am super excited to say that I feel like we saw a lot of Boston, and we hadn't even been there a whole day!

Here are a few links for you.

The Bertram Inn http://www.bertraminn.com/
The Freedom Trail http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/
Giacomo's Ristorante http://www.frommers.com/destinations/boston/D39702.html

North Falmouth / Pocasset, Massachusetts

2008-09-21T16:25:00.000-07:00

I must apologized for the generic pictures in this blog. I forgot my camera!!

THE HOUSE AT POCASSET

Now THIS is what I would have hoped for in a visit to Cape Cod. I didn't stay here, although alot of the events of the weekend happened here, since this is where the bride and groom, and their families, stayed.

You can rent the whole house for a full week at $2500, with discounted rates for military personnel. Based on availability, you can also get single rooms from $75 to $150/night. Fabulous!

http://www.thehouseatpocasset.com/.

SEA CREST OCEANFRONT RESORT AND CONFERENCE CENTER aka MOTEL 6 ON THE BEACH.

I arrived at Boston Logan at 6:50am, after my red-eye flight from Santa Barbara, via Los Angeles. I drove straight to the Sea Crest Oceanfront Resort (and Conference Center), hoping they would have an empty room and allow me to check in. You know, like they said they would when I made the reservation. I got there around 9am, and of course they had no empty rooms. Not only were there no empty rooms, they had no idea when my room would be ready. When I asked if I could just have the first room that was ready (after all, I was standing right there), I was told there was no way they could do that, and I would have to wait for my room. I wasn't asking for an upgrade. Just a common courtesy extended to guests paying $155 + tax a night. Anyway, I was denied, and fell asleep in my car in their parking lot until 1pm.

The front desk manager was horribly abrupt, confrontational, and quite rude. I will never stay at this place again just for her demeanor alone. But what, there is more.

Sea Crest Resort does not look like the website suggests. It smells like mildew, and there is an old dank feeling to everything. The beds are literally 18 inches off the ground. The cheap bedcovers were that unexplainable material that begs the question, "When was the last time this was washed?" This place is a Motel 6 on the beach. And it's not even a nice beach! Spend your money on one of the plentiful and gorgeous B&B's in the area. The Sea Crest Resort is a heap, and they took $350+ from me over the course of the two nights I was there. Do you know what that is? It is more than a round-trip ticket from Santa Barbara to Seattle.

Steamboat Springs, CO

2008-08-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

We drove up to Steamboat for a volleyball tournament.

The trip overall was... OK. A 3 on my scale of 1 to 10. Granted, any international trip automatically garners at least a 7, and domestic trips get a 2 point deduction for lack of effort.

I'm not in a hurry to get back to Steamboat. It is a very pretty place, like Breckenridge or Vail or any other winter resort in the summertime. But it offers nothing that the other, more convenient, resorts don't already have. Steamboat is also very tourist-trappy. The market it as a family-friendly resort town, but it isn't even that. There were lots of people loitering about on Saturday night. It seemed more of a college town than a family getaway.

The weekend was July 12-13. They did have a hot air balloon festival that weekend. Great if you've never seen one before, but who hasn't? We did do a dawn horseback ride on Sunday, complete with a real cowboy as our guide. The morning ride was beautiful, especially with the hot air balloons in the background.

We stayed in a condo rented through Mountain Resorts. It was nice and clean, well kept. But not worth the cost as far as I am concerned. When the local La Quinta has rooms for $85/night, and we are paying $$$hundreds for a condo, I start to worry about value. We shared the condo with a couple of volleyball players (friends of James'). And while these two are my absolute favorite friends-of-my-husbands, the quarters were a bit cramped. Better to have separate hotel rooms, with maid service, of course.

The weekend was not a total bust. I can't complain about the company I had. I've got great memories of the dawn trail ride. But if you are ever considering Steamboat vs. Breckenridge/Dillon/Vail/any other Colorado Resort, I'd choose the alternative.

Memphis, Tennessee

2008-06-07T10:57:00.000-07:00

Since I've been in California, I've spent most of my earmarked vacation dollars on plane tickets to Colorado Springs to see James, so there hasn't been much in the way of exploring strange new worlds. No complaints though, I love my James!

This past weekend though we roadtripped ourselves from Colorado Springs to Memphis. There is no easy way to get there, it's just 16 hours of driving no matter which way you go. And we drove through the night both ways, since we were traveling with a 7-year old. We figured he would sleep most of the trip (he did).

The point of the trip was so that James could play volleyball in the Italian Fest tournament. He won! I knew my man was good, but I didn't know he was professional good! It was insanely hot and humid, one of those days Southerners call "normal." I was sweaty and dirty, and I wasn't even playing!

Nathan and I decided to go and scope out some wedding locations. We went to the Hunt-Phelan Inn. It's at 533 Beale Street. Close to downtown, it's an antebellum mansion that has been converted to a bed-and-breakfast. They have 11 rooms available, and decorated in lush antebellum style. The back patio area is perfect for entertaining. And the restaurant is where the posh meet to eat. Perfect for a "Southern Affair"!

We also checked out the Pink Palace museum. Give yourself a few hours on this one. We stopped by there thinking it was another possible location for our wedding ceremony, but one look at the unkempt grass and barren facade told us otherwise. We did take Nathan through the museum though, and he loved the dinosaurs, Civil War displays, and the shrunken head (they give you a recipe for this too). Great for kids!

The Italian Fest itself was just a standard, dusty pseudo-fair. There was a bandstand and tons of booths of retail and food vendors. You use the same tickets for the kids' rides as you do for the food. Don't try to calculate how much you're spending, it's too much. I imagine we'll go there again for future volleyball tournaments, but it's a definite "pass" on my list for the festival itself. The food was questionable, and the rides weren't even rides, just blow up slides and bounce castles. And the stench, ew. I don't think people should be cooking outdoors in 95 degree heat, right next to uncovered trash cans with quickly decomposing garbage. I am not a fan of the Memphis Italian Festival.

We ate a Gus's, a place known for it's fried chicken. The recipe has remained unchanged since 1852. Not really. I'm not sure what the date was, but it's famous. I didn't like it, though. I'm a Popeye's kind of girl myself. And this stuff was the type you could just squeeze and watch the fat drip out. Gross.

On the other hand, Rendezvous was delicious. It's in 1000 Places To See Before You Die. We went with a large group, and they wouldn't seat us until the entire group showed up. This is pretty standard practice in my experience, but some members of our party (James) were upset by this. The service was great and hilarious. Don't expect to be coddled here. When the waiter (working there since 1948!) asked what we'd like to drink, someone said, "What do you recommend?" To which the waiter said, "Oh, don't start." And walked away! Again, complaints in my group, but I thought it was great.

The dry rub ribs were perfect, but I'm no food critic, so I won't get too specific. Add this to your list of things to do in Memphis, though.

We went across the street to The Peabody to see the ducks, and took the elevator to the rooftop to see them. Lovely place, lovely view, a little out of my price range though.

We walked Beale Street on Friday night, but it just seemed like a college bar scene. Apparenly, frat boys like to hang out in the birthplace of the Blues. We didn't spend much time there. James said it's better during the daytime, without all the drunks hanging out.

There is so much to do in Memphis though, just avoid the summer if you're not used to the heat. I'm not, and if it were up to me, I'd never go there again between May and August.

Pimp United Airlines with eBay

2008-05-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

No joke. I went on eBay to see how much United Airlines vouchers were going for. BTW, you know you can sell those free flights you get for volunteering to get bumped? Anyway, they were going to about $350. Great deal if your reg flight is more than that.

But mine is usually right about there, so I didn't want that. Then I saw these United Airlines $100 vouchers going for $19.99. I thought it can't hurt to try it, but I kinda thought it was a scam too. So I used Buy-It-Now, and the seller emailed me the promotion code within 30 minutes.

I checked how much my flight was on United first... it was $419. Then I went right back and entered the code, and voila, $319. Simple as that. I bought and paid for my flight immediately, still fearful that the men in black were about to show up at my door and arrest me for something.

I also went right back to eBay and bought another one from the seller. Which I just used today for another flight that was $339. I used the code, and abracadabra, $239.

Not to mention I also went through United to book my Hertz reservation at the end of the month. A whole week for $143, including taxes. It's a Ford Focus, but I have a double-upgrade coupon. So for $143, we get an Impala (or similar, as they say).

So let's tally that up. It looks like $700 for TWO roundtrip tickets to Colorado Springs and a full one week car rental (which happens to be over Memorial Day weekend). Damn, I should be a travel agent. I'm a travel goddess. I'm a roaming gnomette.

So let eBay hook you up next time you need a plane ticket!!!

Racking up those miles

2008-04-11T10:19:00.000-07:00

I've decided to stick to United, since that's how the Air Force usually flies me. Plus, they are one of the few airlines that flies out of the Santa Maria airport. I've got almost 60000 miles so far! I'm trying to hit 100,000, which is enough to get two round-trip tickets to Europe. I've got my Vons (Safeway) Club Card linked up. I'm also on the United Mileage Plus Dining plan, where I can earn X amount of miles for money spent at participating restaurants. AND I even have their 1:1 United Debit Card, so I don't even have to use my credit cards to earn miles.

That sounds like a big ad for United, which it's not. I prefer Alaska Airlines, British Airways, and Lufthansa. But man, you can really rack up those miles, all for doing regular stuff like using your debit card and getting groceries.

I'll keep you posted. Hopefully, I'll get enough to get James, Nathan, and myself to Germany this Christmas! If not, at least I'll have enough to bump us all up to 1st class ;)

Christkindlesmarkt - Rothenburg o.d. Tauber

2007-09-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

I visited two Christkindlesmarkts... the first was in the romantic city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Rothenburg was maybe only 30 minutes from Burg Colmberg, and a perfect day trip. Make sure to stay until nightfall, when the charm of the city comes out.

It's a little city with medieval flair to spare, held within an ancient town wall. Small dreamy alleys, quaint shops, the quiet of snowy streets. "Where breathtaking scenery of the middle-ages mingles with the romance of winter magic." This is Christmas.

I bought my dad an authentic beer stein... which I learned from the shopkeeper is not what the Germans call it. Literally, it's a "beer stone". It makes no sense in English, and it makes no sense in German, either. They call it a Steinkrug... stone mug. Who knew? The gentleman also told me about the process of coloring the mug, using real cobalt. Not just a color called cobalt, which is common in tourist-trap shops. But actual cobalt, which doesn't turn blue until it is baked. And that you aren't supposed to wash your stone beer mug with soap. Just rinse it out. Something about how it affects the bubbles. You can take it or leave it on that last bit of advice.

Rothenburg is right in the middle of the Romantic Road, a must for any first-time travelers to Germany. It will take you from Wuerzburg all the way to Schloss Neuschwanstein, winding it's way through 350 kilometers of the most beautiful scenery I may have ever seen. Do it in a Beemer if you can :)

The first few nights - Mannheim, Colmberg

2007-09-09T18:43:00.001-07:00

Oh, I almost forgot! My trip to Germany and Austria was too much fun!

First of all, the flight was fantastic. Lufthansa has complimentary wine and beer, therefore I don't remember much of the flight, except that I fell in and out of sleep for most of it.

I rented a "compact" car from Hertz here in the States. When I got to the counter, I was given a choice of two "compact" cars... "an Audi with automatic, or a Bimmer with navigation?" I chose the "Bimmer", which ended up being a BMW 318 sedan. Flippin' sweet.

I got both a parking and a speeding ticket in the first 24 hours! You know, those paper clocks they put in the cars in Germany? It's called a "Parkuhr". You are supposed to mark the time that you parked, and place it in the window. If you don't... you'll get a parking ticket on your windshield. I had to have mine deciphered by the gentleman at the front desk of the hotel. The speeding ticket was just a bright flash in the Mannheim night sky as I raced over a bridge. I thought lightening hit my car. Again, the lovely gentleman at the front desk laughed and said I might be getting a speeding ticket in the mail.

I stayed in Mannheim for a few nights while I adjusted to the timezone.

And then it was off the Colmberg, in the Franconia region of Germany. I stayed at a lovely medieval castle that was converted to a full-service hotel, the Hotel Burg Colmberg. There were knights in shining armor lining the hallways, a chapel left just as it was a millenium ago, and views reserved for royalty. Oh, and delicious food! During the first night's dinner, there was a celebration going on in the conference room. Men in court-jester costumes walked back and forth from the kitchen with huge silver platters of food. Whatever they were celebrating, it was fit for a king. There must have been 100 people in there!

When I checked in, I was handed the largest skeleton key I'd ever seen, and told my room was on the second floor. Apparently, second means third. And since the rooms had names and not numbers, I strolled the halls for a while. Good thing I'd left my bags in the car for the moment.

My room was the smallest room (I'm cheap like that) but I loved it. It had modern furnishings that contrasted with the ancient stone walls. My window looked over the courtyard, and I left it open that night, sheer curtains in the breeze and all that. I felt like a princess in a tower. And it was only 89 Euros a night!

Here are a few pictures of the couple of nights in Colmberg. Check out the amazing view!

Four days off and nothing to show for it

2007-09-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

I've been off work since last Wednesday at noon. I've spent the entire time studying, or thinking of excuses not to study. Doing boring things, like working out my finances. Listing items on eBay. Cleaning the bathroom. And yes, finishing assignments for the Master's Degree I'm working on.

In other words, it was great!! I watched the Travel Channel today and decided my next vacation should be South of the Border. I mean really far south. Like Santiago, Chile! I'm already excited. I can bust out my high school Spanish and siesta with the best of them.

Girl's Night

2006-12-17T13:07:00.000-08:00

So last night was girl's night out (or in, as the case was). We ate too many hors d'oeuvres, drank too much wine, talked about work too much, and then finally sat down to watch a chick-flick.

The movie of choice was Under The Tuscan Sun. I hadn't ever seen it before, but wish I had. The film is so inspiring.

Except, how did she afford it all? What are the logistics of making a move like that? Can I take my dog? What will I do for work?

My research thus far has been internet searches for farmhouses for sale in Tuscany. Then I thought that Positano looked beautiful in the movie, and may be cheaper than trying to find a reasonably prices villa in a hotspot like Tuscany. Positano was also featured in Only You, with Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey, Jr...which is a movie that I had forgotten I loved. http://www.italiancountryhomes.com/index.php

So, the once-in-a-blue-moon girl's night out turned out to be an inspiration. I give myself 5 years to buy my restoration villa. Check back :) I'm going to try to keep this blog going and updated as I get closer to this goal.

In the meantime, I leave for an Austrian vacation tomorrow!