OMG!

I haven't entered in this thing since August.. and NOT ONE person has said a word to me. All my adoring fans have forsaken me!

Jen and I are off this week to Nashville by way of Indianapolis. Given the recent fun on the airlines and I'm sure the resulting increase in security.. driving is the way to go. Every time I fly.. I think 'why am I doing this? this is NOT fun." And while the drive to Nashville is about 8 hours or so.. I prefer it.

Rule #1 - the time between Christmas and the New Year is easily the best time of year to travel for fun. Simply, there is NO business travel this week and hotels are going begging. We got a 3.5 star hotel in Indy for the ridiculously low rate of $37.50.... thirty seven bucks.. roughly the cost of a round of drinks at a decent bar. The drive is pretty long to Nashville so we thought if we left Tuesday night and stayed in Indy we'd have more of a day to spend in "Music City" .

We are then going to Nashville where I found a Sheraton for $50/night!!!! Out by the airport. Rule #2 no business air travel makes for great rates out by an airport. Not so much in the downtown where touristy people might be hanging.

Thanks Priceline! for Nashville and thanks Hotwire! for Indy. This little trip points out how to use the two best sites online. For Indy.. we really wanted to be on the southwest side of the city to avoid 'rush hour' as we motored south toward Louisville. So I was as concerned about the area, than I was just price driven. I'd been following a 3.5 star hotel oh Hotwire for $46 for a week and I didn't think it would be going up... when it dropped to $37.50 I jumped on it.

For Nashville.. I just wanted to see how cheap I could get a hotel. With plenty of time on my hands between when I bid and when we left.. I made what I thought was an incredibly low bid. I was pleasantly surprised when they accepted my bid.

USA Today had an article a while back about how all of LAS VEGAS in on sale.. the best deal there was an all you could drink (wine or beer) buffet for $22! I'm sure it's still up somewhere on their site. if you like to travel and you like to do it cheaply.. right now is the time to go...anywhere (except Florida)

Here's ONE way to travel

Offer to work at a resort at no wage! I spent the month of July in Platoro, CO (don't look for it on a map!, it's probably not there) working at a lodge for no money. I got room and board and a lifetime of memories.

First bit of advice.. if you ever thought you'd like to own/run a resort.. try this. I knew in three days this was not gonna be for me. I'm not a people person.. it turns out, who knew?????????????

The hours are INSANE!!!! You are talking 12-14 hours a day depending on what is going on and maybe more.

The hiring (and firing) can shoot holes in your schedule. I was there 3 weeks, two people were let go. How do you replace people when you are 40 miles from a cell phone signal?

But the benefits were terrific.. the scenery was just fantastic, the southern rockies up around 9-10,000 feet, the sound of a rushing river just outside the lodge is like Prozac to me. Mule deer, elk, moose, antelope, marmots, hummingbirds all around the lodge.

The people I worked with were all characters, mostly great people. I enjoyed the change in my lifestyle. Some of the guests were terrific and I was glad to meet them. Others, notably a family from Texas, I could have collectively drowned them in the river.

LOTS of memories, lots of stories to tell.. worth every minute of the time I was there.

New way to travel

If you volunteer to work at a resort for free.. you can stay in Colorado for free!!!!!!  that's what I'm doing... 

Travel & Leisure magazine

I've been getting T&L for years now.  In my opinion it's the better of the two travel biggies, the other one  Conde' Nast Traveler.  Even though, I believe T&L  depends way too much on lists to fill their magazines.  Best Hotels, Best Spas, Best Travel Agents (really!).  You can subscribe for about a dollar an issue and if you have the travel bug.. it may help scratch it. 

I found the 33 best travel web sites in an old issue I unearthed from a pile of papers and some of them are worth passing along..

www.farecast.com  "predict the ideal moment to buy a(n airline) ticket

www.kayak.com and sidestep.com "best deals on flights and hotels" (still not cheaper than hotwire.com I'll bet)

www.traffic.com  'avoid roadblocks'

www.tripadvisor.com   'reviews by users'   (this is a GREAT site to check out hotel reviews) 

www.lastminute.com  'package deals one week out' 

There you have it.. from the 2008 December "Travel & Leisure". 

Jet America comes to Lansing

From Yahoo: 

Clearwater, Fla.-based JetAmerica said 34 nonstop passenger flights a week will start July 13 at Toledo, Ohio; South Bend, Ind.; Melbourne, Fla.; Newark, N.J.; Minneapolis and Lansing, Mich. Twenty-eight flights start or end at Newark Liberty International Airport. The carrier will add six more flights -- from Toledo to Minneapolis -- starting Aug. 14.

JetAmerica is targeting small and midsize cities like Lansing, which has seen the number of daily flights at its Capital Region International Airport fall from 35 to 12 the past five years. The decline is part of a national trend that has seen airfares increase at those airports as daily flights have decreased.

Robert Selig, head of the Capital Region Airport Authority, said JetAmerica will give Lansing business travelers direct access to New York City and carry leisure travelers to central Florida.

There will be a few $9 tickets on each flight.   I wouldn't go to NYC for $9 but I might go to Florida.

Nashville and Indy

If you love music.. then, by golly, get your butt to Nashville... Jen and I saw some great acts over the weekend.  We saw an act at the Fiddle and Steel Guitar bar in Printer's Alley that had GREAT stamped all over them. Their lead guitar was incredibly good and their singer was terrific, too. 

And CHEAP... once you get there...  it's about 530 miles from Lansing, (no construction though...) the bars downtown, don't charge cover.  They pass a tip jar around and you toss a couple bucks in.  Beer isn't too expensive.   One place, Robert's Western Wear  (bar, stage and footwear.. no lie)  has a Recession special ; PBR, fried bologna sandwich & a moon pie  $5!

Saturday night we went to the Bluebird Cafe, and listened to four guys you have never heard of that were wonderful   $10 cover.. over 2 hours of GREAT tunes. 

The photo is the lobby of the Frist Center for Visual Arts, a magnificent Art Deco building that was, at one time, a Post office.  The lobby alone is worth the price of admission (FREE!) 

Another little trick

We're going to go to Nashville next weekend  (Memorial day) for a two night stay.  We'll head to Indy on Thursday night to knock out about half the drive.   I got a Radisson Hotel in Indy near the airport for $45 plus fees  $14.    Not bad.     

 Big holiday weekends are LOW business traveler periods.   The best time of year to take advantage of this fact is the time between Christmas and New Year's.   Hotels almost PAY you to stay with them. 

Also.. we'll rent a car vs. my Buick  Rendesvous.   in addition to gettin much better mileage, I'll be putting miles a LOT of them.. on a car I don't own.   $15/day.. or about a half tank of gas.   If I get 30 mph vs. 20 mph..  I'll save about   $60/gas and spend  $81 for the rental .   that doesn't factor in wear and tear on the car. 

Thanks Hotwire

I took my mom to Chicago Friday night   ("took my momma to the hop last night" with apologies to Sam Cooke)  and we used Hotwire to book our hotel.  There wasn't a real need or desire (read.. too expensive)  to stay downtown.. so we stayed out near Oak Brook Shopping Center.   

You couldn't beat it.. the hotel was a Holiday Inn .. which, of course, they don't tell you when you book until you pony up the credit card.   $41/night.   With taxes and fee.. $51.   Great hotel.. nice comfy pillowtop mattress, quiet, good location.. especially if you want to shop  (I don't!) 

Taxes and fees... if you ever take a look at your bill after a trip (rental cars are the worst) you'll see taxes and fees make up a sizable portion of your expense.  Local taxing authorities LOVE to tax travelers..  that's how they pay for baseball stadiums or other huge projects to don't benefit the traveler at all. 

Chicago's room tax.. which is used to fund their marketing for the city.. is about 15%.  In addition, some of the booking groups charge a fee to use their system.  

I thought I was getting a heck of a deal on a flight from Lansing to Orlando a couple years back.. the 'fees' were $50 a ticket.. I bought two.. if I'd known that.. I would have just booked it thru Northwest and taken the frequent flyer miles. 

Lesson learned.. check your fees before you hit "BUY"     and if you're my sister, make sure you book your tickets on the weekend you actually want to fly.. you'll save yourself some HUGE problems. 

Last minute hotels

My previously mentioned buddy, Greg...  sent me a text one morning that he was on his way to Miami Beach.  I love that area and I have run down there, last minute to hang for a weekend with him.   (Two pudgy, middle aged, pasty white guys from the north.. we didn't stand out) 

So I asked him.. where you staying?     His reply was,  I won't know until I get there. 

That's how last minute his plans were. He landed at the airport and booked his hotel.  MOST people, would freak out at that though... but if you want ROCK bottom price on a hotel, that's the way to do it. Especially on Hotwire or Priceline.   

I would ask my son if he wanted to go to Chicago for the weekend.. if I could get a hotel for under $80, we'd go.   I'd book it on Thursday night and off we'd go after school on Friday.   We're guys..  give us about five minutes and we're packed and ready to go. 

I mentioned earlier, we were able to wake up on a Saturday morning in Indianapolis, during the NCAA regional finals and get a hotel for $57 downtown.  The HILTON, no less.. not some lesser hotel.  That was pretty neat. 

I did look one time, on Expedia, for a hotel in Santa Fe NM... and got a terrific rate.  I asked the front desk clerk if they could honor that rate.. she said she was sorry, but she couldn't.  It was $30 or so more...  but she did volunteer that they had wireless and I could book it online, from the lobby.  Which is what I did. 

It was almost instantly sent to the hotel.   

Last minute is the way to go.   I'm sure to be burned at some point.. getting shut out by HIGHER than normal prices.    I've found that at about 7 days out.. that would appear to be the best time to book at a reasonable price.  I'm not saying that will always be the case.. and, if you don't like the rate.. you don't have to go.

Airfare Watchdog

Farealert@airfarewatchdog.com    (double check this) is a terrific site where you can sign up and have rock bottom (sometimes) fares emailed to you.   I get them twice a week.   You sign up and give them your nearest airport.. and they send you low fares.  

Spirit Airlines, they fly out of Detroit.... if you join their $9 fare club  ($39  I believe/year) and you're lucky.. you can fly one way for $9.  I've found the cheap fares ONE way.. but never been able to snag one both ways.  I'd go almost anywhere for an eighteen  dollar flight.  Maybe not Mexico...  

Hotel Stars

When you utilize a site like Hotwire  or just about any travel site... they rank the hotels with up to five stars. 

It pays to have some sort of idea how the star system works.   The lowest rankings, one star.. are for places like an Econo Lodge, or Super 8... not your best properties.   

I used to go to Chicago with some guys to see the Cubs play a night game/day game.. we stayed at a Motel 6 which we refered to as the 'end of the runway motel' since it was right next to O'Hare airport.   When that 'first' plane takes off in the morning.. I am not kidding, 20 car alarms went off.  

Best Westerns and Red Roofs are two stars.. a newer property might go 2.5. 

Holiday Inns would be 3 stars.. I booked a night in Novi a while ago.. on Hotwire.. which was a 3.5 star property.  When you learn of the hotel after you're on the hook.. I found out it was a Holiday Inn.. I even contacted the Hotwire people and they assured me, this Holiday Inn was 3.5 stars.  I was skeptical.. but by golly,  it was a nice place to stay. 

After this.. I don't pay much attention....  Marriott's are 3 or 3.5.. Embassy suites 3.5  Hyatt, Sheraton  4 stars.. at this point I don't care.. I know it will be a decent hotel and if it's not.. I know you can complain about it and it will be taken care of.  Which is about all I need in a hotel. 

Stars work best if it's a hotel you're not familiar with.   Everyone knows what you'll get at a Holiday Inn or an Marriott..  not so.. if you're going with a non chain hotel.   

Trip Advisor has always been a great site for getting hotel reviews.  It can be comical.. one person LOVES IT!!!!  Best hotel ever.. next comment.. 'what a dump' .  It's hard to tell if one person NEVER gets out.. or one person is a picky pain in the ass.   Generally, I've had great luck using Trip Advisor for reviews.  I don't book hotels with them.. they aren't even close on price.

Mark Nester's trip to Mexico

We did just return from Mexico and stayed south of Cancun in the Riviera Maya at the Paradisus, a Melia / Spanish owned resort. 
Absolutely first rate all inclusive with 4 star restaurants, French, Japanese, Italian, etc. We asked for a room upgrade and got a fantastic room in a building steps from the beach!

Denise found a link on Sherman Travel to a great last minute deal from Apple Vacations.
We ended up purchasing this deal through our local travel agent. 4 nights, 5 days R/T flight from Detroit / Cancun transfers to the resort, and unbelievable meals and drinks for a total of $750 per person. Very clean, friendly, staff wanting to please, not crowded. We would definitely go again. Lots of people from Europe and Canada. 

The best ways to Travel Decent ; Priceline and Hotwire

My friend, Greg, is the guy who really set me straight about Traveling Decent.  He was an 'early adopter' of Priceline.  

Most of the people I tell about Priceline and it's even better twin, Hotwire freak out about not knowing the hotel or where it's gonna be located. 

For the uninitiated, Priceline allows you to bid on an unknown hotel.  You know how many stars the property has (more about stars later) & where the hotel is located. 

For example, I love Chicago.. I love the River North area and the Mag Mile also.  I'm not a fan of the Loop at night.. there just isn't that much to do down there.  So I'm happy to bid on a 3 star (Holiday Inn is a 3 star) or higher hotel in either of my two favorite areas.    I don't mind having an unknown hotel because if I've never stayed there before.. it gives me a chance to check out another micro neighborhood. 

You have to give Priceline your credit card in advance and 'bid' on a property.  If you submit a bid and they accept it.. BOOM.. they hit your credit card for the amount right then and afterward.. you learn of your hotel.   I like the suspense, truthfully. 

If  you get 'turned down' for a bid.. you have to change something about the bid, besides the price.. if you've bid  3 stars and up for $60  (I've gotten 4 stars for $60)   then you have to drop your star level to 2.5 or change your area. 

Or.. you have to wait a certain period of time, before you can bid again.  However, recently, Priceline has taken to suggesting you jack your bid up a pre-determined amount and they will allow you a new bid.  

I watch those ads with Captain Kirk and like him.. I want to bid low.  So I generally say 'screw that'. 

I go to Hotwire, Priceline's benevolent cousin instead.  At Hotwire, they give you the number of stars and the location.. and the price.. you accept that deal by giving them your credit card (which goes BOOM again!)  and then you find out the hotel. 

That removes the joy of the bidding like a real man but the results are instant.. and that's good too. 

I managed to get the Drake in Chicago right after New Years this year for  $101 with taxes and fees.. one of the best deals I've ever gotten on a hotel.   An incredible hotel... couldn't have been more pleased.. with a view of Lake Shore Drive. 

And almost as good.. maybe better.. after Michigan State beat Kansas in the NCAA Regional  Semi- Finals  I was able to land the Spartan hotel in downtown Indy  for $55 for the Saturday night before the Sunday game vs. Louisville.  Not only was the location superb.. but we easily got that room for $100 less than others who stayed there. 

MSU beats Louisville... everyone wins. 

Places I've been

I was lucky enough to serve in the U.S. Navy and was also lucky enough to sail almost all the way around the world.  I sailed as far east as Turkey  and as far west as Thailand.  It's really the cheapest way of all to travel.  There are some drawbacks.. you could get killed.. but other than that.. it's not a bad way to go. 

I visited most of the best places on earth; Italy, France, Spain, Turkey, Denmark, Germany  in Europe.  

Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore in the Pacific.  A gaggle of smaller islands and countries.  Canada too.   

I spent an afternoon in Tijuana and I don't care if I ever set foot in Mexico again.

In the U.S.  I've been to all fifty states except Alaska  (if anyone from Alaska ever reads this.. invite me up there ya'll)   If I had to say my favorite state.. it would be Wyoming or Utah...  where ever it is.. it's out west. 

Inspiration for a travel blog

I have a knack to find deals on travel.   NOT  cheap ass travel.. like  "$16 a day" sleeping on someone's couch..  and not that  "Travel & Leisure"  hot deals on  $300 a night hotels in the south of France. 

 Places like Embassy Suites, Marriott Hotels,  the Monaco in Chicago, the Drake in Chicago..  ( I go to Chicago a lot.. when ever I can) 

Somewhere in between.   Like most people I love to travel and like most people  I hate to pay for it.    I offered to write an online column for the local newspaper since I get about a bazillion emails a day from various sources for cheap travel.     Not surprisingly, they passed... 

My daughter, who is in Italy right now... started a terrific web blog and I thought.. to  steal a phrase from Jeff Daniels.. if she can do it.. so can I.... 

and so I will