It’s been a quiet year here in Lake Woebegone…
No, seriously. I started this blog in large part to inspire myself to get out of the house once in a while. I’d truly intended to visit several places and events in the Twin Cities over the summer that would be great for staycations, but things just didn’t work out that way. My folks loved to visit local county fairs, and I thought that would be a lot of fun. And there are dozens of state parks that I’ve never seen. But I’ve been cooped up in the house I inherited from my parents (along with the cat) for so long that the neighbors are starting to stare and nod their heads knowingly when they walk past. I have a home office, so I rarely venture outsite except to make runs to the Post Office or Roundy’s. Until September, my major accomplishments had been winning the battle against the dandilion invasion and buying some paint to touch up some problem areas on the house. The window frames on the house have been peeling for years, and the downspouts from the gutters are barely attached to the house anymore. Thank goodness the enormous oak tree in my neighbor’s yard covers most of my house so that I can tell my friends back in California to take a look in Google Street View and not be crushed by references to 1313 Mockingbird Lane. In August, I did manage to take a 4-day trip to Gary, Indiana with my brother-in-law. It was a welcome relief from the rut I’ve been in, but it really wasn’t a vacation. And even though Gary was just a one-day drive away, it could hardly be called a staycation either. The best part about that trip was that I learned from a couple of minor mistakes, which made preparing for my trip to Disneyland in early September a lot less stressful. I think you’ll find many of the things I’ve learned useful in planning your next trip, no matter how near or far away from home it might be.
Being a world-class procrastinator, my approach to trip preparation is largely a cerebral exercise. I do all sorts of planning in my head starting weeks before I have to leave, but things like making sure I have enough clean clothes or a supply of toteable toiletries are only to be done the night before. Having lived with a Virgo for nearly 25 years, my responsibilities in this area were traditionally limited to filling the car with gasoline. Maggie always handled the many details that insured we were prepared for the minor disasters that seem to only strike when you’re away from home, as well as the things rational people do to prepare for a trip. I’m also something of a fatalist when it comes to trip preparation. I work from the premise that I will always forget one or two things no matter how much I try to plan, so I just assume I will have to buy a shirt, two pairs of sox, a comb and various other sundries in the hotel gift shop and not beat myself up about it any more. That’s not to say I don’t do any preparation at all. Weeks ahead, I’ll start to pile up things I know I’ll want to bring on top of my dresser so that they’ll be in front of me when I do start to pack my bags. I also make lots of To-Do lists now so that I can mitigate my chronic sloppiness and terrible memory. At long last, I have taken the phrase, “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good”, to heart. With all this in mind, I’d like to share some tips on travelling.
This trip was something of a working vacation that involved attending a convention as well as spending some time in The Magic Kingdom. Two of my online enterprises involve Disney, both the films and the theme parks. There’s no money in it, but as David Letterman often says, “the hours are good and there’s no heavy lifting”. To which I add, “and the trips to Disneyland are tax deductable”. So I’ve got that going for me. Seriously, though, I had very little time for myself during the five days I was away. The event was for Disney’s new D23 Club for Disney fans and included dozens of lectures by Disney executives, animators, and Imagineers, as well as previews of their upcoming movies and television shows. All stuff I seriously needed to see to stay abreast of things.
As I’ve mentioned, most of my life is online, and so most of my travel planning is done over the Internet. Booking my flight was a no-brainer since I was using some frequent flyer miles on nwa.com. However, the other aspects of the trip were all open questions. Being a cheapskate on a tight budget meant shopping around for a deal on the hotel. I was very familiar with the area around Disneyland and the Anaheim Convention Center where I would be spending most of my time, so I looked for a hotel that would be within walking distance of the Convention. I tried several of the online booking services. Once you tell them the dates for your trip and the general location, all of them provide you with maps that show you your choices of hotels. The services didn’t vary much in their offerings, and I ended up booking through Orbitz which is jointly owned by the major airlines. As I was completing the booking process, I spotted a box on their form for a coupon. I was embarassed that I hadn’t even thought of a coupon, so I opened a new browser window and Googled “Orbitz coupons”. It didn’t take long to find a coupon that saved me an amount equal to the room taxes and the booking fee. Now that’s what I call “found money”.
As I expected, Orbitz also offered me a choice of rental cars. What surprised me was that they also offered multi-day tickets to Disneyland and tickets for the SuperShuttle from the airport to my hotel and back again. What a treat! I’d been dreading having to take a taxi from the airport, so I’d been seriously considering the rental car option. Since I knew that there were shuttle busses that run between all of the hotels and Disneyland, and that I could actually walk anywhere I needed to go if necessary, I’d decided against it. I expect that all of the online booking websites offer these same services, but I was sure glad I could get these things handled and paid for in advance. So, my tips for booking flights and hotels can be summed up by suggesting that you prepare for your trip by doing your best to investigate the geography of your destination so you can determine your needs before you shop, and by all means, look for online coupons for the online services you intend to use.
Everyone knows that it’s a good idea to stop certain services when you’re going to be away from home. The Internet age has made this easier than ever. The US Postal Service’s website at http://www.usps.com will let you set up a vacation hold on your mail. In Minneapolis, the StarTribute’s website at http://www.startribune.com will also let you suspend your newspaper delivery. I expect that the Pioneer Press does this, too, but I couldn’t find any information on their website. I didn’t think of this in time for my trip to Indiana, but I managed to remember for my second trip.
While my family was helpful in taking care of my house while I was gone (the cat gets really peeved if she isn’t fed every day), I do worry about burglaries so I try to take some common precautions. First of all, my parents had installed a burglar alarm many years ago, so that’s a small comfort. Of course, while I’d appreciate having the cops show up if the house is broken into, I’d really prefer that it not happen at all. So I try to make the house uninviting. I draw most, but not all, of the blinds and curtains to a close. I have a couple of small signs announcing the burglar alarm system, and one that warns of a viscious cat on the premises – even though I’m not sure which one is the better deterrant. I also install timers on a couple of lamps and a radio that turn them on and off on an irregular schedule. You can buy these timers at most hardware stores like Home Depot or Lowe’s, or department stores like Wal-Mart and Target. Doing these things is more helpful for my peace of mind than in actually preventing burglaries, but there’s also no denying that it makes sense to make your house a less attractive target. I’m also very fortunate to live in a great neighborhood. The neighbors on my block had adopted my parents years ago, and they’ve now adopted me, too. So I let the neighbors on both sides of me know that I’d be gone and asked them to keep an eye on things. That “Minnesota Nice” is no joke for me.
This was one of the smoothest-running trips I’ve ever taken. I didn’t have a lot of time for relaxing, but it did get me walking again thanks to the half-mile hike to the convention center every morning. Having the essential travel details worked out in advance lowered the stress factor tremendously. The only problem is that I want to go back to Disneyland tomorrow.