I recently returned from a two week vacation to Texas. It was great to be home and see my friends and family. Although gone for two weeks, I still did not have enough time to visit everyone I wanted. There are several friends I really wanted to see and we just could not coordinate our time, with people being sick, moving, and having prior commitments. This is frustrating as I don’t have any friends on the road and rarely get to visit with anyone. That’s just one of the drawbacks of they gypsy life. On the other hand I did get to see some people I haven’t seen in quite a while. I got to have dinner with my niece, who I’ve known since she was a baby and give her baby shower gift to her since I won’t be in town for the official shower. Her mother also joined us and that was nice because I haven’t seen her in almost 10 years. We had a lot of catching up to do. I had another opportunity to spend the day with another dear friend, who just had surgery. We had a nice long and fun-filled visit. It was great to see her since I haven’t seen her in over a year. So the trip to Texas wasn’t a complete waste.
I also took the opportunity to go up to Tulsa and visit some family I haven’t seen in a very long time. I had a nice visit with my grandparents, my aunts and my uncle. We had to make the traditional expedition to Coney Island in downtown Tulsa. It’s a locally famous restaurant where they have been making coneys since the 1920’s. There are 2 or 3 locations, but my family likes to go to the one in downtown Tulsa. If you’re in the area check it out.
While I was staying with my aunt in Tulsa she was showing off her new Kindle, which is a wireless reading device available through Amazon. I was quite impressed with this device as it is only 8.5 ounces and 1/3 of an inch thick. It could slip easily into a computer bag, carry on, or beach bag and can hold up to 3500 books. More than I could read in a lifetime. It reads like a paper with no glare and can be easily seen in bright sunlight as well as in your living room. One feature I like is you can set the font size to a level that suits you. No more reading glasses. You download books via wi-fi or 3G. The 3G is a bit more expensive than the straight wi-fi version. But books cost an average of about $6 which is considerably less than the hard cover books, and out-of-copyright books are free. This is the perfect device for the Gypsy Diva since it is so lightweight and versatile. It is going on my Christmas wish list. Go to Amazon.com for more information.
One of my missions while on my trip was to exchange my seasonal clothing. As fall is hitting the Northwest and soon it will be getting cold, I felt it was time to take my sundresses and shorts back to my storage and get my cooler weather clothing out and send it back to Washington. I decided to pack it up and mail it back in boxes rather than pay to check in bags at the airport. Depending on what airline you fly on, this could be less expensive. I think I broke even. But, I flew on Alaskan and I found out after the fact that they only charge $15 for bags. I flew Frontier on the way back and they charge $20. So I would recommend getting online and finding out what the charge is for bags. Unfortunately I forgot to do this. The girl at the post office tried to persuade me to overnight my packages at $60 a pop. A total of $120. This was on Friday and they would get there the following Monday. I decided I could wait 4 more days and save $44. Costing only $16 each package with guaranteed delivery on the following Friday. A total of $38. It was also worth an extra 80 cents for delivery confirmation. That way you can track where your package is. I received one package on Monday. I’m glad I didn’t pay $60 for that. I received the other package on Wednesday. I would recommend you not send anything fragile as I sent some of my favorite cooking utensils in one package, including a pampered chef garlic press. When I got it the hinge had completely fallen out of it. How hard do you have to throw a box around for a hinge to fall all the way out. Fortunately it was salvageable?
On my last day there, as I was getting ready to head to the airport, my step-dad handed me $20 and told me to use it buy me some Bloody Marys at the airport. I had two bags I was taking on the plane with me. One was a small suitcase carry-on and the other is a backpack, which I had pretty full and would have been a chore getting it stuffed under the seat on the plane. But, I’ve done it before so I wasn’t worried. However, I decided to use the $20 to check my carry-on luggage in. I put my magazines, books, iPod, computer, purse, and plastic bag of liquids-so they would be easier to get to at security- in a small reusable grocery bag, which fit easily under the seat and was a lot easier to manage than the back pack, which I put in the overhead bin. This was a lot more stress relieving than the alcohol would have been. Especially since I had to change planes in Denver and don’t like having to juggle two fairly heavy, not to mention packed-to-the-max bags. There are drawbacks to checking your bags in. One is the cost and the other is 30 minute wait to pick it up once you’ve landed. This is why I normally try to pack strategically on trips. But this trip was under different circumstances. While on the plane I took full advantage of the in-flight television provided by Direct TV. They have a lot of channels to choose from. Unfortunately I chose to watch the Cowboys get creamed by Chicago at 30,000 feet, while trying not to disturb the other passengers with my groans and cursing and beating my head on the back of the seat in front of me. This service only costs $6 and also lets you track of your flight on one of the channels provided. This is one of the reasons I love flying Frontier.
After my packages arrived in Washingto with my warmer weather clothing that had been sitting in storage for the past six months I had a lot of laundry to do. My least favorite activity especially while traveling. I would almost rather wash my clothes in the bathtub than use a Laundromat. Fortunately, we were blessed enough to find a place currently that has a washer and dryer included. So I can wash clothes at leisure, instead of having to load them all up and trying to get them all done at one sitting. One of my favorite laundry products for on the road is Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets. They have the detergent, fabric softener, and anti-static built right in one sheet. You just throw it in the washer, then it goes in the dryer with the clothes. No measuring or extra products needed. No heavy bottles full of liquid to haul around. This is great for going on trips, too. Just put a couple in a zip-loc bag and toss in your suitcase along with a pair or two of jeans, a couple of tank tops and, depending on the weather and the occasion, one or two longer sleeve shirts for layering and maybe a sundress and always a swimsuit. Jeans can be worn for a couple of days before washing and its suggested that you do this anyway to keep them from wearing out and getting baggy in the knees. I just spray them with a bottle of fabric freshener and hang them back up between wearings. It’s available in travel size and comes in a wrinkle release version. Perfect for trips. Then just wash a load of clothes half way through your trip using your pre-packed and compact laundry sheet. Costing only about $3-6 in quarters compared to up $50 you would pay for checking in bags full of enough clothes to last throughout your trip, leaving you with more money in your pocket for souvenirs or a nice dinner. What a great concept?
No comments:
Post a Comment