Travel tips


Critter Fix

Inches from my head was a critter scratching, skittering, gnawing, hellbent on creeping me out and doing a fine job of it. I wondered if it was looking for a secret passage through the propane tanks, storming the storage compartment under our bed, or using the headboard as a jungle gym. Wherever the intruder was, it was not the nature I’d come to commune with. Other pests we’ve picked up  over the years have been more considerate-except that mouse that built a nest on our pickup’s engine and started a family overnight. The festive looking light strings I noticed under […]


Anti-Oops Checklist for Booking Flights

The more we travel, the more Steve and I stress over booking plane tickets.  We know how easy it is to overlook an important detail and how much misery a little slip-up can inflict.  Strangely enough, checklists for avoiding such problems seem to be hard to find.  Here’s ours. Anti-Oops Checklist for Booking Flights Before you start, write down required departure and return dates, ground transportation hours, airport names and anything else you are unsure of, so you can easily check them. Before you click, check: –Arrival date for every flight –Are your departure and arrival times reasonable?  Is your 2 pm really 2 am? –Do your layovers allow enough time to make […]


Booking Tips from a Travel Ace

What luck to find a travel agent who knows just how to smooth the way for an elder in Peru.  I’ve been on a mission to get my 85 year old mother to Machu Picchu since told me she’d always wanted to go.  Jacquie Whitt fixed us up for April, but  could only suggest international flights for getting there and back.  Even with her suggestions, we almost had panic attacks over booking the tickets.  There are just so many details to get right and so much money blown if it’s wrong.  Too late I thought, Jacquie books trips all day every day.  Ask her how to get it right.  Here’s what she said: When I book plane tickets: * […]


Smart Travelers Speak “Stupid”

Two of our friendliest fellow passengers are Ray and Nedy, who both immigrated to the United States from the Philippines. Before I tell you about their travel smarts, I have to tell Ray’s story.  Baby Ray was born during World War II, and when the Japanese invaded, he was put in line to be bayoneted.  Just as his turn came, the soldier fell dead.  He’d taken a bullet from an American sniper. Ray and Nedy learn everyone’s names, especially staff members.  They believe in using the local language, even if it’s only a few words.  To reinforce the rudeness of […]