http://www.msccruisesagent.com/emails/10_september_emails/caribbean299/caribbean_299_budgettravel.html

http://www.msccruisesagent.com/emails/10_september_emails/caribbean299/caribbean_299_budgettravel.html

Travel Channel Travel Bug Sweepstakes

VRBO IS The Way To Go!!

If you haven’t heard about Vacation Rentals by Owner by now, you are really missing out on some great vacation deals! VRBO.com , as it’s commonly called, is a vacation rental website that puts vacation homeowners in touch with potential renters. Whether it’s a beach house in the OC of the California, a Swiss chalet atop a mountain, or a small castle in Ireland…VRBO has it! The site is easy to navigate, which makes it almost addictive on a rainy day! I have to admit, we’ve spent time “dream travelling”…searching for beautiful apartments and Villas available across the world!

We’ve had success in renting a beach house in California through VRBO.com before so when it came time to take the next step in our vacation planning, it was a natural choice to begin here. I actually put our excited 10 year old to the task of narrowing our choices. The site allows you to choose your country, city and in many cases down to neighborhoods. It also has advanced search options like number of beds, number of rooms, whether it’s pet friendly, & what it’s occupancy limitations are.

We spent about a day, or rather, Paige did, narrowing our choices available on Grand Cayman. Once we found it, the site allows you to send an e-mail inquiry to the owners with any questions you have regarding their vacation property. In both of our experiences, the owners not only responded by e-mail quickly but also called us within a day once it became apparent that we would be confirming with them. For our Grand Cayman rental, our rental experience could not have been more pleasant! Our VRBO rental was perfect!

Once we confirmed our rental, the homeowners gave us several flexible options to pay our deposit and balance. They also were very friendly and forthcoming with tourist information about the Island...and trust me, there were many! The wife & I exchanged so many e-mails that we’ve become friends! We’re still chatting on line & I’ve already been back a month!

There are as many budgets out there as there are travelers & this may not work for all but it met our needs!

As of today, the rates on this oceanfront condo are:

LOW Season: 4/13/09 – 12/18/09 $1800USD per week/$300 a night
HOLIDAY: 12/19/09 – 1/10/10 $3000USD per week/$450 a night
HIGH Season: 1/11/10 - 4/11/10 $2400USD per week/$400 a night

+ 10% Government Lodging tax
There is also a cleaning deposit to most rentals so be sure to read all the policies before placing a reservation.

I recommend this web site to anyone I talk travel to! It’s just too easy! VRBO Really IS the way to go!

Happy Travelling!

How did we pick this year's "SPOT"?

Usually I get the “vacation bug” in the fall, but this last fall was a bit different because I knew I had a high school graduation year ahead of me & possibly a high school grad trip to go with it. I knew I couldn’t swing both a grad trip AND a family trip! If I sent her on the student Euro trip through one of the local high schools, it would almost equate what the whole family’s budget would be to travel somewhere. So, we teetered back and forth through the fall as to whether we’d send our well deserving graduate on one fabulous vacation or if we all got to go on a trip!

By the time we decided to go for the Euro trip for her, the cost went up another $500 bucks since we had missed another sign up deadline! Our unselfish grad finally became a little more vocal in the whole matter & said she’d much rather all of us go on a trip together somewhere anyway…that’s all this travel fiend needed to hear to begin spending my free time finding just the right place. Trouble was, in a family of 5, we all have our own perception of what the right place is!

We all loved Kauai but did we want to return again so soon after our last visit the summer before? What about another Hawaiian island? Or a cruise, or Washington D.C., or the Bahamas…and this is how it went for weeks in our house! We were stalled due to our own lack of direction & no one wanted to take the risk of pulling a location out of a hat!

One Sunday, John went to his usual men’s soccer game & asked a well travelled team mate his thoughts on the matter. Specifically, he asked him WHERE his best family vacation was, the ONE place they have returned to more than once that never disappoints them. The answer was Grand Cayman Island !
John came home & told me what his buddy said. It didn’t take long before we were doing some on line research. That is… if you call checking out our air miles and availability research! Within an hour, we secured our air & had a trip to plan!

When it says "Right turn only" it doesn't mean "Go Straight"!!

On our last night in Sonoma, we treated ourselves to a nice dinner at "The girl and the fig". Drinks were flowing, food was delicious, company was fun, it was the makings of a memorable night with good friends! We didn't even have to pull straws to pick our designated driver since Lorri was pregnant during this girls trip!

Here's Lorri, being a good sport & designated driver ALL weekend long in Sonoma!



Lorri was a good sport about it too, even though she had to drive someone else's car she was unfamiliar with in a town she didn't know well. We were all pretty boisterous, each one of us ready to give direction to poor Lorri in the driver's seat. The road sign DID clearly state "Right turn only" but our hotel was not in that direction. Somehow we quickly convinced Lorri to go straight. Bad idea! Not only did we narrowly miss getting hit by a car, there was a cop car right behind it! His headlights came on immediately! Thank goodness we had a sober one behind the wheel...but that didn't help Lorri, because she had 4 giddy friends in the passenger seats!


We tried to contain ourselves the best we could as the officer approached the car. Lorri did a pretty good job of playing up the "I'm from out of town" & the "I'm pregnant" card but boy, he was quick! He asked where she was from, and when she replied "Sacramento", he said "What, they don't have Right turn only signs where you're from?!"


He then struck us a deal! He said that while he went to run her license, we had better think of a GOOD clean joke....and if the joke was deemed worthy, he'd let us go without a ticket as long as her record came back clean. Pandemoinum breaks out in the car as soon as he walks away...us, tell a clean joke? Are you kidding?! Our kids tell us clean jokes all day long, do you think we could remember one under pressure!!? It was too much!


Finally, Dina takes control of the chaos & comes up with the ringer. "Ok ladies, let's hear it" he says as he's handing Lorri back her license. Di, lays it on 'em : "What do you call a pirate's favorite Country?" The silence lingers for a few seconds that feel like forever & then in unison we clamor in our best pirate voices, AAAARRRRGGEEENNNNTINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He looks at us in disgust, tells us to go back to our hotel & walks away. As he's leaving , he pulls up next to us & tells us that ours was the worst clean joke he's ever heard & drives away!





On a more serious side:

We were lucky to have a sober driver but we still managed to almost get hit by our carelessness to not follow the traffic signs correctly. Please be sure to always plan to have a designated driver before you head out for a night involving alcohol. Also, there are many great organizations, many born from tragedies, that offer free rides home if you are too drunk to drive. Here's one that is close to my heart. If you find yourself needing a ride in Southern California, this group will help you stay alive!

http://www.4asaferidehome.com/

Sonoma Girls trip Summer 2008

Sonoma is where it all began...our annual girl's trip about 9 years ago. Each summer, my closest high school friends manage to carve out a small bit of time away from our families, jobs, and other life obligations to meet up. Our first trip to Sonoma was fun but to be truthful, none of us really knew much about wine! I was content with "Franzia in a box" ( I know, sinful!)!

Aside from catching up with Karri, Lorri, Julie, and Dina, I was really excited to explore the wineries with a little bit more knoweldge under my belt! I KNOW what I like & I know what I DON'T like but I couldn't tell you why! So, I don't pretend to taste all the different fruits and spices within each taste but I can tell you I like one over another. So, I keep tasting until I can figure it out!

Each trip, a different girl plans our lodging and this year was Julie's turn. We were very impressed with our first glimpse of "The Lodge in Sonoma". It did in fact look a lodge you would imagine at the edge of the woods. It had great flowers all around the property as well as gardens for their herbs and vegetables that they used in their restaurant.

Our only initial disapointement was our first room, which was facing the busy street below and had street noise so the spacious balcony couldn't be enjoyed. Not to worry though, Julie to the rescue! She quickly called the front desk and secured us a "Casita" in the back of the property! We scored! It was sooo quaint and much more roomy than the hotel style room we just gave up...this was our own little apartment with a ground patio space w/ just enough furniture for us 5 ladies to relax on. It was also within walking distanc to the pool, which is always important on a girls trip!



Here are the girls enjoying some patio time before we head to the relaxing pool!


As for the wine tasting, we hit quite a few but the most memorable was The Ledson Winery In Kenwood on Sonoma hwy.( http://www.ledsonwinery.com/winery ). Not only was the property impeccable but the "castle" on the estate was breathtaking! The people were super friendly and the wine was the best that we tasted over the two days.




We had such an enjoyable couple of days here in Sonoma & you really can't go wrong no matter where you stay or where you taste, it's all good!

Where is the Loo!?

Ever go into a bar or restuarant? Then you probably have had to ask the question! "Where is the restroom? The answers are usually simple & the doors leading to them are pretty mundane.....or are they?! Here are a few I found amusing!

This "SEA" inspired pair can be found at the "Tahitian Bar" at the Sheraton Waipouli in Kapa'a Kauai!

Aww, Classic Americana....this was found in downtown Sonoma, Ca at "The Girl & the Fig" restuarant.

Ken & Barbie

So don't hold out on me, if you have some funny ones to share, send them my way...I think I've just started a strange collection!