Traveling for a Living

Wounded Heroes Charged for Treatment?? REALLY?

noreply@blogger.com (The Coach) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 05:11:00 +0000

I hope that my wife doesn't get too mad at me about this post. I promised her a travel blog, not a political commentary, but this I couldn't pass up.

Please excuse the links, but I wanted to make sure that everyone was provided with a fair and balanced amount of information. NYT, Yahoo, Foxnews, CBS, Youtube, and a few blogs. (Spoiler alert, this post has nothing to do with travel.)

http://ourvoice.legion.org/story/1448/legion-white-house-dont-bill-our-heroes

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20090316/pl_usnw/the_american_legion_strongly_opposed_to_president_s_plan_to_charge_wounded_heroes_for_treatment

I just thought that people ought to know more about this. Nothing on the nightly news. Radio doesn’t talk about it. But this is where the country is heading under the current administration. No matter what your political affiliation, these men and women are the reason that we have the everyday freedoms that we enjoy. Are we once again (Viet-Nam) willing to kick them to the street? Are you willing to allow the individuals that are fighting for YOUR freedoms to end up panhandling on the side of a highway to make sure that they can afford the deductibles that private insurance companies have? And this after the administration signs in bills that provide medical insurance for children that are already covered, favorable policy to help unions maintain their leverage over struggling businesses, and approx $800 BILLION in stimulus that a large amount of the US didn’t agree with.

Oh and by the way, while this is going on, the speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi's most news worthy priority is trying to save her local newspaper that hasn’t been able to keep up with the changing times or technology.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/16/MNIA16GCBO.DTL

Or worried about her travel arrangements.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/10/study-pelosi-repeated-requests-military-aircraft/

Or, not worrying about the facts, (FYI, there are only 300 million Americans)

http://www.nypost.com/seven/02042009/news/politics/pelosis_500_million_person_slip_153530.htm

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/02/04/will-media-report-pelosis-claim-500-million-lose-jobs-each-month

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8hMJVXt09E

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=87978

Sorry for the political commentary on a travel blog, but I got so fired up by the first article that I couldn’t really think of anything travel wise to write. I promise I will make it up to everyone in the next couple of days.

Pics of hotel across from Disneyland

noreply@blogger.com (The Coach) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:46:00 +0000

Thought that I would just share some pictures from my time in California.

Shopping for Luggage

noreply@blogger.com (The Coach) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:24:00 +0000

I'm going along and looking for my next best piece of luggage. (I go through at least two bags a year.) I found a couple of different sites that I haven't looked at before, but I still think that I am going to stick with either my Eddie Bauer carry-ons or my newly found, (and right now working out great), Heys. I've been using Eddie Bauer for 5 years, but the Heys is giving it a run for it's money.

Below are some of the sites that I found while looking around.

Top six items from consumer search.
http://www.consumersearch.com/luggage-reviews
Personally, I can find better items at at least half the price at Target. And the Eddie Bauer collection has held up better than most of these that are listed here.

Here's some luggage advice that's good advice, just make sure that you are finding the bag that is right for you, not just one that is listed in the article.
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Also, make sure to compare prices at eBags.com before you buy anything. It takes a couple of days for it to get shipped out, but the money you save sometimes is really worth it. I usually find my best deals on this site or at Target.

Staying Cheap In Cali

noreply@blogger.com (The Coach) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:02:00 +0000

So, it's been a while, but I promised my wife that I would get better at this blogging thing.

So, I'm currently staying in California. I am currently staying a couple of miles from Disneyland and the other surrounding attractions. I'm staying for $90 a night in a room that could sleep a family of four. Queen bed and fold out sofa, but you could still sleep four. It also has a mini kitchen and with the way that things have been, I was able to use my grocery card and buy three nights worth of dinner for $20. Restaurants in the area charge at least $15-20 for one meal.

So here's a thought for all of you that are looking to get out of town for spring break. Save the money for the tickets to the parks and local attractions. Stay at a Town Place Suites (or any place that has a kitchen set up). Bring your shopper cards (did your know that Kon's is tied into Tom Thumb?). Go to the parks, get the kids tired and come back to the hotel and cook a home cooked meal (by the way, the maids do the dishes) and spend time together as a family at night.

Most hotels have AV plugs on the back of their TVs, so you can download some movies to the Zune or I-Pod, plug in the DVD player, and save the cost of renting a movie in the room. (But they do have the latest releases and for $12.99, they are cheaper than movie tickets for two to any theater.)

Hope this helps anyone looking to travel a little cheaper for spring break.

TSA and Travel

noreply@blogger.com (The Coach) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:46:00 +0000

Travel these past couple of weeks has kept me really busy and I haven't really been able to keep up with the blog. My resolution, keep up with the blog and provide some good travel info. So here's the start.

First up, this website will provide general flight delays for a specific airport. Keep in mind that flights from other airports could have some bearing on your flight, but this at least gives you an idea of the times at your local airport, especially during the winter weather that we are having right now.

http://www.fly.faa.gov/flyfaa/usmap.jsp

Ever wonder what the security lines are like. I'm not saying that this is 100%, but it will give you some sort of idea for the time that you are traveling. (Keep in mind, Monday morning and Friday evening are always a little busier than what the numbers say.)
http://waittime.tsa.dhs.gov/index.html

Now, off to the window to take more frozen pictures of Montreal. Temp right now -17. That's right, -17 ( and that's before the wind chill).

Tips on Traveling Abroad

noreply@blogger.com (The Coach) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 04:13:00 +0000

With the latest couple of trips, I have gained a little more exposure to heading through customs and the best ways to get around with as few issues as possible. First off, I'm going to provide everyone with the link to the Homeland Security Customs tips.

Now, on to the tips that I have gathered on my own.

First, no offense ladies, but the male customs officials tend to be a little more understanding and less likely to forward you over to immigration. And getting forwarded over to immigration, especially if you are trying to make a connecting flight, can put serious strain on your travel plans.

Second, the use of the space bags (the ones that you can compact your clothes with) will help you to organize your bags and keep everything in place if you need to open for customs agents.

Traveling for business or pleasure, you need to make sure that you keep things simple and precise when addressing the customs agent. The more details to your story, the more items that the customs agent needs to check. And when your job is to move people through as quickly and efficiently as possible, you won't spend a lot of time on an in depth story. So, in this case, you will probably end up spending the next hour or so hanging out in the immigration office.

Hope this helps for anyone heading across the borders.

Snow in Montreal

noreply@blogger.com (The Coach) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:57:00 +0000

So, this really cool picture was taken after the really cool storm that managed to totally encase our rental car in 1/4 inch sheet of ice. I realized why it's really great to have remote starters on your car. Too bad the rental car doesn't have one.

I'm sorry to disappoint that there aren't any pictures of scrapping the ice off (which was a good 45 minute process). My biggest suggestion on this, always make sure to take a change of clothes that you can get into easily in the morning (jogging pants, jeans, slip-on boots, etc.) with you on your trip. This is so that you can set the alarm an extra 45 minutes early to go down and make sure that your car is clean and clear and then drop right back into bed.

The only practical and effective way to be able to get heavy ice off of the car and clean the windows is to run the car. Make sure that you clean out the areas in between the window and the hood. This helps with air circulation and will give an area for the melting ice and snow to fall to and be cleaned off. Be very careful with anything other than scraping or brushing. Depending upon the exterior temperature and the internal temperature of the car, you risk the possibility of cracking car glass, especially if you already have any gravel chips.

Outside My Hotel in Montreal

noreply@blogger.com (The Coach) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 01:44:00 +0000

Just got back from Cabo!

noreply@blogger.com (The Coach) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:23:00 +0000

Well. Just got back from my honeymoon in Cabo. I would have to say that this was probably one of the first relaxing trips that I have taken in quite a long time. Good thing though, with all the travel that I have done in the past, things seemed to go fairly smooth.

Some key aspects worth noting about traveling to and around Cabo and then into the sights and sounds to check out.

1.) Always make sure to have copies of your passport with you as you travel around the city. You never know when you might have an emergency come up and need it.

2.) Notify all of your credit and ATM card providers that you are traveling abroad with the locations that you will be visiting. This will keep them from putting a hold for your protection, but leaving you high and dry without access to your money.

3.) Always withdraw the cash that you feel you will need before travelling. The exchange fees at the ATM's will cost you a fortune.

4.) Do not change your money as soon as you arrive at the airport or hotel. Hold onto your money and then talk to the locals about the closest bank with the best rates. These rates can vary from 5 to 10% at least.

5.) Talk to your hotel about the cab fares to the most common locations (i.e. the mall, marina, old town, etc.). They can give you the standard rates that should be charged and then when you are tryng to get around you can ask the cab driver for the fare up front and know that you are not getting ripped off.

6.) The best deals in the marina are available after the cruise ships roll out. This is usually by 4PM on most days, but some leave a little later. Ask around when you arrive to see what the schedule is for the time that you are there.