Traveling With The Fur Kids!

I admit, my little dogs rule our house.  With all of our kids grown and gone, we need someone to mark the cadence of our days and these little miniature dictators are more than happy to keep us in line.  I travel a good bit in my role as a travel blogger and my husband travels a good bit on weekends in his role as a tennis line judge and referee.  So we plan our comings and goings around keeping the two little princes happy with at least one of us at home at all times.  Every so often we get a chance to go and take the pups with us—believe me when I say they understand the word “vacation”.

First we have to get down their suitcase.  I could carry their items in a paper sack, but seeing their suitcase in the middle of the floor allows me to get mine down and packed without having to hide it or having them drag items out of it.  I have been on several trips only to find underwear, socks, and more that I thought I had packed not there. Later I find the contraband under the bed or couch.  I guess they reason if they steal my stuff, I won’t go.  Here’s a picture of their suitcase—it’s top of the line—whereas mine is not so nice. 

The morning of the trip and everyone is excited!  Me, because I don’t want to leave anything behind, the pups because they don’t want to get left behind.  I know from experience to go ahead and put on their traveling harnesses—Button our younger dog has taken several unplanned “side trips” slipping out of his collar and running away as a puppy.  Once he went shopping in a gorgeous mall in Hilton Head Island, SC.  He wiggled out of his collar, followed a lady in the door and I spent a fun hour chasing him around.  Well, fun for him anyway. 

With the first trip by my husband to the car to load the few things we are taking with us (just a weekend visit to the Outer Banks); my older dog Gizzie trails him out and gets in the car.  We kind of expect this as he makes this his routine.  When we are packing, he just sits in the car waiting.  No matter what, he is going!

We are on our way to one of the two properties in the Outer Banks that allow pets. I think this is a sad situation-as vast as the Outer Banks that only these two properties accept dogs.  And maybe I am prejudiced since my dogs are fur children and very small—but really—two properties?  Anywho a story for another day perhaps—we check in and the kids are quite excited!  Look mom! our own little balcony facing the pool with a gate allowing them to stand outside and join in the fun.

Saturday of our visit dawns clear (finally after four days of constant rain) and the four of us hit the beach.  Even though dogs are allowed free rein on the beaches here, I keep mine leashed because of their size.  Labs, greyhounds, and darlings of undisclosed breed are out this morning with their people saunter by to the delight of my fur kids.  Babies playing in the sand are another thrill for my Button; although it’s always wise to keep an ubervigilant pose with babies.  Even the most amiable pup like my Button may get huffy when their nose and ears are pulled!

Later back at the hotel mom (that’s me you know) decides to take a dip in the pool for some water aerobics type exercise.  I know some terriers love the water; but mine are not of that persuasion.  When the desk clerk stated the dogs were not allowed in the pool I had to laugh—you couldn’t MAKE these babies get in a pool.  What they do however is hilarious.  As I walk or swim from one side to the other they run from one side to the other.  In a bit we are all pooped and ready for a nap. 

The weekend continues nicely with the pups spending most of their time at the fence bordering our little first floor veranda yipping and yapping at the new dogs coming into the pool area.  One toddler, in the pool with his dad, jumps out comes over; gives the dogs a pet; jumps back in and repeats the process about a gazillion times.  I am reading and watching amused—little boys and dogs you can’t beat that combination!

We are home now and the boys are sound asleep on my recliner, exhausted after their big trip.  For fun I ask, “did you boys have fun on vacation?”  Two sets of ears perk up and two little tails start wagging.  I take that as a YES! 

Wondering About Water

Did anyone besides me wonder about the article on water in the August 2010 Woman's Day magazine called "Drink Me"? I have always read and heard that the more water you can drink the better (well within reason of course). And that drinking coffee and soda can be dehydrating. And drinking lots of water DID help with weight loss, contributed to good skin, and was the magic elixir of life. But according to this article, all these facts and long held beliefs are not so true. So what's the deal?

I remember vividly when the hue and cry came about that drinking water from your tap was a horrible thing to do for your health--drink bottled water was the battle cry. Since I had been drinking tap and well water most of my life, I was horrified and rushed to find the bottled water that I would purchase. Dasani was my H2O of choice--it was superior in taste to me--and bottled by the coca Cola Company which also bottled my Diet Coke. Naturally I didn't talk about that too much as DC was dehydrating and not PC anymore. 

Then I found out that Dasani (and more) bottled waters were merely tap water from another municipal source with a bit of chemicals thrown for good measure. What about lugging around all those big cases of water? I was furious--my tap water was from a municipal source? Geez! 

Now it seems that bottled water is totally bad for you and that the bottles are super bad for the environment. What idiots we were! But we were operating on the best knowledge available, or were we? Now I read an article that counters everything my old copies of women's magazines had to say? I want my money back!

Worst of all, it seems fishy that popular and even dare I say medical advise is attuned so closely to dollars and cents. Almost as if "if we can't make money from water anymore, we will tell the public they don't need to drink so much". ???

And could we be being manipulated about other things? Maybe nasty tasting green tea isn't as good for you as "they" say--could it be that yummy tasting old fashioned black tea is just as healthy? Who knows the truth and what will happen down the pike. 

Maybe it's just me--tell me what you think! And go drink some water!

The Bubble Burst

Recently, I took a great familiarization trip to Chattanooga, TN.  I had seen online that a historical steam powered riverboat was docked there and was now a unique hotel experience.  Since my sister and BFF was within driving distance, I booked a room and off we went.  While on board I met two different women's groups, including a group of ever flamboyant Red Hatters!  We had a great time and I have lots of ideas for women's retreats and fun times in the area.

This blog is not about the trip itself, however, but about the flight to and from.  I have been flying for 30 years and except for a few minor snags, have never had a real problem.  Once I made a mistake that cost me time and money; but other than that--things have gone very smoothly--actually amazingly smoothly.  On this one short flight LOTS went wrong--none of it my fault--but I paid the price in stress, wear and tear and time.  Both coming and going the first leg of the flight was late causing a mad scramble for my connection.  On the return flight, I had to literally run through the airport and tripped over my carry-on bag.  I made it with seconds to spare; and found out from my seat mate that the gate had been changed four times.  One lady I met while running told me she had been trying to get home to Norfolk since the night before, having experienced two canceled flights causing her and her son to have to stay overnight in a hotel and sleep in their clothes (their bags were lost).  Speaking of lost bags, my one and only bag was lost on the trip to Chattanooga AND home.  I was horrified at the prospect of spending the four day excursion in the same outfit and shoes sans makeup, toothbrush, and pjs.  My bag didn't arrive until almost 5 pm on the day following the return flight.  Two late flights, two mad scrambles, and two lost bags--all in one flight!

Throughout the experience I was disturbed, scared, and inconvenienced, and a part of me kept thinking--what if this happened to one of my clients going on a honeymoon, resort, or cruise?  No matter how carefully you pack, if you don't have your suitcase, what would that do to your vacation?  I noticed on the airlines website, information on what to do if your bag had been missing for 10 days.  10 DAYS?  DID that happen? apparently! By the way, the line to file a claim for a lost bag took us over 30 minutes to navigate.

What about my new friend who had to stay overnight because of canceled flights?  Who paid for that?  What would have happened if she couldn't have found a room, would they sleep in the airport?

And worse of all, what would have happened had I really hurt myself when I tripped over my case?  I barely made the flight as it was--what would an injury thrown into the mix have done?  What would happen to someone older, a little slower, or worse if someone got hurt in the mad scramble of an airport?

These questions have been rummaging around in my brain the past few days. In between legs of the flight, I tweeted and posted to Facebook about what was going on.  Since then, several people have chimed in and shared horror stories about unsafe conditions, delays, waste, and problems, many of which make my story look lame.

I have come to a few conclusions.  First, I am thankful I made it as long as I did without major flight problems.  Secondly, I am more energized than ever about making sure every client has travel protection.  Thirdly, I intend to file a complaint with the powers that be about my experiences.  What will happen?  I am not really sure.  Will it make a difference?  I don't know that either.  My intent is good, but my story is not unique--it happens hundreds of times a day every day if not every hour.  And that may be the worst part of all, that we have come to accept poor service, dangerous situations, industry wide apathy as the norm.

Keep the faith and blessings as you travel,
Sandy

  

Sting Ray City! A Super Experience

One adventure not to be missed while visiting the Caribbean is a trip to Sting Ray City.  Maybe you are spending a week or two on the island or just enjoying a quick shore excursion while on board a cruise ship, either way, swimming with the rays is a lot of fun.  I  visited Stingy Ray City in Antigua while on vacation with my husband and once again while on the Enchantment of the Seas tendered outside Grand Cayman

with a group of women.  Let me tell you about the trip to Antigua with hubby, we had a blast!

We chose the excursion from a menu provided by the ship which rates excursions by time, activity level, and in this case swimming skill involved.  Carnival uses the "little walking man" to rate their excursions, the more little men, the more difficult and the more fit you have to be.  The stingray adventure was rated a 2, which was perfect for me.  We both swim well, but according to the rating, little swimming would be required.  The price of $50 per person was great as well.  Snorkle gear and refreshments were provided.  We booked from our stateroom through the tv and the cost of the trip was added to our sail card.  Voila!

Having never snorkeled before much less touched a stingray, I was pretty excited the next morning as we got ready to board the bus.  We had slathered on sunscreen, wore our bathing suites, and of course sunglasses and hats.  Our bus was almost full with a mix of young and old, couples, and families with kids.  Our ride to our boat took us through "town" and highlights were pointed out by our very funny and very pregnant tour guide.  When I asked her when she was due to have her baby, she said 3 days ago.  That's a pretty strong work ethic in any country, but I digress from the story!

We arrived at our destination which from the front appeared to be a private home.  We were escorted to the back where four open motor boats stood ready.  We boarded the boats and were off!  Approximately 20-30 minutes later (who wears a watch, it's island time) we arrived at a sandbar with a floating dock which we tied up to. After scrambling out of the boats we were given a few directions by the handlers who would be in the water with us.  My husband practically raced in, and I eased in and in no time the water seemed full of black shadows under the water. (See them in the picture above) With a closer look, I could make out the rays--eerie and beautiful at the same time.  The water was about 4 feet deep with some areas less--parents with older children seeming to have no problems.  The rays would bump you and then wait as if they wanted to be petted.  One of the handlers told us this was a retirement home for old rays, but them seemed pretty lively to me.  We were given the opportunity to feed the rays and then look through them with a snorkel mask.  Since I can be a scaredy cat about new things, my husband held my hand while I tried my first snorkeling.   Even though it was in shallow water and in a controlled situation--I felt pretty proud of myself! If you haven't seen the blue of the waters of the Caribbean, you haven't seen blue--the color was amazing! 

After an hour or so, we loaded the boats and headed back to shore.  Refreshments had been set out with cold "koolaide" punch being handed to all the adults.  Honestly it was punch pink, but it carried quite a "punch" of a different sort.  I switched to water to be sure I didn't miss the nice dinner awaiting me on board by having a hangover headache.

The trip took about 2-3 hours from start to finish and did not require a lot of heavy activity.  The adventure was not appropriate for small children and would not be advisable for persons having problems climbing into or out of the boat or going up or down the small ladder going into the water.  For us it was a wonderful trip, an adventure with nature that I can recommend wholeheartedly.

Until we cruise again,

Sandy, the diva cruiser

 Sandy, thedivacruiser, is in reality Sandy Wheeler, an independent travel consultant for Connie George Travel Associates.  Follow Sandy on her adventures on Twitter @thedivacruiser or on her website www.SandyWheelerTravel.com.  Email Sandy for more information on this or any of her other blog posts.  

The Airport Shuffle

I love to line dance--it's super fun and good exercise.  The exception maybe what I call the "airport shuffle" --when you ride an escalator to get to another escalator to get to a monorail to get to an elevator and on and on.  But such is the reality of modern day airports, it's part of the dance.  The bigger the airport, the longer the dance, and like a line dance, it's easy to get out of breath.

Another modern day reality that makes the trip longer is, of course, the security check in, which seems to get more elaborate every time I fly.  I laughed out loud when the TSA took my rolledup tube of toothpaste.  As a travel advisor, I spend a good bit of time reminding people what to pack.  I keep a cosmetic case packed so I can grab and go, but my last trip was to a resort and didn't involve flying.  OOPS! note to self!  never assume!

But in the few seconds (which stretched out a l---o----n----g time) when I realized my bin of stuff was being pulled aside and I was being called over-- my thought was OH NO, SOMEONE PUT SOMETHING IN MY BAG!  I had never let my bag out of my sight, but still eek!  I wasn't exactly sure what would happen in this situation but I was pretty sure I wouldn't make my flight, among other things too scary to mention.  When she held up my toothpaste and said she would have to keep it, well as I said, I laughed. 


So to recap, just a couple of points that might be of interest.

• Keep your eyes and hands on your bag at all times.  Don't trust anyone you don't know, no matter how innocent they seem.  Check out reruns of NCIS or rewatch the Mission Impossible movies for examples.  Plus, hey, it's Mark Harmon and Tom Cruise-never time wasted!
• The 3 ounce carry on rule applies to liquids AND gels.  Toothpaste IS a gel dear readers!
• Don't argue with the nice TSA's.  They are there for your protection and just doing their jobs!

Happy and safe travels, Sandy



Sandy, the diva crusiser, is actually Sandy Wheeler, and Independent agent of Connie George Travel Associates.  Follow her adventures on Twitter @thedivacruiser or on her website http://www.sandywheelertravel.com/.  Email questions about this or any of her blogs, she loves to hear from readers.