Plane reservations have been made, but it wasn’t easy. I had to use a certain travel agency because Ron had gotten a free companion ticket for leasing a postage meter machine. The caveat was he had to use a particular travel agency. It took forever to get through to this agency. Then I was on hold for 20 minutes. Then it took the representative a long time to determine flight information, information that took me 10 minutes to find on line using Expedia.com. Then the price she quotes me is almost as much money as purchasing the tickets without a free companion ticket! There was this user fee and that service fee, and the travel agency doesn’t pay for airport fees or taxes. What I could have done on line in 10 minutes for only $40 more took me 30 minutes on the phone.
Now I’m investigating car rentals. Talk about crazy! Look at the on-line sites for Avis, Alamo or Budget. There are what appears to be reasonable rates for three days of rental. For instance, we can rent a Chevy Impala for $56.01. That is the flat rental rate, but click on “continue” and you see that there are additional fees of $30.07 for a total of $98.99.
I’m frugal. We’re not going to live in this car. We’re not even going to be driving it far or for very long. If it were just me, I’d do a compact. With a husband who is into trucks and other such supposed necessities of life, a compact just won’t do. Maybe a SUV? How about a Hummer? (In HIS dreams!) Other than renting a Hummer (I don’t like ‘em, so that’s out of the question), I suppose I don’t care what we get because Ron is paying for it, but can I get him to commit to how much he wants to pay? Nooooooo. His way is to decide what he wants, then pay what it costs. My way is to decide on a maximum dollar amount and then find a vehicle to fit that budget. So we’re at a standstill on car rental because I just cannot stand the thought of spending double the money on a bigger vehicle than I think we need. OK.... we’re at a standstill because I’m stubborn and don’t want him to spend his money on a vehicle bigger than I think we need.
To take a break from car rental research, I went to the government’s TSA (Transportation Security Administration) site. At this site I found: what's not allowed on a plane; what is allowed on a plane and how it should be packed to avoid delaying the line at security… Goddess forbid. Foolish person that I am for thinking that looking at a United States government web site would be a relief from car rental research. Somebody shoot me now.
I did make the motel reservation today with no problem. Ron’s daughter has a group of rooms set aside for us out-of-towners at a good rate at a local hotel. One quick phone call and we’re in.
Today’s weather – Let’s not go down that road. Miserable is a good word. Damp, chilly, rainy, gray.
Life changes – I’m getting old. I don’t like changes or hassles, even minor ones, and there have been so many changes with regard to flying that it is a big hassle. But I love to travel, so I’ll shut my mouth (yah, right
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