Hints From One Who Loves to Travel

"I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted

by routine."

and...

Every single trip I learn something

about perfecting the art of travel.

In this day and age, however, travel will

 never be perfect.

"Travel is glamorous only in retrospect."

Which brings me to my first suggestion.

You cannot arrive at the airport too early.

Until you've been caught in a ridiculously long

security line, scared you are going to

miss your flight, you may not realize this.

Often, a nearby gate will have a shorter

security line.

I have a new ap which helps in determining that.

It is:  iFly TSA.

The gates are rated green, yellow, or red.

Madeline and I used this on our recent trip.
We had to walk quite a distance, but the
 line was much shorter than at the close gate.

The BIG thing I learned about on our just

concluded trip is Uber.

Madeline has used Uber a lot in Austin.

Me--never.  Until DC.

It was excellent.  We used it many times 

and never had a bad experience.

The cars are much newer and nicer than cabs.

It cost us almost $30 to travel to the 

National Cathedral in a taxi,

and only $10 to Uber back!  

For those of you who don't know (like I didn't)

you put the ap on your phone, put in all

your information, so that no money changes

hands in the car.  No tip!  No getting out your card!

And I got a detailed receipt for each ride

on my email.  I cannot recommend this enough.

At least in DC it was great.

One exception was the ride to and from 

the airport.  We did taxi for that.
It is just so routine for them, and they are
more accustomed to the luggage.

Just thought of something...

I loved the fact that the taxis in DC had

flashing signs which said,

"Taxi for Hire"

unlike New York where I can NEVER 

remember if the light on or the light off

means it is available!

Trust me, you do not really want my packing hints.

Over the top, perfectionist, obsessive hints.

But I will say--my clothes not only get there

in perfect shape, they arrive back home the same!

It involves lots of time

 and plastic dry cleaning bags.

You might like this one:

If you might bring home breakable souvenirs,

be sure to include some bubble wrap for them.

Oh, and you should like this one:

Use those free shower caps you get to cover

the bottoms of your shoes in your suitcase!

Speaking of free things...

Always gather the little toiletry items from

your room and bring them home.

They are great to give to the 

Arlington Pregnancy Center to be

included in baskets for their clients!

An unusual habit I've developed over the years

is to make a different kind of list

 after I get home from a trip.

It started when I found this:

Although in retrospect it's fun to remember

scouting Barcelona desperately trying to describe

these when you don't speak the language,

 or 

feeling like your cruise is totally and forever RUINED

because you forgot this indispensable item,

you don't necessarily desire to repeat the mistake.

So my last step in getting ready for a trip is

making sure I'm not leaving at home one of the
 items I've left in the past.

(By the way--as to the comb--I went to the

salon onboard the ship.  A new stylist had

just boarded, and she had an extra she sold me!

Whew.  The trip was saved.)


Here's an idea just for you girls.
We have to carry a pretty big purse for all the
travel essentials.  Right?
But once at our destination, I hate to tote that
big thing on day jaunts.
This, therefore, is what has happened to me:

 

I have had to buy smaller bags here, there, and
everywhere!
Now, I ALWAYS pack one or more small purses
to lighten my load upon arrival!

This tip is a repeat--a unique repeat.
I always carry one of these on cruises:

The reason?
If I have a room with a view, I like to go up
to the buffet, get food and drink,
and return "home" to dine at lunch.
Ships do not furnish trays, so I bring my own!
Yes, people look at me strangely on the
elevator, but they are just jealous!
Pack carefully--AA managed to break my tray
 when I flew to London!


One of the first things I do when I unpack
on a cruise ship is stand my cosmetic brushes
in a drinking glass.
A room steward taught me this.

See them just to the right of the tissue box?
This was in my little 99 sq. ft. room.
Organization necessary!
Oh!  And look on the shelf right above!
There are my Q tips in the Barcelona box
I told you about above!
It's probably 15 or more years old now
and deteriorating!


Okay, that's all the "major" tips I have for now!
So...it's your turn.
Tell me what floats your boat
when it comes to travel!

Maddie and Mimi Celebrate In DC

The graduate chose Washington, DC, for her

celebratory trip.

She hadn't been there since 6th grade.

The Mimi was thrilled. 

She hadn't been there since before the graduate

was born! 

I'm getting spoiled to first class as my miles dwindle!

But here we are livin' it up!

We stayed at a hotel which was beautiful and fab

and historic:  The Willard.
My little grad loves history and "character," and
this place had plenty of both!

Aren't these lobby flowers spectacular?

(As was the lobby itself!)

We loved our room!

Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his

"I have a dream" speech at the Willard.

The term "lobbyist" was coined here.

President Ulysses Grant would come to the lobby to 

escape and smoke a cigar in peace (no security then!) 

and people would follow him there to 

try to get his attention.

He began calling them "those damn lobbyists!"

This area of the hotel was named "Peacock Alley"
 because the ladies' hats, adorned with feathers,

would brush together as they mingled!

Our hotel was only a short distance from
the White House.
Right in the center is one of the guard houses
 from our window.
Actually, it is the one where the press enters.

Sadly, this is as close as we could get now.

We took a night tour of the monuments...

The Washington

The Jefferson

The Lincoln

Afterward, room service $$$--I mean !!!

We split a sandwich but both got desserts!



Speaking of desserts, we bussed to Georgetown,
and found the famous Georgetown Cupcakes!
(And we might have gotten 2 each.)

We then walked to Georgetown University.

Maddie toured.  Mimi wimped out.  But this was
the prettiest part, she said,
and I did get to see it!


That night we ate here by my request.
While Susan was a flight attendant, and before Maddie 
was born, our whole extended family flew to
Washington (where she was based) on 
Thanksgiving Day and had lunch here.
I have the t-shirt to prove it!
It ended up being only a couple of blocks from our hotel.

                            

Walking "home"

A full moon over Washington.

The Capitol lower left.

And we toured the Capitol.

We toured the Washington National Cathedral...

after a wonderful breakfast at their coffee shop,
called "Open City."

The grad wished to visit the Newseum, 
which "promotes, explains and defends free
expression and the five freedoms of the
First Amendment."


The gran only got two pictures--not good--
But memorable ones...

 Front pages from dozens of national newspapers are
displayed all across the front of the building.
At least we'll remember when we were there!


Cruisin' Mimi just couldn't resist a dinner cruise.  
(I forgot to take an exterior photo.)
The boat is called Odyssey.

We cruised for 3 hours on the Potomac.
Maddie was such a good sport--
probably the only 22 year old on the cruise!

Live Music!

Along with all the birthdays and anniversaries,
Maddie was recognized and brought out to
the dance floor to be honored for her graduation!!!
This is how she felt about that...

But she got lots of congratulations and some
Hook 'Em Horns on the way off the boat!



Our last adventure was a spectacular one.

We went to the Kennedy Center to see 
Phantom of the Opera!

And afterward...a late dinner at The Hamilton.

(Texting her fellow Hamilton-obsessed friends about the 
Aaron Burr-ger on the menu!)


I could go on and on about this marvelous girl.
But then I've already gone on and on about our trip!
What a privilege to get to take her on a
 celebration of her great accomplishment.
"Thank you, Gaga.  Wish you'd been here to  
share the trip with us."
But mostly, "Thank you, God.  
For blessing us beyond what we could ever deserve."

I Got the Best Birthday Present!

It was just a story, but it was about this guy...

Here's what happened.

My insurance company sent me a check for hail 

damage to my gutters and a flat portion of

roof on the back of the house.

That means there's only one thing to do.

Call Curtis.

Curtis Cohen was Jack's #1 roofer;

therefore, he is my #1 roofer, in spite of the

fact that he is trying to be retired!

Curtis was expressing his appreciation for Jack

and their many business dealings.

I asked him how he met Jack and how he 

started doing his roofing.

I'm so glad I asked.  Here's the story.

Curtis just stopped by a Stovall project one day

(this would have been many years ago)

and inquired about bidding the roofing portion.

He was directed to the office and went there.

Jack said, "Well, I have three McDonald's roofs 

that are leaking.  Can you check them out?"

Curtis did and reported back with solutions

(within just hours.)

Jack said, "Fix 'em."

(And you have to understand, when Jack said to

fix them, he meant right then.)

Curtis was able to do that, insuring him great favor!!!

He began bidding and installing many, if not all, of

Stovall Construction's roofs.

I can't remember how much later,

("Please, Lord, I hope it was quite a bit")

Curtis got a call from Jack.

Again it was about three McDonald's roofs, but

this time Jack informed Curtis that he was

getting ready to fire him!

Why?  Because these three roofs were leaking

and hadn't been fixed.

Curtis (quite taken aback, I am sure)

told Jack that it was NOT the roofs but the

air conditioning units that were causing the leaks.

Jack said, "Okay, meet me out there."

Curtis agreed and asked, "When?"

Jack: "In an hour!"

Subsequent to taking a water hose and demonstrating

 the actual problems

to Jack, a meeting was set up with the AC unit

representative. Guess how much notice Curtis had of

that meeting?

You got it--one hour!

Needless to say, Curtis was not fired.

Jack thought the world of Curtis Cohen.

And vice versa I found out today.

(Although I knew that all along.)

I often say that "I have people."

Curtis is my roofer person.

He drove a long way to come look at

my problem today with no compensation

other than my gratitude.

But...it made my birthday to get to hear

 Curtis tell me this story.

After all I was often hearing (and cringing at)

the other end of those conversations.

If Jack didn't mention firing you at some point,

you might want to feel neglected.