Live Blogging: 4 Trips, 5 Months 11/7/17



Backstory, for those of you new to this series: In August I began a new job that provided me with a lot of vacation time for the rest of the year but very minimal vacation time for next year. In an effort to make the most of it, I'm planning four trips in five months (now, two) with updates weekly on how the planning process is going.

With trip #1 out of the way, I am left with:

Trip #2 – New York City, Trip #3 – New Orleans, and Trip #4 – ?!?!

Here's what I accomplished this week…

Trip #2

Entertainment –

I keep following Billy Joel on Stubhub to see if ticket prices will go down closer to the event, but they just aren't. It's so irritating. The good news, though, is that by checking sites like TicketMaster and StubHub, I was alerted to an event in my hometown that I was interested in seeing. We got tickets the day before the event and saw La La Land with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. It ended up being fun, but not quite worth the money, in my opinion.

Hotels –

In other news, I'm currently trying to decide whether or not to book the Park Hyatt with 30,000 points. It's an $800 room (can be upwards of $1,000) with heated bathroom floors, a tv inside the bathroom mirror, and turn down service. In other words, it is an extravagant hotel. And for 30,000 points, a very good value. I typically would get a max value of $400 in a hotel room for that many points. The problem I'm running into is that I don't know if a heated bathroom floor is worth the experience. Why not use my 30,000 points for less value at a hotel I actually want to visit?

I was checking out the French Quarters Guest Apartments near Times Square and they look nice. While I'm not too big into Times Square, given that most of our activities will be in Manhattan, it seems like a good location. Plus, the hotel is very boutique-like. I love how each room is styled in a unique way, and they serve croissants as part of their continental breakfast. I mean – I can get a good breakfast on the cheap in Chinatown in NYC ($5 or less), but there is something about waking up to breakfast at your hotel and not having to worry about finding it. Plus, there is no shortage of good food in NYC, anyway. So, should I?

I considered booking both, but the French Quarters costs more than the Millennium Hotel (Hilton brand) that I booked back in September. And, if I wanted to change dates, the Millenium Hotel has gone up in price by more than $100! So maybe I keep that room and just pick one of the others. I can always come back to NYC. It's not like I will eventually run out of things to do there! (Decisions, decisions.)

Food –

One of the things I most interested in exploring in NYC is the food. I recently learned of rainbow bagels with glitter on them served with cream cheese that has sprinkles inside. I'm not really a fan of NYC bagels, but Instagram fads? Reasons to take my camera for a stroll? ABSOLUTELY.

Also, brioche ice cream sandwiches. I mean – who would have thought?

I tried to find some other food fads to try, specifically something more savory, but nothing has come to mind. Maybe dim sum? It's not really a current food fad, but I've never had it. Or the Chinese-style hot pot?

Shopping –

In searching for food fads, I did discover that I could check out C.O. Bigelow, a pharmacy with products from all over the world. Definitely intriguing. And maybe I'll get the chance to finally explore B&H, a used camera store.

My husband and I will be exploring NYC just before Thanksgiving, so we are trying to figure out where to go and what to bring back to our families for the big feast. Surely there is something Italian, German, French, Chinese, etc… that Georgia doesn't have. I mean, Georgia doesn't have much in the way of unique foods, anyway. Maybe babka?

Trip #3

For my New Orleans trip, I've actually gotten quite a bit more accomplished since last week. Two more hotels booked and a few restaurants added to my list.

Hotels –

First up, Hotel Monteleone with the carousel bar, a must-visit while we are in New Orleans. 

Then, The Pontchartrain, in the Garden District. It just looked pretty.

I momentarily considered the Loew's hotel, but ultimately decided against it. *shrugs*

Food –

Obviously, Cafe du Monde is on the short list, but I watched an Emeril Lagasse youtube video on New Orleans and he recommends both one of his flagship restaurants (Meril) and a po-boy favorite, Domilise's Po-Boys. Does anybody that reads my blog have opinions on these?

Finally, Trip #4

We discovered we have car insurance due in December as well as an expensive credit card fee. (Is the card worth keeping a second year? We need to determine that.) Anyway, the point is: we keep cutting back on how much of a trip we should take in December. Should we drive? Will the roads be bad? But I want to see a beach. Y'know. The usual.

But hey! Despite how much time I've spent on Google Flights lately, I still am quite proud of the decisions I have made! Forward moving (and still blogging) for the win!

(We also snuck another leaf-peeping trip in this past weekend as we went in search of Christmas gifts and pretty fall colors. Who doesn't love this time of year? Also, yay for getting Christmas shopping done early!)

Anyway, enough of me. Let's talk about you. How's life? What's up? Are you counting down the days to Thanksgiving? Fighting personal battles as you get through NaNo? Eating lots of apples and leaf-peeping? Getting your Christmas shopping done early?

3-in-1 USB


You know how you can't go anywhere without your backup phone charger? I recently received another must-have phone accessory: a 3-in-1 USB to review.

What is it? It's basically a thumb drive that will plug into your cell phone, tablet, AND computer.

How does it work? There is a small button in the center that you can use to push out either the USB portion or the micro-USB portion. If you are plugging the drive into your phone or tablet, you will need to download the i-USB-Storer app with which you will use to upload your images to the 3-in-1. Depending on what size phone you have, how many images you've taken, and how big your drive is, this could take a while … or not long at all. When I uploaded more than 25gb onto my 60gb flash drive, it took about an hour, which is significantly less time than it took to try and upload my files to DropBox via my phone and internet connection! (Can you imagine being on vacation, running out of room on your phone, and having to wait for multiple hours for your files to upload so that you can take more?!?!)

After you are done uploading, you can use the USB port to plug your drive into your laptop. You click on your drive and bam! All of your files are magically there. From that point on, you can move files, delete files, etc… It's all up to you!

Of course, images aren't the only thing the 3-in-1 is capable of handling. Think docs, audio, and video.

And it's so easy!

Granted, I had no idea what it was when I got it, but now I don't know how I ever lived without it!

 What are some of your favorite phone accessories? Are there any you can't imagine living without?

* I received a 3-in-1 USB in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

IWSG #10


At the beginning of every month, as part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, I take a look at my successes (not just in writing), share the ways I hope to improve in the next month, answer the IWSG question of the month, and provide inspiration (if I have any).

October Goals –
✓ Finish planning for Boston road trip (October)
✓ Work on travel plans for NYC in November
– Plan for New Orleans road trip
✗ Decide and work on travel plans for Christmas trip
✓ Talk to dent guy about getting my car fixed
✗ Get safety recall problem fixed.
✗ Apply for Hilton credit card.

 Other Successes –
✓ replaced my broken camera lens.

 November Goals –
• Get car dents fixed.
• finish planning for NYC
• finish planning for New Orleans
• figure out December travel
• CHRISTMAS GIFTS
IWSG Question: Win or not, do you usually finish your NaNo project? Have any of them gone on to be published?

I've never participated in NaNo, but I have participated in April A-Z. I feel like these projects are very similar. Both are heavy with writing and both have to be finished within a month. The biggest difference, I think, is that one can be completed over the several months prior (April A-Z) while the other is more about how much you accomplish during one particular month. Given how badly I'm sucking at blogging recently, I can't even imagine taking on a writing project that should be completed during the month. It's much easier for me to think and plan and put together everything (pictures, writing) a few months in advance to be published during a particular month than it would be for me to come up with a plan and not start working on it until November with the goal of being done by the end of the month. Throw Thanksgiving in there and AHHH! You NaNo guys and gals have my utmost respect. <3.

 Your Turn
Are you participating in NaNo this month? Have you ever taken on a monthly writing challenge and been successful (whatever that means to you) with it? What advice would you give to someone who is challenging themselves to complete something over the course of the month?
Click here to learn more and
link up with IWSG!

Live Blogging: 4 Trips, 5 Months 10/31/17


Backstory, for those of you new to this series: In August I began a new job that provided me with a lot of vacation time for the rest of the year but very minimal vacation time for next year. In an effort to make the most of it, I'm planning four trips in five months (now, three) with updates weekly on how the planning process is going.

With trip #1 out of the way, I am left with:

Trip #2 – New York City, Trip #3 – New Orleans, and Trip #4 – ?!?!

Here's what I accomplished this week…

Trip #2

We got tickets to The Late Show!!! Woot! Woot! :)

And that's about it.

For Trip #3

I've researched jazz clubs. (There are a lot.) And ticket prices for the Celebration in the Oaks lights. Is it worth it? I don't know.

I really need to start focusing on booking hotels otherwise we may end up sleeping in our rental car!

Trip #4

Got into an argument with the husband, so now maybe we are going to Vegas? Maybe? And driving to the Grand Canyon? Or Los Angeles? *shrugs* Is California particularly interesting during the holiday season? Will there be ice on the drive to the Grand Canyon if we go that route? Are we simply choosing the wrong time of year to do these things?

By the way, I also played around with the idea of the Bahamas, Oregon, and Mexico.

Travel decisions are complicated.

And I'm still sick.

Maybe one day I'll get everything figured out.

Anyway, happy Halloween! Will any of you be dressing up or doing anything particularly special tonight?

Live Blogging: 4 Trips, 5 Months 10/24/17

America is such a large country with many potential travel options. It's hard to pick just one favorite vacation spot!

Three months in, one trip down; three trips in two months to go.

Backstory, for those of you new to this series: In August I began a new job that provided me with a lot of vacation time for the rest of the year but very minimal vacation time for next year. In an effort to make the most of it, I'm planning four trips in five months (now, three) with updates weekly on how the planning process is going.

With trip #1 out of the way, I am left with:

Trip #2 – New York City, Trip #3 – New Orleans, and Trip #4 – ?!?!

Here's what I accomplished this week…

Trip #2

I booked a hotel. One, single, solitary hotel.

I already had two hotels booked, so I'm down to only needing one more night I think?

Anyway, I also looked at tickets to see Billy Joel at Madison Square Gardens (throwback to my childhood), tickets to see the Daily Show with Trevor Noah (saw him in Atlanta and he was AMAZING!), tickets to attend The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and tickets to see Saturday Night Live. Apparently, it's complicated to get tickets to many of these shows and the Billy Joel concert is sold out. *sigh* I might still buy tickets from StubHub or from a third party, but we will see.

I also made my way through Lonely Planet's 2017 guide to New York City. In that, they recommended things like seeing the opera at the Lincoln Center (Madam Butterfly) or taking advantage of a free night at the Guggenheim (currently offering an exhibit on Jackson Pollack).

Point being, there are a lot of options in NYC and I just have to make up my mind as to what I want to do.

Of course, while I'm looking at all of that, my husband mentioned spending each day of our trip exploring all five bureaus of New York City. But what is there to do in Queens? Brooklyn? the Bronx? And with three out of four nights booked in Manhattan, wouldn't it be hard to explore so much of New York City?

I looked at traveling out of the city to the Hamptons (a six-hour drive) and to Brighton Beach (apparently, heavily Russian). I even looked at exploring Coney Island in the off-season. And as far as car rentals? From what I've seen, it's approximately $100 a day! But at least you get a luxury car in that deal? It's just a shockingly high sticker price compared to the $40 car rental I had from EWR for four days driving to Atlanta just a few a weeks ago. (Enterprise ended up charging us $200 which I'm currently having to fight. ARGHH!!)

Anyway, so Trip #3

has been a pain in the neck.

Complications from booking my NYC flight meant that I moved a Saturday night stay in New Orleans to a Thursday night stay. On Thanksgiving night. Meaning my husband and I have a 6.5-hour drive on Thanksgiving night to New Orleans after visiting family. ARGH. And it's all because I misread a date. (I thought a Saturday night was actually a Sunday night on a nonrefundable hotel room and freaked about how I didn't have any extra holiday time, so I called to ask the hotel to move it. And they did. Point being: you shouldn't try to plan trips at 5am in the morning. You will make a mistake.)

Aside from that screw-up, I haven't really done much planning. I have two more hotel nights that need booking, I need to find a good place to hear jazz, and I just need to start putting the whole itinerary into Visit A City, so that I can get a better idea of times. (How big is New Orleans, really? How much of it will we be able to explore in a weekend? Is parking a problem?)

Now, for Trip #4

London prices are sneaking up on me and my stress limit is hitting its max. Now I'm considering Hawai'i instead. I've been there. I kind of know what I'm doing – Airbnb, sit on the beach and relax, eat banana bread and pineapple. I mean it's an easy peasy trip. Aside from the flights, I think we could do it rather cheaply. And I just got credit card offers from Hawaiian airlines for 50,000 points. Can we travel to Hawaii for 50,000 points? Apparently not from Atlanta. So is it worth it? I'm still working that part out.

I want to go to London, but I also want to have the time to plan a successful trip to London. Half of the so-very-helpful can-I-hug-you-all-right-now comments I've read from you all have me desperately wanting to go to London and do it right. If I start planning now for next year, maybe I would be able to do it right.

Anyway, hope everyone is doing well. I've been sick, so I've gotten behind on responding to comments (again), but I will catch up one day, I hope. In fact, I think being tired (and sick) is what has led to so many of my recent complications with planning as well as my consideration of choosing a relaxing beach vacation over a city one for December. I haven't booked plane tickets yet, though so I may change my mind again. Who knows?

When making big decisions, do you spend a lot of time planning out every aspect (perhaps months, days, or hours in advance)? Or do you live by the seat of your pants? Would you rather sit on the beach or explore a big city during the Christmas holidays?