Gettin’ Carried Away

Happy Halloween!

It’s no secret that fall is my favorite season. Naturally, I enjoy Halloween, as well. I love to watch terrifying movies (even though I’m easily scared by the smallest noise), and I always have fun putting up scary decorations. Most of all, though, I live for the costumes. Over the years, I’ve dressed up as a lot of characters: Jasmine from Aladdin, a referee, Devil Wears Prada. However, I think that my costume for Halloween 2009 trumps all of my past outfits.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Carmen Sandiego, let me give you a brief back story, courtesy of an amazing vocal group, Rockapella.

Well, she sneaks around the world from Kiev to Carolina.
She’s a sticky-fingered filcher from Berlin down to Belize.
She’ll take you on a ride on a slow boat to China.
Tell me, where in the world is… Carmen Sandiego?

Essentially, Carmen, and her merry band of crooked followers, travel the globe, stealing famous landmarks, paintings, sculptures and more. She was the subject of an old computer game that taught young kids geography. You had to follow clues and chase her around the globe to secure the loot and a warrant before you could arrest her. For example, a clue could be: “I think she was headed towards Montpelier, the capital of the East Coast state.” Then, you’d head to Vermont to keep the chase going.

I first played it on an old Apple Mac (one that had a black screen with green lettering and used actual floppy disks) during my computer class in grammar school. Eventually, the game was made available for our home PC (an IBM at the time), and I played it religiously. It also evolved into a TV show that was on every day, Monday through Friday.

Being an avid traveler, I don’t know why I never thought to be Carmen Sandiego. She may be a thief, and a fictional character, but she has traveled the globe more times than I can count. Another lyric from her theme song reads, “She go from Nashville to Norway, Bonaire to Zimbabwe, Chicago to Czechoslokvaia and back!” Aside from trying to lift iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben, she’s my idol. And so, for Halloween 2009, I dressed up as the “double-dealing diva” known as Carmen Sandiego.

It never fails that I fall ill before a trip. For instance, take this post I wrote earlier this year. I was headed to New Orleans, but before I traded the Windy City for the Big Easy, my hometown gave me a lovely parting gift: a horrible cold.

I had always been told by fellow travelers and by friends in the medical field that a sick person (especially one with a head cold) should really try to avoid flying. I already had a lot of pressure constricting my sinuses, so a drastic chance in the air pressure outside my body could really do some damage. I once flew over nine hours from France to Germany to the United States while nursing the sniffles, so I thought I’d take my chances with the measly two-and-a-half-hour plane ride from Illinois to Louisiana.

On BOTH occasions, I stepped off the plane with an immediate ear infection. The pain was… immense. I couldn’t yawn or swallow without an excruciating, stabbing pain bursting in my ear. The ache slowly faded as the days wore on, and when I returned home, I bought some Earplanes to help with any future discomfort. They worked! However, my most recent sickness before my latest trip was a little different from the common cold, and I ended up having to change my flight and cancel a night at the hotel. And, aside from some extra fees, making the necessary changes was… smooth sailing.

I’ve been under the weather for a little while. Two weeks ago, I started noticing a little tickle in my throat. I just kept drinking water and it eventually went away. As the week went on, I found it increasingly difficult to sleep, and I woke up every single day with a dry, scratchy throat. It’s happened to me before when the weather starts changing from warm to cold to warm and back again in Chicago, so I didn’t read too much into it. When I started coughing a little bit about nine days ago, I shrugged it off and kept on truckin’.

My sickness eventually evolved into a sore throat, body aches and wavering fever. I thought it might be the flu, so I kept up with the fluids, took some meds every four hours and alternated hot and cold drinks for my sore throat. Nothing helped. I had to call off work twice, and I eventually made my way to the ER because the pain was just too unbearable. Turns out, I was a little dehydrated and had contracted rapid strep throat. My throat was almost completely closed up… pretty gross, I know. I was supposed to leave for New York that night, but I was in no condition to travel.

First, I logged onto Southwest.com to try and change my flight. It was actually really easy to do, since I booked in online. If you book a flight over the phone, you’ll have to change the reservation over the phone, as well, if needed. Anyway, I chose a flight for Friday morning. All I had to pay was the difference in price. Obviously, a flight is going to be a little pricey if you purchase it the day before it leaves, but I was happy that Southwest didn’t slap me with any additional fees. Now, onto the hotel.

I booked through Priceline.com, because the site had an amazing deal. However, Priceline has this ‘No Cancelation’ policy, so I couldn’t just cancel the first night of my stay. I could, however, call the hotel and tell them I would not be coming until the next day, and my room would still be waiting for me whenever I did arrive that following day. So, while I still had to pay for a night on which I didn’t even sleep at the hotel, I didn’t have to fork over any extra fees.

In the end, my advice is to make sure you read through the cancellation/changes policies enforced by a given airline, hotel or agency. While you may lose out on money, you can still avoid paying hefty fees.

First, I’d like to say… HAPPY OCTOBER! My favorite month of the year has finally arrived. And while some people in Chicago don’t appreciate the windy weather or the dark, rainy days, I’m more than happy to embrace the crisp chill in the air and break out my collection of fleece jackets and blankets.

I know I’ve been MIA again for a short time, but it’s only because I’ve been working long hours and saving up lots of money for a future Eurotrip. But just because I’ve been away from the blogosphere, it doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about you and the  rest of the travel world. If anything, spending so much time at work got me thinking about how I could stretch my travel dollar. And now that I finally have some time to get back to the blog world, I’d love to share my thoughts with you.

Here are some of my best tips for stretching your travel dollar:

Try to book your travel dates for weekdays. Leave on a Thursday and come back Monday. Booking for mid-week travel is even better sometimes. Naturally, people are more likely to fly on the weekend to avoid taking vacation time away from work. I have found that Wednesday happens to be one of the least busiest days at the airport, especially in the morning.

Play with the search options. I’ll fly any airline that gives me the best deal. For a long time, that was American Airlines. I’ve flown AA to London several times now. After you plug in your destination and dates, the “Schedule” option has automatically been chosen for you. However, each time I search for a flight, I always choose the “Price & Schedule” option. This way, you’ll see all the prices for each flight that leaves (and returns) on the day you want. And sometimes, that Economy Super Saver price is amazingly low!

Forget the five-star rated. Luxury hotels and restaurants? Forget them! Staying in a hostel is certainly cheaper. Even if you’re not that adventurous, most hostels offer private rooms, too. Plus, there’s nothing like meeting fellow travelers and swapping stories and recommendations. Sometimes, I think that you may be paying more for the service when you’re dining and bedding at the regal, ritzy places.

Make every penny count. It’s fine to spend a little bit of extra cash while you’re on vacation. But only open your wallet for things you really enjoy. Love the sights? Hit all of the free attractions and only some of the ones that require paid admission. Some places ask for a small donation. Make sure to give something (nothing less than a dollar/euro/pound/etc). If you’re a total foodie, skip the shopping. If you’re a shopper, don’t buy anything you can’t fit in your bags. You do not want to pay to ship something home.