Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Prepareing for our Trip

 As you can imagine, Todd and I are getting more and more excited for our trip to Florida.  I have received an itinerary from the wholesaler that we won this trip through, and it is making the trip even more real.  We were informed that each room has a furnished balcony with a water view!  Not to mention plush robes are provided and a microwave and fridge in our room! 

I am still working on the parking situation for Cleveland Hopkins Airport.  I am torn as to who to choose for parking the car for nearly 4 days.

Todd and I will both have a carry-on to help save money.  Otherwise, we would have to pay $25 per bag we check.  When we went on our honeymoon in 2007, the airline lost our luggage. Luckily it was on the way HOME! We don’t want that to happen on this trip, nor do we want to pay to check a bag.  Todd is planning on taking a leather duffel bag on this trip and I am planning on taking our backpack. 

We have several rolling carry-ons, but they are not very convenient, in my opinion.  Plus, we like to take our backpack when we travel anyways, so this will cut down on what we take.  I like taking a backpack on our daily excursions because we can put snacks, camera, our Garmin and any souveneirs we pick up along the way…on our back!  I am not taking my purse at all. 

I have decided that I am going to K-I-S-S on this trip.  I am going to be packing the following in my backpack for the trip: 2 pairs of shorts, 3 shirts, 1 pair of PJ’s, 3 pairs of panties, 1 extra bra (yes, I wear my bras more than once between washes), 2 pairs of socks, slip on shoes, toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, hairspray and deodorant rock), iPod and camera.  When we get to the hotel, I will put everything in the dresser drawer, and we’ll have an empty backpack for our daily excursions.  I am not taking my laptop on this trip (Todd is bringing his NetBook) nor am I taking any books.  A lot of times, we pack so much into a day, we don’t have time to read!  By the time we get back to the hotel, I am exhausted and go to bed.  If I DO have time to read, I put some books on my iPod in case I want to read on the plane or at the beach.  If I want to check my emails, I have my iPod, or if I want to write a blog, I have the iPod or NetBook. 

When I mentioned to Todd that the rooms have a fridge and microwave, I was thinking we’d go pick up some snacks at the local Walmart (2 miles away from the hotel.)  I was thinking a nice bottle of wine, some popcorn, apples, granola bars and poptarts (breakfast is not provided at the hotel from what I understand.)  Todd brought up an even better idea.  He is talking about ordering a few large portions of Chinese or Mexican take-out and taking it to the hotel for mini-meals when we are there.  It would be a lot less expensive to eat at the hotel than to eat at all of these nice restaurants.  We will also bring my Kleen Canteen so we can fill it up with water and not have to pay for $1+ pop.  Another thing to put in the backpack on our excursions!

When we travel, we like to eat a continental breakfast at the hotel (usually for free!) and then we pay for a late lunch/early dinner.  This normally holds us over until the next morning.  That will change on this trip.  I am thinking poptarts or oatmeal will be eaten in the morning before we head out of the hotel, then we’ll have our snacks as needed and then eat a 1:00 lunch or so.  Maybe a snack/mini-meal when we get back to the hotel.

Do you have any other suggestions for us to help save money on this trip?

3 comments:

  1. Sounds like you have things all figured out! sounds like a great trip! Hope you have a great time!!!

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  2. How about picking up fruit or veggies to eat raw in the room?

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  3. Good call, Practical Parsimony. :-) We may have to do just that. And hubby found out, WalMart is not 2 miles away, it is 0.3 miles away. Even better! :-)

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