Work At Home Musings

I can’t believe that it is time for me to really sit down and plan out my summer vacation again. I have to start early since I need to find really good airfares to California. While we considered Branson vacation packages, we really wanted to see friends and family again.

This year, I am going to try and make a three legged trip. That requires flying into one airport and out of a different airport. I always try my luck online first before contacting the airlines for this type of trip because sometimes using different airlines for each leg ends of being cheaper. But, the search is much more difficult. I have the price to a somewhat reasonable range, but am hoping that February will bring some better airline deals!

I am already planning a family reunion vacation to California this year, but I am also thinking that a short vacation down to the Carolinas might be fun as well. First, it is drivable for me and second, I would love to explore that area. I have already check out vacation rentals at www.carolinadesigns.com and some of them look fantastic!

Who wouldn’t want to vacation right on the beach! Some of the homes have plenty of bedrooms so that more than one family could share.

I live on the East Coast, my sister lives on the West Coast. We love to vacation out west, while my sister, loves to do Florida vacations. So we compromise. Kind of. Most of the time, I travel to the west. All of my other family members live out there so that is where we vacation most of the time.

Every once in a while, my sister gets the hankering to visit Florida and Walt Disney World. Since we live in New Jersey, this is some what closer for us, but still can be expensive to buy five airline tickets. Driving is an option, but then that takes up two days of valuable vacation time.

It is difficult for us to do more than one vacation a year, so it is either west or east. Tough decision!

Today, my nine year old daughter played two soccer games. The first one was great, they won 1-0. The second game was played in the miserable rain! The ended up losing 3-0 to a much bigger and older team, so I think they did well.

We just can’t seem to get a break from the rain here in New Jersey. I originally grew up in California, and now I am longer for a more desert climate. Las Vegas sounds good right about now. I could stay in the Riviera hotel and Casino, which is just gorgeous. The hotel has four towers which surround a beautiful pool. The movie Casino was shot there as well as other movies and television shows.

I would love to be able to dry off and spend a week at the Riviera!

The first week of my vacation is over and it went super fast! Unfortunately, I am going to have to wait until I get home to post some good pictures, but here is where we stayed the first week:

The home was right on the golf course in Kahler Glen (near Leavenworth, Washington). We were able to go horseback riding, tubing and visit the cute Bavarian town of Leavenworth. We also picked up some Turkish Delight from the Applet Cotlet store in Cashmere (more about that delicious candy later)!

I am finally on vacation and blogging to you from the great state of Washington! The trip was pretty uneventful but my husband and I had to travel on separate airlines due to the cost and I got to travel with the two young ones by myself. They were pretty well behaved though.

My husband almost didn’t make his connecting flight as they had given away his seat to someone else. I think if he had been traveling with one of those indestructible Zero Halliburton briefcases instead of the soft sided one he was carrying, I think he would have bonked a few heads!

I hate the last minute preparations for vacation! I get so stressed out that I feel like I am hopped up on Phentermine or caffeine. I also think that I will forget things and I do make lists, but sometimes I forget to put something on the list!

Fortunately, we are only traveling to Seattle, so I know that can buy whatever I forget. Still, it stresses me out! In fact, I had a dream last night that we arrived at the airport at 5:15pm when our flight was due to leave at 3:00pm!! Aggh!

I have mentioned before that I would like to visit Branson Missouri at least once in my lifetime. I recently came across a vacation site that offers Branson vacation packages. For example, they have a Family Package that offers 4 days/3 nights at the Presidential Condo, plus tickets to three great events. The total price for family of four is $925. Not a bad deal. If you just want to travel their with your one other person, you can get a similar package for just $423.

Since there is so much to do in Branson, I don’t think 4 days might be long enough! They have museums, water rides, go cart track, miniature golf courses, caves, shows, golfing and of course, SHOPPING! They also have some famous headliners with their own shows - Andy Williams, Bill Medley, Bobby Vinton, Gaitlin Brothers, Mickey Gilley, Oak Ridge Boys and even Tony Orlando! If country music is not your thing, you can go to an Elvis Show, a show with a tribute to 60s music, or other varieties of shows.

I have one last item on my vacation list to do - car rental. Renting a car has been such a pain. It has become harder and harder to find good vacation deals for rental cars. I don’t need a really large car, but when you add in all the fees, the price is quite hefty. If you want to take the car out of state, you will paying either additional fees or a cost per mile.

What is the best company for car rental deals?

Has anyone ever had their teen travel alone on an airplane? I am planning on having my teenage daughter fly by herself twice this summer (both one way trips). I plan on getting her some travel supplies, such as a travel wallet that will hold her boarding pass, etc. I don’t think that she will have any problems, but I just want to make sure that she has everything that she needs and knows what she should be doing!