I have moved from my physical office on State Street to a world of computers, Blackberry’s and phones that are not at all sure how and where they are suppose to ring and also seem to be dropping calls. The world of technology is still a mystery to me and I think at my age I’m on the downward slope of the learning curve. It’s interesting how a dot, dash, or slash communicates something totally different to the computer than I had in mind. And having to learn a completely new airline computer system has been a daunting challenge. For over 20 years I have worked on Apollo, the United Airlines network. Travel of America uses Sabre, a division of American Airlines. The only saving grace in the whole mess is the city abbreviations are the same in both computer systems: LAX is still Los Angeles, YUL is still Montreal and SMF is still Sacramento. (I always remembered that abbreviation because for many years I called the people working in our state capital Smurfs--little blue men from outer space.) But that is about the only thing that is similar!! Thank you for you patience during the changeover. If I’ve “dropped” your call, it isn’t that I don’t want to talk to you, it’s somewhere in cyberspace trying to find the right “static IP address.”In many ways it’s been lovely. I can now take more time with individual clients, share a cup of coffee going over documents and have fun planning vacations and putting together new and different itineraries. With my daughter, Erin, getting married over the Labor Day weekend, it has definitely given me more time to help her and do a lot of the foot work. In June, Erin started her third year of residency in OB/GYN at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. As a Captain in the U.S. Army, Erin gets very little time off and since she is getting married in Los Angeles, I have done a lot of the calling, planning and running. All mothers of the bride will certainly understand!!!
I now sit in front of my world map and dream. Where next? I know people think I have been everywhere, but there are still lots and lots of places I haven’t been and would love to visit. I haven’t been to Japan. I haven’t been to Transylvania to see Dracula’s Castle. I haven’t been to Greenland, Iceland, or Norway. There is still much of South America I would love to see plus a Gorilla Trek in Rwanda is still a dream of mine. That actually may be possible in August, 2010. Mostly it’s been my knees preventing me from going. According to my daughter, Erin, who was on a trek four years ago when living in Uganda, it is rough terrain and can take from one to eight hours to get to the gorilla families. But, come mid-September I will have my first bionic knee and hopefully my second in December. By April, I’ll be ready for my Turkey group (visiting Cappadocia will be a breeze) and by August I’ll be ready for Kenya, with a side trip to Rwanda.
Several months ago, before my trip to Australia in April, I wrote an article on luggage and bought some new lightweight luggage for the trip. Since then I have received several calls about the luggage, asking me the brand name and where I purchased it. I purchased it through the Internet: www.DiscountLuggage.com. The name of the luggage is Hawa SUB -0-G.
It is lightweight. The 26” case weighs only 5.5 pounds compared to the same size luggage by Pathfinder, which weights 13.5 pounds. However, I did find some problems with the lighter suitcase and would not recommend it. I found the biggest problem to be no handle on the side. Usually a suitcase has a handle on top, along with a pullout handle to help with rolling the suitcase, plus a handle on the side to pick it up to put in a trunk or on a train, etc. When a suitcase weighs 50 pounds I found it awkward to pick it up by the top handle, particularly if you are short. Even at the airline counter, when I put it on the scale to check in, it was awkward for them to put it on the conveyor belt without the side handle.
There are other brands of lightweight luggage. The LA Times did an article on the Hawa luggage and I though it looked good. It does look good, it just isn’t practical for me or anyone under 5’5.”
I’ve also been asked about the next Bill Handel trip. We really haven’t set a date. Most likely it will be a river cruise between Amsterdam and Budapest in June, 2010. I should know more in the next few weeks and will put it on my blog--www.WhereInTheWorldIsIlene.blogspot.com. I’m also putting a link on my blog to Travel of America’s new website. They have some awesome specials on cruises. They even have a rail/cruise package for those people who like to cruise, but not fly to get to the cruise.
Speaking of cruises, even when we book your air as part of your cruise package, you still have to pay for checked luggage at the airline counter. Very few airlines have free checked luggage. Southwest, Alaska and Jet Blue were still allowing a free checked bag, but don’t quote me! Check with the airline before going to the airport. Rules and regulations literally change overnight. This topic came up several weeks ago when some clients were surprised they had to pay to check their suitcases. Get use to it --I don’t seen it changing anytime soon.
Another reminder. If you are going out of the country please call your credit card company. With all the fraud going on they want to make sure you are the one using your credit card. If all of a sudden a charge is made in Bogotá, Columbia, and no one notified the company of your vacation itinerary, I guarantee they will not let the charge go through. Save yourself time, call your credit card company before leaving home.
Take care over the Labor Day weekend!
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