Seattle....here we are!

We've been in Seattle for a week and enjoying every minute of the beautiful, crisp weather!  Arrived last Saturday evening in time to attend Dick's 50th class reunion for Franklin High School -- I'll post some pictures on my facebook page.  Mary K booked her flight shortly before the trip but saved more money than we did!

Travel Tip #1 -- When planning airline flights, be sure to check one way fares vs. round trip fares.  Many times we've found it cheaper to book one way to our destination and book another one way back home.  Sometimes you'll even have better choices for connecting cities, departure times, etc.
Even booking late, Mary K managed to spend less on her one way ticket than we spent on half of our round trip ticket to Seattle!

Friday, 9/21
As we continue with our blog, you'll see many travel tips -- ideas we've gleaned from years of travel -- and we'd love to hear your ideas, too. Just comment in our blog and let us know!

When preparing for our trip, there are several tips we use:

Travel Tip #2 -- We only use a carry-on luggage with wheels (be sure the check the size allowed by the airline you're using).  We also carry a large satchel-type bag that our purse fits in...remember you can take l carry-on luggage and l personal item.....the satchel is our personal item but holds much more than your purse.  You'll save the expensive check-baggage fee and you'll also save time in picking up your checked bag....and crossing your fingers that it's there!  This trip is lasting almost 3 weeks and we have only the carry-on luggage and the satchel bag -- it can be done and we'll show you how!

                                                                                     

     1)  We always roll up as many clothes as possible -- you'll be amazed at the room you save.

     2)   Put a fold-up duffle bag or a cloth shopping bag with wheels in your carry-on luggage.  It
           takes up little room in your luggage, but you'll be happy to have it, especially if you like to
           shop (we love to shop!) and will bring vacation souvenirs home.  When you pack on your 
           last day of vacation, you now have 3 pieces of luggage (if our next tip...disposable clothing...
           doesn't free up enough room for souvenirs)!  You will have to check your carry-on luggage,
           which still gives you 2 "easy travel" bags to fill up and carry on!  Check out our carry-on
            luggage photo to see how easy you can travel through the airport with all of your luggage!

                                                                               


                                                                 

                                                                                   

Travel Tip #3 -- We believe in "disposable clothing"!  This is one of our favorites tips and it works
wherever we travel, even on our trips to Europe!  Honestly, don't we all have shirts, slacks, etc. (yes...even underwear) that are well-used and ready to be tossed?!  Well, throughout the year, keep a box or basket handy at home where you can toss these items (label it "travel clothes") and you're ready to pack for your next trip! Wear these "disposable" items, on vacation, and then just toss them!  With each "toss", you've just freed up another space in your suitcase for a souvenir!  Of course, not all of your clothes will be "disposable"...we bring our favorite clothing items (for all occasions) that we would never "toss", but those "disposables" are one of our best ideas!
                          
 
Saturday, 9/22
A couple of things to remember when you're at the airport:

Travel Tip#4 -- Before going through airport security, be sure to take off any jewelry and belts. Security usually requires jewelry, belts, etc to be removed.  It saves time at security, to tuck your jewelry in a pouch at the top of your carry-on so you can easily retrieve it as soon as you exit security.

Travel Tip #5 -- If your flight is delayed for 3 or more hours (Mary K was stuck in Atlanta) you're entitled to a meal ticket from most airlines.....but you have to ask for it!

Back to our vacation....at the Palm Beach Airport, we thought we saw someone we recognized....a guitarist with a rock band? an actor?  It was driving us nuts!! Then we thought of the song, "Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places"......and the movie "Urban Cowboy" and realized the stranger was Scott Glenn, the actor!  (He was the bad guy in the movie but looked pretty good to us!)  Keep your eyes open in the airport....you never know when you might see someone famous!

We arrived in Seattle and stayed at the Marriott Courtyard and quickly changed clothes to attend Dick's reunion.  Lots of old friends, good food and beverages -- what more could we ask?

                                                                   

Sunday, 9/23
 Sunday we left our Marriott Courtyard Hotel near South Center (very nice, by the way, and convenient to the airport) and drove to Seattle to get on the ferry to Bainbridge Island and on to Poulsbo.

                                                                               

                                                                   

We're staying at the Poulsbo Inn (as we do every year) and it's become our home away from home.  The staff is wonderful -- Courtney and Leona at the front desk are so friendly and helpful -- the breakfast in the morning is great (waffles and biscuits & gravy.....yum) and we're comfy in a suite with full kitchen, 2 queen beds and tv in the bedroom and sofa bed and tv in the nice-sized living room.  We especially like the wall heater in the bathroom which not only makes the room toasty after a long shower but leaves the mirror shiny -- no condensation and no constant wipe-downs!

                                                                  

While it's still fresh in my mind, thought I'd tell you about our cruise last month.  It was very special because Dick and I took Nicki and Lincoln who's 10 on the Carnival Destiny for a 4 day cruise.

Again, we made our cruise reservations online at vacationstogo.com -- this is a terrific site because you choose the time of year you'd like to travel and the place you want to go -- they'll put up a list of various cruise lines and a list of prices for each type of cabin, special perks that might be available, etc.  It saves a lot of searching the internet for the best cruise prices.  Place a call (we ask for Esley Malone -- he's our "go-to" guy) and let them handle the rest,.

We sailed from Miami on August 16 and Lincoln couldn't believe the size of the ship. He'd read all the info. and memorized the deck plans on the Carnival web-site (he knew exactly how to find pizza 24 hours a day from his stateroom) but the size of the ship still amazed him.

Our first destination was Key West the next day and we spent time at Mel Fisher's Museum.  A short walk from the cruise dock, it was filled with lots of gold and silver coins, bars and jewelry and there were interesting maps and stories about sunken ships.  Most of the ships sunk off the Treasure Coast of Florida -- and that's where Dick and I live.

 

 

 

After doing a little shoppiing (Nicki and I loved the Key West Aloe Shop -- especially the shampoo and conditioner). we met up with Grandpa Dick at the Hog Breath Saloon.

 

Back to the ship -- and it as "lobster night" in the dining room - Yay!  Linc had lobster AND prime rib -- the food was some of the best we've ever had on a cruise ship.  Loved the chocolate melting cake -- it's great with double vanillla ice cream.

 

 

Next day we were in Cozumel and Grandpa did a good job conversing in Spanish with he cabdriver -- in other words, the guy was nice and Dick's a good tipper so the driver put up with him.,

 

We stopped at a beautiful shop right on the water with a lovely open-air restaurant.  That's where Nicki and I had our first margaritas of the trip and Lincoln had the largest pina colada (minus alcoholl of course) he'd ever seen.  I think this was actually the highlight of his trip.

 

 

Our 3rd day was "at sea" so we spent lots of interesting time exploring the ship.  Grandpa and Linc played mini-golf and it was also pool time -- Lincoln was ready to try out the giant slide.  He also had a laser tag game scheduled with the other kids aboard.

 

 

At dinner that night, the waiter brought a birthday cake to our table and asked Dick to sign for it.  (My birthday was just a coiple of days away.)  When the waiter opened the lid on the cake box, the inscription was "Happy Birthday Richard".  We all laughted at the mistake but still wished Grandpa a happy March birthday!

 

 

After dinner, Nicki and Lincoln need to pack -- we'd be arriving back in Miami in the morning -- so Dick and I went to the casino (no luck -- surprised?)  When we got back to our cabin, Nicki and Lincoln were already there and had decorated our cabin with a Happy Birthday banner and balloons -- and another birthday cake!!  This time, it said "Happy Birthday Grandma".  I love dessert and now there were two cakes -- I was in heaven.  Evidently the cruise line had a little mix-up -- Nicki had ordered my cake on-line and double checked it when we boarded the ship -- how we got the "Richard" cake we'll never know but it's something none of us will ever forget.  Thanks, Nicki and Lincoln for a really great birthday surprise!

 

 

 

 

The next morning we were back in Miami where Mike picked us up after spending some time on business for the Sweetwater Organic Coffee Roasters and at our house.  They brought Steve - Lincoln's little dog -- with them and Aunt Mary K dog-sat Stevie while Mike was working.  Don't know who was happier to see each other -- Stevie or Lincoln!

 

Our next vacation is on 9/22/12 - Dick and I will be flying to Seattle to visit Scott and his family in Poulsbo.  This year Mary K is coming with us....her first trip to Seattle and I know she'll love it as mich as I do.

It'll be a quick trip from SeaTac to our hotel where we need to quickly shower and change clothes and be ready to attend Dick's 50th class reunion.

Next day we'll take the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island and drive to Poulsbo.  We always stay at the Poulsbo Inn which is perfect for us -- fully equipped kitchen, pool, hot tub, super breakfast and a free shuttle to the Clearwater Casino....what more could we want?

Once we get settled at the Inn, we'll visit Scott and Kristina and, of course, we're anxious to see the grandkids.  We'll be in the Seattle area until October 8th so Mary K and I will be going back and forth on the ferry for sightseeing, the food tour at Pikes Place market, and shopping of course. 

What would you like us to do in Seattle?

We're two sisters who have travelled throughout the world and want to share with you some of our best travel ideas, hotels, locations, things to do in different cities, etc.  We have a marvelous time travelling together.....and we have just as much fun planning each trip. 

We love to find the best vacations but at bargain prices and we're here to share that information with you.  We've taken many cruises throughout the Caribbean and Europe.  We've found wonderful hotels at great prices and we particularly love to shop the markets in Europe for terrific and sometimes crazy items.

We're happy to share our travel journals and pictures with you and will assist you in having great vacations with fond memories.   

We're dedicating this blog to our Mother who introduced us to fun and exciting first class travel on a budget.