Packing for a trip, any trip, long or short has so many pitfalls. This latest scare has just made it more difficult but I refuse to give in and NOT TRAVEL. Take the case of checked vs. non-checked luggage. I always checked most of my luggage and carried only a large purse on the plain. I hated schlepping all that stuff through airports when I had to stop at baggage for my large piece anyways. I would pack all my make-up and hair products in checked luggage so would just sail through security with a small notebook computer that I carried in my large purse and nothing else to hold me back. But then the checked baggage fees put a crimp in that smooth plan so Chuck and I have learned to take one large carry on if the trip is less than 1week and does include dressy cloths because of the cost of checking baggage. I am much more successful than Chuck thanks to CHICOS clothing brand, but I did have to scale back on my shoe choices and amounts, and any women can agree that is the most difficult decision. I got pretty darn good with the make-up but the hair products did pose a challenge. 

Last September we were lucky enough to actually grab a $9 fare on Spirit Airlines. After taxes and other obscure fess the cost per trip was $20.00 each way. Our checked luggage also traveled for $20.00 each way so it cost our luggage as much as it cost u s to fly to and from Florida. But now it is very important to follow the TSA advice on how to pack carry on liquids. I also read this site completely and found some weird items that are not allowed- A Snow Globe could be a weapon of mass destructions so please read the site if you have any questions. Finally, I think the advice on when you should get to the airport is right on. Chuck would get there 2 hrs plus for domestic travel and I would grumble and whine and finally got him down to I hr pre flight. Now this. The Wayne County Airport Authority says no need to get there 2, 3, 4 hrs earlier. All those people afraid of missing their flights and getting there 6 hrs earlier over the holiday travel were the people who were jamming up the system. So, follow the guideline and you will be fine. I will compromise with my husband, and get there 90 minutes but I will hold the line on the 2 hrs ahead of time. You can go to TSA.GOV for all the restrictions but here are a few from the TSA.GOV web site:

With certain exceptions for prescription and over-the-counter medicines, baby formula and breast milk, and other essential liquids, gels, and aerosols, the following rules apply to all liquids, gels, and aerosols you want to carry through a security checkpoint.

1. All liquids, gels and aerosols must be in three-ounce or smaller containers. Larger containers that are half-full or toothpaste tubes rolled up are not allowed. Each container must be three ounces or smaller.
2. All liquids, gels and aerosols must be placed in a single, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag. Gallon size bags or bags that are not zip-top such as fold-over sandwich bags are not allowed. Each traveler can use only one, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bag.
3. Each traveler must remove their quart-sized plastic, zip-top bag from their carry-on and place it in a bin or on the conveyor belt for X-ray screening. X-raying separately will allow TSA security officers to more easily examine the declared items. 

Airport Status and Delay Information

       Check Airport Status and Delays

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Preparing to Fly

      Air Travel Tips & Information

• Safe Travel with Batteries and Devices
• Baggage Size Requirements
• What can you bring on board?
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        Passenger – Frequently Asked Questions

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Flying Safe

         Safety Record of Airlines/Aircraft

         Turbulence: Staying Safe

         Passenger Health and Safety

         Permitted/Prohibited Items (What you can or can’t take on board)

         More » Flying Safe Information

Flying with Children

         Child Restraint Systems

         Child Safety Brochure (PDF)

         More » Flying with Children Information

Flying with Pets

         Pets in the Passenger Cabin

         More » Flying with Pets Information

Also see: 

www.tsa.gov/

www.travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/index.jsp

And the fact that it now may be driven by the insurance companies and not the private citizen is somewhat nerve wracking. On the other hand in 10 years the USA will have trouble meeting the medial needs of all us aging boomers who refuse to fall apart , one joint at a time. It’s not for all, but combining my love of travel with my new knee does seem appealing. Recuperating in a five star hotel or condo in Royal Oak with the Travel PROF taking care of me makes me think. I have two brothers who live on the west coast and both have limited medical coverage. Both have been over seas (world travelers in their own right) for medical care and the oldest brother swears by the nurses in white uniforms and hats still (maybe they have not heard the hats are germ catchers- not just a pain it the …to wear all day). He travels to Thailand yearly for all his preventive health care and dental works, with wonderful results. I have studied this phenomenon extensively as a health care administrator and know that the hospitals are Joint Commissioned approved. You must do your home work though and know what you are getting into. Some of my foreign Medical physician friends though bring their aged parents to the USA and negotiate the same fee that Medicare pays for procedures-they say the saving are in the non-Medicare cliental. If I did not have insurance but paid everything in cash I would be tempted to look elsewhere for quality, affordable care. The “World is indeed flat”, it is a “global economy”, this indeed is another field of “outsourcing” but we, the USA still train the best physicians in the world. All the foreign hospital advertise “trained in the USA” but we also have the most expensive health care in the world, and it’s not gonna get any cheaper. So listen to the experts if you are going to go over seas, do your homework, buy the books, compare the prices, try to negotiate with your own stateside hospital, have a physician in the USA that will work with you when you come home, be prepared for the unexpected and remember YOU CAN’T SUE !!!! And sometimes the old saying-“ you get what you paid for” may ring true as well as “ there’s no place like home”!

Well- it was beautiful and warm on the first day in Vancouver. Vancouver and Seattle are the Northern routes jump off cities and Vancouver is beautiful. We visited Stanley Park (a must) and enjoyed the international feeling of this very tepid (weather wise year round) city for two days and nights. Then we boarded the Princess Ship for the north bound route along the inside passage to Alaska- thank goodness I don’t always follow the advice of my husband. I was glad I had all that warm gear- it was the rainiest and coldest summer Alaska had in 20 years.  But, as you can see from the photos- still amazing scenery to be had and the sun was out for out visit to the glaciers. We took a train up through White Horse Pass out of Skagway and went far into the Yukon for the day. There were the majestic mountains with snow, a dessert (go figure- must have had a spell of global warming 2mil years ago) large uninhabited blue green lakes, and we spotted eagles and a few black bears.  The day at the Hubbard Glacier the sun came out for about two hours- the water and glacier and ice that falls off and floats is actually blue green from all the sediment and the way the light reflects of it ( you geo and physiology types can look up the scientific explanation- for me- it was just pretty cool colors). The glacier is also always moving and making large sounds. We were lucky enough to see a “shooter” – which is a large boulder of ice that shoots up from underneath the water ( the glaciers are 300 feet below the water level also ) and when that happened I understood why the ships stay a mile away- that could have done Titanic  damage to the ship.  In Juneau we went whale watching one day in small rubber crafts ( do take the 40’ below parkas they offer you- don’t tough it out like the Travelprof. did) and those guides know exactly where the pods are for great viewing. You feel as if you can reach out and touch the whales. They seem to perform for you- breaching up and diving under. We also walked next to the glacier and viewed it from the bay – very close and up personal. They only thing I wanted to do but could not because of the rain and fog was the helicopter ride where you land on the glacier and can see the crevasse ( break’s in the ice). One glacier we saw was actually growing while one glacier in  the area was shrinking- jury still out on the global warming theory for me. All in all a great trip and I can’t wait to go back and get to Denali Park and try to see Mt. McKinley and more time in Anchorage.

(I think) something along the Pilates meets aerial yoga meets boot camp. They also have spinning classes, Pilates, yoga and an uninterrupted jogging track on a lower promenade deck- no more dodging sunbathers or lounges on upper levels tracks (or walking 50x’s around for one mile). They also moved the space from the top of the ships to the 5^th floor ( great idea because you get more ship motion the higher up and it was often a  challenge for me when the ship is rocking and I am on the treadmill- good for balance though if you can hang on).  They also changed the Life Boat Drill- very high tech- no mustering to stations outside and hanging around in bulky life preservers in the 90” heat but now sitting in an air conditioned lounge watching on large screen TV’s (we heard the Chairman of Royal Caribbean hated the Life Boat drills bit we also heard that it was lost revenue when you had to close the bars for an hour- may be a little of both) but it sure was nice.  Will write more when I get home.

I can’t wait to do the Germany Wine region at the harvest as the wine experts (of one I am not) refer to it.  They are a fun group and have taught me loads of info on wines, growing regions, the weather conditions, and of course the tastings of wine without being stuffy or snobbish. We enjoyed the first trip so much that we came home and formed a small group- 12 of us into an informal wine group- and surprise, surprise they all love to travel and I hope to get them blogging here soon. My friend Heidi visits Germany yearly as she has a sister there and she was the first friend (before my travels with the Professor) that I visited Germany with.  I do have to admit that we were the tourists that did Oktoberfest in Munich (and lost my wallet and passport in the Black Forest- another story another time) and needless to say had a great time in the beer tents. Neither of us could speak a word of German but sang along anyway.

Now, I love, love, love traveling by River Boats. They are small, elegant, intimate (130-160 guests who end up knowing each other well at the end of 10 days), travel up and down the rivers and get into the smaller towns in the countries. Most of the time they travel (sail?) at night but on the days that  they move during the day it is wonderful to sit up on the top deck and watch the countryside pass by, glass of wine in hand, and view all the castles and monasteries that were built a zillion years ago to defend the area. You can step right off the boat into the town squares, bike from town to town, or take the planned

( included in the price) daily shore excursion to the Heritage Castle, museum, vineyard, any other special attraction of the area. This will be my forth river boat trip. We have been twice on Uniworld and once on Viking River Cruise but can’t wait to try Avalon’s new River Boat.  We had friends (8 couples) who traveled on one of Avalon’s newest ships who did a two week Avalon trip last fall in Europe from Amsterdam to Budapest stopping at vineyards along the way.  Avalon has bikes that you can use and this was a very sporty group. I don’t know about wine tasting and biking from town to town (or was it vineyard to vineyard) but it had to all be good for the ol’heart muscle!  We were with the Taster’s Guild Wine group doing the Douro River in Portugal so missed going along but  that is another trip and another show coming up soon…