Category: Tips and Tricks

Carnival & Midway Games: The Science Of The Scam, And How To Win

‘Tis the season for local carnivals, fairs, festivals and lots of other events that, at least in the U.S., usually includes soft ice cream, corn dogs, kettle corn, funnel cake, fried stuff on a stick, and “spin and puke” rides. Probably in that order. 😉

When I was a kid, the things I loved the most at the carnival were the games of chance. Whether it was squirting water into a clown’s mouth, aiming a whiffle ball to land in a red cup or trying to break balloons with darts, I was positive that I could beat the odds and win that 3’ plush Snoopy I had my eye on. Unfortunately, although I spent a whole lot of money trying, I never did win that Snoopy. But I did win a working kid-sized blender on a carnival roulette wheel once when I was about six or seven.

Continue reading “Carnival & Midway Games: The Science Of The Scam, And How To Win”

Planning for Intra-Europe Flights Was An OCD Nightmare Come True

I tend to plan obsessively over our trips, a fact I am sure Sharon will confirm for you in 3..2..1… (Note from Sharon….Huh? What? Oh. Him? OCD? Um….what’s the word I’m thinking of? H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks YESSSSSS!)

I’d rather worry about something ahead of time, possibly unnecessarily, instead of dealing with an avoidable problem while on vacation in a foreign country. I’ll make sure we have the proper credit cards, arrange to have cash ahead of time or know where the ATM will be when we arrive and will have planned how we’re going to get to and from all of the locations on our trip.

Planning the travel parts of the trip is the easy part. I just know how we’re going to get to the airport and make sure that our bags are within the weight limits. I have a luggage scale that works to keep us within the guidelines.

BalanzzaMiniscale

But what if you don’t know what the guidelines are?

Continue reading “Planning for Intra-Europe Flights Was An OCD Nightmare Come True”

How To Save On Airfare With Skiplagged, And Why We Don’t Use It

Don’t get me wrong with the article’s title. I have nothing against Skiplagged or the service they provide. Our reasons for not using it are solely based on our travel preferences. Your Mileage May Vary. 

For those of you not familiar with Skiplagged, they started as a website that helped you find cheaper airfares by taking advantage of a system referred to as hidden city ticketing.

What’s Skiplagged?

Instead of trying to explain it, here’s the snippet from their website:

Continue reading “How To Save On Airfare With Skiplagged, And Why We Don’t Use It”

Be Careful, Flights Can Become Un-Delayed

Sharon and I have recently experienced this situation on two separate occasions, so I’m sharing it with everyone. Not knowing that this type of flight time change is possible can result in you missing your flight and needing to be rebooked on a later flight, hours to days later than you intended to travel.

What am I talking about when I say a flight can be un-delayed? Well, I’m sure there’s a more technically accurate term for this, but I’m not an expert, just a regular passenger. It’s easiest to explain by showing what happened to us on a recent flight from Orlando to New York – LaGuardia on American Airlines.

Continue reading “Be Careful, Flights Can Become Un-Delayed”

Oscar Munoz Is That Bad, More On WDW’s New Late Night Event, Avoiding Jet Lag, Hotel & Airline Reviews, & More!

Happy Thursday to all of our travel friends, both near and far! Here are some articles we’ve read from other bloggers (and other sources) that we think you may like, as well, so we’re passing them along.

Continue reading “Oscar Munoz Is That Bad, More On WDW’s New Late Night Event, Avoiding Jet Lag, Hotel & Airline Reviews, & More!”