We’re back in Florida. A good time was had by all. We ran into a few glitches but everything worked out in the end. As you consider your next trip, you may wish to heed these few words of advice.
I always book rental cars as soon as I book my airfare. I make sure that everything may be canceled and I never pre-pay. When I booked a car for our latest trip, I ended up booking three different cars over a three-month period (through the same site). Since we were going to have the car for five days, I received a quote at a weekly rate. My first booking was for $302.00, the second for $280.00, and my final quote that I ended up paying was for $166.00. Moral: Shop till you drop.
We flew directly into Palm Springs. We have flown into Las Vegas on several occasions, rented a car, and made the four-hour drive after spending a day or two in Vegas. We typically spend a day or two at the tail end as well. Last year, and again this year, we flew to Palm Springs. Flying this way requires a connecting flight.
Ever since the airlines have started to charge for everything, we travel lighter. Our flights on this trip included a free carry-on bag and free personal item. When you have to make a connection, you have to move your bags from plane to plane. I’m getting too old for this. Moral: Pay the extra fee to check a bag so you don’t have to schlep your own.
Ruth and I have been very lucky on most flights. Ninety-nine percent of the time we are TSA Pre-Checked. That’s a good thing. We avoid having to disrobe prior to boarding. Since my knee replacement, I am still required to “stand on the yellow foot stencils”, “raise my hands above my head”, and “hold still”, so I can “move on through” and “stand off to the side.” For some unexplainable reason, my left shoulder always shows up as a trouble spot and needs to be “patted down”. On the morning of our trip home I woke up with a pain on the top of my ankle. When I went through the scanner, my foot needed to be checked too. “Off with your shoes so I can check your foot.” Moral: Learn to enjoy the pat downs.
We traveled through Houston on the trip west. We were scheduled to travel back through San Francisco. We checked in for our Wednesday morning flight which was ultimately delayed. The delay was going to cause us to miss our connection. We were left with a couple of choices. 1. Travel through San Francisco later that day, spend ten hours in the airport, and fly all night. 2. Wait a day, leave at 6:00 a.m. the next morning, travel through Houston, and arrive in Orlando at 3:15 p.m.. We chose option #2.
Spending an extra night required getting a room and renting another car for the day. We booked the room on-line before we left the airport. I also searched for a rental car. There were several choices for an “all in price” of $32.00. I didn’t book on line but instead, chose to allow the rental companies to hold a “bidding war” for my one day rental. I returned to the company that had just rented us a car for five days at $166.00. I explained my situation and asked for their best deal on a one day rental. (It was really only to be 18 hours.)
“My best rate is $68.50.”
“I can book it online for less than half of that.”
“Sorry sir, that’s the best I can do.”
“No deal.” I walked to another rental company fifteen feet away. They quoted the same “$68.50.”
I stepped back from both counters, went back on-line, rented a car for $32.00 and returned to my first lady at my original company.
“I just booked my car online. Here’s my reservation number.” I held my phone as she looked up the reservation.
“Good for you sir. May I have your license and a credit card?”
I got the car for less than half of the in-person price. Moral: On-line shopping is a good thing.
We enjoyed our “extra” day in Palm Springs, got up at 3:30 a.m., and returned to the airport. My ankle didn’t hurt on this day and my foot didn’t show up on the scanner when I went through the “yellow stencil, hands up, walk on through” drill. (They did need to pat down my shoulder.) I was wearing the same shoes but didn’t have to take them off. The only thing different was I had on a clean shirt and was wearing my jockey shorts inside out. (Which put the cleaner side in.) Moral: Some mysteries in life are just unexplainable, and jockey shorts fit comfortably either way so be flexible.