Well I’m on a trip now which just reaffirms the fact that I HATE hotels. More precisely, I hate living in one room. Hate it. I don’t want to wake up early and worry about disturbing my husband. I want to be able to slip out if the room and go to another part of the house and watch tv or read. I also hate bad mattresses ( not a problem in the very nice hotels we stay at but have been in air bnbs. I hate moldy shower curtains ( see them all the time even in decent hotels) hate not having my fluffy terry cloth robe with me ( would take up half a suitcase on it’s own), hate low to the ground toilets and cheap hotel tp.
I hate most travel for this reason. I like my things . I’m a born homebody
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There are definitely some folks we should never travel with as we’d annoy each other every step of the way.
I’m glad we can be friends on the internet though!
I remain amazed at just how different humans can be. Fortunately for H and I, we’re of the same travel mindset and enjoy each other’s company.
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I have a friend with similar sentiments. They bought a travel trailer so their home could go with them. I would hate lugging a travel trailer with me because we typically prefer “the road less traveled”, and trailers would be an issue. But it works great for them.
Unless a travel trailer would fit a king size heavenly bed or equivalent that would be a hard no for me.
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This may not apply to anyone else here, but figured I’d mention it just in case. Sometime this week I called the company we planned a bike trip to Italy with in July of 2020. (Stating the obvious, we canceled bc of COVID). I asked them if they would extend the vouchers they gave us for part of the trip (fine, they are extended til the end of 2022). BUT, I also asked them if we just booked the exact same trip, if they would apply the travel insurance dollars we lost ($$$$ - I think the insurance was over $1000) to the new trip, like they offered to do last year when we canceled. I got a response back saying they are going to REFUND that money instead. I didn’t want to ask why, but that will be great if it actually happens! (I really do wonder why, after a year, but don’t want to jinx it).
Maybe others would have similar luck if you check into things from last year.
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Does anyone have any idea when Grand Cayman will re-open? I’m hearing not until after summer, but not from any official source.
We took a quick trip this past weekend from San Diego to Paso Robles for some wine tasting for D2’s birthday. We normally make the trip in 5.5 hours, but with all the traffic on the roads this weekend it was 7 hours each way with just a couple of quick stops. People are definitely back on the roads again even though California is not fully open again until 6/15.
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We were in Napa area this past weekend. Same thing! Lots of folks out and about, and restaurants were packed. Apparently, the TSA saw a new pandemic record number of travelers this past weekend, including us. 
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Well, just booked some fully refundable hotel reservations for medical conference in May 2022 for SF. It’s a small boutique hotel right next to Moscone and one of the few places you can get a decent room <$200/night.
Will wait to see if we actually go but glad they will fully refund if cancel at least 48 hrs prior to reservation start date. If I wait to book, rates will just keep climbing
I’ve been looking at AirBnB for Feb. Everywhere I look it tells me I can cancel within 48 hours for a full refund, then afterward I can get refunded on X amount except the first 30 days. Uh, we’re only going to be there for 30 days (give or take a day). Does this mean there’s no refund at all if things go south with Covid or FIL’s health or who knows what between now and then?
Cancellation policy
Cancel by
48 hours after booking
Full refund
Feb 1
3:00 PM
(check-in)
Full refund, minus the service fee and the first 30 days
Mar 1
11:00 AM
(check-out)
Full refund, minus the 30 days following the cancellation date, the service fee and cleaning fee.
Now I’m wondering how expensive trip insurance will be.
My favorite yoga teacher is going to take a group to a week-long yoga retreat in Sayulita, Mexico. (It’s about 40 mi. from Puerta Vallerta.) The retreat is the first week of November and It sounds wonderful and restorative–on the water, at the edge of the jungle, no internet, no electronics, yoga twice a day, a spa, and optional field trips in the local area. My daughter and I went on a retreat like this in January 2020 (in Costa Rica) and we loved it. She’s interested if she can arrange her schedule. I also have a good friend who would go with me. I’m fully vaccinated but a little concerned about COVID and would sign-up in a nonosecond if it were in early 2022. Am I being overly cautious?
Little kid and her BF just came back from their Puerto Vallarta vacation. They seemed to have a great time, but they stayed at a big resort. That said, I would not be comfortable with being cut off from civilization during an epidemic which is still ongoing. I would postpone…
You can get CFAR for 10% of the trip cost, works like normal trip insurance plus 60% refund of costs if you Cancel For Any (not normally covered ) Reason
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Travel is now just as non-enjoyable as ever. I flew Southwest on Tues and there were 600 cancellations and 1800 flight delays. I was on one of the delays and my suitcase is still flying around the country. They are nice, they are apologetic, but I still have no swim suits on my beach vacation as mine have gone from denver to nashville to Baltimore to Norfork to Orlando - and were supposed to go to Savannah.
All flights are packed, the airports are packed. Here at my resort town, the roads and parking are packed, restaurant reservations hard to get.
Still, better than being at home.
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My best friend and I are dipping our toes in the travel waters…we just booked a cabin in the mountains for 3 nights in July. This is part one of our “staycation” this year - part 2 will be Maui in early Sept. We’ve agreed that both places will be for staying close, preparing most (if not all) of our own meals, and really just relaxing. She’s also asked me to bring watercolor painting supplies and “teach” her some easy techniques, something we’ve talked about forever.
Reading @twoinanddone’s experience with floating luggage reaffirms our “carry on only” policy which we’ve subscribed to for years…I hope yours makes it back to you with plenty of time to enjoy your trip.
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We always check bags, but if we are going to the beach, one thing is always in my carryon: one of my swimsuits (and Mr.’s swim trunks, too). Many women will agree: this item is hard to replace quickly.
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Recently went out west on Southwest. I’d fallen out of the mask habit, as I’ve never had to wear one at work and even at the height only had to wear one for brief store visits. Wearing a mask for a four hour flight while trying to eat and drink some and not being able to move around much was not fun. If we go to Europe next year, as we plan, and I am on a 7-8 hour flight, it will have to be a vaccinated mask-free party plane.
We’ve been running around the PNW the last couple weeks. Airports definitely more crowded but TSAPre was quick. Marriott hotels in OR and WA have a policy for unvaccinated people to wear masks and optional for others. Flew Delta ATL-SEA first class and seemed like a quick flight. Still no hot meals, but offered a couple different snack packs to choose from. Checked 4 bags with no issues.
When we flew to Hawaii recently (vaccinated!), Alaska broke out real dishes and served some hot food in first class. Alaska has been giving us a choice of pre-ordering food which was great. We are usually going for their cheese plates. Beechers! Filling. Tasty. Safe (just don’t eat the grapes). Goes well with wine. Surprisingly, their canned wine is not that bad (maybe because… airplane?! 
)
We found that disposable surgical masks are much easier to wear on the airplane than any other option. Our almost 6 hours in the air went by quickly.
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Flew from Raleigh- Boston and back this week on Delta. Disposable masks are much better. We flew late morning and both airports were pretty empty. My only complaint was Comfort+ overhead space. We were on a smaller plane and each overhead space only held 2 suitcases for 4 seats. Not enough space. We were offered alcoholic drinks on the way home, so I guess they started serving it again.