Janice Manilow » Travel

Don’t you just love the Internet?

Janice — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:49:50 +0000

Susan called me last night all in a panic. She had decided to drive her Toyota Corolla to Chicago for a week’s vacation to see her family. As luck would have it (or should I say as bad luck would have it?) the water pump broke and she didn’t know where to go to get her car fixed. So while she was on the phone I went online to the repairpal.com website and typed in ”Chicago auto repair.”

Using that website I was able to get Susan an estimate on what it should cost to get her car fixed, and where the repair shops are located near her. I think that’s a great website to use – especially if you are not someone who is extremely savvy when it comes to car repairs. It is good to know in advance how much something should cost so if you end up going someplace that tells you it is going to cost a lot more than that you can know that they are trying to rip you off and just take your business elsewhere.

A really full day of entertainment

Janice — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:46:58 +0000

Have you ever been to the Houston Rodeo? My girlfriend Sarah lives in Texas and she has invited me to come down to visit her and go to the rodeo with her next March. She said she will pay for tickets to concerts at the Houston Rodeo if I agree to come down.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a rodeo! I can remember it pretty clearly though – the sights and smells and the excitement in the air! The only thing I didn’t like about the rodeo I went to was the uncomfortable bleacher seats we had to sit on. I wonder if the seats at the Houston Rodeo are any better!

I was looking at the concert schedule online and saw that Tim McGraw will be performing there on March 8. I enjnjoy his music a lot. I’d really like to go see him perform; I have a couple of his CDs. I just can’t imagine, though, going to a full day rodeo show and then stay to watch a full concert afterwards! I’m not sure that I have that much energy anymore at my age! I wonder if buying the tickets include the full day at the rodeo and then the concert afterwards, or if you have to buy them seperately. I didn’t see that information online – I’ll have to dig a little deeper I guess.

Trip around Germany

Janice — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:46:54 +0000

A few months ago my brother told me that he was going to take his new wife on a three week vacation to Germany this coming summer. He wants to go back to his roots and see where the family originated from. He had heard that there is a National Forest, a town, and a castle all named after the paternal side of the family! Well of course he wants to go and see if he can meet any distant relatives and take lots of pictures of any and everything that can be linked to the family history! I was rather surprised at his recent interest in family history, but I think it’s great!

So he has been looking to get some good deals on where to stay while traveling around Germany. He has asked me for some help on researching Berlin Hotels for prices, but also for amenities. He wants to save money, but he wants to be comfortable. He remembers the time he went to Quebec and thought he was getting a great deal and did not care for the amenities at all! He didn’t realize that “charming” meant “old and ugly and cold damp and tiny!” He’s also thinking about going to Frankfurt, Munich, and Köln so he wants me to check out the Frankfurt Hotels, Munich Hotels, and the Köln Hotels. I guess I’ll have to learn more about the geography of Germany because I don’t know if any of these cities are close enough to each other that he can maybe just stay in one and make a day trip to any others, or if they really are too far apart to be able to do that.

Bargain prices on Asian holidays

Janice — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:36:45 +0000

I’ve always wanted to visit Asia. I think my interest in Asian started as a child when I first saw the movie “The King and I” starring Yule Brynner. He played his character of the King of Siam so perfectly! I can’t remember now if it was on television or in the theater! That was such a long time ago. Anyway when I realized that the movie was available to purchase on VHS about ten years ago I bought it so my kids could watch it with me. They resisted at first, but I prevailed and we sat down and watched it together. It was good to see how much the movie effected the whole family.

And the movie Shogun really impressed me as well! I think that if reincarnation really exists that I might have lived in Asia in a previous life! Anyway, I’ve decided a long time ago that I would love to go on a vacation to the Far East some day.

I don’t know if I’d rather visit China or Japan, or even Thailand. I think it would be awesome if I could take several weeks and visit all three of them! With the Accor Hotels 3-Day Super Sale Asia Pacific going on I could probably visit all three of them! Now if only the air fare was a bargain too!

First day of school

Janice — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:35:49 +0000

Today was the first day of school in our county. I was given an early bus run to do; I had to be at base at 5am. They gave me the directions to review and I quickly realized that I was going to get lost just trying to find the starting point! I was really unhappy about that! Fortunately another driver overheard me saying I was going to get lost and he happened to be going to the exact same place at the exact same time, so he told me to just follow him. That was a real lifesaver!

We had to leave base at 5:20 in order to get to the starting point at 6am. I got there on time, and I was off on my own after that! As usual the directions had a few errors on it, and I had never been down most of those roads before. It was still dark out, and I got lost once, which ended up making the kids be late for school by about twenty minutes. Well, I guess it’s the same ol’ same ol’!

Only a day’s drive away

Janice — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:28:58 +0000

I think that one of the reasons that the Myrtle Beach Resorts are so popular with the local residents around here is that it is a destination with a lot of attractions that is only a one day’s drive away. Going to a Myrtle Beach Resort allows them to have a great “get away vacation” without all of the hassle and expense of buying an airplane ticket and hassling with all of the trouble of having to arrive at the airport two hours before take-off and dealing with lost luggage and airport security.

I have to admit that I much prefer driving to a vacation spot if I have the chance. Then I can leave at my own convenience and not worry about finding a parking space at the airport or traffic jams making me late to miss my flight. And Myrtle Beach Hotels are conveniently located near so many fun attractions like amusement parks, concerts, theaters, golf courses, and of course the beach itself!

The beauty of it all

Janice — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:32:34 +0000

Breast Enlargement seems to be a commonplace procedure nowadays. I can remember when I was younger I thought that I was too small and would probably have considered that surgery if I had the money, but that is not a procedure that is covered by insurance and I always had too many urgent needs for my hard earned dollars to pay such vital things as utilities and mortgage payments. I have noticed that there are a lot of women that seem to be able to come up with the money to do something like that even though they claim that they don’t have any money. I guess they aren’t as impoverished as they claim to be!

My hubby has lost a lot of weight over the past few years, and I would love for him to be able to get a tummy tuck done to get rid of the extra skin that is just hanging down in the belly area. He seems to think that he can just exercise it off, but from what I’ve seen and read, the amount of extra skin he has won’t go away with exercise. I think that a tummy tuck is in order. I’d love to take him to experts like the MYA clinic if I could afford it.

Must be a wonderful place!

Janice — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:52:47 +0000

My sister’s girlfriend Barbara is spending this week at a Myrtle Beach Resort. She had made the reservations several months ago for her family to go together. Since she made the reservation her husband took ill and was too weak to go on the trip with her. She went on her vacation without him – even though her hubby’s birthday is in the middle of the week that she is gone!

All I can say is that the great vacations and deals at the Myrtle Beach Resorts must really be fantastic! I cannot imagine for one minute that any one of the Myrtle Beach Hotels would refuse to reschedule her vacation dates due to a family illness! It’s not as if she couldn’t take a different vacation from work because she is a stay home mother!

If I were to go to a vacation spot like that, I would want to take some family members with me to enjoy it; I don’t think I’d feel very self-confident to go by myself! And yes, I know that there are a lot of great shows, and one could relax on the beach, but it just seems cold-hearted to me to leave a sick hubby behind on his birthday!

Well, as the adage goes, “It takes all kinds!”

If it wasn’t a sin to envy

Janice — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:19:27 +0000

If it wasn’t a sin to envy, I’d envy my sister-in-law; she is single with no children and has a great paying job which gives her the chance to travel all over the world! She is always talking about where she is going, or where she has just returned from. Her next trip is going to be to Africa; she has found an Africa travel expert to help her plan her trip.

She found this expert through an Internet site called travelstoreusa.com. She said that her boss recommended the site to her because they are great at customizing vacations and help to find the best deals while making sure that the vacation is full of the activities that you want to participate in. She has never used a travel agency before, she usually has just booked her own trips.

The last time I used a travel agent it was for a trip to Hawaii, many years ago. It was a great experience, being able to talk to a person that could give you good recommendations about what to see and so based on what you tell them your interests are. Much more fun than trying to do the research yourself! And a lot easier too!

Travel bargains

Janice — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:48:37 +0000

When people take their vacations in this economy, saving money by using cheap hotels is one of the ways they are focusing on being able to afford going on a vacation in the first place. Some people are even just spoiling themselves by staying in a hotel close to home – just to get the vacation feeling without having to pay a lot of money to actually travel long distances. Then they go to local attractions and swim in the hotel pool and relax in their private spa tubs.

Some people are managing to travel away from home and go to some of the more popular “tried and true” spots such as Niagara Falls. There are plenty of cheap hotels in niagara falls to stay in, and the splendor of the Niagara Falls is truly magnificent! Another “tried and true” vacation spot is New Orleans – especially around Mardi Gras. The parades and parties and hot night spots to dance and enjoy jazz at it’s finest; no place on earth is better than New Orleans than that! And it is not hard to find a good, inexpensive new orleans accommodation either. Many places have reduced their rates to try to lure back business after Hurricane Katrina. I’ve never been to New Orleans; that is definitely one place I’d like to see before I get too old to enjoy a good parade and good jazz!