Hi:
I'm welcoming a co-author tonight as Josh helps me recall the best and worst moments from our summer trip out west. These are in no particular order:
GOOD
• Cherry Hill water park
• Josh and Kathryn going to Yankees game at Angels Stadium (and taking Amtrak there from San Diego)
• Dad's birthday breakfast at the diner in Coronado with just Josh and Caroline
• Kids' reaction to finding out that we're having a 5th baby in January
• Our "first night in San Diego" hotel including nice pool
• Collecting sand dollars on the beach
• Seeing Dad when he arrived in Utah after being away from the family for a couple of weeks
• Dad taking Sam and Matthew to Legoland....LOVED the water park portion
• Seaport Village on our arrival day in San Diego
• Day 2 of the Rytting Family Reunion in Utah
• Being with the Sackewitz kids for most of our time in Coronado
• Lagoon, for those who went -- Fun Day with Parker for Josh, who didn't go
• Going with Grandpa to Shivers -- just Josh and Caroline
• Mommy and Daddy getting their i Phones -- and the little ones getting to play with them
• Mommy's high school reunion and trip to San Fran (including seeing Uncle Don and family)
• Marching in Children's Pioneer Parade
• Annual Sackewitz BBQ and fireworks
• Hiking Desolation trail with older kids -- though it was longer and harder than anticipated
BAD
• Waiting in the hot sun for autographs that didn't happen at Angels game
• Matthew getting lost at the "first night" hotel for a very short spell...just long enough to panic his parents
• Mom falling off the wagon....literally...at This is the Place State Park
• Enterprise claiming we had damaged the rental car and then having to deal with the paperwork
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Returning to Blogging
Hi all:
If I haven't alienated my one follower -- and the one fan in California who, during a 'author mix and mingle' at an LDS chapel said she loves the blog -- then I'm going to get this blog active again.
As rain is forecast for this weekend, washing out the trip to our boss' pool, I'll have time to actually post something witty and insightful....or at the very least, my travel highlights.
Cheers.
Mark
If I haven't alienated my one follower -- and the one fan in California who, during a 'author mix and mingle' at an LDS chapel said she loves the blog -- then I'm going to get this blog active again.
As rain is forecast for this weekend, washing out the trip to our boss' pool, I'll have time to actually post something witty and insightful....or at the very least, my travel highlights.
Cheers.
Mark
Thursday, June 4, 2009
I've lost my medallion status :(
Well, I now have to be part of the huddled unwashed masses when flying Delta. I've been defrocked. Delta took away my medallion status . Turns out they expect you to fly often to keep that status.
Last week, I had my first Delta flight since last August. I checked in and found out I had to pay $15 for baggage. I asked when they started charging for medallion passenger. They said "We don't.....you aren't." ARGH.
I now don't board in group 2....I boarded in group 8. Bye bye potential upgrades. No more access to the super secret toll free line that goes to U.S.-based operators. I'm just like everyone else.
Then again, the price for Medallion is flying often, and after this last flight, I realize that's a high prize. I think if they want to torture terrorists, they should have them fly coach in a window seat on Delta. Tack on a red eye on the return, and it's one of the inner circles of Dante's hell. And I didn't even have kids with me!
But the trip was a success. I was in Pasadena for the Transformers Convention, and we got a great big story in the New York Times. So who's complaining?
Mark
Last week, I had my first Delta flight since last August. I checked in and found out I had to pay $15 for baggage. I asked when they started charging for medallion passenger. They said "We don't.....you aren't." ARGH.
I now don't board in group 2....I boarded in group 8. Bye bye potential upgrades. No more access to the super secret toll free line that goes to U.S.-based operators. I'm just like everyone else.
Then again, the price for Medallion is flying often, and after this last flight, I realize that's a high prize. I think if they want to torture terrorists, they should have them fly coach in a window seat on Delta. Tack on a red eye on the return, and it's one of the inner circles of Dante's hell. And I didn't even have kids with me!
But the trip was a success. I was in Pasadena for the Transformers Convention, and we got a great big story in the New York Times. So who's complaining?
Mark
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Shipping a Car
Well, we begin our ODYSSEY of buying a car in Utah and shipping it to New York to save the cost of a rental car in Utah this summer.
As the only real cost incurred by buying the car in Utah that is unique to the equation is shipping the car, that's really the deal breaker to pursue. So I did some online checking today.
Quite simply, it seems that I can get a rate between about $800 and $1,000. That seems pretty standard. But reading all the bids scares you a little bit because they all seem to warn you how the other guy will rip you off, not ship your car for weeks, etc.
But nothing that has scared me off. I'm confident we can find a good shipper that won't eat up our savings. We may have to pick-up the car in New Jersey vs. have it delivered to our door, but that's do-able.
So I'm going to proceed with the assumption that the fixed cost of buying a car in Utah is $1,000. Next, I'm going to officially reserve a van for our entire trip in Utah to know exactly how much that would cost. I know it's more than $2,000, so it appears we'll at least be $1,000 ahead in doing this.
Keep your hands at 10 and 2, and stay tuned.
Mark
As the only real cost incurred by buying the car in Utah that is unique to the equation is shipping the car, that's really the deal breaker to pursue. So I did some online checking today.
Quite simply, it seems that I can get a rate between about $800 and $1,000. That seems pretty standard. But reading all the bids scares you a little bit because they all seem to warn you how the other guy will rip you off, not ship your car for weeks, etc.
But nothing that has scared me off. I'm confident we can find a good shipper that won't eat up our savings. We may have to pick-up the car in New Jersey vs. have it delivered to our door, but that's do-able.
So I'm going to proceed with the assumption that the fixed cost of buying a car in Utah is $1,000. Next, I'm going to officially reserve a van for our entire trip in Utah to know exactly how much that would cost. I know it's more than $2,000, so it appears we'll at least be $1,000 ahead in doing this.
Keep your hands at 10 and 2, and stay tuned.
Mark
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Disney World, Day 5 (Animal Kingdom)
Well, it's time to bring my memories of our Disney World trip to a close. This probably won't be as detailed but since it's been about six weeks, well....
To finish with the last day at Magic Kingdom, once we got home, Josh wanted to go swimming. I had promised him that all day if we stayed to the end. So at 10 p.m. at night, we were out swimming. I get cold kind of fast, but I was happy to do it. I brought back virgin drinks from the bar for me and Kathryn.
We were all really excited for Animal Kingdom as it was a new park for all of us.
We started by having an 8:10 a.m. reservation for a character breakfast at the Tusker House in Africa. That allowed us to enter the park an hour before it opened, and walking up there with the park closed with kind of fun. It felt a lot like the Bronx Zoo.
The meal was great and definitely felt authentic African in terms of some of the tastes from my mission. Definitely one of my favorite meals of the trip. And the classic Disney characters made it special, too.
The breakfast is situated right next to the Safari ride. When the rope was dropped, we scooted over there. Of course, in typical Mark fashion, I raced to get us a Fastpass before we got on it. Not that we needed it, but just because "we could". I sort of bought into the hype and couldn't stop with Fastpass!
The safari ride is fun, and then walking through the exhibits at the exit were good, too. Then Kathryn headed down to Camp Minnie Mickey while I did a fast tour of the park fetching Fastpasses (three for Everest and 2 for Dinosaur). I met her down there in the Camp and they had just had a great experience catching Chip and Dale (Sam's adopted favorite characters) as they came out for their character greetings. It was a very personal experience and was a highlight for Kathryn. It helped Sammy was carrying their stuffed animal counter parts.
Then we just chilled until the Lion King show started at 11 a.m., which is high energy and I felt fun.
The next big thing we wanted to do was the Nemo show, which wasn't until 1:45 p.m. But the time evaporated fast. I rode Dinosaur first, and was kind of disappointed. From the opening of the park 10 years ago, I've always wanted to go on it, but it didn't pack the punch I hoped it would. Just felt like driving around in a jeep looking at Dinosaurs. Pales big time to Indy ride in Disneyland. Then I did Everest, and the theming and all that is great from a distance, but I thought the roller coaster experience didn't deliver on it feeling like Everest. Maybe my bar is too high.
Kathryn and the kids did some of the dinosaur area rides during this time. Then we did traditional fast food type lunch before rushing to the Nemo show....can't believe it was time already.
The Nemo show is the best show in Disneyworld, and the best thing at Animal Kingdom. Worth the price of admission right there. As good as Lion King on Broadway. The puppets and all are just really really great.
I believe Kathryn did Everest next while I watched the kids. At 3 p.m., they did the bird show, which they all enjoyed. Sammy was asleep so I walked around and shopped and scouted out a place for the parade. That's a really great parade, and we had a good place and I even stole a chair for Kathryn to sit in. We then used our earlier fast pass to hit safari again.
Time was already getting tight as the park closes at 7 p.m. I did the Boneyard with the kids for a while, and Kathryn either did Everest now (instead of what I said a moment ago) or did another ride with Caroline on the "Wild Mouse" type ride.
The day ended anticlimatically with us trying to get our last purchases, missing dinner, and my worrying that we'd miss our flight at 9 p.m. Not one of the best Mark moments of the trip.
But we left, made it to the airport on time, got dinner at McDonalds at the airport, and were the first passengers on a new JetBlue plane. We got home without incident.
Overall, a great, great vacation that we will remember forever! When we return (and we will) we want more time at Epcot and more ability to just explore and be leisurely at Animal Kingdom.
Phew!
Mark
To finish with the last day at Magic Kingdom, once we got home, Josh wanted to go swimming. I had promised him that all day if we stayed to the end. So at 10 p.m. at night, we were out swimming. I get cold kind of fast, but I was happy to do it. I brought back virgin drinks from the bar for me and Kathryn.
We were all really excited for Animal Kingdom as it was a new park for all of us.
We started by having an 8:10 a.m. reservation for a character breakfast at the Tusker House in Africa. That allowed us to enter the park an hour before it opened, and walking up there with the park closed with kind of fun. It felt a lot like the Bronx Zoo.
The meal was great and definitely felt authentic African in terms of some of the tastes from my mission. Definitely one of my favorite meals of the trip. And the classic Disney characters made it special, too.
The breakfast is situated right next to the Safari ride. When the rope was dropped, we scooted over there. Of course, in typical Mark fashion, I raced to get us a Fastpass before we got on it. Not that we needed it, but just because "we could". I sort of bought into the hype and couldn't stop with Fastpass!
The safari ride is fun, and then walking through the exhibits at the exit were good, too. Then Kathryn headed down to Camp Minnie Mickey while I did a fast tour of the park fetching Fastpasses (three for Everest and 2 for Dinosaur). I met her down there in the Camp and they had just had a great experience catching Chip and Dale (Sam's adopted favorite characters) as they came out for their character greetings. It was a very personal experience and was a highlight for Kathryn. It helped Sammy was carrying their stuffed animal counter parts.
Then we just chilled until the Lion King show started at 11 a.m., which is high energy and I felt fun.
The next big thing we wanted to do was the Nemo show, which wasn't until 1:45 p.m. But the time evaporated fast. I rode Dinosaur first, and was kind of disappointed. From the opening of the park 10 years ago, I've always wanted to go on it, but it didn't pack the punch I hoped it would. Just felt like driving around in a jeep looking at Dinosaurs. Pales big time to Indy ride in Disneyland. Then I did Everest, and the theming and all that is great from a distance, but I thought the roller coaster experience didn't deliver on it feeling like Everest. Maybe my bar is too high.
Kathryn and the kids did some of the dinosaur area rides during this time. Then we did traditional fast food type lunch before rushing to the Nemo show....can't believe it was time already.
The Nemo show is the best show in Disneyworld, and the best thing at Animal Kingdom. Worth the price of admission right there. As good as Lion King on Broadway. The puppets and all are just really really great.
I believe Kathryn did Everest next while I watched the kids. At 3 p.m., they did the bird show, which they all enjoyed. Sammy was asleep so I walked around and shopped and scouted out a place for the parade. That's a really great parade, and we had a good place and I even stole a chair for Kathryn to sit in. We then used our earlier fast pass to hit safari again.
Time was already getting tight as the park closes at 7 p.m. I did the Boneyard with the kids for a while, and Kathryn either did Everest now (instead of what I said a moment ago) or did another ride with Caroline on the "Wild Mouse" type ride.
The day ended anticlimatically with us trying to get our last purchases, missing dinner, and my worrying that we'd miss our flight at 9 p.m. Not one of the best Mark moments of the trip.
But we left, made it to the airport on time, got dinner at McDonalds at the airport, and were the first passengers on a new JetBlue plane. We got home without incident.
Overall, a great, great vacation that we will remember forever! When we return (and we will) we want more time at Epcot and more ability to just explore and be leisurely at Animal Kingdom.
Phew!
Mark
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
An Odyssey to Save Money on Cars
Hi blog fans:
Yes, I still have one more day to detail on our Disney World trip.
But here's a preview of next big thing. From the family that orchestrated a simultaneous closing on our old and new house, and from the guy who over-researched every last second of their trip to Disney World comes: "Save Money by Buying a Car in Utah and Shipping it to NYC???" I call it my "Odyssey to Save Money on Cars".
I started researching vans to rent while in Utah for our annual visit. We're staying nearly a month due to a High School reunion scheduled at the end. Mini vans for that long cost in the range of $2,000. "Wow -- that could be several car payments right there" said my smart wife.
"Ah, you're right!"
The timing might be right for us to expand our auto family. And the name of this adventure is going to see how much will it cost -- or how much will I save -- AND at what price hassle-wise. I'll bring you along every step of the way as I evaluate such things as:
• Honda Odyssey OR Toyota Sienna
• Turn in the mini van OR become a two automobile family
• Purchase in Utah OR purchase in NYC
• Buy OR Lease
• negotiating with dealers via the internet only
• comparison of prices in NYC vs. SLC
• how to ship a car cross country
• drawbacks of buying in Zion and owning it in Babylon
• Plans to drive the car back out to Utah (i.e. road trip) in 3 years when lease is up (if I go that route)
The goal is to get the van we want with at least a $1,200 savings (shipping a car is $800; a rental van would be $2,000) and taking delivery within the first 3 days Kathryn arrives in SLC. Can it be done? Stay tuned to my special reports.
We may set off a trend amongst my fellow Westchester / Salt Lakers.
Mark
Yes, I still have one more day to detail on our Disney World trip.
But here's a preview of next big thing. From the family that orchestrated a simultaneous closing on our old and new house, and from the guy who over-researched every last second of their trip to Disney World comes: "Save Money by Buying a Car in Utah and Shipping it to NYC???" I call it my "Odyssey to Save Money on Cars".
I started researching vans to rent while in Utah for our annual visit. We're staying nearly a month due to a High School reunion scheduled at the end. Mini vans for that long cost in the range of $2,000. "Wow -- that could be several car payments right there" said my smart wife.
"Ah, you're right!"
The timing might be right for us to expand our auto family. And the name of this adventure is going to see how much will it cost -- or how much will I save -- AND at what price hassle-wise. I'll bring you along every step of the way as I evaluate such things as:
• Honda Odyssey OR Toyota Sienna
• Turn in the mini van OR become a two automobile family
• Purchase in Utah OR purchase in NYC
• Buy OR Lease
• negotiating with dealers via the internet only
• comparison of prices in NYC vs. SLC
• how to ship a car cross country
• drawbacks of buying in Zion and owning it in Babylon
• Plans to drive the car back out to Utah (i.e. road trip) in 3 years when lease is up (if I go that route)
The goal is to get the van we want with at least a $1,200 savings (shipping a car is $800; a rental van would be $2,000) and taking delivery within the first 3 days Kathryn arrives in SLC. Can it be done? Stay tuned to my special reports.
We may set off a trend amongst my fellow Westchester / Salt Lakers.
Mark
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