Advising others on trips

I seldom plan anything without checking the Internet first. That especially goes for planning trips and vacations.

I’m a member and regularly visit dozens of sites that specialize in travelers’ reviews but I rely mostly on TripAdvisor. Its system is super simple, but quite effective and there are so many users on there that I can also look up other reviews that users have written so I can trust their reviews based on what they thought of other sites and destinations I’ve gone to.

I regularly write reviews myself of attractions that I think are really outstanding or absolutely horrible. I also like to include video clips of trips to give the other users better ideas of what they’re getting into and the reason I reviewed something a certain way. I recently decided to Get Wild Blue so I could upload these easier and watch others’ videos too that dial-up wasn’t loading or playing at a decent speed.

Since then I’ve gone on a few weekend trips with friends that I’ve reviewed a few destinations for but I try not to get too crazy. Writing those reviews are pretty time-consuming.

Family fun

Some of my favorite childhood memories are about taking a short break from the rigors of life and going away for a long weekend with the family.  We had a small Avion travel trailer and we would use it a few times every year to take the whole family on a trip.

I can remember taking it one year to Gettysburg during a spring break.  It was unseasonably cold there, and even though we had the heater cranked up as high as it would go, we were still freezing!  Then there was a Christmas break down to the some islands off of the coast of the Carolinas.  I can’t remember at the top of my head what the name of the islands were; I just remember how my parents had the smallest artificial Christmas tree I’ve ever seen perched on top of the dining table!

My parents modified the trailer so that one of us actually slept in the bathtub, one of us on top of the dresser in the bedroom, one of us on a cot in the kitchen, and two of us on the sofa-bed, while my parents slept in the double sized bed in the bedroom!  Looking back, I think my parents were crazy, but I have to give them credit for trying!

Using Landscape to Privatize Your Home

Thanks to Molly Bloom for the guest entry.

A few summers ago, I worked in Beverly Hills, California. I was a nanny to a very prestigious family and watched the kids everyday, after the parents went to work. When I first got this job, I remember being surprised by the large bushes surrounding the home. At first, I could not even find the right address to the home since it was tucked away so far behind large bushes. In this article, I recommend landscaping as strategy to build a home security alarm system within your own home.

Large bushes are a great way to protect your home, I have learned. They can securely tuck away your home so that no one can even see it. For high-profile people, large bushes can protect homes from people like the paparazzi. The family I worked for in Beverly Hills used large bushes to refrain the paparazzi from taking unnecessary pictures of their home. Along with that, they also had a fancy ADT Security system complete with video cameras and the whole nine yards.

While I am not famous, I have chosen to surround my own home with large bushes. I live on a busy freeway, and I simply enjoy the privacy that smart landscaping has brought to my home. I am glad that people driving by my home can not see an inch of my private space. Landscaping makes my own life feel more secure and my home feel safe.

Find repairs anywhere you need them

One of the things that I like the most about the Internet is how much easier it is to find businesses than it used to be.  Last night Sandy called me from Los Angeles.  She was there on a business trip and the head gasket on her Ford Explorer started to leak a lot of oil.  She wasn’t sure if she was going to need to take it into a Los Angeles auto repair shop and have it fixed immediately or if she was going to be able to keep driving it for a couple of months.

I told her that I’d help her find a local repair shop and they could advise her as to her best course of action.  I used the repairpal.com website to locate a place, and Sandy took her car there.  They told her that the leak wasn’t serious and that she could easily drive it back home and get it fixed back here.  That was a big relief!  There’s nothing worse than having to deal with major car issues while out of town on a business trip!

Waiting on Uncle Sam

I’m thinking of using some of my tax refund check to purchase some nice new quality Luggage. I’ve never owned anything other than suitcases that I’ve picked up at yard sales and thrift stores throughout the years. I do plan on doing some traveling in the near future and I’d like to be able to pack my belongings in a decent set of Briggs and Riley Luggage or possibly some of the Hartmann Luggage that I’ve a lot of lately.

I’m sure that if I take my time and look around on the Internet that I could find a sweet deal on some luggage online. I’d be looking for free shipping and a site that accepts PayPal as a form of payment for their merchandise, that is always helpful. There isn’t a big rush, but I’d like to go ahead and start researching them in order to have a few websites bookmarked for when I do receive this much anticipated check from good old Uncle Sam. I sent the paperwork out a few weeks ago so it shouldn’t be too much longer. It would have gotten here faster if I had sent it electronically, but I elected the old fashioned paper via the U.S. Post Office. Maybe next year I’ll try it the faster way.

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