two dolla

i need some sand and water

Dance Plans were executed last night, but apparently we were the only people, aside from a Hot Tranny Mess, that were planning on dancing at that bar. We danced to Pussy Control by Prince and Sabatoge by Beastie Boys and then The General and I called it a night at the bar. But not before Jenni and I had the chance to talk about our cruise we’re planning for next December. Anytime we talk about it, I get all ridiculously excited for the potential of it and nostalgic for all the other traveling we’ve done.

So, this morning, when I finally woke up at 11:30, I started looking into vacations. Nothing soon, because of the whole holiday thing and the moving thing we have coming up. But, you know, sometime down the road. Right now, I’m kind of obsessed with the best water parks in New Jersey, or as far as I know, the only water parks in New Jersey, but still… if you throw best and water in as adjectives to anything, chances are I’m totally down. My vacationing in New Jersey is limited, but in an awesome way, to the Newark airport and surrounding suburbs.

Morey’s Piers kind of looks like the perfect Jersey Shore beach vacation. I think I’m really jonesing for a beach vacation anywhere at this point, though. Morey’s kind of has a ton of specials going on right now, that if I weren’t in the “Crap I gotts save all my money” phase right now, I’d be looking into a little more seriously.

super 8 is not fertile

In planning my trip to MO/IL over Thanksgiving, I’ve had to act as my own travel agent, finding the cheapest hotels that’ll take a big fat dog in Coralville, IA, and my hometown of Sedalia, MO.

I abused Priceline for my find in Coralville. The Priceline Negotiator himself found something that almost results in them paying me to stay there. Since I’m leaving after work Monday of next week, I knew there was no way in hell I was going to drive all the way to Casa de Cuz. Coralville seems like a good halfway point, and we’re staying in an ultra classy Holiday Inn Express… I would have preferred a truck stop/hotel/restaurant/bait shop, but figured those kinds of places probably didn’t take online bookings.

Planning for a two night stay in my hometown was a joy and a half. The American Inn was William Shatner’s first suggestion, but after viewing their website, I opted to pass on it. Even if there wasn’t a giant logo that said NO DOGS ALLOWED, the pictures that include a loveseat rammed between two beds and the picture of the dryer made me question the entire idea of staying there.

Super 8′s list of local features and restaurants sealed the deal for me. With lists like Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Golden Corral, and Applebee’s for restaurants and prime tourist spots like the Midwest Cattle Bidding Party, the Scott Joplin Festival, and Galaxy Cinema, it was definitely a shoe-in. After I booked the reservation, I got a pop up window prompting me for an online chat with someone from Super 8.

It’s 2:00 AM on a Sunday morning. If someone from a hotel chain wants to chat online with me, chances are I’m gonna do it. Especially at 2:00 AM after way too much Mountain Dew.

It resulted in this:

I was disappointed to find out it was only an automated chat person. And had to type things like CANCEL, STOP, HELP, BAD TOUCH, AND CUSTOMER SERVICE just to make sure I didn’t get signed up for some $11/month thing I would forget to cancel each month for the next 9 years.

Staying in a fancy hotel over Thanksgiving. At least they have fancy cable, free internet, and an iron.

miramar beach? okay!

The past two nights, Jenni and I have been talking about our cruise next year. They were talking about going in February (which would be awesome), but I’ll be sitting kinda low on vacation and we’ll probably be moving either the month before or sometime right around that time period. And regardless of how much money I end up having in the bank or under a mattress, moving always costs about an arm, a leg, and half of some various vital organ.

Back to vacations… My parents and my aunt and uncle have both went on vacations where they ended up renting out someone else’s house for the duration of their stay. And at first, I think that was kinda creepy, knowing that people would be going through all of their belongings while wearing CSI gloves and making fun of all of my earthly possessions. But it seemed to work out either way for the people I know, so now it’s totally a viable option for me. You’re not staying somewhere that’s crowded with other vacationers, which is always a good thing.

This winter, at some point, I might be forced to take a long weekend just to visit somewhere I can find sun, sand, and some type of gigantic body of water. Maybe even somewhere I’ve never heard of like Miramar Beach or Clipper Cove. It’s hard not to love any place with the word beach or cove in their title.

Considering it’s mid-October and I’m already trying to find an excuse to take a vacation somewhere warm when winter hits, I think this might be an extremely long upcoming winter.

back with the travel dreams

I’m kind of a fan of visiting big cities and I’m always a fan of any kind of online travel guides. of visiting a new one from time to time. I’m also a pretty big fan of Trusted Tours & Attractions does a good job of honing my interests in on a particular locale from time to time. Last summer, Jenni, Matt, Bill, and I took a long weekend to hit up a few baseball games. And while we weren’t at all at a loss for things to do in Chicago, it’ll be nice to catch up on a few additional things next time we visit. The Bean, Wrigley, Lake Michigan, downtown, the Sears Tower, Navy Pier – I can cross all of those off my list of things I’ve done (and would do again in a heartbeat), so adding more things to the list will be an adventure as always.

The list of things to do in San Francisco? Sigh. One day. One day soon, I hope. And maybe a visit to Madame Tussauds should be in order some day, too. I might need a wax figure of myself at some point.

You can sign up for a newsletter to learn more about a whole boatload of cities’ attractions and in the meantime, you can win $150 iTunes Gift Card by signing up for the newsletter. Can’t really beat that!

mexico taunts me

I’m pretty much jonesin’ for the ocean right about now. My last vacation was in January, and it’s going to be October before I even have any vacation time to use. Thank you, internet, for providing me with places to dream about and taunt myself with until I’ve got something else that involves driving more than two hours to fill my vacation time with.

After Jenni and Matt got back from their extended weekend in Mexico, I’ve been considering something like that — a few days in a tourist-type area, within walking distance to the beach, and lots of rum within easy access. Something like rocky point rentals would probably work just fine.

Some of the pictures of the rocky point condos involve a back porch so close to the ocean that I’d be scared of sleeping walking right in. If that’s the biggest fear in my vacation, I’d say it’s an awesome one.

An added bonus? The rocky point houses website gives driving directions from Arizona. For some deranged reason, the idea of driving through remote Mexico to get to a resort is extremely appealing. Until I think of that movie with Brad Pitt’s nanny takes his kids across the border and then they end up lost — was that Babel?

the travel bug is back

I’m kinda jonesin’ for a vacation right about now, except A) no vacation time until November and B) a paycheck that would make me cry if it weren’t for the fact that I’m so in love with my job. And my frequent flier miles aren’t anywhere close to the number it’d take to get me somewhere for free. The only time I’ve ever been able to do that was a trip to New Jersey/New York a few years ago, and even then I had to pay a whole $5 handling fee for my free ticket. Even then it was the best value for my buck on that airline!

Gina and I rode the subway into the city for the first time, and I’m pretty sure I was like one of the special kids who doesn’t get out of the institution all that often. It wasn’t like we even needed a list of Things to do in New York City, because we pretty much made our own little to-do list. Although if I were going again, I’d probably take advantage of online travel guides when deciding what to do, especially if I were headed somewhere by myself.

For instance, when I embark on my dream vacation of driving up and down the entire coast of California, I may take advantage of having someone else make me a list of things to do in Los Angeles, because I sure as heck don’t want to miss anything awesome.

Trusted Tours and Attractions offers discounted tickets to the best sightseeing tours in 23 cities across America. Planning your next vacation? Looking for ideas on what to do? Sign up for the Trusted Travels eNewsletter and enter to win a handheld GPS Offer ends June 30th, 2008.

we should go to chicago soon

I love Chicago, and since I’m forced by my status as a Twins fan to hate the White Sox, the Cubs are my default Chicago-related team. And honestly, even if it weren’t for the Sox being giant douches, I’d still love the Cubs. I’ve been to Wrigley Field three times, twice for games and once just to walk around the neighborhood. It’s definitely a place I want to continue going back to time and time again.

Last summer, Willis, Matt, Jenni, and I went to Chicago and Milwaukee for a baseball-themed weekend. It wasn’t until today that I realized I never even wrote about it. In any case, we went to a day game at Wrigley and it was probably one of the best days of the summer.

Once we took the train (or maybe it was the bus?) into the neighborhood, we had to go Cubs-gear shopping. We didn’t want to look like complete tourists in our very top row seats, so it was imperative we secure some official Chicago Cubs garb. As soon as we were appropriately attired to be Cubs Fans for the Day™, we found a bar where we proceeded to have drinks even though it was before noon. It was the right thing to do! And it’s also where we found out how wonderful of a drink Sparks is. Sigh.

I think Sunday, when the Cubs play at home, I’m going to sit on my couch, drink the lone Sparks I have left in my ‘fridge, and go shopping at CubWorld.com, since they seem to have a ton of Wrigley Field branded things that I absolutely need. It’ll be almost like I’m in Chicago. Except not at all.

and i’d steal a monkey

For almost 30 years, I didn’t really have any desire at all to leave the country. Sure, it’d beautiful everywhere and sure, it’s cool to see it on TV, but I really had no desire to leave the continental U.S. And then the cruise of 2007 happened and I want to go everywhere.

Granted, this whole unemployment thing has me kind of strapped for a travel budget, but then I’ll get an email from various travel-related websites letting me know about these fabulous specials they have going on where I could visit every country in the entire world for approximately $12.95. That’s kinda hard to turn down!

If flights to South Africa weren’t so ridiculously out of my budget right now, I’d have a couple drinks with Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela before I start back to work next week. And even though it may have the world’s highest crime rate for rape and second highest crime rate for murder, it’d still be worth the trip! Honestly, if I were going to South Africa, I think you’d find me taking the safari circuit, hanging out with some hippos or wild monkeys.

I should probably not get ahead of myself and start planning safaris in other countries before I even have a nice, shiny paycheck to deposit in my bank account…

oh, to be a team roper

I read some more of the internet today. I think I’ll have read the whole thing by the time I’m employed again. Today’s topic? Rodeos! And more specifically, the National Finals Rodeo that’s held in Vegas every year. I think I actually wrote about the same topic sometime last year, which is what prompted me to read some more about this fine farm animal roping/riding event.

The rodeo itself is held on the UNLV campus, in the same building where the basketball team places. In my hometown, they used to do this, too. Rodeo one day, high school basketball finals the next – nothing says delicious like a poorly ventilated building combining the smell of bull doo doo and sweaty high school boys.

The NFR is supposedly the “super bowl of rodeos” and while I don’t fall over myself trying to make it to a rodeo, I wouldn’t mind going to something of this caliber. Plus, you know, it’s Vegas.

Arm me with some National Final Rodeo tickets and a pocket full of cash (preferrably out of someone else’s checking account), and I will gladly head out west for a few days in December and let you all know how it turns out. Combining bareback riding with slot machines and the occasional prostitute advertisement on the side of the road sounds like a pretty good vacation to me.

always jump at the end

Someone jumped off our favorite cruise ship!

According to a news release from the Coast Guard, the woman had been traveling with her boyfriend on the Costa Mediterranea when "she had become angry and agitated and then unexpectedly jumped overboard."

Knowing what I know about the Costa Mediterranea and being obsessed with each and everyone one of it’s cruising schedules, I’m 99% sure the lady was going on the same cruise we went on in January. And I also happen to know that if it was reported at 1:18 a.m on Sunday morning, that means they’d just left Ft. Lauderdale six hours ago!

Lady. You paid for that cruise, you idiot. Or maybe your boyfriend did, but still. Jump at the end, dumbass. Not at the beginning. You totally missed a day in Key West yesterday, and trust me, you would have loved it a lot.

And really, I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think anyone on that boat is concerned that you’re not there. Including your boyfriend. Unless he pushed you, because I don’t see any guy looking longingly off the back of the boat, waiting for you to swim by.