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Well, I was able to book my hotel room for my trip to Chicago. Cost me $184.00. Overall, I've spent around $760.00 in flight and hotels, with an added perk that Expedia will refund any differences if the flight I've booked had its price lowered from now until August 11th. I say I've done pretty well on those front.

The hotel room looks to be in a hostel, but I've booked the private room and it's less than half a mile away from Lincoln Hall in which the live show of the podcast I've listened to for about 8 years, Cox N Crendor, will be at. I have no idea what to expect. I know Cox n Crendor doesn't even know what they will expect, but fun laughs will be had.

Now to figure out what else to do there and what to eat and which Chicago Deep Dish Pizza place won't kill me with their pies in calories.

There is nothing to do or see in Chicago at all.

Or maybe I have that completely oppositely backward...

Ryan wrote: ↑Sun Jul 17, 2022 10:57 am Man, I was staying in Marin County, in San Rafael. I didn’t get any recommendations from Greg

Kev, fly out of Long Beach. Much better.

You were living there for over 6 months, right? I would need recs from you at this point

Well, now that I got the Chicago trip planning out of the way. Now it's time for the Orlando trip planning. Flights aren't looking favorable out of the OC. Is Airblue Airways any good? I may actually need to fly out of LAX, Long Beach, or Ontario for this one. I just hope parking isn't pricey and it's safe.

anguyen92 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 18, 2022 8:45 pm Well, I was able to book my hotel room for my trip to Chicago. Cost me $184.00. Overall, I've spent around $760.00 in flight and hotels, with an added perk that Expedia will refund any differences if the flight I've booked had its price lowered from now until August 11th. I say I've done pretty well on those front.

The hotel room looks to be in a hostel, but I've booked the private room and it's less than half a mile away from Lincoln Hall in which the live show of the podcast I've listened to for about 8 years, Cox N Crendor, will be at. I have no idea what to expect. I know Cox n Crendor doesn't even know what they will expect, but fun laughs will be had.

Now to figure out what else to do there and what to eat and which Chicago Deep Dish Pizza place won't kill me with their pies in calories.

When I visited Chicago for a leadership conference related to work, it was fascinating. I was fortunate enough to stay in one of the executive suites in the "Palmer House" hotel. It is beautiful and haunted, the lobby is something to see and the history is deep.

We had Pizza at Giordano's downtown ...Huge Deep Dish and so good! (Just run the calories off). https://giordanos.com/locations/prudent ... nium-park/

We visited Buddy Guy's Blues Bar...awesome place and unforgettable night. (Must See)

The Eleven City Diner for a Bloody Mary (It is a Work of Art) https://www.elevencitydiner.com/

I haven't flown Air Blue. I've flown most others, my favorite remains Delta (First Class) although I will quickly jump on a Frontier flight with just a backpack if I am on a tight budget.

Good Luck! Hope you make some wonderful memories and have fun!

anguyen92 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 20, 2022 12:20 am Well, now that I got the Chicago trip planning out of the way. Now it's time for the Orlando trip planning. Flights aren't looking favorable out of the OC. Is Airblue Airways any good? I may actually need to fly out of LAX, Long Beach, or Ontario for this one. I just hope parking isn't pricey and it's safe.

I try to avoid LAX at all costs.

We go to Universal all the time...we have stayed at most of the hotels within the park. If you want to see City Walk and Universal. My suggestion is Endless Summer (Dockside) not Surfside, Dockside is better. Buses run free for hotel guests every 15 minutes. It has a Starbucks in lobby, huge pool area, arcade, huge gym, early park access...etc. Most rooms have a private Queen suite separate from the main room that also has a kitchen and two queen beds. Parking costs $16 nightly but is more reasonable than all other ones that can run up to $30 per night. For the price it is the best deal.

[YouTube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_lShMXy07g[/YouTube]

TIP: To avoid the long check in lines at the desk. check in online at least 2 hours in advance. There is a separate check in desk that only allows online check in, not many know about it before arrival. It is so much faster. Once you reserve the room you will get an email that directs you to check in online. DO IT! It will save you a lot of time.

We love it and go every chance we get.

At the OC County Fair for Lindsey Stirling.

So I got a text from Expedia saying that my flight to Chicago is now only $505.00 instead of the $555.00 that I paid. I knew it was worth it to pay the extra $14.00 to get the price match guarantee perk. This flight/hotel bundle is going to be about $700.00, which is what I really wanted to pay anyway. Now to try to hope to get a bundle going for the Orlando trip.

Well, wanted to bring my car for a check up and told me they are on break until 1pm and it won’t be done until 90 minutes after that so now I’m out a nearby Golden Corral for lunch. This is my day so far.

anguyen92 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 20, 2022 12:20 am Well, now that I got the Chicago trip planning out of the way. Now it's time for the Orlando trip planning. Flights aren't looking favorable out of the OC. Is Airblue Airways any good? I may actually need to fly out of LAX, Long Beach, or Ontario for this one. I just hope parking isn't pricey and it's safe.

I’ll be flying out of Long Beach, but there are no direct flights.

Speaking of Sirius XM, have I ever told the story of how I thought of satellite radio and my satellite engineer wife crushed my plans?

Trip planning sucks..... The hotel room I really want to book in Orlando has two rooms left (and the room price just needs to lower a little bit more) and the flights out of SoCal is really nowhere in the range I want to buy.

If the prices don't lower at a rate I like, I may not end up flying out to Orlando at all.

Sticking with Kev’s travel theme: anyone ever flown Frontier? Trying to book a flight to Denver (don’t tell Greg) and just found a flight with them for super cheap. Are they like Spirit? I flew Spirit once and vowed to never do it again so trying to avoid something similar.

zazthespaz wrote: ↑Thu Aug 04, 2022 3:12 pm Sticking with Kev’s travel theme: anyone ever flown Frontier? Trying to book a flight to Denver (don’t tell Greg) and just found a flight with them for super cheap. Are they like Spirit? I flew Spirit once and vowed to never do it again so trying to avoid something similar.

Similar to Spirit, but I’ve had much better experiences with them. Then again, I’d prefer almost any airline compared to driving so take that with a grain of salt

ARGHHHHH. I have read such horror stories about Frontier and Spirit, but their prices are too low to making it tempting. I just want to get into a plane and get out with my body and luggage in tact without issues at a decent price. Is that so hard?

I've flown Frontier many times. They used to be my favorite airline years ago but they've gone full bargain fare carrier nowadays. The seats are uncomfortable and the tray tables are tiny and worthless, but if all you need is a short cheap flight, they are fine.

I've never flown Spirit so I can't offer any comparison.

I mean I'm only going to be out of the house from Thursday evening to Sunday morning. I guess all I could do is stuff my backpack with clothes and not need a carry on luggage and cut cost that way. I could get away with that. It just seems odd going into a airport without luggage. Like I'm as flexible as one can be and not really care much for seats and what, so I could get away with flying out of Frontier or Spirit and probably end up still getting a nice nap.

zazthespaz wrote: ↑Thu Aug 04, 2022 3:12 pm Sticking with Kev’s travel theme: anyone ever flown Frontier? Trying to book a flight to Denver (don’t tell Greg) and just found a flight with them for super cheap. Are they like Spirit? I flew Spirit once and vowed to never do it again so trying to avoid something similar.

Frontier is better than Spirit. You know what they say about flying Spirit?

“If you fly SPIRIT you might become one!” LoL

It’s not awful but if I have to fly Spirit I buy the front seat. It’s big and soft. Very comfortable.

Frontier is just plain. Nothing fancy. It will get you where you are going. I’ve had good experiences with Frontier. American Airlines not so much! Once on a flight to Montana the Left Engine quit an hour into our flight … we had to turn around and go back to Texas. Not a fun day!

Just did the Hot Ones challenge for the first time ever after wanting to do it for so long. #9 was the only sauce to really give me any trouble tho I think it was the first time I've ever experienced heartburn in recent memory

Its cool that youre good with spicy foods Shea but im not good with spicy foods at all.

anguyen92 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 04, 2022 6:23 pm I mean I'm only going to be out of the house from Thursday evening to Sunday morning. I guess all I could do is stuff my backpack with clothes and not need a carry on luggage and cut cost that way. I could get away with that. It just seems odd going into a airport without luggage. Like I'm as flexible as one can be and not really care much for seats and what, so I could get away with flying out of Frontier or Spirit and probably end up still getting a nice nap.

There are some great backpacks available. I bought a Perry Ellis. it has 5 compartments, one exclusive for a laptop. I roll my scrubs very tight. I can get a week's supply in there. So much easier. No waiting for luggage, no lost luggage. You don't even have to use the over head. It fits under your seat.


Edit: Amazon has it for 56.00, its called a Perry Ellis business laptop backpack. Very Roomy. I can even fit my USB portable fan in there. It is so much easier. I bought mine from ROSS for 29.99.