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2008-04-22
Secret Trip II
Long time no update, which can only mean I was bothered by another secret trip, right?
It was a fun little trip. Even though I had only two direct flights, I visited four different airports. That's right, from airport A to airport B, then from airport C back to airport D. And airport D, otherwise known as Long Beach Airport, is an extremely small airport: With only one terminal and a handful of airlines, you can get off your plane and leave the airport in 1 minute...
The Long Beach flight was by JetBlue, my first time flying them. I didn't have much expectation, but their having DirecTV is amazing. I just enjoyed the NBA playoffs and wished the flight was longer...
I also got a deal from Hertz and rented a Pontiac G6 two days for only $47 (it's a steal considering a $15 airport transportation fee). But what caught me off guard was gas. At $4 per gallon and driven for over 200 miles, I paid almost the same amount for gas.
It was a fun little trip. Even though I had only two direct flights, I visited four different airports. That's right, from airport A to airport B, then from airport C back to airport D. And airport D, otherwise known as Long Beach Airport, is an extremely small airport: With only one terminal and a handful of airlines, you can get off your plane and leave the airport in 1 minute...
The Long Beach flight was by JetBlue, my first time flying them. I didn't have much expectation, but their having DirecTV is amazing. I just enjoyed the NBA playoffs and wished the flight was longer...
I also got a deal from Hertz and rented a Pontiac G6 two days for only $47 (it's a steal considering a $15 airport transportation fee). But what caught me off guard was gas. At $4 per gallon and driven for over 200 miles, I paid almost the same amount for gas.
Labels: travel
2008-02-05
Another Rental Experience
Enterprise is my car rental company of choice, due to its below average price with frequently above average discounts. The service is always satisfactory, albeit sometimes a bit slow.
I used them again the past weekend. The best strategy to get a free upgrade is always to arrive late on a Friday evening, when they run out of small cars. I didn't really mean to get an upgrade, but because of the schedule I arrived late on Friday anyway. Of course, they ran out of cars, especially small cars, to the extend they needed to move walk-in customers to other neighborhood locations.
Anyway, I was asked if I wanted to get a truck instead of my reserved economy. Worried about gas prices, I declined. Guess what I was given instead. An SUV. Not just any SUV, but a Ford Escape Hybrid. These babies go for $50 per day even on the cheapest Fox Rent-a-car, but I was able to rent one at the economy rate of $16.42 per day.
The driving experience is excellent. It was a very comfortable car, as it was the largest car I have ever driven. As a hybrid, it can go long distance without turning on the engine, and that is where the fun begins, trying to drive in a reasonable speed with the traffic without activating the engine. And I only used a little bit of gas, despite driving for long distances.
Of course, there are some downsides too. I needed to parallel park this baby a few times, on both sides of the road. And man, it wasn't easy. Anyway, I guess I have improved my parallel parking skill.
Another fun fact is that even though I have driven only a very small percentage of the car's mileage when it was returned, I have improved its mile per gallon by almost 10%, from 26.4 mpg to 28.8 mpg. I guess this makes me a damn good hybrid driver. Now if only I could afford one myself...
I used them again the past weekend. The best strategy to get a free upgrade is always to arrive late on a Friday evening, when they run out of small cars. I didn't really mean to get an upgrade, but because of the schedule I arrived late on Friday anyway. Of course, they ran out of cars, especially small cars, to the extend they needed to move walk-in customers to other neighborhood locations.
Anyway, I was asked if I wanted to get a truck instead of my reserved economy. Worried about gas prices, I declined. Guess what I was given instead. An SUV. Not just any SUV, but a Ford Escape Hybrid. These babies go for $50 per day even on the cheapest Fox Rent-a-car, but I was able to rent one at the economy rate of $16.42 per day.
The driving experience is excellent. It was a very comfortable car, as it was the largest car I have ever driven. As a hybrid, it can go long distance without turning on the engine, and that is where the fun begins, trying to drive in a reasonable speed with the traffic without activating the engine. And I only used a little bit of gas, despite driving for long distances.
Of course, there are some downsides too. I needed to parallel park this baby a few times, on both sides of the road. And man, it wasn't easy. Anyway, I guess I have improved my parallel parking skill.
Another fun fact is that even though I have driven only a very small percentage of the car's mileage when it was returned, I have improved its mile per gallon by almost 10%, from 26.4 mpg to 28.8 mpg. I guess this makes me a damn good hybrid driver. Now if only I could afford one myself...
Labels: travel
2007-10-16
The Trip
With a few days of rest, it is time to summarize the trip.
The show, Mamma Mia, was surprisingly good. Surprising because I didn't have much expectation as I thought it would be kinda boring. It was actually much lighter and funnier than I imagined. The singing was great, particular the one playing the "mother" Donna. Much more enjoyable than Sammi's concert.
I also tried the $20 trick for hotel upgrade. Too bad the front desk clerk said the manager did not allow update, probably due to the coincidence IBM conference (or whatever meeting they do... in Vegas...). I did get a free spa day pass to try their fitness center.
But the most memorial was the Noodle Shop. I heard about this place when it was still in another hotel. Now that I'm staying at a hotel with this restaurant, of course I decided to try it. I went there really early at 5-ish (wanted to eat something before the show). The place was already pretty full (there is no really sense of time in Vegas as the casino has the same lighting 24/7). I was seated and brought a drink, but was then told to wait for the waitress. After waiting for like 10 mins, I started to get impatient, tried to signal, but no one seemed to care, even though at least 3 waitresses saw me. Then eventually at least one of them walked by and mumbled that a waitresses would be serving me soon.
After a few more minutes, a waitress finally showed up to take orders. But she only went to the table next to mine, and completely ignore my table. What would you do in this case? Certainly! I walked out of the restaurant. This is the first time I do something like this, but I don't think I had a choice when no one cared enough to serve me...
The show, Mamma Mia, was surprisingly good. Surprising because I didn't have much expectation as I thought it would be kinda boring. It was actually much lighter and funnier than I imagined. The singing was great, particular the one playing the "mother" Donna. Much more enjoyable than Sammi's concert.
I also tried the $20 trick for hotel upgrade. Too bad the front desk clerk said the manager did not allow update, probably due to the coincidence IBM conference (or whatever meeting they do... in Vegas...). I did get a free spa day pass to try their fitness center.
But the most memorial was the Noodle Shop. I heard about this place when it was still in another hotel. Now that I'm staying at a hotel with this restaurant, of course I decided to try it. I went there really early at 5-ish (wanted to eat something before the show). The place was already pretty full (there is no really sense of time in Vegas as the casino has the same lighting 24/7). I was seated and brought a drink, but was then told to wait for the waitress. After waiting for like 10 mins, I started to get impatient, tried to signal, but no one seemed to care, even though at least 3 waitresses saw me. Then eventually at least one of them walked by and mumbled that a waitresses would be serving me soon.
After a few more minutes, a waitress finally showed up to take orders. But she only went to the table next to mine, and completely ignore my table. What would you do in this case? Certainly! I walked out of the restaurant. This is the first time I do something like this, but I don't think I had a choice when no one cared enough to serve me...
Labels: travel
2007-01-06
San Diego Trip
Last weekend, during the New Year break, I went to San Diego. The major destinations are San Diego Zoo and San Diego Wild Animal Park. They are actually designed with different mindset. If you care about seeing animals (especially pandas), then the zoo allows you to quickly seeing a lot. But you would have to accept that the fact that the animals are confined in small areas. On the other hand, the wild animal park looks more like a wild area, where you see animals in closer to their actual habitat.
Of course, being a proud deal hunter, I don't pay retail price. A good place to look for discounts in these places is MouseSavers.com, which currently featuring $8 off coupons for both places, saving you $16 per person combined.
Apart from them, I also visited the famous La Jolla Beach. Just look at this handsome guy...
Of course, being a proud deal hunter, I don't pay retail price. A good place to look for discounts in these places is MouseSavers.com, which currently featuring $8 off coupons for both places, saving you $16 per person combined.
Apart from them, I also visited the famous La Jolla Beach. Just look at this handsome guy...
