Category Archives: Travel

Skiing on a budget in the US

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I have two words for you: Flagstaff, Arizona.  Yes, I know it’s not one of the big names in skiing, but if you’re on a budget and also you’re an intermediate or beginner skier, Flagstaff is a great place to go.  I’ll break down the details for you, and as soon as I’m done, you’ll be convinced!

It’s great for a beginner or intermediate skier.  Snowbowl, which is the ski resort in Flagstaff, only has one gondola (well, gondola-combination) high-speed lift.  It takes you to a black run (don’t ask me for the run names, I am not good with names of any kind) and there’s an option for a double-black.  That’s it.  The rest of the runs are either blue or green.  So, if you’re an expert skier, Snowbowl may not present enough of a challenge for you.  But if you’re an intermediate or beginner, you’ll enjoy a good day.

It’s a budget destination.  Here’s what you do:  You fly into Phoenix, and if you choose carefully and book in advance, flights to PHX can be had for the $200 RT range from many East US destinations.  Cheaper if you’re in the West.  Then drive to Flagstaff, which is about 2.5 hours north of PHX.  Combine the skiing with some hiking in Sedona, and, well, I don’t have to tell you – it’s an outdoor paradise!  Rental cars are usually cheap in PHX, running some $30-$40 per day.  Rent your skis in PHX or even in the city of Flagstaff.  A basic set is around $25-$35 per day.  Book your lift tickets way in advance, and if you can go on a weekday, it’s like… A LOT better.  Not only is it way cheaper, but you’ll have no wait on the lifts and plenty of falling-down space on the runs.  Lift tickets can be had for as cheap as $30 to $50 on weekdays, purchased 2-3 weeks in advance.  Book a hotel in Flagstaff; a good hotel can be had for $50-$80 per night.  

To sum up your trip, if you book in advance, you can have a ski trip for less than $500 per person for a couple of days… and that’s pretty much all you can do in Snowbowl.  There’s not enough runs to make it interesting for more than one day, two, tops.  If you want to spend more time, drive just south to Sedona or even to Phoenix and take on one of the amazing hikes that can be had in the Phoenix area.  Or enjoy a spa day.  Sedona has plenty of spas but it’s touristy as f*ck and expensive, so only do so if you’re wanting to splurge.  

But if you stay in Flagstaff, not only is it not so touristy, but there are plenty of places to eat for any budget.  It’s a college town, so the night life is pretty solid, and there’s plenty to taste as it relates to beer.  During the winter it’s not such a pretty town due to the trees not having any leaves, but there are pretty lights everywhere.

All the pricing I’m giving you is based on the 2021-2022 season, which has been a crazy one, cost-wise.  Nonetheless, Snowbowl and Flagstaff are affected by the economy just as much as other resorts, so if prices do rise, they will also rise in other parts, like Colorado or Utah, so Flagstaff remains a budget destination.  Let me know if you’ve ever been there and what your thoughts are (yes, I know food at the resort is quite expensive, but the pizzas are pretty good, and isn’t food expensive at all resorts?).  Bon voyage!

Fly cheaply

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My friends are often flummoxed by how cheaply I’m able to travel.  There really isn’t a big secret, I tell them, just some common-sense rules… however, for some reason, people aren’t very keen on following these simple rules, and as a result, cannot seem to travel so cheaply.  Here are some examples of flights I have taken, and their cost, for a round-trip flight:  MIA-PVG $395, MIA-PHX $88, DFW-SYD $450, MIA-MXP $380…. Anyway, there are a lot of ways to travel cheaply, but today I’m just going to focus on flights and how to get better prices.

Firstly, and I cannot emphasize this enough, you have to be FLEXIBLE.  This means you can pick the days you travel far in advance, 1-2 months for domestic travel, 1-4 months for international.  This is by far the biggest issue people have because of their availability and feasibility of taking time off.  Often, you will have to travel mid-week. It helps if you don’t have a 9-to-5 with limited time-off options.

Secondly, you have to be COMMITTED.  This means choosing a place, flight, hotel, etc… and STICKING TO IT.  You cannot be wishy-washy about it.  You’ll get the best deal when you book and sometimes pre-pay, but you CANNOT CHANGE YOUR MIND.  This seems like an easy one for me, but, apparently, it’s very difficult for many people to do what they said they were going to do.  If you’re traveling in a group, EVERYONE needs to be committed, otherwise, don’t do it.

Thirdly, use the Google Flights website, learn all the tools available for you to search.  One I especially like is the “explore” function, where you can just move around the globe and look at pricing.  This is a great way to discover new destinations that you otherwise hadn’t thought about.

Lastly, especially for international travel, have all your documents updated and ready.  Especially during and after the pandemic.  Trying to update your passport or some other document will take ages and will cause you to miss your flights.  Also, make sure you are able to travel where you want to go; check your visa requirements, etc, etc…

This is just an extremely short and simple summary of what you need to do to book cheap fares.  There are many other considerations that will allow you to save money, and they all start with your flight selection.  Things like arrival or departure times (can you reach your hotel via a $5 metro fare, or will you have to shell out on a $50 cab ride because you arrived at 1AM?).  Or did you buy the cheapo fare and now you have to pay for carry-on luggage or checked bags (don’t forget the return trip!) when you could have bought a more expensive fare on another airline but bags are included?  Consider the cost of the ENTIRE trip, not just the flights.  I’ll cover more details on other aspects of traveling on another blog.  Happy traveling!

Missed connections

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Stop me if you’ve heard this one before:  You’ve been on a trip, enjoyed new sights and experiences, and have throughly enjoyed yourself.  It’s the night before your return day and you go out to have some dinner or something and take in the sights and sounds of the place you’ve been for the last few days one last time, and then you meet someone.  And you hit it off. She’s (or he) funny, she gets you.  You don’t exactly know where the connection might lead but you know she’s open to exploring the city with you.  Problem is, it’s your last day there and tomorrow you’re flying back home.  What do you do?

Or, likewise, it’s the night before a long trip,  It can be for business or pleasure, no matter.  But you meet someone and you feel like you hit it off and you want to pursue it to see where it goes.  But you’re leaving for an extended time tomorrow, and the only way to keep in touch is to get her number and text and/or call while you’re away.  This has happened a few times, so you already know what’s going to happen.  The first day or so, you text back and forth, as much as the time difference and situations allow.  But then the texts get sparser and less frequent, there are calls but not enough to keep the connection going.  And a few days before your return, you’re down to almost no communication; it has withered away.  Had you been in the city, you could have gone out for coffee, spent some face time with the person, and really nurtured the possible connection.  But because you left right after you met her, it was like a dying plant from the get-go; you couldn’t keep it from withering away.  

That is one of the realities of the frequent traveler.  If anyone has any ideas that are not the expected advice such as “make it a point to call every day”, or “make her feel special by sending flowers whilst you’re away” or whatever, then please post them.  There is one big factor at work here, in that BOTH people need to want the connection to work really badly; and in my example, only one person knows they want it, but you can’t be sure what the other person wants.

Going solo

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I looked up “introversion” on Wiki, one of my constant sources of information, and determined that, whereas I have some introvert qualities, I also have some extroversion in me.  It sounds like I’m psycho-analyzing myself, and I am, but it’s for a purpose.  The purpose is to understand what is going on as I travel the world solo.

There are definite advantages of traveling solo.  You move at your own speed.  You do what you want to do, when you want to do it.  It’s easier to clear customs and you can take more less-traveled routes (this takes into consideration if you’re traveling with a woman).  But socially, there are disadvantages.   It’s harder to have someone take your picture.  And you tend to take more pictures of things and less of people next to things.  Some people look at you funny and wonder why you are alone.  You also feel funny being alone and not be able to share your thoughts about the things you’re seeing with anyone.  That’s probably the biggest disappointment.  

Being an introvert traveling alone can be difficult.  According to the definition, these are the things I have that would fit the definition of introversion:

– Gain energy when alone, lose energy when with others.

– Have little interest, but any interest they show can be high.

– Consider only deep relationships with others as “true friendship” (I take this to mean that introverts don’t develop superficial friendships)

– Need silence to concentrate, do not like when they are interrupted.

– Are better than extroverts in coping with tasks requiring attention.

– Find it easier to read than with conversation with others.

– Work at the same level regardless of whether they are praised or not.

– Have difficulty remembering names and faces.

– Take pleasure in solo activities.

– Tend to be more reserved and less outspoken in large groups.

– Are more analytical before speaking.

– Tend to acknowledge more readily their psychological needs and problems.

– Are the mostly misunderstood for being arrogant, social outcast, or even freaks; they may be shy or reserved but not antisocial.

There are others which I don’t fit, so let’s say for the sake of argument that I am not 100% introverted.  Still, I feel that I’m in an introverted role when traveling alone.  I must be, otherwise I won’t cope well with the lack of a partner.  It’s not such a bad thing; I was born without a partner and likely die without one.  It’s not that I wish it, it’s just that it’s unlikely that my eventual partner and I will succumb to death at exactly the same time.  I guess it will be better if I go first, but then I’ll feel really bad leaving her alone.  If she goes first, I’ll be lonely and likely die within a short time.  Again, I’m not wishing this, it’s just what researchers say happens.  

When I read this some time in the future, I’ll think that I’m crazy for putting these thoughts down on paper.  I’m sure I’ll be more an extrovert at some point and look back at this seemingly dark period in my life.  But it’s the dark periods in your life that make you appreciate the light ones.  Who knows where I’ll be and who I’ll be with.  It’s elemental and (unstoppable) that I will be somewhere else, but not with someone else.  Just as it is impossible to change who I’ll be.