Snobbery, Or Just Plain Common Sense?

My friggen cursor was jumping allover the screen, and inserting itsself in the middle of paragraphs, that I didn't always catch. It's nearly 4 AM, and my brain doesn't feel like editing, so if anything is out of place, blame it on my computer. Also the disadvantage to being legally blind is having to lean in closer to the screen, and my stupid 15 pound boobs keep landing on the damned touch pad. LOL If I new how to tie them behind my back while I type, I would!!!

First of all, the trip to NYC that I'd originally planned for August is off, because my friend bailed on me. Her reason? She doesn't feel like traveling from CT to NYC alone, or being alone in NYC for even one minute. She was coming in with another friend who bailed on her, for her own reasons, thus leaving my friend "alone." I don't live in CT, so we would have had to meet in NYC. Can anybody say "domino effect?"

Oh well, I decided not to be disappointed, because every individual has their own comfort level, and that can't be changed. The good news is that I am free to do as I please, companionship, or not. Walker has no interest in going to NYC, whatsoever, and Ihave no qualms about travelling alone, so that is precisely what I am going to do! Even better, since I am not confined to August I can save even more money than I'd originally planned. I liked the LaGuardia Plaza Hotel, and my travel agent gave it high mars, but since I can go anytime I damn well please, I decided to wait until I had enough money to afford two nights at the Waldorf Astoria. I'm not talking a "big" room, just a basic one (or as basic as you can get at the Waldorf! LOL). I can get some kind of small guest room for around $179 a night, if I book at the right time. Even if I get the "cheap" room, I can still write home on Waldorf Stationery, and make my parents wonder how the hell I managed to afford that! haha Waler thins the whole thing is a great idea, and to go for it. Before I go, I'm going to plan everything; what I want to do, where I want to go, and every detail about how I'm going to get there, including calling cab companies for estimates, so I can work it into my budget. I'm putting a couple hundred bucks away every month in my American ban account, so I'll have money waiting for me when I get there. Walker and I have a neat system for sending money back and forth. He pays utilities and food, and I pay rent. It wors out about the same in the end. What I've been doing is taking $200 or so a month of his expenses, paying them myself, and then sending $200 from his American bank account to mine via PayPal. I've also had every penny I've made on line all of 2011, and 2012 go to my American bank.

the whole thing started me thinking. I love FANCY palatial hotels, even if I get them for a discount...ok ESPECIALLY if I get them for a discount. My idea of a "cheap" hotel is the Delta. It doesn't have all the frills, but it does have a nice clean and comfy room, a pool, and a hot tub. There are Deltas all over Canada, and they are the perfect place to land, wherever we go in Canada. And even though it's plainer than most hotels we like, the Delta is great!! Tony Bennett stayed there, when he performed in Kitchener!! The only place we want to go where there is no Delta is Niagara Falls. I taled to the Delta Rep on Twitter, and suggested they build one, by Sept 6th! LOL Walker specifically requested a vacation in Niagara Falls, and I suggested our 5th anniversary. Great timing, and a bit of a family tradition. Mom & Dave go every 5 years, so why don't we go on our fifth?

So back to my original point. Why do I like fancy hotels so much? Call me one hell of a big-assed SNOB if you want, but the fancier the hotel, the safer I feel. I live right across from the local drop-in centre where the city's under-privileged go for a meal, a shower, and anything else they may need. Now, I am not trying to put myself above those who are down on their luck. I could be one of them one day! The problem is that A LOT of crap comes out of there, including the bastard we took to court last September, October, November, who wouldn't leave us alone. The riff-raff really bring down the reputation of the place, and make it hard for the good people who use their servies, but I need to protect myself, so I avoid them all, especially since they can watch me come and go out of my front door, and it's pretty much known that I live in that building, not that I've done anything to make that public knowledge (thanks a lot bastard-we-took-to-court-last-year!!!).

I do remember one time however, when Walker and I stayed at a motel, where we actually had to rent the room by the hour! LOL It was Canada Day 2009, the fireworks were supposedly rained out, but they didn't unblock the road, and we could not get a cab. We just walked till we found a place to crash, and my feet started to hurt. When I told my mother about the place, she nearly flipped. Apparently, it's where the Drop-in sends people who have no place to go at night, and where the local hookers hook up with their clients. No wonder the clerk looked at us funny when we sad we wanted the whole night. We sure got out of there lickety-split, the next morning.OK fine, not everyone who can afford a nice hotel is innocent, but if you put Bernie Madolff next to Ted Bundy, who would be the bggest immediate threat to your safety?

So now I'm in the process of planning four min-vacations. Waler and I prefer to travel all over for a few days here and there, because it gives us variety, and we get to spread out our travels over the year, instead of lumping them all together. It's also a bit cheaper that way.

We've been to Montreal for three nights (a Delta, of course!), and in two weeks, we'll be at Delta itchener for two nights. Friday the 27th is opening night for the Serbian Food Festival. YAY!!!! Three days of food, A LOT OF LIQUOR, wonderful music, kolo dancing, and great people. i read on Twitter, that they put a block of rooms aside at $99 a night, for Serb Fest. YAY!!!

Then on Sept 6 is that BIIIIIG trip to Niagara Falls. We're going to spring for two nights at the Fallsview Hilton, and a room with a jacuzzi!!! It's going to be expensive, but it's going to be worthit. Fortunately I got a major coupon from a drug-store-groccery-store that I like, that gave me 20x the points if I spent $50 or more. I bought Waler a box if diabetic test strips ($89) and some groceries, and spent about $170. I had $90 worth of points before, but that, and some other coupons that finally caught up, gave me $170 worth of points. I'm saving those, just incase we run over budget at Niagara Falls. We can still buy food at the end of the month. LOL

In December we're going back to Toronto, as we always do on Christmas. This started in 2009, when for whatever reason, Dad un-invited us to Christmas at his place. Something to do with transportation challenges. We decided to do our own thing, and now we have a new tradition.

Then of course there is that trip to NYC, which is going to hapen whenever I decide I can afford to make it happen. :) If I pulled the cash I have in my Canadian savings, I could go tomorrow, but I don't want to use that for travel, because something might come up here, and we might need it.

I'm still going to go to Nashville some time way down the road, but for now, I've got enough travel to plan, and pay for. LOL

So those are our vacation plans for the year, so far. What's everyone else got planned?