The Beautiful Dessert

My previous blog entry mentioned my next trip to the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion National Park. We'll be driving down in our car hoping to take only 2 to 3 days to get there. Once there we'll stay in St. George, Utah and take day trips to the various parks. The drive looks long, but since gas is no longer at $4.50 a gallon, it makes it cheaper than flying.

Our hope is to hike with cameras in hand and capture the real beauty of the area. Neither James nor I have ever seen the Grand Canyon so we are very excited to see this amazing geological formation. I've heard good things about Bryce Canyon as well. I'll try to post pictures or blog as I go if I can.

I really love planning trips. I have several online travel sites that I use regularly and some of you may find of interest in planning out your own summer travels.

1. Driving Costs - calculate your fuel costs: http://www.drivepricing.com

2. Trip Advice - find restaurants, hotels, activities, and tourist hot spots with reviews and occasionally even photos from real people, not travel writers. I've posted many reviews on this site myself: http://www.tripadvisor.com.

3. Find the best seat on an airplane - Seat Guru helps you figure out which seat is the best seat on your airplane. Tired of spending hours in the back with a seat that doesn't recline? Wish you knew where the exit rows were? Check out seating charts for the different airline and airplane configurations in advance at http://www.seatguru.com/

4. Non-US Low Cost Airlines: Trying to find flights in Romania, Greece, Turkey, Spain, or other country and don't know where to start? Try this site for a listing: http://www.discountairfares.com/lcosteur.htm

5. Home Exchange - I've yet to do this, but it has intrigued me. This may be a way to experience a new place without the high costs of a hotel: http://www.homeexchange.com/

6. Travel Questions answered - want to ask other travelers for suggestions or ask about train schedules in Italy? This is my favorite site for European travel by the travelers, for the travelers. Check out the forums where travelers post comments and answer your questions: http://www.slowtrav.com/. I love this site.

7. Maps - you can get directions to almost anywhere via the Michelin map site: http://www.viamichelin.com/

8. Currency Converter - Find out how much this is really costing you: http://www.xe.com

9. Plot Your Trip - build your itinerary, see the maps, and even add in activities which are easily printed out. This site integrates in with many airline and reservation sites and pulls in your flight & hotel information for a complete itinerary. You can share your trip map and itinerary with family and friends. Travelers can add in expenses, perform Mobile updates, and integrate with your calendar. Check it out: http://www.tripit.com.

10. Federal Aviation Administration - get the scoop on travel advisories, laws, regulations BEFORE you go: http://www.faa.gov/passengers/index.cfm

Enjoy your summer travels!

Beginning O' Summer

Today is beautiful and slated to be too hot for me to be expected to do stinkin' yard work the day I get the rest of my front flower beds done! It's only 10:45 a.m. and I've already been up and at it since 6:00 a.m. because it sounded like I was sleeping next to a chainsaw I awoke full of energy. I went grocery shopping, put them away, purchased the rest of my plants, cleared the front flower bed, added more topsoil, and am now thinking of bailing out here taking a short break before I finish planting. All-in-all, I've done more than a human should do in one morning a good bit of work so far.

We're supposed to get up into the low 80's today, which has me screaming for an air conditioner is not typical for this time of year. Tonight I'm hosting my kids and their spouses for our monthly Family Night where we all argue about what games to play have fun playing games and eating my food. We'll BBQ tonight I hope I don't burn it. Yumm-Oh!

OMG! I just scared myself spitless looked in the mirror and saw what I looked like. I have dirt sticking to my face, upper arms, and chest area. I look stupid very dirty indeed! However, I'll wait until I finish my planting and then go abandon James & let him clean up my yard mess clean up and then probably take a much-needed rest. I deserve it since he woke me up so early with his nasal chorus!

Happy June 2!