Tag Archive for 'road trip'

We Will Probably Pick Barbados over Biloxi, Gulfport, Orange Beach, Pensacola, et al.

Published on July 18, 2010 in Baby Boomer. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

It will be a Bulbous’ birthday soon.

The Big 4-0.

She got her love of travel and adventure from us, so we figured we needed to haul her and St. Todd deCubbville to a destination to celebrate her getting really, really old.

We have a budget, she has a flying time limit of three hours. Living in the garden spot of Florida, means anyplace in the Gulf Coast region or the Caribbean is a possibility.

We have taken a few road trips with them and had a ball every single times and came home with memories we still laugh about.

The first “real” destination proposed was California taking U.S. 1 and CA 101 along the coast. But adding up the cost of a car rental, the price of gas in CA and all the friggin’ fees and taxes, flying four of us to our take off point, then lodging and eats would exceed our budget by a lot.

A cruise was on the table, but Bulbous decided what she really wanted was to veg on a beach and snorkel and not be on a schedule. Nancy is a bargain-travel genius and soon had us shopping around CheapCaribbean.com.

We’re close to booking a five night stay in Barbados for the four of us to celebrate the Big 4-0.

But it just as easily could have been Biloxi, Gulfport, Orange Beach, Pensacola or any other of the regions that are hurting for tourists.

But I’m tired of all the whining by resort and restaurant owners about how vacationers are staying away in droves.

Hear this: I am not criticizing those who make their living on the water or from what grows in the water or what is harvested from the water.

I just hate it when the Tee Vee news features some motel or restaurant owner whining about the loss of business.  Tip: We can fly to Barbados from Miami, stay in a 3 star hotel (that’s the equivalent of a Comfort Inn, Drury Inn, Clarion, etc. in the states) for about $500 each. Flight, hotel, and breakfast.

So where are the deals along the gulf coast? All I’ve heard and read are the “we’re open” and “no oil guarantee” and “boo-hoo, everybody is canceling their vacations to this area… woe is me!” Oh yeah, and they brought Jimmy Buffet in for a one-day concert.

I haven’t seen any convention and visitors bureau on the gulf coast region put together a five night package for $500 per person.

We loved Biloxi when we saw the tall ships. We think Orange Beach is very attractive. Loved Bay St. Louis, and Pass Christian.

But IMHO, these hotel and restaurant owners are suffering from “victimitis” and don’t want us there. They can collect from their insurance company – or better yet - from BP for lost business.

Just yesterday the British company refused to grant Florida a further $50 million grant to allow the state to promote its beaches.

The oil-giant has already given the state $25 million, a fund officials claim has now run dry.

Easy money.

Barbados yes!

Biloxi, no thanks ya’ll – unless you get your act together and launch CheapGulfofMexico.com.

Boomer Hippies Spend a Year on the Road And Live To Tell About It

Published on September 14, 2008 in Baby Boomer, Cars and Empty Nesters. 6 Comments Tags: , , .

We love to road trip.

We’ve also commented when we see one of those gigantic motor homes rolling down the interstate, “wonder what it would be like in one of those?”

I read a book (submitted for my review) Live Your Road Trip Dream that does a great job of giving insight into that very question.

Except the question needs two revisions

“I wonder what it would be like to live in one of these for a year?”

I’ve had the book for a while. It’s a standard 6 x 9″ book of 288 pages.  I am not a book reader, but couldn’t resist saying “OK” when the publicist asked if I was interested in reading it. When the book came and I saw the number of pages, I balked. Finally guilt did me in and I barged ahead.

What the publicist should have said was, “would you read the first 150 pages and see what you think?” The first 150 pages, give or take, is the “meat and potatoes,” the rest is a trip report.

Right from the introduction, I waivered between “we could do this” and “are they nuts? we could never do that!”

I’m still undecided, but this book (the first 150 pages) does a wonderful job of laying out all the questions that arise and the possible solutions. The solutions are well thought out and reasonable and affordable.

Phil and Carol White are retired boomers. He ran a clothing store, she worked for Lucent Technologies. He’s a salesman, she’s a geek. Pretty good combination when you are road-tripping for a year.

Here’s the only bogus claim in the book: The Whites say you don’t have to be retired to do this. *ahem* OK, not retired, but IMHO you have to be unemployed. (When this book was first written gas was $1.75/gallon.) So things have changed. The Whites refer to employers giving “sabatticals.” The other option was working a job on the road. Both really stretch credibility.

This is a book for the unemployed who want to take a year and go on the road living in the back of a van.

I enjoyed that this book cuts right to the chase. On page seventeen is the White’s budget vs. actual comparison. (All of their worksheets are available online too.) On page 25, they suggest solutions for those who depend on you – like your no good brother-in-law or your kids who mooch on you to be baby-sitters a couple times a week or the folks at the Home for Unwed Geezers.

Those are some fundamental concerns in many people’s lives and Phil and Carol White offer their advice for making it work – if that’s what you really want.

Here are some other concerns they faced and how they addressed each one:

  • Where will the money come from?
  • What about our house?
  • What about cars?
  • We have family responsibilities.
  • What about pets?
  • Won’t he/she drive me insane?

If you follow the path of “Yes, We Can” then the Whites have a veritable “how-to” guide that covers every possible scenario. They have done it – broken shock to broken ankle – and this book and their website is a real-life look at life in a van, on the road, for a whole year. Details? Fully explored eg: where to get your nails done or haircut?

It’s pretty cool. I’m glad they did it. I wonder if we could!