Sunday, February 25, 2007

Caught in the Act of Reading

The Library of Congress
What a nice problem to have. After putting our 3-year old to bed tonight and messing around downstairs, I went back upstairs to do a little work. I'd heard some commotion from his room and figured he was up to something.
As I snuck back upstairs, I heard something. Looked in through the crack in the door and he was sitting up, illuminated by the light of his play fish tank, "reading" a book to himself. I could hear him mentioning trucks and bananas and other miscellaneous items he was describing from the pages.
As I turned away, the floor creaked and he looked up. I turned on the light in my office and then went back into the room. He was under the covers, no book in sight.
"Were you reading?" I asked. "You saw me reading?" he asked. "I sure did. I'm glad you like to read," I said. "I do like to read," he answered.

Hug for son and departure for a happy Dad. Life, at the moment, is good. . .

Monday, February 19, 2007

Savvy Traveling


The South Kaibab Trail at the Grand Canyon


Successful travel planning is a little bit science, a little bit art and, sometimes, just a little bit luck. I've been planning our upcoming journey to the Grand Canyon for a month or so and it's been fun.

Snagged a good flight on American Airlines. Just $401 total for two tix; though we do have to leave at 6 a.m. from Phoenix on the way home. However, with two little kids, getting up early is not a problem and I'd just as soon get home earlier.

Also, we're leaving early on the way out from ORD, but we arrive nice and early in PHX, giving us time for a leisurely drive to the Grand Canyon. It's about four hours or so, with quite a bit of elevation gain on the way. But, it's very scenic and takes you through several climates as you leave Phoenix, pass through Flagstaff and then make your way to the GC.

My search for a rental car warrants at least a few words. As you may remember from an earlier post, I'm a big fan of Enterprise and rent from them almost exclusively. This time is no exception but the crazy pricing is a story in itself.

Started out with a quote of $228, including taxes and fees, for four days, for a Full Size car (Ford Taurus, Chevy Impala, etc.). I'd learned on a earlier trip that if I check back somewhat regularly, their prices have a tendency to move a bit. Waited a week and, sure enough, the price had dropped to $178. Booked it and was happy.

About two weeks later, just for shits and giggles, I checked it once more, with little hope that anything had changed. Was stunned to find the price had dropped to $130. Needless to say, I booked it. So, a little checking had saved me $102 from start to finish. Have I checked again recently? Absolutely, but with no luck. Totally doubt that it will drop again but the experience has shown that a little persistence can pay off, sometimes in a big way.

Grabbed a couple of nights at the Holiday Inn Express at the Grand Canyon for about $90 per night and then one night in Phoenix at a Courtyard near the airport. Using reward points for that one since Spring Training will be in full swing and the prices were absolutely crazy.

All in all, we'll probably pull this trip off for about $900, food included. Not bad for 72 hours in Arizona.

More details on our plans for the Grand Canyon hike coming soon.

Saturday, February 03, 2007

It's Frickin' Freezin' in Here, Mr. Bigglesworth

Temps in the Midwest have plummeted the last few days and we've settled in for a long, quiet weekend inside. Super Bowl's set for tomorrow and, for those of us in northern Illinois, the frigid temps are a good excuse to stay inside and get ready for the big game. Go Chicago Bears!

Kids have been a little crazy lately but are still holding to the 50:1 rule that I outlined in an earlier blog posting. Been living in the Midwest 20 years now so I'm used to the nasty winters. However, kids in the winter bring a new definition to cabin fever. It's so much nicer in the summer to head outside and burn off a little energy when the kids are getting bored. Kind of hard to do that when it's -2 and snowy out.

We've been able to limit the TV viewing, for the most part, and are able to keep our 3 year-old occupied (our 8-month old is not an issue yet). He watches little regular TV to begin with, which is a good thing. We've kept him to movies, mostly. Our reasoning is that it's something we can control and we know exactly what he's watching. It's far better than parking him in front of the Cartoon Network and then having him bombarded by 10 minutes of commercials every 30 minutes.

Heard that Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow yesterday, which means an early spring. Trust me, it can't come soon enough.