Just for the record ear plugs are for sale. There’s food for sale, drinks for a fee and you can’t even pay with cash anymore. Checked baggage costs almost as much as some tickets while some airlines are even starting to charge for carry on as well. There are “premium” seats for a charge (some are 75.00 for international flights) but at least they give you the connecting flight for free. (There must be a god!).  And on certain airlines, not to mention any STARry names, you have to actually pay for the flight attendant to smile. (Only problem, I guess they only take blood or something) but I digress.    Knowledge is power, so let’s give you some power.      Did you ...

(A FEW ASSUMPTIONS AND SHOTS, I MEAN THOUGHTS)   In the future I assume that planes will go much faster and further than they do today. Instead of taking almost 20 hours to go the orient it will take less than ten. Can you image a New York to LA flight in an hour and a half or flying from Boston to Chicago in 15 minutes? How about having a transatlantic flight in just over an hour? Think about how it will impact major team sports! Life will be amazing! Or will it?    Before we all start jumping for joy, I think I’ve got a few questions for the airlines to answer. 1)    Will we be paying more for the baggage, than the ticket? 2)    ...

Have you ever felt that buying an airline ticket was like dealing with a crooked auto mechanic? You know the story:   A guy brings in his car for a simple oil change which is listed at $29.99 plus tax. When he returns to pick up his car, he finds the bill to be $327.38.  Flabbergasted, he tells the mechanic “but your sign says $29.99 for an oil change!”   The mechanic replies “It is $29.99 for the oil change but as I was changing the oil I saw that that you had, what we in the industry call, a phantom crack in you windshield, so I had to replace it. I also noticed that your tires looked tired, so I took them ...

Believe it or not I think I am becoming a true believer in Tripadvisor, but I don’t know if it’s the way they intended. I definitely give Tripadvisor much credit for getting their “stuff” in order. Before we canonize them with Sainthood there is a scientific method needed for you to get the bests results.   What you must understand about Tripadvisor is that the writers are not travel specialists, agents or hotel reps (at least I hope), they are people that took a vacation and are expressing their own opinions in their own words. For good or for bad, cut them some slack and try to read beyond the mere words and try to understand the concepts they are trying ...

IF I WERE KING….. I am sure that at some point of your life you said to yourself, if I were king (or queen) I would change the following, because like me you know what’s right and what’s best. So here’s my rant (short for tyrant). The rules are simple, as there are only two rules. The first is that since I am king I make no mistakes. Rule two is that if you think I made a mistake, refer back to rule one.   So, in my kingdom, I believe in shooting the messenger. All uselessness and useless people will be expunged, prosperity for the people will be the mandate and all evil will be vanquished from my realm. As my ...

         mr moneybags                                                                           For those of you that don’t know “Mr. Moneybags is the name, property is the game.” Have you ever wondered how 4 houses eventually turn into a hotel? Shouldn’t the 5th house become a mansion or an estate or something other than a hotel?  I personally have no answer but I am going to take this opportunity to segue into my blog because truth be told I couldn’t come up with a better way to start. Speaking of hotels, why do they still use the “five star rating system”? Do they not realize how silly the system has become? What would a 2 star hotel actually be? (Hostels, motels, and YMCA’s don’t count as hotels, ...