AT HOME IN HEATH: JUST WHEN I LEAST EXPECTED IT, A RIVER CRUISE
We choose to live a frugal life. Sometimes we run into a financial boundary I find inconvenient, but I get over it pretty quickly. At the end of the day, I love laying my head on the pillow of financial security.
Travel is a Luxury Item
In late December I asked Bill if we’d have room in the budget for travel in 2016. Family concerns and budgetary constraints have dominated our lives for a number of years. We’ve enjoyed a few vacations, but there have been blinders on our imagination. I had my parents’s health to consider, we’ve built a house and there have been other issues. Bill was ready to put travel back in the budget, but with limitations.
His first suggestion was Myrtle Beach. I grew up going to Myrtle Beach and loving it, but on my last trip I was dismayed by the number of miniature golf parks and beach towel emporiums. My memories of Myrtle Beach involved a cozy beach shack and driving to Calabash for fried flounder. A few years ago with my mom, I discovered that Myrtle Beach no longer exists and I wasn’t crazy about spending the money to confirm it again.
To me, Destin sounded like a better beach target. I started researching Destin and proposed several road trip itineraries, but none of them floated Bill’s boat. So, we discussed other items on my American short list. At the top of that list is the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Belle Grove Plantation on the banks of the Rappahannock River in Virginia and perennial loves, like Sedona. Bill still wasn’t buying into it. Then I mentioned Washington State and reminded him of all the places we’d fallen in love with when we were researching the Pacific Northwest for other potential vacations. I was given permission to start thinking toward a fall road trip in Washington, which would include a visit to Butchart Gardens in Victoria BC.
Then There Was the Travel Show
Even when we are not in the market for a home, my husband loves walking through model homes and open houses. I’m the same way about travel shows. Even though I’m not going to put down a deposit on a cruise or a tour, I love to go and acquaint myself with the possibilities. I love sharing what I learn here on my blog and enjoy creating wonderful travel fantasies in my head.
So, I went to the CTC travel show and brought home tons of brochures and spread them around my den to enjoy. To my surprise, Bill picked up one of those brochures and fell in love with a price point. A clipper ship cruise has always sounded intriguing to me, even if it wasn’t at the top of my wish list, but if that’s what Bill wanted to do, then I was all for it.
I called the travel agent and she gave me additional information about the clipper ship cruise with the great price point, but she also invited us to a Viking Cruise wine tasting event scheduled for that evening. From the minute the Viking presentation started, it was all over for the clipper ship. For several days my email box and my phone were very busy. The bottom line? Sandra Rubio booked us for Viking’s Danube Waltz Cruise in mid-April and she did it for a price I would have never dreamed possible. If you are even thinking of a cruise, then I suggest you give Sandra a shout. Her email is Sandra@CruiseTourCenter.com, or you can call her at 214-206-4488 or 800-447-4435.
I’ll be exuding my joy over this trip in the days to come and then I’ll give you all the details when I come home, but for now, I just wanted you to know who to call if cruising was in your future.
jane sadek 