I’ve been very busy lately — too busy to write a real entry. But here’s another helicopter video for those who are interested in these things.
In this video, I’m coming in to Lake Chelan Airport from the south. The video includes a 1500 fpm descent — that’s about the same descent rate as an engine-failure autorotation maneuver — to the Columbia River. Includes some views of Chelan Falls and the lake.
It’s a short video; I didn’t want to bore anyone!
Mike finally wises up.
My husband, Mike, is always looking for a travel deal. While there’s nothing wrong with that, what he usually winds up with is a prepaid travel deal with restrictions and other strings attached that make the trip a little less pleasant.
His use of Hotwire, for example, has screwed us up more than once. He often uses it to book hotels. He claims he gets a better deal. What he usually gets, however, is a substandard room in the least desirable part of the hotel that doesn’t match his requests. I’m talking about the third-floor room in a high-rise that overlooks the air conditioning units on the roof of the hotel’s conference center. Or the one across the hall from the ice machine or elevator bank or housekeeping storage closet.
The request thing really bugs me. Hotwire — and most of those special deal booking services — include a field in the reservation form where you can enter requests, such as “quiet room” or “upper floor.” It usually also includes form fields for bed size (i.e., King, 2 Queens, etc.). The trouble is, the hotels either don’t see or don’t get these requests. While we’ve never been stuck in a smoking room after requesting nonsmoking, we seldom get our requested bed size (a single King or Queen). And the other requests regarding room type are usually ignored.
So what is your special deal getting you? Certainly not what you wanted.
And what kind of a deal is that?
While it really doesn’t matter on a one-night stay, getting a less-than-satisfactory room on a multi-night stay can really ruin the trip, especially if it’s supposed to be for pleasure.
The hotels, in the meantime, don’t give a shit about you. In their eyes, you’re paying $99 for a $199 room — or whatever your special deal is — and you’re at the very bottom of their list for service. They don’t care about you. They don’t want your kind in their hotel. The very fact that they have to take in Hotwire guests cheapens their establishment, in their eyes. So when you realize that your vacation is about to be ruined by your room’s view of the garbage dumpsters rather than the mountains or ocean on the other side of the building, and ask to get a different room, they respond that the hotel is full. They’re not even willing to do a deal with you for an upgrade. I think it’s because you pay Hotwire for the room — not the hotel itself — and making a change is likely to start an accounting nightmare for whoever’s at the desk.
This happened to us twice on trips Mike booked for the two of us. After the second time, I made him promise he’d never book a hotel through Hotwire for a trip I was going on with him. But Mike continues to use Hotwire for his solo trips, and for the trips he takes with his family members. Whatever.
Well, Mike got bit bad by Hotwire this week. He’s flying to Seattle to visit me out in central Washington. I told him to fly into Wenatchee, which is 30 miles from where I was staying, but he was too cheap to pay the extra $220 airfare from Seattle to Wenatchee. He expected me to drive the 300 round trip miles twice to pick him up in Seattle and then take him back. When I explained that wasn’t happening in my 10 miles per gallon truck, he decided to rent a car. I had no problem with that because I figured that whatever he rented would be more comfortable and fuel-efficient than my 1994 Ford F150 redneck truck.
Now, I’ve rented cars too many times to count over the past 20 or so years. I don’t like doing it. There are too many different prices and options and add-on fees. I’ve found that the very best way to get a good deal is to check the Web sites or call the toll-free numbers for the top 3-5 car rental places that serve the market you’re going to and get quotes. Have your AAA or AOPA or whatever discount code ready. Unless you’re traveling with a lot of people, always ask for the smallest, cheapest car. Nine times out of 10, you’ll get upgraded for free. (I’ve been upgraded to convertibles, minivans, SUVs, and even sports cars.) The trick is to compare apples to apples to make sure each quote is for the complete and total amount. When you find the best price, book it through the car rental agency. They usually just ask for a name and phone number; they seldom ask for a credit card. You write down the confirmation number and present it at the rental counter when you arrive.
But Mike reserved through Hotwire. And not only did they charge him over $350 up front for the entire rental, but the “reservation” was non-refundable. So when I picked up a contract in the Chelan, WA area and needed my truck (and its miserable fuel transfer system) up there with me, he was unable to cancel the car reservation and make the plane reservation (as I’d originally requested — and yes, that’s an “I told you so”). As a result, he’s paying $350 to rent a car to drive himself from Seattle to Quincy and back again. For the rest of his stay, the car will be parked in front of my camper at the Quincy Golf Course.
After battling with a “supervisor” at Hotwire and the rental car agency and getting nowhere, he admitted that he’d learned his lesson: He will never book anything with Hotwire again.
I guess the thing that bugs me most about this affair is the fact that you can really get screwed just trying to save a few bucks. And while it’s nice to save money when you can, there comes a point when saving $20 or $50 on a 10-day car rental isn’t worth the restrictions and headaches that go along with the savings. In this case, by booking his car rental through Hotwire a few days in advance of the trip, he forfeited all of his travel flexibility.
Moments ago, with 10 minutes of work, without any discount codes, I found a suitable car rental through Enterprise for $373.56 — less than $25 more. Is it worth $25 — less than 7% of the purchase price — to pay for something in advance without any chance of refund?
To add insult to injury, our financial situation does not make it vital to save the $25. It’s not like we’re broke. But that’s part of the big picture. And sometimes, for some people, it’s tough to see the forest for the trees.
With a landing beside the motel.
I relocated to Pateros, WA today. I’d been based in Quincy, WA for about three weeks when my contracts ended. My second batch of contracts had been pushed back a week, leaving me with 2 weeks with nothing to do. But I soon found another contract — this one 50 miles (as the helicopter flies) north at Brewster. Because the motel at Brewster was supposed to be pretty bad, they set me up at the Lake Pateros Motor Inn, right on the Columbia River, between Brewster and Lake Chelan.
I flew up to Chelan to meet with my dispatcher. He’s the guy who will call me and send me to the various orchards that need drying. I used my POV.1 camera to capture the highlights (such as they were) of my flight from Quincy Airport to Chelan Airport. You can view it here:
After filling up with fuel and killing time reading about the 100 Things to Do in Chelan, my contact, Dan, drove up. After a quick chat, he told me I should move my helicopter over to an area away from the pumps. That, of course, required that I start up the helicopter and fly it over. It was about 200 yards away, in a grassy area on the other side of a bunch of hangars. I suspect that Dan just wanted to check out my hovering abilities because there really wasn’t any reason for me to move. But I moved and made a nice smooth landing on the grass.
I got into his truck and he went over the paperwork with me. There was a lot of it, but not more than I can handle. Then he drew a map to show me where the motel in Pateros was and where I should land the helicopter beside it. We talked about where the orchards were. He said he’d send Mark, another pilot, out to fly with me this afternoon to show me the orchards. And that was it.
Well, he did tell me a funny story about what his one-year-old puppy did one afternoon when he left her home alone, but I’d better not repeat it here. Let’s just say it involved dirty laundry, a doggie pool, and the UPS lady.
I climbed back into my helicopter as Dan drove away. I fired it up and turned on the camera. I then proceeded to record the video embedded below. This video features a landing on the grassy spot to the east of the hotel, right along the river.
I have to say that I’m getting better at recording these things. Although I don’t like the mount I used for these flights — I call it the “wiggle-stick” because of the way it vibrates in flight — I am getting better at narrating what’s going on. I hope some of the people who visit the blog find them interesting. If you do, please use the Comment link or form to let me know so I keep delivering them.
My way.
Mike and I love creamed spinach. Although we can buy it frozen in a microwaveable bag, we both prefer it fresh. Here’s my microwave-friendly recipe.
Ingredients:
Cooking Instructions:
If you use a microwave to prepare the sauce, cover until the flour has been added to prevent splattering. Zap the mixture for one minute at a time, stirring after each minute.
This recipe can be multiplied.
Today’s Amazon.com order.
From living in Wickenburg, I’m extremely accustomed to online shopping. In fact, other than groceries and minor household/hardware items and, of course, feed for the horses, I buy just about everything online.
Today, I started work on a book that I don’t think I’m supposed to talk about yet. And in using my MacBook Pro, I realized that I really miss my Mighty Mouse. So I ordered one. It’ll be here by the time I get back from my Brewster gig. I ordered a wired one because I really hate the wireless version of this mouse. (I have one at home and purposely didn’t bring it.)
By the way, I wrote extensively about the Mighty Mouse here.
I also ordered two birdwatching books. Birds of Washington, which I borrowed from the local library, impressed me so much with its photos that I bought the Arizona version, too. I don’t know if this author has done all the states, but if you’re a birdwatcher and prefer photos over drawings, this might be the book for you. See if its available for your state.
What’s nice is that even though I’m away from home, I can still get my mail here. General Delivery is a wonderful thing.