The Journey (United Kingdom and Ireland): Flights

This post is a little different. I don't have any new trips to log, but I am planning a trip this fall. I am planning to go to the United Kingdom and Ireland. We are calling it The Journey. I just wanted to write a little post about that.

About nine months ago, I was with a friend and she asked if I wanted to go to Europe. Of course I did! I didn't take it that seriously when she said it, but I emailed her a bit later and she was serious. At the time, I was thinking perhaps we could go in two years, then I could take my time saving and mostly because planning a trip to Europe seemed daunting! However, after some discussion the idea was that we should go as soon as possible. At first we set our sites to spring of this year, but later we changed it to the fall. We didn't really want to go in the summer for several reasons: the weather, the crowds, and the costs. So we determined that spring or fall were the best times to go.

I am glad we changed our dates from the spring to the fall, mostly because by the time we were ready to buy tickets I realized we missed the best prices! I had been keeping an eye on the prices for a few months at that point, they held steady for the most part, but went down at the end of October, mostly because I think more airlines set their 2016 schedules which added more flights and more competition. I was mainly looking at Norwegian, as well as a few sites like Kayak for prices. Then, in early November the prizes jumped up. Not a significant amount, but after seeing how low the prizes could get, I was a little frustrated. Luckily, we did decide to go in the fall, which allowed me to revamp my strategy. In February, I started looking at flights for the fall, using different scenarios for dates and destinations in order to figure out which was the best. We didn't necessarily want the least expensive flight, especially if they were 36 hours, but we did want to find a good deal.

I found a lot of interesting things. First, most of the best deals are out of airports on the East coast. There are some good deals from California, but for there are more deals and often better deals from New York. Also, if you try to get a flight from the West coast to the East coast, then to Europe, it doesn't save you any money and sometimes it is more expensive than flying directly.

By the end of March and beginning of April we had our dates set, so I looked up flights on Kayak, Google and Norwegian every day for a few weeks. I started to see a pattern. When the flights went up on the weekends, and then dropped dramatically on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I knew what my strategy would be. We were able to get good flights with one stop each way, one to Ireland and one out of London from United.

Anyway, I learned that it pays off to be vigilant, to have a plan, but also to be flexible, and don't wait too long to buy flights. Flights are still by far the most expensive part about The Journey, but they were much more affordable than I had thought, and well worth it.

Flagstaff and Beyond

Friday, May 13th, 2016 Phoenix to Flagstaff

Up in the morning bright and early because Jojo, my dog, put his face in my face and stared at me until I opened my eyes. He does that often. Got in some coffee, finished a puzzle and made some scrambled eggs with corn tortillas and salsa for breakfast. Yum! Dogs got some eggs in their bowls too, and I wonder why Jojo wakes me up.

Then, we headed out to Melissa and Bernie's (my parents) home. My grandma, Mary Lou, was scheduled to arrive at 11 from Tucson and we would all ride up to Flagstaff together. The occasion of the trip is that my sister, Caitlin, is graduating as a Doctor of Physical Therapy from NAU, after 3 long years of school and fellowships. So we have a celebratory dinner at 6 pm in the conference center of the Drury tonight. Tomorrow the Scotts: Jim, Karen, Carson, Megan, Bre and Paul (not a Scott by name), David Saegart, Mary Dillon and Tyler Emery will join us for the graduation and a celebratory family dinner in Flagstaff.

Grandma arrived a little after 11, but this was alright because the hotel, Twin Arrows Casino's check in is not until 4. Dad and I took my brother, Tyler's, car to his house  (my dad and brother had swapped cars and they needed to swap back, except that Tyler lost the keys to Dad's car. Therefore, dropping the car off and having Mom and Grandma pick us up was the plan). We arrived at the house about 10 minutes before Mom. So we started to walk back to the main road. I wanted the exercise, really I wanted to be doing something and not waiting. We didn't make it too far before we were picked up.

After the pick-up we stopped for coffee, Starbucks, and got onto the freeway to head to Flagstaff.

We have a tradition in our family, that when we go on a trip we sing this little jingle that goes: "Hey, hey we're on our way, we won't be back for many of day." So once we were on the 101 we sang this jingle. Grandma started adding lyrics to the song! Apparently, the song is an old song that Harry Bexaten sang called, Farewell Jamaica. My dad who had founded the tradition, may have forgotten this fact over the years. What a surprise!

I sent Caitlin and Dave, her boyfriend, a message when we reached the 303. They were about 30 to 45 minutes behind us, and they had traffic. Which we found as well in Camp Verde. There was construction on the bridge and it backed the traffic up for miles! One thing entertaining about the traffice was the onion truck in the lane next to ours. We judged all our progress on whether or not it was in front of us or behind us. When we got down to where the construction began we called Caitlin and they had passed the onion truck too. We told them that they should hop on and off the highway at Camp Verde to avoid that slowest part of the traffic.

After the construction we stopped off at the next exit to use the bathroom and to get a snack. We introduced G'Ma Mary Lou to Klondike Bars. She really liked them. So now I think I can bribe her to do things in order to get more Klondike Bars.

We made the rest of the trip without incident, but Twin Arrows Casino is about 20 minutes East of Flagstaff. The longest 20 minutes of the trip I think. Guess what Caitlin and Dave beat us to the hotel! They didn't get Klondike bars.

Because of the traffic, we only had about 45 minutes to get ready. So no naps! We got ready like Champs and all looked like we were put together nicely. So I don't think we embarrassed Caitlin too much. We arrived at the dinner on time, and were able to secure a table. Dinner was chicken Marsala with salad, desert and drinks. There were very interesting speeches, though some of the jokes were related to surpassing graduate school, and were probably better received by the graduates than by me. Guess what! They handed out certificates of completions and Caitlin's had someone else's name on it! They crossed it out and wrote hers in. She is expecting a corrected one at a later date.

After dinner G'ma Mary Lou, Melissa, Bernie and I went back to the casino. It was about 11 so we went to G'ma Mary Lou's room for a nightcap and some chatting. Then we retired for the night. The beds are very comfortable and so is the room, but one of the shutters has a broken slat and it let in a bit of little. Ah, well.

Saturday, May 14, 2016 Flagstaff

The broken slat in the bedroom is just so that when the sun rose over the distant mountains it was a bright slightly orange color in my eye. Luckily for me, I was able to move over in the bed and get a few more hours of sleep. I typically wake up around seven, so it wasn't surprising that by half after I was finally up. I put some shoes on and went downstairs to get breakfast with Bernie. We picked up Grandma Mary Lou from her room. We had breakfast in the little cafe there called Four Elements. The coffee was good so I had a few cups of that. Mom joined us before we ordered our food. I also ate two poached eggs, two pancakes and two sausages and two strips of bacon. 

Typically, I make poached eggs in a funny way where I crack the egg into the skillet and wait until it gets all white on the yellow yoke. Then, I pour a bit of water on top and cover. So, I don't think I have ever eaten a poached egg that is made in the traditional way. I liked the egg, but I am a little confused because I'm not sure if the egg is supposed to be taken out of the bowl of water or if it's supposed to be eaten inside. I did the latter, but I think that was in correct. 

After breakfast Melissa, Bernie and I brought G'Ma Mary Lou to the Casino to watch my mom play blackjack. There was a five dollar table and Melissa was dealt some really great hands and ended up winning thirty five dollars, but let it be known that she was only betting five dollars each hand for the majority of the hands. She didn't start to up her game until she won time and a half from a blackjack. She used to only bet the minimum for a long time, but she has recently started to add a dollar (sometimes more) to her bet every hand she wins. This makes for higher wins, if she wins, though it can feel like more of a hit if she loses a hand. She also has this rule that if she loses three hands in a row that she will leave the table. I think perhaps this morning she played more like her old self because her mom was watching her! 

Once she lost three hands in a row we went back to our rooms to get ready for the graduation which was at 2 pm. We needed to leave in plenty of time to get into town, park, take the shuttle to the dome and find the seats and the rest of our family. My mom was in contact with everyone driving up to Flagstaff that day. Jim, Karen, Bre and Paul left early and they had found a route around the construction, it was forty minutes out of the way, but saved hours sitting in the traffic. Carson and Megan also were able to take this route. Melissa relayed the information to David and Mary; and Tyler, but by that time there was traffic before the detour, or perhaps they had already missed the detour. 

Caitlin, the graduate, needed to be at the dome at 1 PM, so she was already getting ready in her room. We stopped in to give her presents and cards from G'Ma and me. She was very grateful and surprised! Also, she gave us a fashion show of her dress. Then, she promptly kicked us out, but we understood because it was already very close to when she needed to leave. 

I had brought a blue shirt and jeans to wear to the graduation, but the weather was supposed to be in the 70s so I thought that perhaps that would be too warm and decided to wear a blue dress that Caitlin brought up and said I could wear. There was a debate about the length of the dress, so I caught Caitlin at the very last minute before she had to leave and she approved. And since she was the one graduating, I thought that was approval enough.

To be honest, however, after seeing how cute Melissa and G'ma Mary Lou were dressed I was grateful that I had the option to wear that dress. 

My dad determine after last night that it might be beneficial to get off the freeway an exit early, Butler, and take that to San Francisco parking garage, where the shuttle was going to pick us up and take us to the dome. The decision turned out to be a good idea because Caitlin called us while driving and said that they were stuck in traffic on the freeway after Butler. She and another graduating doctor, had to get out of the car and walk down the freeway and to the shuttles on the south side of the campus. Luckily, the driver was Dave who didn't actually need to be at the dome until 2 PM. 

The shuttle system turned out to be a very successful idea and we were able to get to the dome with no trouble. Even G'ma could do it! The dome was already packed by the time we got there, but Melissa chatted with the volunteers and they said that we could sit down on the floor of the stadium if we took the stairs or the elevator down. So once we had an idea of where the stairs were we started for them. On the way we ran in to Karen, Jim, Paul and Bre! What a surprise! So, we all went to our seats together. Karen said that she saw Caitlin on our way down the stairs as the students were waiting in the stands to walk out. I didn't see Caitlin while I was walking down, but I believe her anyway. Our seats were right behind the orchestra. Which means we had very good seats! We had to split up because there wasn't enough room in one row for everyone, so I went up with Carson, Megan and Bernie to make room. Tyler and his friend Tyler; Mary and David were able to fight the traffic and make it, but I it was a close call! 

Selfie at Graduation

The ceremony was pretty nice, though as you may know graduations are not the most exciting events, and also the dome makes all the speakers voices echo, but there were some good speeches. What is important is that the speeches were not very lengthy! And it wasn't long before the Doctors of Physical Therapy were being called on stage to be hooded. When Caitlin went up, I spent a while cheering, then I tried to watch her on the stage, but I probably should have watched her on the jumbotron! After them, the masters and undergraduates were also called up, but they were not hooded, so it went much faster. Though it still took some time as there were so many of them. 

Once everyone was done and the streamer cannons went off, we had to wait until all the graduates left before we could leave. Let me tell you that almost everyone watching did not do this, but G'Ma said that we needed to. I agree, though I did stretch my legs a bit. 

Then, we went out to the grass, to find Caitlin, get pictures, and coordinate our plans for dinner. After we went to the restaurant. It was called Oakmont Restaurant. We had been to the same location for Bre's graduation, however, the name and ownership had changed.

The restaurant was nice, the menu was varied in the choices, and the food I had was good. I also was able to try some new beers while there. I really liked the Oak Creek's Amber Ale! I think some of the restaurants in Phoenix carry it, so hopefully I can have it again. 

Bernadette, Caitlin, Emy, Bre

When, we arrived at the restaurant Caitlin and Dave had already arrived and were waiting at the bar. I sat with them, and Emy, Caitlin's friend, joined us shortly after. Then, Bernie, Melissa and G'Ma Mary Lou arrived. Bernie and Mary Lou sat down next to a very nice man and G'Ma chatted him up! They talked about golf and politics! Bernie was also involved in these conversations; everyone needs a wingman. 

The bartender forgot that Emy and Melissa had ordered drinks, I guess he was distracted when he carded me! Also, since I ordered a drink for G'Ma while she was coming in, he didn't stop so that I could order my drink. That was alright because I reevaluated my drink and decided to get a beer. Yum! It  was still early enough for happy hour, and we were able to take advantage of that. Caitlin ordered nachos because they were also on the happy hour and we were all hungry. We had to move to our table before the nachos arrived, but they were still delicious. Our table was outside and there were very ominous clouds overhead, and it did get a bit misty for a few minutes out there, but by the time everyone arrived the rain had stopped and it was beautiful out. Though, I believe some people were a bit cold. 

While we were waiting for our food we noticed that on the golf course there were a bunch of groups taking pictures. The girls were wearing very formal dresses, and it took us a long time and a lot of debating to decide if these were for weddings or for a prom. We decided it must be for prom because they put masks on after a while. But the photos were very interesting, the photography even took a picture of them from below. Caitlin, Tyler, and Bre went down to the golf course to take some pictures as well, and scooped them out a bit more closely, so the prom was confirmed! 

Dr. Caitlin Emery, Tyler Emery

During dinner there were many conversations floating around the table. The table was very long and narrow so one end couldn't talk to the other, but that made the conversations flow even more. At one point, we made Caitlin take a shot of fireball, Emy had given it to her as a gift. Since we were chanting: Dr. Cait, Dr. Cait; drink, drink; and shot, shot. Caitlin had to take the shot, as the tables around us started to join in. She managed the shot in two swallows. Lot of cheers went out after that.

It was decided that the youths of the group which includes, Dave, Paul, Myself, Carson, Caitlin, Emy, Megan and Bre would go to downtown Flagstaff to celebrate Caitlin's graduation. The youths of Tyler and Tyler are currently too young to celebrate in this fashion. The mature adults meanwhile, went back to the hotel to have their own party, G'Ma made everyone drinks in her room, and they were up to no good!

The youths split up and were to meet at Emy's Hotel so that she could check in and also so she and Caitlin could change outfits. There was a big mix-up about where the hotel was located. Google Maps said it was on the Historic Route 66, but that is in correct it was on the other Route 66. Luckily, we were able to find it. Caitlin and Emy were ready quickly, though Caitlin had a bit of a time deciding on her shoes.

Then, we set up two Uber cars to pick us up. We went to Rendezvous which is in the Historic Hotel Monte Vista. This place was very cute, it served coffee and drinks, and there was a pool lounge and a cocktail lounge.

We sat on the couches for a while and had drinks and talked. I was able to see some photos of Bre and Paul's new house (possibly? not officially) and ask them about their move to Michigan coming up in June.

When Caitlin and Dave went to get another round of drinks, they did not come back, so we ended up going to hang out around the bar.

Carson, Megan and Megan's sister decided to go to the Lumberyard. Megan's mom was there and wanted to party! They were supposed to text us when they arrived at the Lumberyard because we heard there was a wait to get in. They never did text us, so I guess that means they were having too much fun and forgot!

The bar was very fun. Emy and I talked to Dave for a while. I learned that he really likes running! And it sounds like he is good at it. I also talked to some guy at the bar for a while because Emy said I should. I'm not sure which guy she meant. The guy I did talk to wasn't very good at talking, as in he wasn't asking any good questions, and I was leading most of the conversation. So, I think perhaps, I was talking to the wrong person! Ah well.

I did end up talking to this other kid a little while later. I think he was probably very young, as he acted a lot like my brother Tyler. He asked if I needed to see him later in case I wanted to smoke. I did not need to see him later, but I let him have my number anyway, because I didn't think that there was harm in it. Which, there wasn't of course!

After I returned from this very exciting conversation, we finished our drinks. Then, we walked down the streets towards Malloney's but there was a huge line, which we were not going to wait in. Then, there was a cover at the next place. We didn't really care about getting into a place with a ton of people, we just wanted to find a place with good music, where we could get a drink and keep talking. There was also a request for pizza of some kind. So we end up down the street McMillan Bar and Kitchen. It was really cool inside the seating and lighting was really nice. And the bar was working just fine, but there were a lot less people there than the other locations. We sat around a high top and chatted some more, but mostly about who is the bigger cuddler: Caitlin or Dave! The debate is still on going.

The pizza quest was on all of our minds by that point, but Caitlin cannot eat gluten, well she can, but she will be sick for several days afterwards. Dominoes has gluten free pizza which is known, and instead of looking for another place that may or may not be gluten free we decided to get pizza from there, take it back to Emy's hotel and eat it. There was a snag in the plan because the Dominoes wouldn't deliver to that side of town...so the plan was reworked. Caitlin, Dave and Paul would take their Uber to Dominoes and pick up the pizza and then meet us at the hotel. Meanwhile, Bre, Emy and I went back to the hotel straight away. While in the room we chatted some more, the topics were mostly silly by that point.

When the pizza arrived we all chowed down like we didn't eat dinner earlier in the night. There was little conversation though the pizza eating, and Emy set the television to Adventures in Babysitting, so that meant there was even less conversation.

With the pizza finished, it was time to start making plans to get back to the Twin Arrows. We were planning to taken an Uber, but because of the distance, and the late hour the fare would have been several hundred dollars. So we called Melissa to pick us up. Which she was willing to do, however after some debate we decided to see if a cab would take us there. They had flat rates and would take all five of us (Emy did not need a ride) back in one cab. So we told Melissa that she could go back to bed, which of course she did not do. Then, we waited for the cab, and waited and waited. Some of us ended up dozing, and some of us ended up sleeping, but the wait continued for over an hour. The cab did call at one point to say that they were coming, but after that there was no word from them for another 45 minutes. By that time, we determined that we could drive back ourselves.

So that's what we ended up doing, arriving at the wee hour of 4 AM. We were pretty beat at that point so the elevator ride to our rooms wasn't very eventful.

Sunday, May 15, 2016 Flagstaff to Phoenix

Despite the late night I woke up at about 7:30 AM. I attempted to go back to sleep, but could not. So I dressed and went downstairs to look for Bernie. I knew he had left earlier, and I thought I saw him put gym clothes on. I first checked in the Four Elements, but he was not there, so I went back to find the fitness center. While doing so I ran into David and Mary, and also Karen. They were coming down to breakfast, but they came with me to check in the fitness center for my Dad. He wasn't there! We decided that checking in the fitness center was as good as going to the fitness center for the day. Ha!

After that I decided to join them, and also Jim, Bre and Paul (who were on their way) for breakfast. I didn't bring down my purse, so I had to go back for that. I found Jim on my way back from that that task and we went down together. On my way down G'Ma called, I told her about breakfast and asked if she would want to join us. I also asked if she wanted me to pick her up, but she said she could find it. Which she did! But not before my Dad showed up. I guess he was watching someone in the casino playing blackjack in an unusual way like splitting 3s and etc. It sounded like the guy was very lucky despite his playing tactics.

The nine of us all ate breakfast. I had fruit and toast. The fruit was just as good as it looked on other people's plate the day before. The toast was just toast. The coffee was also refreshing. After breakfast Karen and Bre were leaving to get a rental car and drive to Durango, Colorado. While Jim and Paul were returning to Tucson.

I went back upstairs and tried to sleep a little more, but it wasn't working. So when my mom said that she wanted to eat, I went to sit with her. G'Ma, Mary and David joined us after a bit. Mary and David offered to drive G'Ma to Phoenix and then one of them would drive with her back to Tucson. So they stayed for just a bit longer before going. Melissa finished her breakfast, and then we, with Bernie, went back to the Casino. Bernie played a few hands, but lost three in a row almost immediately. He lost so quickly he made Melissa a little nervous. So she only bet five dollars every hand. Still she ended up winning again and she was up sixty-five dollars for the entire weekend.

After losing three hands in a row she cashed out, and then we went upstairs to get ready to check out. We stopped by Caitlin and Dave's room because Caitlin had two more cards to open and also to say goodbye to them. Then, we went to our room to pack up.

The trip down to Phoenix was much easier than the way up, though there was some traffic it didn't last too long. We also stopped at Melissa's favorite exit (Cottonwood/Camp Verde exit) and had mini Blizzards at Dairy Queen.