Airline baggage fees - should I check or carry on?

Southwest airlines has been running a very productive add lately on TV about how they are not charging baggage fees to check luggage. However, since Southwest does not fly everywhere we want to travel, at some point will be faced with either paying the baggage checking fee or carrying on our luggage.

Someone asked me the other day in preparation for a trip what she should do. And after going over the usuals - are you bringing hiking poles, do you want to bring a pocket knife, can you fit all your clothes in a small enough bag - I realized there is one more thing involved. While the fees are certainly annoying, sometimes whether to carry-on or check-thorugh your luggage is not always about the money. Which is the bigger inconvenience to you?

Is buying trial-sized portions of everything or repacking what you have at home a big deal or expense? Will it be enough for a week? This was a tropical destination, so sunscreen was the biggest concern for quantity. Do you have time to stop and get sunscreen when you arrive and what will the cost difference be between buying it at your local superstore or getting it in beach town ? Are you someone who can live with fewer clothing changes and enjoys packing very efficiently? Are you making connections in other airports and are you ok with taking your luggage everywhere you go? Or would you worry more about whether your bag will get lost?

Personally, I do not like schlepping my luggage all around airports and through security and trying to find overhead space for it. And, so far, the fees have not been so exorbitant to make that outweigh paying for someone else to take care of my bag. I also don't get extremely stressed out about whether my luggage will make it. I assume more times than not it will all work out. Some may find they'd rather keep their luggage with them for sense of security and find the fees more distasteful than the other aspects taking check-on luggage adds.

So, next time you pack for a trip and run through the list of whether you could/should carry-on or check-through, also remember to do a self check-in to remember what type of travel personality you have. Because for some of us, the money is not the more limiting factor. Deb

Happy New Year

Today is the last day of 2009 and also the last day of the "oughts". It is also a full moon and a blue moon and a partial lunar eclipse. Energetically speaking - it should be quite a night!

It is typical to make New Years resolutions at this time of year, though I have never been one for that as I like to "take stock" of my life on a more regular basis than once a year. I do like the concept of resolutions - setting a goal for some area of improvement in your life. However, it so often happens that our lofty goals at the beginning of the year fall by the way side after a couple months. Because let's face it - it's hard to make significant changes in our life sometimes without some really strong external factor.

The self-improvement path you embark on will stick much better if you have a proverbial carrot motivating you. We all have different carrots, - signing up for a triathlon, a medical scare, a new partner or newly dating, etc. I have noticed over the past several years of working for Adventures in Good Company that signing up for an active vacation is a great motivator for the resolution to get in better physical condition. In fact, just today we received an email from someone telling us she has started a consistent exercise routine in the past month to get ready for an April trip and she is feeling (and looking) more fit. Even my exercise routine - and my enthusiasm for exercise - gets a boost when I am scheduled to guide a trip. Not only do you have a reason to get in better shape (so you can participate in the physical activities of the trip) but the trip in itself is a reward. It is a VACATION. Going to a beautiful location, having fun, eating good food and relaxing - that's motivation!

Here's wishing you all a Happy New Year! May 2010 be filled with love, light, laughter, health, relaxation and adventure! And maybe even an AIGC trip! deb

Back from the Adirondacks

I just returned from our first joint venture with another company, one where we combined our respective areas of expertise. We have been offering a week-long trip in the Adirondacks at the height of the fall foliage for several years, one that was hiking and paddling with some visits to other sites. This year we worked with WomanTours for a trip that offered three days of biking, two and a half days of hiking, and a day of paddling, and WomanTours owner Jackie Marchand guided it with me. There were times when she missed not having a second full-fledged bike guide or I missed not having a regular hiking or paddling guide. But overall we worked it out and it was fun for me to have a brand new guiding experience.

It was also interesting to see how another company operates and to talk about what challenges we share and which are different. At the beginning of the trip I had a serious case of "trailer envy"-they have a trailer that is outfitted to carry luggage, extra bikes, and kitchen gear which makes setting up picnic lunches so much easier. But then Jackie told me how she plans the schedule around getting the vans with their trailers to the right places at the right times and the challenges of keeping all the bikes in good shape as they are spread out around the country. It makes our equipment challenges seem so minor in comparison! I am happy for Adventures in Good Company to keep offering almost everything but biking and to recommend WomanTours without reservation for any woman looking for a fantastic cycling tour.

Hiking or kayaking as meditation

As I was driving to the airport from our recent hiking trip in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, I was talking with one of the participants in the van about her recent kayaking trip. She said how much she loved kayaking, that when she did it she just became completely absorbed in the movement and the water. I said something about how it was a very meditative activity and that I had the same experience with hiking. She disagreed and said how she had once tried meditation as part of a yoga class and had really disliked it- and as a result the concept of meditation had a very negative connotation for her.

Whether we choose to call it meditation or not, I think for many of us who love being active and love being in nature, there is a common experience of our minds quieting down, the ceaseless internal chatter at least receding into the background, as we become absorbed in the motion and in our surroundings. As this happens, we become more present. I don't hike in order to have this experience, which occurs more rarely than I would like. I hike because I love being out, and I love the way my body feels, and I love seeing panoramic scenery and wildflowers and trees. And when I have those times of feeling completely present - that is a gift.

Welcome Ms Divine!

Deb Malmon, the other full-time person here at Adventures in Good Company, got married last weekend to her long-time partner Sean Divine. You can see pictures of the happy event on our Facebook page . In true guidely fashion, although she did leave her hiking boots at home and trade her hiking pants for a dress, the event took place over the weekend at a campground and the honeymoon suite was a tent. She and Sean arranged almost everything and a lovely time was had by all. She actually is not going to take his last name- she says that Deb Divine sounds like a porn star and besides, she has had her name for 40 years and prefers to keep it.

All of us at Adventures in Good Company congratulate Deb on her marriage and look forward to the time when anyone who wants to make a long-term commitment to his or her partner enjoys the same civil right!

Airline to avoid

Sometimes an airline develops the stink of failure. Two prime symptoms: 1) the prices are low. By itself, this is not necessarily a red flag. But if you couple that with 2) they start canceling flights, then you know they are in trouble. Couple that with 3) bad PR, and you know the low price is because they are desperate to get more fliers. But here's the problem- if you give in to the lure of the low price, are you sure they will still be flying when you have the ticket for? And even if they are still alive, if they are canceling flights left and right, what good does your ticket do anyway?

Last Sunday I was sitting in the Manchester NH airport. My Southwest flight had been rescheduled because of earlier bad weather in the area that had a domino effect. But all the flights were still going, just late. In contrast US Airways had 3 flights. They canceled the first and the last- not rescheduled, but out and out canceled. So anyone who was on the late flight who didn't check flight status (because maybe they were on vacation) would be out of luck. And anyone on the earlier flight would simply get home much later. On that same night one of our guides trying to get to Maine had her US Airways flight canceled and she had to buy a whole new ticket.

So that does it for me. We are not booking any more US Airways flights to anywhere ever again, no matter what the price. Some times it is time for an airline to disappear. I would argue that it is that time for US Airways.

An intriguing new book

Do you like going where there are lots of other people or do you love not seeing another American (or tour group from any country) the entire time? I'm in the latter category and it was one of the things that many of us loved on both the Croatia and the Bulgaria trips. And now there is a book for all of us who feel that way- Off the Tourist Trail: 1,000 Unexpected Travel Alternatives, published by DK Eyewitness Travel.

In nine different chapters (e.g. Ancient and Historical Sights, Natural Wonders, Beaches) the book describes an alternative to some place famous, explains why the famous destination is not what you might hope it will be, and then also lists additional lesser known but wonderful alternatives. It gives practical information for the alternative suggestion and advice if you decide to visit the famous destination anyway. For example, it suggests Bryce Canyon over the Grand Canyon because the Grand Canyon is both crowded and commercialized (not the way we visit it, which is backpacking, but for most people I totally agree). It explains why Bryce is so amazing, where to stay and eat and when to go, what to budget - and suggests if you want to see the Grand Canyon anyway, go to the North Rim. Other alternatives listed include Copper Canyon, Zion Canyon, Waimea Canyon, and Canyon de Chelly.

The book is very well written with gorgeous photographs. My only complaint, and this is minor, is that it is a large book format and costs $40. But I definitely plan to spend some time reading it and see what other ideas it gives me for trips....