Relax your on vacation and beside you might learn a thing or two

4/5/09



Hi All, Helpful Hank Here, Today I would like to talk a bit about Travel. Now Hanks husband does a lot of traveling, But O’l Hank here doesn’t get to do a whole lot himself. I have to keep the home fires burning. When I do get to travel, I enjoy it. For the most part, it is just as easy and safe to travel by plane, and sometimes even cheaper then to travel by car. I haven’t been many places but where I have been for the most part I have enjoyed. I would say that every one of the trips I have taken have a special place inside of me. I may not remember every little detail but the key points are still there. A few trips really stand out for me. My First trip to Canada, we stopped on the way in Laramie Wyoming. Who would have thought that just a few short years later a young boy by the name of Mathew Shepard would have lost his life? It is such a sweet and innocent looking town. I remember the people to be nothing but nice.

My trip to the Estes Park in Colorado We drove into town just as the parade was coming up the street for the Scottish Irish Games. We had to pull off the side off the road and let the parade pass us by.

My trip to Hawaii were I got to swim by happenstance with a giant Sea tortes and view those magnificent sun sets and the trip on saddle back road in the mustang convertible.

My trip to Nashville and the Ryman Auditorium. Seeing the Mother Church was a site. It’s funny we call it taking a vacation or holiday but I think we learn the most when we are on vacation. Here’s the thing. We are given opportunities to meet new and interesting people and see things we have not seen before or not noticed before. So our minds are open to learning as well as experiences that can alter us forever both good and bad.

For years, I did not like Donald Duck. When I was seven years old, we went to Disney Land. I couldn’t wait to see Mickey and Donald and get their autographs. I got Mickey’s autograph and a picture. I went to get Donald’s autograph and he scribbled all over Mickey’s autograph. I wasn’t about to take my picture with that trader.

One camping trip with my family a man lost his life in the lake at the campsite as everyone watched. That night my family gathered everyone in the campsite, we had a big O’l fire, and every kid was given something to make music with as my father played guitar and we sang away our troubles. It was the only camping trip that my Grandmother who I was very close to and grandfather ever went on with us.

In Yosemite, I never felt as small or tall standing next to those rocks. When a couple of cubs were treed the rangers that came to rescue them… Lets just say something was awakened that summer. Pikes Peak, Amazing. Other trips have had things fascinating as well. In Canada we saw an intricate drawing of a male nude in pencil on tile that had to have taken a bit of time to do. In Wyoming, we saw this flat rock about 20’ around that set centered on a pointed rock as if it were a table waiting to be sat at. In Hawaii it was the Guys playing Volley Ball in a sandy area between to sets of building wearing nothing but board shorts, Getting caught in the rain with the top down coming back on saddle back road from Hilo, Seeing wild orchids growing on the side of the road and, graffiti done with little white stones on the sides of large slanted and flat rocks. In Arizona, we got off on the wrong road and I have this great picture set in the middle of the Arizona desert were my best friend her husband myself and my husband are standing at different points. We ended up in one of the vortex areas. But that dirt road got us back to where we were staying and we had an adventure in the process. Those red rocks are incredible.

I may not travel the world (yet) but, I have been quit a number of places. The things that I have learned are that a vacation should always be enjoyable, even when you have mishaps, you can still have an enjoyable vacation. You will only have as much fun as you let yourself. We tend to be more open to experiences (which can be both good and bad.) which we can learn from. The memories you will take away are priceless.

I recently planned a trip to see my best friend, my G son’s mother as well as my G-son. I made sure that I planned the trip plenty in advance. And got on-line to check out flights. For me and for many people the best place to do this are sites such as Travelocity and Price Line. With Price Line, you can actually bid your fare. Tell them what your travel dates are and where you are traveling to and what you want to pay. They then will let you know when that fare is available. Two things here in doing this,1. Allow your self enough time to see if you can get the price, you want. (You can’t expect to bid on a trip that you are taking next week) and 2. Be prepared to pay for that trip when they contact you. To let you know your price has been met. Also allow yourself time to make arrangements if your price isn’t met. If you haven’t received notification that your price has been met, you want at least a 2 weeks to try and find a flight that is closer to your price range. If you don’t mind, flying stand by, taking a red eye or having layovers you might get an even better deal as well. Sometimes not flying directly to your destination can be a good thing. The trade off is time spent in an airport. You can also combine Hotel and Flight packages which can also save you money as well. Last minute travelers can also find deals on these sites as well.

These sites such as Price Line and Travelocity all have the same flights and sometimes it is just a matter of fees. (The fewer the better I opt for none) These sites make money off of your flight the fees are just cream on top. The fees can vary from site to site but they all have them hidden or seen it is just a matter of how much. Another thing to be aware of is luggage weight restrictions. I believe on most are lines your bag is aloud to be 50 lbs. anything over that you get charged. My Husband went over that his last flight home and it cost him a hundred dollars (it didn’t help that he had a bathroom sink in his suitcase. (A marble bowl that sits counter top it weighed about twenty-five pounds.) The charges can add up quickly for luggage over the weight limit.

I always say save your airline miles for a trip you really want to take. If you don’t have a mileage card get one that works with the airline, you are most likely to travel on for your trips. Or sign up for a mileage program directly with that airline. Always be aware of restrictions and black out dates even with sites like Price Line and Travelocity. You can also travel off-season safely to many locations and still have a blast

My last tips on travel are this, plan out what you would like to see once you arrive at your destination but don’t fill every waking moment with an activity. You should always have time for the unexpected. Don’t save it for the last day either. As you may find that you want to explore it more. If you are planning an extended stay somewhere (a week or more.) use that first full day to just explore and get your bearings. Sometimes the most enjoyable part of your vacation can come from the unexpected and oft not traveled roads we take. In countries where travel outside certain areas is dangerous believe it. Always pack things like Band-Aids, Pepto, aspirin ect. Any liquid items should be in your checked in luggage, as it won’t be confiscated. Make a list of Items you need to be sure to pack and check it off as they get packed. Forgetting your camera can be costly. It is also always good to keep your souvenir buying to a minimum. When I went to Hawaii we went to a flea market/swap meet on Hilo. They had beads that were made from local seeds shells and other native materials so I bought some put them on hemp cords and gave those as necklaces to the people I had planned to bring something back for. In Arizona I brought back pieces of red rock picked up a book on how to paint native symbols and once home with a little black paint and an over coat of varithain I created my souvenirs
On my trip to North Carolina to see my sister. I mined for stones. I got to keep what I found it cost me five dollars and I was and still am able to make pieces of jewelry as gifts. Mining for stones or gold can be a fun outing for a group of friends a family or, by yourself.

For those of you thinking about a Staycation as they are calling them. Make sure before you decide to do so that there are plenty of things for you to do on your day trips. See things in your area you haven’t taken the time to see. Go down to your local tourism center and find out in advance what there is to do in your hometown that you might not have thought of. You can then make an informed disicssion as to whether or not a staycation is right for you. And My very last 2 Tips are.1. Your on vacation NO WORK ALLOWED! This is a chance to relax and unwind. Why do you need to call the office? When I went to Hawaii I thoroughly enjoyed myself. When I got back my boss had closed up shop. There really wasn’t anything I could do while on vacation except enjoy it and If I had known I would have worried the whole time ( actually my husband says if we had known we would have stayed longer.) The bottom line is your job will be there when you get back and if not you’ll find another. Life is two short to fret on vacation. 2. don’t put yourself in hock to go on vacation. If you do come back and have a situation like mine happen at least you’ll have some money saved to live on while you get situated in another position.

The most important things about taking a vacation are to relax, unwind and, have fun. That’s what vacations are suppose to be.

Helpful Hanks Handy Hints: When going on Vacation tidy your house before you leave. There is nothing worse then coming home to a place that needs cleaning. On top of it you have all your un packing to do so there is more work on top of what you have left yourself. Also it is great to come home and have one day of rest before you have to go back to work.

Hank

Helpful Hank is written by Russell E. Bertlow © 2009 All rights reserved. No portion of this blog may be reprinted in part or whole without the express written permission from Russell E. Bertlow.

Helpful Hanks Advice, Handy Hints, Bargains and, Deals. A Marbled Mosaic

Hi all, Helpful Hank here,
In my last post I talked about two words Hope and Patients and how I have learned valuable lesson from each of these word and, how they have shaped my life. I’d like to know what you folks think. What words, phrases, or sayings motivate you? How have they have shaped you on your life’s journey.

Here are some replies to Helpful Hanks first post

Dear Helpful Hank,
Boiling water works well sometimes also along with the best way, a pipe wrench, remove and clean the trap.
Deserttrek.

Thanks for the Tip Deserttrek. I am sure my readers will find it helpful



Helpful Hank:

Looking forward to your blog, it sounds like a great idea, and fun to see what surfaces round here! Best of luck too!

I know where there are literally 100's, if not 1000's of pounds of huge slabs, and tiles of marble. Slate, and other large pieces of natural stone that has either been removed in remodeling, or teardowns but do not contain any cement, or glue on them. Can these pieces be used in artist's mosaic works, or any other reuses that you could list? I really hate to see them go unused, and become buried in the sand where some of them lie, or turned into pebbles by land graders in the years to come.

I see beautiful pieces of solid wood furniture on curbs for the trash to take, or dumped in empty lots valley wide that are often rare woods, priceless antique. These items often contain hardware such as hinges, drawer slides, knobs, pulls, and decorum that are in perfect condition and again, often rare and unique items simply discarded.
Are there any uses for these items that are quite expensive to purchase and many are unique, and/or no longer manufactured. As a seller on E-bay I assure you what I am describing have a very high general resale value.

Any ideas, suggestion, or local references of someone who may be able to help me find a place for reuse or resale would be appreciated?

Suzie Adams

Dear Suzie, I love using pieces of scrap marble for mosaics. I use to work for a Marble contractor and obtained some through away pieces. I broke them up and using an Old coffee table that had no top to it I took a ¾” piece of Plywood cut it to size and used the Marble to create a new coffee table. This is a great way to recycle. The one thing you want to make sure of is that the pieces you use be of relatively the same thickness so you have a smooth surface on your mosaic. As the say one persons trash is another persons treasure and you never know what you are going to find discarded behind some of these high end resale shops, or even at garage sales. Sometimes you can find a piece of furniture that has great bones but it just needs to be refinished. Recently had been discussing making under the bed storage and I kid you not that evening we went to our favorite dumpster dive spot and sitting right next to the dumpster were to sets of drawers used for a waterbed. Each set had three drawers one drawer had it slider wheel detached. So we took it home I refinished it and we now use it for storage under the bed. The plus, was that it also had the cut plywood that lies on top and although I didn’t need those pieces for this project, I can use them for another project. Nice hardware can be expensive so if you can find it free take it while it is and use it. It is better then it going in a landfill. Your Ideas are both great ideas. Thank you for your question. And Hey if you’d like to share where that marble is We are looking for a few pieces in this house to redo bathroom counters. Now there’s an idea mosaic counter top made with Marble or Slate. Something to think about.

Remember we are all Imperfectly Perfect

Helpful Hank

Helpful Hanks handy Hints:
1. When you find old furniture with good hardware you can use that old hardware such as drawer knobs and pulls to give an existing piece a new look.

2.When breaking up old pieces of stone, marble, slate or other such pieces, lay the piece upside down a board you have place on the ground to break it up on. By breaking it up from the backside, you are not damaging the top side.
Also, make sure to wear protective eyewear as chips can fly up.

3. When going to get your vehicle serviced oil changes and what not always look to see if the shop has any discounts or coupons that you can print out from their web site. It can save you money. I recently had my oil changed and saved about 10 bucks. Hey that’s almost 3/4 tank of gas on my S-10
Write Helpful Hank at: askhelpfulhank@gmail.com



Helpful Hank is written by Russell E. Bertlow © 2009 All rights reserved. No portion of this blog may be reprinted in part or whole without the express written permission from Russell E. Bertlow.