Country Counting

I’m Terry and I love to travel.

The trip that changed my life

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My buddy Tracy Bachmann recently asked me what trip changed my life. With all this stay-at- home business, it seemed the right time to reminisce about the trip that got me started on a lifetime of travel.

My family was in Pennsylvania visiting relatives one summer when my Aunt Tommy (my Mom’s only sister) and Uncle Joe invited my sister, Carla, and me on our very first big trip.

It took us all of two seconds to say, “Yes. We will do it and yes, we want to go. And wow, wow, wow this is wonderful. Thank you.”

Aunt Tommy said, “If you and Carla can save up enough money to pay for your airplane tickets to get here, Uncle Joe and I will take you to New York City for a weekend.”

I can remember looking at Carla and we were both beaming with excitement and happiness, we could hardly control ourselves.

Our parents were thrilled for us and we all thanked Aunt Tommy and Uncle Joe for the invitation and in no time, Carla and I had saved the money for the trip. I was a junior in college and Carla was a freshman, so we babysat, did odd jobs and scraped together the $200 to buy our airplane tickets.

I don’t remember the exact month we went, but it was cool and blustery, so it was probably the fall or early spring.  Aunt Tommy and Uncle Joe met us at the Philadelphia airport and from there we hopped on the train to go into New York.

TV, Broadway and off-Broadway shows are an integral part of the NYC experience.

We settled in at the hotel and I can remember standing in the hotel, looking out the window and Carla and I couldn’t get the smiles off our faces. We were so excited we could hardly stand still.

Aunt Tommy and Uncle Joe had bought tickets to see two Broadway shows and also the Merv Griffin television show. We saw 1776 – the first run of it, thank you very much. Dear World, with Angela Lansbury was the second show we saw. Who knew we were seeing such an iconic actress and 1776, which would have a revival in 1997 and another scheduled for 2021.

Aunt Tommy asked us what we wanted to do and we told her “go to Tiffany’s and Greenwich Village.” Aunt Tommy and Uncle Joe had been to NYC many times, but had never been to Greenwich Village, which at that time was considered a bit of a risky, hippie area. As we wandered through the streets, Aunt Tommy had a firm grip on her purse and instructed us to do likewise. At Tiffany’s the only thing I could afford to buy was a gold-plated toothpick!

I don’t know how he got us in, but Uncle Joe took us to the New York Playboy Club. It was dark, sophisticated and thrilling. And those bunny costumes were something else. Carla and I felt so grown up and worldly, just being there.

To this day, that trip has held a very special place in my heart. I will always remember the generosity of Aunt Tommy and Uncle Joe. What an amazing gift to give to a relative.

Inside the Concorde on display at the New York City docks. Ken and I flew in this exact plane across the pond when the Concorde was still flying with tickets I bought on Ebay. What a deal and what an incredible experience.

And that’s why to this day, Ken and I enjoy taking niece Kelly on trips. Her first trip with us was, of course, to New York City. We saw Broadway shows, went to the ballet, ate in Little Italy and visited museums. One of our favorite later trips to New York we dubbed the “transportation trip.” We kept track of every mode of transportation we experienced: airplane, taxi, bus, Central Park carriage, helicopter, boat, escalator (yeah, that counts!), bicycle taxi, elevator and subway.

One of the most emotional trips to NYC was in December for my birthday, right after Sept. 11. We flew in over the city and out my window I spotted ground zero. I gasped as I saw it and passengers on the other side of the plane rushed over to look out the windows. New Yorkers greeted us with thanks for coming back to the city and a walk by ground zero was hauntingly silent. That trip reminded me of how special NYC was to me and how important it was to patronize those places that have suffered from tragedy. We had celebrated Ken’s birthday at the Top of the World Trade Center years before and it seemed unreal that it was no longer there.

Celebrating my pre-birthday party in New York with co-birthday pal Lora Douglas, Beth Davis and Emily Pritchett.

I have celebrated numerous birthdays in NYC (many with co-birthday friend Lora), including my 60th and 65/retirement. We have stayed in every part of the city, in hotels and in apartments. We’ve seen many Broadway shows, off-Broadway shows and visited many museums — but nowhere near every one of the 150+ in the city.

On another birthday trip with Lora, we experienced the immediacy of news. Lora had headed to the Garment district to pick up sewing and quilting supplies, while I went to my favorite designer clothing outlet. On the way walking back to the hotel, Ken (who was not with us) called me and said there had been an explosion at the Marriot Marquis hotel, where we were staying. He said the hotel was blocked off and I couldn’t get in.

At that point, I looked up into the sky and saw a bunch of helicopters circling around and said, yeah, something is going on. I quickly called Lora to relay the news, to which she said, “Well, that’s a bunch of bull. I just walked in the hotel and I’m fine.”

 In the meantime, Ken had tried to call Kelly, who was on her way to meet us in NYC. Not getting her by phone (she was in the air flying), he called my sister, Michele, to tell her about the explosion. By the time I got Ken back on the phone to explain everything was fine, there was no explosion and the hotel was open – he had stirred up a fury of anxiety.

Ken called Michele back, explained that all was OK and we all took a deep breath!

When my business PROiNk, celebrated its 20th anniversary, I took the entire team to NYC for a weekend of shows, museums and creative inspiration. We made the trip again for our 30th anniversary.

During Carla’s last stages of terminal breast cancer, she requested a trip to NYC. The entire family was there and Ken coordinated hired cars so Carla wouldn’t have to walk far, as she was fairly weak at that point. We saw all her requested Broadway shows, ate some wonderful meals and ended with a drive to Pennsylvania where we celebrated Mom’s 80th birthday. It would be the last time most of our relatives saw Carla and Mom, as Carla died two months later and Mom died the following year.

On one trip to NYC at Christmas, Ken and I got so sick with the flu that we could barely get out of bed. We were staying at the historic Algonquin Hotel and called for room service. We were told, there is no room service today. It’s Christmas. Hungry and weak, we stumbled out of bed, went to 21 for lunch and found ourselves seated next to the famous Rip Torn. Still feeling yucky, we decided a movie would be a good low-energy thing to do. We sat enjoying the show until a poor homeless fellow wandered in and sat beside us, forcing us to move because of his foul smell.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is a must-see. Here we are with sister, Michele, brother-in-law, Lynn and niece, Kelly.

New York is like no other place on earth. I love its grit, its dirt, the wealth beside poverty. It is the fashion center of the world, where you can buy absolutely anything. Broadway and the theatres are bursting with music and talent. Just walking the streets is energizing and inspiring. The museums are world-class and there are fabulous restaurants on every corner. Christmas is a magical time to be there, with the lights and decorations.

On my last trip to New York, I took Tracy and Stella Bachmann and of course, Franny, the fur coat my dear sister, Michele, left to me. Sure does keep you warm!

We had planned a trip to NYC in April to celebrate Ken’s birthday, but alas, the pandemic had a different idea.

These days our trips to New York include lots of restaurant experiences, curated by Kelly. She has become a bigger foodie than I am and she has a knack for finding great little spots. Kelly and I coordinate shows and we usually throw in a museum or three to visit.

Our family is down to the four of us: me, Ken, Kelly and brother-in-law Lynn. Luckily, we all love NYC as much as Aunt Tommy and Uncle Joe did. Thanks to them for giving us the gift of NY more than 50 years ago. It is a treasure I will always cherish. And I can’t wait to get back there…soon.

How to get around high season hotel rates

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I should have figured this one out ages ago, but better late than never. I was trying to book a hotel in Asheville recently for a visit in mid-October. If you are a North Carolina fan, you know that fall is high season in that area, as everyone wants to see the leaves change and get a bit of cooler weather after our hot summer.

I had my eye on a pottery show near Asheville and kept finding $499 a night and higher rates at the hotels we typically book. I tried every discount available (senior, AAA, government rate) and checked all the competing hotel sites. No go.

Then I got an email from Marriott, reminding me about my Marriott points. Gee, I thought, maybe I have enough to book a room in Asheville.

I quickly found out that indeed I did and I was able to get a room at one of my favorite spots for FREE. Yes, free. After booking three nights in Asheville, I saved a whopping $1500.

Lesson learned. Book with points during high season and be sure to enroll in hotel loyalty programs. They can save you big $$ and make you feel so smart – all at the same time!

Happy travels.

Watch out for these guide scams when traveling

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I thought I knew every trick in the book, but our guide in St. Pierre (Canada) taught me a new way to be swindled out of $$!

We’ve all been subjected to guides who take us to rug stores and tell us this store is the only place with “quality” rugs.

Or the guide who says, I will guide you for free. Then you are dragged from one store to the next so the guide can earn a commission on the things you buy. In the middle east it’s rugs; in Venice it’s glass, in India it’s textiles, rugs and silver jewelry.

The cruise industry is notorious for this scam. They advise you to shop only at their pre-selected list of “honest” vendors. Of course, those vendors pay a fee for this listing and they also pay a commission to the guide, tour company or cruise line. You are assured these vendors are the most honest, have the best variety or the best quality of items.

It’s the oldest trick in the travel book. But on our recent trip to add a country point in St. Pierre, an island owned by France off the coast of Newfoundland, we met a pretty clever guide.

Here’s what he did. When we got in the van to head out on the tour that was sold to us as an hour and a half for $30 euros each, he said, “hey if you want to extend the tour, we can do that for more money.” I said, “well we have a lunch reservation and we have to be back for it.”

And off we went. The tour of St. Pierre was interesting, but could easily have been done in 1.5 hours. But we wound up seeing his house, the local cemetery, standing on a hillside talking – all his way of extending our time. Then when we finally got back an hour late, we were told we owed him more money. Rather than make a scene, we paid.

Clever scam. How to avoid such a deal? Be firm from the outset that you want only what you agreed to pay and don’t want to extend the tour. If you happen to want to extend while you are touring, fine, but to be intimidated into doing it just doesn’t feel right!

How to deal with airline schedule changes

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Dealing with airline changes can be a nightmare. But on my last trip to Curacao for Thanksgiving, I found out a startling good bit of information.

Here’s what happened. Our original trip was scheduled from Gainesville to Miami on Monday with an overnight in Miami so we could meet up with a friend and have dinner at Joe’s Stone Crab (my favorite all-time restaurant). We would then fly to Curacao Tuesday morning and meet up with my family who arrived on Monday.

Somehow my niece didn’t get the information that we would be a day late and she booked a day trip to Bonaire on Monday. When we found out about that, she tried to change the Bonaire flight online to no avail. So I told her, don’t worry, if you can’t change it when you get there, I’ll just miss that portion of the trip or reschedule for another day.

The night before I was to leave, I went online to check-in for my flight and saw a link online labeled “change flight.” I had never noticed that before, so clicked on the link and found that the flight my family was taking out of Miami was available to me by changing to an earlier flight out of Gainesville – all at no charge.

So, I clicked away, rescheduled the trip, called my friend in Miami to cancel our dinner at Joe’s, cancelled the hotel in Miami and was able to get to Curacao in time to take the Bonaire flight with my family.

I’ve since checked with American Airlines and found you can change flights for no fee if one of the following criteria is met.

  • You have an unrestricted Economy Class (Y fare), Business or First Class tickets
  • You have American Airlines AAdvantage®Executive Platinum status and companions in the same record
  • You are an AirPass member (that’s the lifetime free airline ticket that was once sold for $250,000)
  • You are using First and Business Class award tickets
  • You are using MileSAAver & AAnytime award tickets
  • You have booked Choice Plus fares

In this case, I had booked my ticket withward miles, so I qualified for a same-day ticket charge at no cost.

For a $75 fee on flights between the 50 United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, and the Caribbean, or $150 on flights between and connecting through New York JFK and London Heathrow, you can confirm an available seat on an earlier or later flight as long as the alternate flight:

  • Has the same origin and destination
  • Is for the same calendar day of departure
  • Is marketed and operated by American Airlines or American Eagle

You cannot change your itinerary to a city with multiple airports or to a different connecting city.

This is a tidbit of information that may come in handy, so remember to check that “same-day flight change” link when you are checking in for your flight. Delta and other airlines have similar same-day change programs with varying fees. Check online under “same-day ticket change and the name of the airline” and you may be able to make last-minute changes for free or a low fee. Happy flying.