A Weekend Away

What do you do before leaving the house for a weekend away? I don’t know why, but I always feel the compulsion to sweep the floors, wash all the laundry, run the dishwasher, put away all the dishes, run water down the kitchen sink, run the disposal, take the trash, shut down all of my computers, make sure the light over the driveway is on, oh and pack.

Then I make certain we’ve packed our toothbrushes, toothpaste, shaving gel and all of the other stuff we require while we’re away. This time I also packed a few snacks, which is really nothing more than a whole bunch of random stuff we had sitting around in our kitchen. A bag full of skittles, two apples, a few granola bars and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich just in case I get hungry along the way.

I’m excited about our upcoming trip. The plane tickets cost less than $200 combined. The flight is only one hour and twenty minutes long and we scored free tickets to a basketball game while we’re away. We plan on taking public transportation everywhere we want to go, so no car rental, (hooray!), and no gas expenses either.

The hotel, as usual, is the most expensive part of our trip. I found a room at the Marriott for $150 a night before taxes and other fees. I purchased Marriott gift cards a few months ago in preparation for the trip. I earned points for purchasing the cards and I’ll earn additional points for our stay. You can’t beat that. I’m super close to earning a free room with Marriott’s point and I think this trip will put us just over the top.

I’m not going to be a frugal fanatic on this very short trip. If we want to spend money to sight see or eat while we’re there I’m going to fork over the money no questions asked. I looked at Groupon deals in Boston, but decided it was to risky to purchase anything for this trip.

My husband and I are fly-by-the-seat of your pants kind of people while we’re on vacation. We don’t adhere to any specific agenda and we stop to sight see or eat at the drop of a hat. I didn’t want to get pigeon holed into being at a particular place in the city when there are so many wonderful spots we might find along the way.

So I’m bringing some cash and a credit card and plan to let the weekend unfold in whatever form it chooses. I can’t wait!

3 thoughts on “A Weekend Away”

  1. turn off your water at the main into your house. OK you are only gone for a weekend, but that's a surprise you don't want to come home to.

    what good are vacations if you don't enjoy yourself a bit?

    Reply
  2. Have you tried Priceline for hotels? I had good luck with them last year for rooms in Philadelphia, San Antonio and Wash. DC. I usually choose the 4 star hotel category and have never paid more than $75 a night. We've always been pleased with the room and location. Thanks mostly to Priceline, DH and I can take about 5 weekend or short stay trips a year.

    Reply
  3. @Dave – Water disasters are the worst. We've never had a pipe burst, but we did have leveling problems and a significant amount of water in the basement from a long, hard rain. We spent days drying out the area. Turning off the water is a great idea!

    @Evy – I haven't had the guts to try Priceline yet. I'm glad to hear you've been successful. What types of hotels have you stayed in? Mostly major chains?

    Reply

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