Post-trip update
Jul. 14th, 2005 12:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vettecatAs you may have guessed by now, we're back from Cincinnati! This could easily get very long, but I'll try to summarize.
We left Thursday evening. Usually we fly to the Cincinnati airport (which is actually in Kentucky... don't ask), but this time we decided to try flying to Dayton, which is cheaper. In the twisted logic of the Airline Universe, taking flight A to Cincinnati and then continuing on flight B to Dayton costs less than taking flight A to Cincinnati and staying there. This got particularly frustrating when flight A landed late, and we were concerned that we might miss flight B, so we asked the stewardess whether, if we missed flight B, we could just collect our luggage and stay in Cincinnati, rather than waiting for the next flight to Dayton. "Sorry, no, your luggage will be going to Dayton." Argh! But we did just catch flight B, which then, of course, was delayed... but we got there in the end.
We had arranged to rent a car in Dayton so we could drive back to Cincinnati. By our calculations, this was still cheaper, as it saved the cost of the usual van from the airport to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sdavido's parents' house. Except that when we went to pick up the car, we discovered that the price we'd been given didn't include insurance. Which turned out to cost more than the car itself. Argh! again. We briefly considered skipping the insurance, as I don't tend to hit things (I was going to be driving - two drivers costs extra), but there's always a chance that someone else would hit us. We decided to consider it a learning experience. In the end, our attempt to save money, aside from costing more, also added 3 hours to the trip. Oh well...
The rental car itself worked out well. In the category we had selected, we were offered our choice of a Stratus or a Sebring, and, having had a positive experience renting one a few years ago, I chose the latter. It turned out to be a good choice; the rental agent told us it was "new," but we didn't realize how new until we got into it and saw that the odometer read "4." OK, it's really new... Still smelled new, too. It was cooperative on the whole; things I would have liked to change (e.g. more adjustable seats) were pretty minor.
We got to SD-'s parents' house after they had gone to bed, except they woke up again before we got there, worried that we hadn't arrived yet. When we got in, we explained about the airline delays etc., settled in, and went to bed.
Friday we met SD-'s friend S. for lunch at the Usual Bagel Shop. Then we went with SD-'s mother to the nursing home to visit his great-aunt H., who has been in poor health. (This was a large part of the reason for our trip.) She was in relatively good spirits, and recognized us, but is quite frail. We're hoping that she will continue to recuperate and regain her strength.
Friday evening we wound up having to relocate within the house, as we saw little teeny bugs on the sheets in the basement room where we were staying. (An exterminator was subsequently called in.) So we moved all our stuff upstairs to the office and set up mattresses on the floor. This was particularly unfortunate because the last time we were in town, SD- and his friend S. set up a bedframe in the basement, so that we wouldn't have to drag out mattresses each time we came to visit. Oh well. This also had the side effect of making it almost impossible to check e-mail while we were there, because with the mattresses on the floor, there was no room for a chair in front of the desk. (I did try using the computer one evening while sitting on the floor, but I couldn't reach the keyboard.)
Saturday afternoon SD-'s aunt B. came by for a visit. Beyond that, the day was pretty quiet... aside from the blackout that evening. (Gee, this feels familiar!)
Sunday we drove down to Lexington, KY to visit SD-'s brother N. and sister-in-lawkiddr. It was really nice to have a chance to see their home, and to spend some time with them (though we wished we had time for a longer visit). Then we drove back to Cincinnati and had dinner at a new kosher restaurant with SD-'s parents and sister joecoustic, who was nice enough to drive in for a visit.
Monday we went withjoecoustic to see Fantastic 4. It was pretty good - entertaining, and fairly well adapted. None of us had been sure what to expect, so we were rather pleased. That evening we met SD-'s friends pandorahunter & ronyon and M. & B. for ice cream, followed by a trip to a bookstore. :-)
Tuesday we went to visit SD-'s friend W. at his charter school. He started it 5 years ago, and it's been very successful, receiving lots of compliments and awards - and it's still growing. It's very impressive. SD- and W. spent some time discussing ideas for possible future directions and projects for the school. Then we did a few errands, and that evening we met SD-'s friends G. & D. for ice cream (different place). :-)
Today we packed up, said good-bye to SD-'s parents, and drove back to Dayton. (Final mileage on the odometer: 427.) Then we flew to Cincinnati (sigh), and then back home (yay!).
I'm mostly caught up on e-mail, but haven't had a chance to read anyone's posts yet... but that will have to wait for tomorrow night, as I expect tomorrow to be quite busy, so I'd better call it a night. Hope you've all had a good week!
We left Thursday evening. Usually we fly to the Cincinnati airport (which is actually in Kentucky... don't ask), but this time we decided to try flying to Dayton, which is cheaper. In the twisted logic of the Airline Universe, taking flight A to Cincinnati and then continuing on flight B to Dayton costs less than taking flight A to Cincinnati and staying there. This got particularly frustrating when flight A landed late, and we were concerned that we might miss flight B, so we asked the stewardess whether, if we missed flight B, we could just collect our luggage and stay in Cincinnati, rather than waiting for the next flight to Dayton. "Sorry, no, your luggage will be going to Dayton." Argh! But we did just catch flight B, which then, of course, was delayed... but we got there in the end.
We had arranged to rent a car in Dayton so we could drive back to Cincinnati. By our calculations, this was still cheaper, as it saved the cost of the usual van from the airport to
sdavido's parents' house. Except that when we went to pick up the car, we discovered that the price we'd been given didn't include insurance. Which turned out to cost more than the car itself. Argh! again. We briefly considered skipping the insurance, as I don't tend to hit things (I was going to be driving - two drivers costs extra), but there's always a chance that someone else would hit us. We decided to consider it a learning experience. In the end, our attempt to save money, aside from costing more, also added 3 hours to the trip. Oh well...The rental car itself worked out well. In the category we had selected, we were offered our choice of a Stratus or a Sebring, and, having had a positive experience renting one a few years ago, I chose the latter. It turned out to be a good choice; the rental agent told us it was "new," but we didn't realize how new until we got into it and saw that the odometer read "4." OK, it's really new... Still smelled new, too. It was cooperative on the whole; things I would have liked to change (e.g. more adjustable seats) were pretty minor.
We got to SD-'s parents' house after they had gone to bed, except they woke up again before we got there, worried that we hadn't arrived yet. When we got in, we explained about the airline delays etc., settled in, and went to bed.
Friday we met SD-'s friend S. for lunch at the Usual Bagel Shop. Then we went with SD-'s mother to the nursing home to visit his great-aunt H., who has been in poor health. (This was a large part of the reason for our trip.) She was in relatively good spirits, and recognized us, but is quite frail. We're hoping that she will continue to recuperate and regain her strength.
Friday evening we wound up having to relocate within the house, as we saw little teeny bugs on the sheets in the basement room where we were staying. (An exterminator was subsequently called in.) So we moved all our stuff upstairs to the office and set up mattresses on the floor. This was particularly unfortunate because the last time we were in town, SD- and his friend S. set up a bedframe in the basement, so that we wouldn't have to drag out mattresses each time we came to visit. Oh well. This also had the side effect of making it almost impossible to check e-mail while we were there, because with the mattresses on the floor, there was no room for a chair in front of the desk. (I did try using the computer one evening while sitting on the floor, but I couldn't reach the keyboard.)
Saturday afternoon SD-'s aunt B. came by for a visit. Beyond that, the day was pretty quiet... aside from the blackout that evening. (Gee, this feels familiar!)
Sunday we drove down to Lexington, KY to visit SD-'s brother N. and sister-in-law
kiddr. It was really nice to have a chance to see their home, and to spend some time with them (though we wished we had time for a longer visit). Then we drove back to Cincinnati and had dinner at a new kosher restaurant with SD-'s parents and sister joecoustic, who was nice enough to drive in for a visit.Monday we went with
joecoustic to see Fantastic 4. It was pretty good - entertaining, and fairly well adapted. None of us had been sure what to expect, so we were rather pleased. That evening we met SD-'s friends pandorahunter & ronyon and M. & B. for ice cream, followed by a trip to a bookstore. :-)Tuesday we went to visit SD-'s friend W. at his charter school. He started it 5 years ago, and it's been very successful, receiving lots of compliments and awards - and it's still growing. It's very impressive. SD- and W. spent some time discussing ideas for possible future directions and projects for the school. Then we did a few errands, and that evening we met SD-'s friends G. & D. for ice cream (different place). :-)
Today we packed up, said good-bye to SD-'s parents, and drove back to Dayton. (Final mileage on the odometer: 427.) Then we flew to Cincinnati (sigh), and then back home (yay!).
I'm mostly caught up on e-mail, but haven't had a chance to read anyone's posts yet... but that will have to wait for tomorrow night, as I expect tomorrow to be quite busy, so I'd better call it a night. Hope you've all had a good week!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-07-14 11:24 am (UTC)No wonder there was no announcement regarding the Fantastic 4. :(
I had a similar experience flying to southern california a couple of years ago. It was half the price to fly through LAX to John Wayne than to just stop at LAX. I persuaded them into letting me drive directly to LAX for the trip back, but it wasn't easy.
You might want to check with your credit cards - many provide auto insurance.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-15 05:04 am (UTC)Sorry, but we hadn't seen a movie with her in a while...
I had a similar experience flying to southern california a couple of years ago...
I imagine we would have gotten in trouble if we'd tried to join halfway. Security is tighter now.
You might want to check with your credit cards - many provide auto insurance.
I'll have to look into that if we do this again.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-14 03:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-14 04:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-15 05:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-15 05:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-15 08:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-15 10:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-17 05:53 am (UTC)http://www.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/ADVISOR/07/15/rental.car.insurance.ap/
no subject
Date: 2005-07-17 05:56 am (UTC)