Simple Planning Makes for a More Enjoyable Vacation

© 2001
June is “Rebuild Your Life” Month… time to think of ways that you can rejuvenate yourself and reconnect with those you care about most. If your vacation includes travel, I encourage you to plan at least one trip that is purely vacation. Make the first day of summer (June 21) your deadline for finalizing summer travel and vacation plans.

The annual family vacation is typically a time for fun and relaxation… if you plan ahead. For those who don’t plan accordingly, it can also be a time of disaster, stress, and heartache. Unfortunately, most people don’t associate planning with fun. I’ve learned that leaving even the smallest details unattended to can be a recipe for disaster. I’ll illustrate my point by sharing some personal experiences.

Confirmed Airline Reservations… Ha!

Six years ago my family planned a summer vacation to Alaska. Because Alaska only has a couple months of warm weather, we knew that the month of July would be a busy time to travel there. That’s why we purchased our airline tickets six months in advance. With paid tickets in hand, I called the airline the day before to confirm our reservations. They confirmed that we had paid reservations for the flight.

The next day we got to the airport 1.5 hours before departure time. That’s when we were told that the flight was oversold and we did not have confirmed seats on the plane. I said, “How can this be? We bought these tickets six months ago! We were among the first passengers to purchase tickets for this flight! And we’re here early… most other passengers have not even checked in yet!!” The agent behind the ticket counter explained to me that, because we had purchased the tickets so far in advance, seat assignments were not made at the time of purchase. (We since learned that most airlines do not have their computers set up for seat assignments until 60-90 days out.) Those who purchased tickets or called to request seat assignments within 60 days of departure had reserved seats. We were placed on the waiting list.

Our story had a happy ending. We got the last three seats available… all in First Class! Although we had a favorable outcome, our vacation could have ended in disaster. This is one lesson I will never forget! I’ve just purchased airline tickets for December to Hawaii. Although the flight is almost sold out, the airline will not make seat assignments until 90 days prior to departure. Guess who has a reminder in her tickler file to call the airline in September! (Learn more about setting up your own tickler file at this link)

Guaranteed for Late Arrival to the Hotel… Ha!

The summer following our trip to Alaska, our family vacationed in Minnesota. Our flight was scheduled to land very late in the evening, so I asked our travel agent to set up a guarantee for late arrival when she booked the hotel reservations. Our agent confirmed that she had given the hotel our credit card to hold the room. As planned, we arrived at the Doubletree Hotel at about 11:30 PM. When I went to the registration desk to check in, I was told that there were no rooms available. I was shocked! I presented them with a printout from our travel agent, which confirmed our guarantee for late arrival.

In search for a greater understanding of what a “guarantee for late arrival” meant, I asked to speak with the manager on duty. I asked him, “If we had not checked in tonight, would the hotel have billed our credit card for the room, even though there are no rooms available?” That’s when I learned that the Doubletree Hotel’s guarantee was only a one-way guarantee. He confirmed that this was their standard policy. Having difficulty comprehending this policy, I reframed the question: “So if we are paying for the room, why is someone else sleeping in it right now?” He informed me that the guarantee did not obligate them to provide accommodations in their hotel; it simply meant that they guaranteed we would have a place to sleep that night. As I stood at the counter, the desk attendant spent the next 20 minutes calling other hotels and motels in the area. Finally he informed me that they would put us up at no charge at the Prime Rate Motel down the road! Hardly the accommodations we had planned on… and “down the road” was 15 miles away!

When we returned home from our trip, I called the Doubletree Hotel headquarters in Phoenix to see if this was their corporate policy, or just the local policy for that particular location. I was shocked when their customer service rep informed me that this was “standard practice in the industry,” adding that “the airlines do it all the time.” From now on, when I know I will be checking in late, I ask explicit questions about a hotel’s policy regarding guaranteed late arrivals.

How High Do Mosquitoes Fly?

Of course, some things are simply beyond our control, and no amount of planning can guarantee a flawless vacation. I remember one of my first trips to Jakarta, Indonesia, where my husband’s brother and his family live. We had made the long flight halfway around the world, and I was exhausted. (A quick geography refresher: Jakarta is near the equator, and it is very hot and humid there.) We were staying in a nice hotel with the modern comforts of air conditioning and purified water… two important elements for me.

When we checked into the hotel, we were informed that they would be doing some electrical work on the elevator shafts, and would therefore be turning the electricity off for the entire hotel from 2:00 AM to 8:00 AM while they did the work. I thought to myself, “Well, by then I will be asleep and I won’t even notice it.”

Boy, was I wrong! At 2:40 AM I woke up in a sweat. By 3:00 AM I was really hot and sticky. I had a brilliant idea! We were on the 12th floor, and I decided to open the windows to let in some fresh air. There were no screens on the windows, but I figured that we were high enough off the ground that it would be safe to open them. I made an assumption that mosquitoes would not fly that high. Again, I was wrong. Within a few minutes I had 32 mosquito bites covering my body and more were buzzing in my ear. Now I was not only hot and sticky, but I also felt like one huge, itchy, miserable welt. (My husband only had two mosquito bites. For some reason, mosquitoes have always liked me more than him.) We ended up leaving our hotel room and walking around the lobby the rest of the night.

Ten Tips for Planning Your Vacation

I hope that by sharing my personal experiences, you will avoid learning similar lessons the hard way. And it goes to show that those little details in the planning of a vacation can make a huge difference in the outcome. You can make your next vacation relaxing and enjoyable by following these simple vacation planning tips.

1. Keep your vacation planning information in one place. Create a labeled file folder (“Hawaii Vacation”) and use it to keep your airline, hotel, car rental information, as well as maps or AAA guide books, tourist information, contact information for people you know in that city, etc.  To read about some programs related to travel that you can download onto a handheld organizer, check out the applications mentioned on the Handango Website.

2. Plan ahead for your wardrobe. Think about all of the activities you might do, and imagine what you’d want to wear for each activity. For example, on the beach you might want a swimsuit, cover-up, slip-on footwear or water shoes, a sun hat, sunglasses… maybe even a face mask, snorkel, and some flippers. Will the kids want shovels and buckets to build a sand castle? Do you need to supply your own beach towel, or will you be staying somewhere that supplies this for you? What about waterproof sunscreen? The more you can visualize yourself on the beach, the better prepared you will be. One helpful tool I’ve found for wardrobe planning is a Website that offers historical weather averages for thousands of cities around the globe. http://www.worldclimate.com/

3. Use a travel checklist. I’ve created a Packing List to get you started. Once you’ve tailored this to your needs, keep it in the travel file you’ve created. This will help you remember to pack both the basic necessities, as well as some of the more obscure things you might not remember but would want to take with you. http://www.orgcoach.net/packlist.html

4. Let children pack their own travel bags, and make sure their bag is small enough that they can carry it themselves. Help them select things they can do on the road or in the air: Walkman and cassettes or CDs, books, handheld video games, portable crafts, card games. Talk about seating arrangements ahead of time to avoid conflict among siblings about who will sit where.

5. Pack a carry-on that is small enough to stay with you at all times. Include necessities that you must have, in the event that you get separated from your other luggage for a day. If you need to take medication on a regular basis, be sure this is with you, and not in your checked luggage. If you are combining a business and vacation trip and need something for a presentation the next day, take it in your carry-on rather than checking it.

6. Plan early to get the best selection and to get early booking discounts.  If you’re really adventuresome and are not particular about where you want to go, you can also book reservations last-minute. There is some risk involved in doing this, but you can also get some great deals this way. CheapTickets sells surplus seats, a.k.a. “distressed inventory,” at some great bargains. If you have any concerns about your safety while traveling to a particular destination, you might check out a Website that offers a report on global hot spots to avoid.

I’ve recently found a wonderful Website called SideStep, which does a search of more than 70 travel-related Websites and finds the best AVAILABLE flights, hotels, and rental cars on a given date. Many Websites will find the “best deals” but when you go to the site you discover that they are sold out for the dates you want. This site does not waste your time if a flight is sold out. For more links to some helpful travel-related sites, visit the travel section of my Links to Great Sites page.

For who insist on combining business and pleasure during your travels, I offer 10 Tips to Tame the Paper Tiger When You Travel. http://www.orgcoach.net/traveltips.html

7. If you’re driving, you may wish to map out your trip ahead of time and make hotel reservations along the way if you are traveling during peak vacation time. Mapquest offers a helpful Website for mapping out your route and estimating travel time under normal driving conditions.

8. If you’re traveling to another country, check out the Currency Converter for International Exchange Rates. If you’d like to master a few useful phrases in a foreign language, visit the Foreign Language Assistance Website. It even contains some sound clips so you can pronounce words properly.

9. If your vacation plans include staying home rather than traveling, plan how you will spend your vacation to rejuvenate yourself. Perhaps there are some local attractions that you’ve been wanting to experience but have not had the time to experience. Are there people you want to connect with? Get clear about what you want to do and who you want to do it with, and then plan to make it happen. If your vacation includes having a friend or relative flying in to visit you, you can check the status of a flight to see if they will arrive on time. You can even get a real-time map of the plane and its progress, based on radar data. http://www.flightview.com/

Visit Earthcam to view hundreds of images from all over the world without leaving your chair. The digital images are updated regularly, and some are live.

10. This is the most important tip of all: pack  the right attitude. Let go of the “what if” and enjoy the moment. Remind yourself what matters most, and focus on that. If this is a vacation to get away and relax, then focus on activities and thoughts that will be relaxing. If your goal is to reconnect with family and build memories together, that can be done regardless of circumstances (missing a flight, not getting tickets to an event you wanted to attend, etc.). If your goal is to sight-see and take in some special attractions or shows, then plan ahead and make the reservations necessary to ensure that you can do what you want to do when you get there.

Kathy Paauw, President of Paauwerfully Organized, specializes in helping busy executives, professionals, and entrepreneurs declutter their schedules, spaces and minds. She is a certified business/personal coach and professional organizer. Contact her at mailto:orgcoach@gte.net or visit her Website at http://www.orgcoach.net and learn how you can Find ANYTHING in 5 Seconds – Guaranteed!

High Protein Diets, Are you losing more than weight?

By Monique N. Gilbert

Protein is a vital nutrient, essential to your health.  In its purest form, protein consists of chains of amino acids.  There are 22 amino acids that combine to form different proteins, and 8 of these must come from the foods we eat.  Our body uses these amino acids to create muscles, blood, skin, hair, nails and internal organs.  Proteins help replace and form new tissue, transports oxygen and nutrients in our blood and cells, regulates the balance of water and acids, and is needed to make antibodies.  However, too much of a good thing may not be so good for you.

Many people are putting their health at risk by eating too much protein.  Excessive protein consumption, particularly animal protein, can result in heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, and kidney stones.  As important as protein is for our body, there are many misconceptions about how much we really need in our diet, and the best way to obtain it.

The average American eats about twice as much protein than what is actually required.  Some people, in the pursuit of thinness, are going on high-protein diets and are eating up to four times the amount of protein that their body needs.  Protein deficiency is certainly not a problem in America.  So exactly how much protein does your body really need?  Much less than you think.

According to the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health, as little as 50-60 grams of protein is enough for most adults.  This breaks down to about 10-12% of total calories.  Your body only needs .36 grams of protein per pound of body weight.  To calculate the exact amount you need, multiply your ideal weight by .36.  This will give you your optimum daily protein requirement in grams.  Since the amount of protein needed depends on the amount of lean body mass and not fat, ideal weight is used instead of actual weight.  Infants, children, pregnant and nursing women require more protein.

People on high-protein diets are consuming up to 34% of their total calories in the form of protein and up to 53% of total calories from fat.  Most of these people are unaware of the amount of protein and fat that is contained in the foods they eat.  For instance, a typical 3-ounce beef hamburger, which is small by American standards, contains about 22 grams of protein and 20 grams of fat.  You achieve quick weight loss on these diets because of this high fat content.  High fat foods give you the sensation of feeling full, faster, so you end up eating fewer total calories.  However, this type of protein and fat combination is not the healthiest.  Animal proteins are loaded with cholesterol and saturated fat.  Many people on these diets also experience an elevation in their LDL (the bad) cholesterol when they remain on this diet for long periods.  High levels of LDL cholesterol in the blood clog arteries and is the chief culprit in heart disease, particularly heart attack and stroke.  So while you may lose weight in the short-run, you are putting your cardiovascular health in jeopardy in the long-run.

Another reason weight loss is achieved on these high-protein diets, at least temporarily, is actually due to water loss.  The increase in the amount of protein consumed, especially from meat and dairy products, raises the levels of uric acid and urea in the blood.  These are toxic by-products of protein breakdown and metabolism.  The body eliminates this uric acid and urea by pumping lots of water into the kidneys and urinary tract to help it flush out.  However, a detrimental side effect of this diuretic response is the loss of essential minerals from the body, including calcium.  The high intake of protein leaches calcium from the bones, which leads to osteoporosis.

Medical evidence shows that the body loses an average of 1.75 milligrams of calcium in the urine for every 1 gram increase in animal protein ingested. Additionally, as calcium and other minerals are leached from our bones, they are deposited in the kidneys and can form into painful kidney stones.  If a kidney stone becomes large enough to cause a blockage, it stops the flow of urine from the kidney and must be removed by surgery or other methods.

Plant-based proteins, like that found in soy, lowers LDL cholesterol and raises HDL (the good) cholesterol.  This prevents the build up of arterial plaque which leads to arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and heart disease, thus reducing the risk heart attack and stroke.  The amount and type of protein in your diet also has an important impact on calcium absorption and excretion.  Vegetable-protein diets enhance calcium retention in the body and results in less excretion of calcium in the urine.  This reduces the risk of osteoporosis and kidney problems.  Interestingly, kidney disease is far less common in people who eat a vegetable-based diet than it is in people who eat an animal-based diet.  By replacing animal protein with vegetable protein and replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat, like that found in olive and canola oils, you can avoid the pitfalls of the typical high-protein diet. You will be able to improve your health and regulate your weight while enjoying a vast array of delicious, nutritionally dense, high fiber foods.

Remember, eat everything in moderation and nothing in excess.  Also, the only healthy way to achieve permanent weight loss is to burn more calories than you take in.  Anything else is just a gimmick.

To learn more about the health benefits of soy, visit the Virtues of Soy
website at http://www.geocities.com/virtuesofsoy/

Monique N. Gilbert, B.Sc., has received international recognition for helping people get healthier, feel better, look younger and live longer. Through her coaching program and writings, Monique motivates, inspires and teaches how to naturally enhancing your health, happiness, energy and longevity with balanced nutrition, physical activity and tranquil living environments. Monique believes it is her mission to educate and enlighten everyone about the benefits of healthy eating and a vibrant stress-free lifestyle. For more information, visit her website – http://www.MoniqueNGilbert.com

The Church of Tango

By Cherie Magnus

It was known as La Cat’dral. Not easy to find in Buenos Aires’ dark side streets at three in the morning–no signs, no cars, no people in front. But once I climbed the stairs to the second floor of the old warehouse, I could hear the siren call of music. It was eerie and scary, mounting those stairs alone, but I was helpless to do otherwise, a pilgrim drawn to the altar of Tango.

The room was huge, like the inside of a barn, all wood. It was barely lit by large candelabra with most of the candles melted into pools of silky wax, some votive flames, and a few strings of fairy lights. It smelled of cat piss and dusky marijuana. A bar ran the width of the room in back, with gigantic paintings hanging over it all the way to the rafters. Shadowy figures were sitting around the room on the lumpy funky old couches and broken chairs, their conversations punctuated by the smoldering ends of their cigarettes moving in the dark.

At first I could only see the silhouettes of dancers through the smoke. Three or four couples on the warped, uneven wooden dance floor, moved, not to Pugliese or Tanturi, but to Louis Armstrong’s “Kiss of Fire.” A tall figure approached out of the gloom. “Quieres bailar?” He was young, muscular, handsome, with black rimmed glasses framing eyes that sparkled with cocaine excitement. He was so tall I had to reach up very high to wrap my left arm around his neck. He held me tight and led me with brute machismo, so unlike the subtle leads of the old milongeuros I had danced with at Club Almagro earlier that night. When I leaned against him in the traditional tango pose of female trust, he dragged me across the floor, lifted me back on my feet, turned and twisted me, giving me no opportunity to embellish or decorate his steps. I simply obeyed the movements his body ordered. It was different, exhilarating, exhausting.

“You don’t really need to work out at the gym, do you?” I asked during a break in the music. “No, I eat red Argentine beef full of blood! Blood! To make me strong!”

His eyes glittered, muscles rippled under his tight tee shirt, testosterone energy creating an almost visible aura around him. Breathless, I had to sit out the next set and recover on an old velvet sofa. I watched people arriving and leaving in the candlelight, with their high heeled tango shoes and backpacks. The informality of the setting and the dancers’ attire and attitude clashed with the formal tango they danced so seriously. It was like watching a play: pure mesmerizing theatre.

Armed with two years of tango experience in Los Angeles, New York and Amsterdam, and with knowledge gleaned from a trip to Argentina last year, I had flown off to Buenos Aires alone. I had no plans to connect with a group or to take any lessons. I simply went to dance tango.

I rented a room in the middle-class neighborhood of Caballito. Three other rooms in the apartment were rented to dancers, and the vivacious landlady, Maria Teresa, was a tanguera too. So whenever we met up with each other in the kitchen or the lone bathroom, we had plenty to talk about.

You can dance in Buenos Aires from after lunch until five in the morning. In the afternoon, the tables in the Confiteria Ideal–an elegant Belle Epoque ballroom of marble and mirrors–are littered with the cell phones of businessmen and housewives, also frosty ice buckets with bottles of sparkling sidra, the Argentine apple-cider champagne. Evenings you can go to practicas or take lessons until midnight. Then everyone hits the tango halls until the sun comes up. Repeatedly I went to bed with birds chirping and sunlight brightening the curtains of my room.

Every day, my friends and I discussed who danced where and with whom as if tango were the most important subject on earth. If I lived in Argentina, I would never work. I surmised that the dancers of Buenos Aires don’t keep a 9-5 schedule. Either that or they never sleep.

One night Maria Teresa drove us to Sin Rumbo. The historic milonga is far out of town, but famous as the “birthplace of tango.” Maria Teresa called it the “church of tango,” the genuine tango cathedral.

It was very different from La Cat’dral The harsh overhead florescent lighting illuminated a dozen people seated at tables and a few couples on the small, black and white checkered floor. The dancing style was more open, less crowded than in the packed town clubs. One couple caught my eye: a middle-aged pair a foot apart performing complicated figures with bored faces. “Married too long,” observed Maria Teresa, whose day job was as a psychologist.

Torquato Tasso was another small, cramped, inelegant tango hall, yet famous nevertheless. At first I couldn’t see why. Jetlagged and tired, I wanted to leave by two a.m. But when twelve white-haired portly men in tuxedos took the small stage, I hung around. Luckily for me, because they were the original members of the famous D’Arienzo Orchestra. With five bandoneons (Argentine accordions), a piano, violins, and double bass, they recreated the fabulous music of the 40’s and 50’s that all tango aficionados cherish.

I asked Maria Teresa, “Do you agree that the bandoneon is the sexiest instrument a man can play?” “Ooh yes!”she laughed. “Just look where they hold it!”

Tuesday and Thursday afternoons I went to Pavadita on Avenida Corrientes. It too was upstairs, and after parting the velvet draperies at the top, I smelled the incense, burning to mask the musky stale odors of the windowless hall. At Pavadita, the men sit on a kind of stage at little tables, and the women sit in front of the bar and scattered around the room. Each time the music begins, men and women stare at each other across the empty dance floor. The women select the men they want as partners, and the men respond–or not–with raised eyebrows and inquisitive looks. After a woman nods affirmatively, the man gets up, crosses the room, and, when he’s close to her, she stands up and meets him ready to dance. These negotiations are invisible to all but the participants, and serve to prevent the embarrassment of public refusal. It’s a heady thing for us female tango tourists who are not used to it.

We catch the eye of a man who has just lit a cigarette and crossed his legs in a pose of relaxation…but suddenly he stubs it out and arrives in front of us to dance just because we looked at him.

I had already learned the infamous Code of Tango, and so I knew what was expected of me and how to behave. It’s all about invitation, wanting, rejection, needing, appearance, sensuality, attitude, sex.

I saw that young women are always invited to dance, no matter their skill levels, and old women hardly ever receive invitations, unless it is as favors from a friend or husband. And all the men wishing to dance, no matter their age, looks, or status, can tango as much as they liked.

Men wanted good-looking women; women cared more about the tango skills of their partner. That’s unfair, but it is a man’s world on the tango floor, always.

It is difficult to sit at a table with a man you like while he’s searching the room for prospective dance partners. Too, if you sit with a man, other dancers will ignore you, not wanting to infiltrate another guy’s “territory.” But the fellow at your table can catch the eye of any woman in the room and leave you to dance with her. That’s the Code.

The milongueros (tango hall habitues) of Buenos Aires are not young. They have had many years to perfect their art, are always formally dressed in wool suits and ties no matter the weather, and invariably smell of soap and French cologne. I love dancing in their traditional close embrace. For the milongueros there is only the milonguero style.

On my first trip I was absolutely petrified every time I was asked to dance. This year Carlos Gavito, Omar Vega, and other tango superstars approached me as if they were just anybody–or I was really someone.

At Club Gricel, I was afraid to look at Gavito for fear that he would think me too aggressive. I had taken a few lessons from him in Los Angeles when he was on tour with “Forever Tango,” so we knew each other a little. At the milongas, Gavito only danced with the best and the youngest women. Yet, from the corner of my eye, I saw him stand up, button his jacket, and walk around the dance floor to my table. Oh my gosh, I thought, glancing behind me in vain for the woman who was the object of his invitation. When he returned me to my table ten minutes later, the local women sitting with me were astonished. I could just hear the buzz: “Who is she?”

On my last day in Buenos Aires I danced an impromptu demonstration in the park with Antonio, a handsome milonguero who owned only the elegant suit of clothes on his back. We tangoed beneath a huge fig tree to music from a boombox tied to the bicycle of a grizzled old man. Elderly couples, young children, even a woman in a wheelchair, all cheered and threw money and candy at us while we danced. It was a miracle that I could glide so gracefully over the rough bricks in backless high wedgies with rubber soles.

Thank goodness I had prayed at La Cat’dral.

With degrees in English, Dance, and Library Science from UCLA, Cherie has published many articles in professional journals and magazines. Her solo travels to Europe and Latin America have inspired several pieces published in Skirt!, PassionFruit, Moxie, JourneyWoman, Dancing USA, GoNomad, Open Spaces, Porthole, The Cusco Weekly, the-vu, and various online magazines. She was the dance critic for the Cerritos News in Orange County, California before moving to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. She is currently at work on a novel situated in France, when she’s not out dancing. Follow her blog at http://tangocherie.blogspot.com/