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Your favorite travel destination during the holidays?

Readers,

Are you ready for the holidays? What are some of your favorite places to visit during this time? Do you like snowy environments or do you prefer something warmer? I love the heat but the holidays are the one time that I actually like snow. There is something about waking up on Christmas and seeing a thick blanket of snow that makes you feel really good. Some of my family members love the snow as well but some actually travel to the islands during this time because they want a mild environment during the holiday season. Many people in my area (New Jersey) like to go to the shore during the holidays. However, because of Hurricane Sandy this has proven quite difficult because of all of the damage. Some people even rent cabins in the mountains to go skiing.

Whatever your destination is just remember to cherish the moments you have with your loved ones. Many of the families in Newton, CT cannot hold their children anymore. My heart goes out to the victims and their families. Let's be safe during the holidays no matter where we are and let's keep Newton, CT in our prayers.

Green light for Vegas!

Hey all,

Sorry it has taken so long for me to post. I have been very busy lately. So..I decided that I like Vegas so much I am moving there..seriously! Time will only tell whether or not I will stay for good but I know that I am not moving back to New Jersey unless I have no other choice. I really like Atlanta as well so if I ever leave Vegas it will be for Atlanta.

Atlanta is awesome, the food, the atmosphere, the people (except when they drive, ha ha), etc. Vegas is awesome because the people there are really diverse and the environment has so much to offer. Life has brought a lot of twists and turns so Vegas should provide the perfect reset.

Where are some places that you have visited throughout your travels that you wouldn't mind living? What do you like about these places? Is it the people? The atmosphere? It is important that we take risks in life sometimes and if we make it, then great, if not then so be it. It is better to take a risk and to fail (and try again) than to remain stagnant and run the risk of becoming dull, boring, and stifled.

I will be posting a lot more soon (several times weekly) but for now my posts will be about once or more a week until I am done packing. You think cross-country travel is hard..try moving ha ha! I hope all is well with you and that your holidays are going great thus far. Whether you are traveling this holiday or staying home, always remember to be grateful and to let your family know that you care no matter what. If there are any unresolved issues remember, the holidays are a time for forgiveness :-)

In the meantime, check out my other blogs and sites!

Writers:     http://shakyshelf.blogspot.com/

Renters:     http://rentersnet.blogspot.com/

Soundoff:  http://thesoundoff1.blogspot.com/

Stop Skyping the old-fashined way!
http://jeruzz1.wix.com/skypeout#!page4/cfvg

Travel tips

Like to travel on a budget? You can Google sites like Travelocity or Orbitz. The time that you search for deals like hotels, flights, and car rentals also matters. Your best bet of course is to search at least two weeks in advance for flights. Companies bet on last-minute travelers and look to cash in on them. Also, the time of week/day that you search also matters. I have had some of my greatest success with finding deals on Tuesday night between 9 and 11 pm.

Did you know that even if a rate is published on a website by a carrier in error, if you purchased the ticket, they still have to honor it at that price. For example, if a carrier (or other website like Orbitz) mistakenly puts up a flight for $50 rather than $500, then count yourself lucky because you got yourself a great deal! If you look on Ebay, there are people who sell unused vouchers for alcoholic beverages at a HUGE discount (be careful to check expiration dates).

One time, I was searching for a flight on Orbitz for a family member. I had been looking that whole day (Tuesday) and the price stayed high all day and night, until 9 pm rolled around then WHAM! Right as I started to buy the ticket, I clicked the search one more time and ended up saving her around $400! You just never know when you will spot a deal. If you really want a deal, check every hour and if possible, more frequently in the middle of the week. Of course, you want to try to avoid flying in or out on Friday and Saturday. Take things into consideration like (hotel, car rental, shuttle from the airport, flight, etc.) Also, check Facebook. Sometimes airlines (Southwest, etc.) post discounts just for liking their page.

Good luck, happy traveling and feel free to tell us about your trip. See you soon!

Vegas Baby!

Hi all, sorry it took so long for me to post these and tell you about my wonderful trip but here it is.
I will touch on the hot spots that I went to and give you an overall feel of the places I visited. We stayed off-strip at the Silverton Casino. It was reasonably priced and not extremely far from the action. The overall decor needs a serious makeover. It is very dated and pretty tacky. The whole casino was so dark that when you went outside you were shocked at how bright it was. When staying at this supposed resort/casino, it is easy to lose track of time and feel like it is late not matter what time of day it is. The slots themselves are pretty standard. They have a few old ones but most of them are updated and modern. The payout is minimal from other casinos that I have been to.

One night, I was playing some slots and a homeless man walked up to me and asked me for money. I did give him some change (although I was not supposed to) because I felt bad for him. I also wanted him to get away from me because I did not feel comfortable with him around me like that (he was pretty close and I had money out to play. After that, I got up and went to another part of the floor and continued to play. Who walks up to me but the same guy. I was somewhat annoyed at this point and told him that he already asked me five minutes ago. He walked away. I got up and waved a staff member down because I did not feel comfortable at all anymore. She asked me what he looked like and I told her what I thought he had on (wasn't extremely attentive because I was more concerned with just getting away from him. I sat down at one of the slots where I was and started to play. The same man comes up again. Thoroughly annoyed, I told him that he needed to pay attention to who he was asking for money and that this was his third time coming to me. I also reminded him that I already gave him money. He quickly walked away and about a minute later, the staff member brought security to me and asked me about him. I pointed them in his direction. The staff member told me that they did eventually get him. She was very nice and every time I saw her, she was very friendly and always said hi. That brings me to my next point: the staff is what gives The Silverton a glimmer of hope. From management, to security, to regular staff..everyone was really nice and provided exceptional customer service.

There is not a lot of action as the crowd is understandably older. If you are young and crave any type of action, then I would suggest that you steer clear of this place unless you are either coming here to eat (the food is pretty good), going to see the aquarium, or going to Bass Pro Shops (located inside of The Silverton), which is nicely put together.

The rooms were dated, ugly, and extremely dirty! We switched rooms and also had to switch sheets because our sheets had blood on them! Oh, and can you say tube television? really? Who watched tube TV anymore? I think we turned that TV on once and that was it. When you are accustomed to seeing things in high definition, a tube won't do. In fact, I was pretty insulted at the fact that these were still in the rooms. The dirt was extremely apparent in the rooms. There was so much dirt that you could see the layers of it in certain spots. Also, some of the towels and washcloths were dirty. It made it hard to believe that they had a cleaning staff.

One of the cool things is that they had an outdoor area and pool complete with cabanas (you have to pay extra to rent the cabanas despite the already included resort fee per night). They had a DJ one night while we were there and the music was pretty good. If you want action, this is the only place in the casino where you will find it. Unfortunately, it closes at  ten o' clock..yes ten. Needless to say, we will not be staying at The Silverton again.

The picture above is from The Luxor in Las Vegas. Can you say ENERGY? Wow,  it was so cool to be in there. While I have not been to all of the casinos in Vegas (nearly impossible because Vegas is huge. Also, there are even casinos at the stores and gas stations), this one is among the best!

There is so much going on at this casino as well as Mandalay Bay, which is connected to The Luxor. The Luxor has awesome architecture, great drinks and food. Mandalay Bay had much of the same thing but it also has the Minus 5 ice bar. We were not able to go in because I had a dress on and I would have frozen to death, he he. We did go into the lobby and you can see the back of the bar from the outside. From what I hear and have read in the lobby, everything is made of ice, from the bar to the stools to the cups! You are charged admission just to go in but that is mainly because you are renting things from them like parkas, boots, gloves, hats, etc. If you do happen to go or have been there, please come back and let me know. The next time I go to Vegas, I will be prepared to go to the bar.

When you go to Vegas, you definitely have to check out The Venetian. There are so many cool things to see from the Gondolas to the indoor Italian city. The attention to detail is apparent regarding the construction of this casino. When you go there, you really feel like you are in Italy! There is lots to do from riding the Gondolas (which we did) to shopping to dining at one of their fine restaurants. It was extremely hot in Vegas when we visited so we did not spend a lot of time outside even though there is so much to see there as well. The great thing about this place was the fact that there were so many places to take pictures inside that you are not missing anything outside. Please do check out the Gondolas as well. While I was somewhat disappointed in the duration of the ride (very short), I loved the singing Gondolier. Her voice was really beautiful and she actually happened to be from Italy! I also did not like the fact that the indoor and outdoor gondola rides are not connected. There is an outdoor price and an indoor price and while they are the same, you must pay double to do both.

There are many free outdoor shows on the Vegas strip including the pirate show at Treasure Island, the water show at The Bellagio, the show at Caesars, etc. I did not get to see all of them or even most but I did see the volcano show at The Mirage. This was an intense show and I was amazed at all that was put into creating it. It was so much fun to watch that I actually wanted to see it again before we left. I must warn you though..this is real fire and you should not be the first in line to see it unless you want to feel like your eyebrows will get singed. I was in  the front and I felt like someone put me into a pizza oven and left me in there. Older people and little children should be especially careful not to be too close.

Food can get pretty expensive, so if you play at the casinos, be sure to sign up for the cards so that you can get comps. Also, I was shocked by the fact that the Mc Donalds on the strip was priced regularly. I expected their prices to be nearly doubled because it is right on the strip but it was not. If you want to save money, go there for at least a meal or two.

Also, if you want to see a show, you had better plan ahead. We wanted to see Criss angel one night but we were too late. Apparently, you cannot purchase tickets at the box office for certain shows at showtime.The cutoff for Criss Angel tickets was 3 pm. He only played a few days a week so we were pretty bummed that we missed it.

Vegas can be a bit overwhelming with all of the sites, lights, and action. Make sure that you take a moment to check out the simpler things. We went to Red Rock in Vegas (pictured above) and it was awesome. You pay a modest price per car to go in and you can drive around to take pictures. It is really big so plan to spend a little time there. Who knows, you may see some cool wildlife. I was talking to a woman there and she told me that she saw a lizard right before we arrived. I would suggest that you wait until the sun starts to set if possible (check hours of operation first). It was extremely hot when we went and we could not stay outside for long periods of time. We kept getting back in the car to cool off again. Funny thing though..as hot as it was, the heat was not as bothersome as it is on the East Coast because it is a dry heat so you do not feel nasty. In New Jersey, when it gets hot like that, you sweat a lot and feel the need to take multiple showers a day during the summer.

There is so much to see and do in this place. The people are friendly (although we did see a big fight on the strip at around 2 a.m.). There is so much energy on the strip that it is easy to lose track of time. I also thought it was interesting to see so many people drinking outside (open containers are illegal where I am from). This place is the absolute best and I did not even scratch the surface! One thing you need when you come here (besides money) is time! This place is enormous! I did not get a chance to do everything I wanted to do because we were only there a few days but I had a blast and I cannot wait to go back.

Viva Las Vegas!!

So we're on our way to Vegas and then California for a much needed vacay! We will be checking out some of the coolest spots around and I will definitely keep you posted on what's going on. I will be taking some great pics as well so stay tuned! This Friday..we are on our way!!

Holiday Inn is anything but a holiday!

Ahh traveling..I love it! It is one of the things that gives me great joy. The feeling that you are going somewhere makes it hard to sleep the night before, and easy to wake up the morning of. Sometimes the journey is just as fun as the destination. Whether flying and looking at "Sky Mall" mag or enjoying the open road..it's just plain fun! However, when you have a bad experience during the trip, it makes you think about what you could have been doing instead (getting those reports done at work, getting your car detailed, cleaning your home, etc.) Nothing annoys me more than knowing that not only have I wasted my time on a trip, but I wasted my money too!

Because of the nature of my experience, I am writing this article a bit differently. I am showing recent events before I share the background of this story. Recently, my wonderful husband and I celebrated our third anniversary. We went to Atlantic City for a few days. I had this crazy idea to save a few dollars by cashing in on the "free" room that was owed to us by Holiday Inn (more on that later). However, I had been leaving messages for the guy who was supposed to set it up for us. I did not receive a call from him (in his defense, it was fairly short notice). I did receive a call from another manager at the site saying that he was trying to get in touch with the person who would set up our free stay. Needless to say, we did not hear from him in time so we ended up paying for the night. This was on a Saturday. Because of our experience, we decided that we could not do another night there.

What we found:

We stayed at the Absecon, NJ location (there are no Holiday Inns in Atlantic City itself and this was only a few minutes away). I have to say, I was thoroughly impressed with the modern decor and amenities that the main lobby-area had. The colors were well put together and it was relaxing overall.
Upon check-in, we met a nice man at the desk who checked us in. He seemed to enjoy his job (despite the poor standard of business that this company has). He told us that he was from PA (about 1 1/2 hours-2 hours away) and that he spends several nights there every week. He gave us great tips on how to bypass the AC expressway and we were appreciated not only the information, but the great conversation! We grabbed out room cards and headed to our car to grab our bags. We went upstairs to our room and I thought the overall design was quite nice. However, upon further examination and doing our usual room check (sheets, towels, wash cloths, tub, etc.) we found some nasty stuff. There were questionable stains on most of the towels, hand towels and washcloths. They were frayed and blood-stained..yes BLOOD stained! There was also something on the bottom of the bathroom wall underneath the counter area. Too me it looked like blood, to my husband, it looked like someone spilled something and they used a strong cleaner to get rid of it. I didn't buy it. I think he said that because he knew I was freaking out already and did not want to exacerbate the situation. Since the room was clean overall (most importantly the sheets), we decided to stay but got the towels and washcloths changed. However, we didn't unpack because we knew that we would not be staying another night.

The next morning, we woke up and decided to see what they had for the "free hot breakfast". What a joke! Most of it was continental (muffins, danishes, etc.)The few hot items included; "eggs". "ham", biscuits, pancakes, and gravy. Well, against our better judgment, we decided to try it. The "eggs" were cut into a flat circle. We bit into them and almost hurled! They had the consistency of wet fat and they were flavorless! They tasted like water. that is the best way I could describe it. The "ham" was flavorless and nasty as well. My husband tried the biscuits and gravy and hated that too. There was a cool device that they had that I never saw before. This device made pancakes automatically. The batter is preloaded and you touch a button. The pancakes come out hot..and unfortunately disgusting and hard (very cool idea though..sign me up for the improved model). After "breakfast"..we grabbed our bags and hurried to Atlantic City to get some real breakfast at our favorite spot (look for the review on "Country Kitchen" in an upcoming article).

You are probably wondering how we ended up at the Holiday Inn and why we were entitled to a free room. Well, here is the original email that I sent to their corporate office (after I got no response from the original letter I wrote to them via the form on their site):

"I am forwarding this email to my husband. I left all of the details on the form on your site. I will tell you that we were at your location in Hazlet, NJ and it was last winter and that my husband went to use the towel in our room and he ended up wiping someone's semen on his hands (after just washing his). Also, there was excrement on another towel. Obviously, this worker was disgruntled and nasty!! Also, in that room and the next, the rooms were FILTHY and there was blood on the sheets in the first room and hair on the next sheets as well as various stains!! It stank something awful.

I have seen cleaner motels!! When we told the lady at the reservation desk, she simply shrugged it off and gave us another room. This ruined our ENTIRE night!! Imagine a man rubbing his hands in another man's sperm!! He did not want to tell me but I knew that something was wrong, he just threw the towel down but I kept prodding until he told me. He was embarrassed, that is why he did not tell me at first!! You took so long to respond that I am even more disgusted! If he had caught hepatitis or some other disease, you would have a hell of a law suit on your hands..ESPECIALLY since it took you MONTHS to respond to our complaint!! I am completely insulted as a customer! Not to mention the fact that, after waiting all this time to contact us, you don't even call, you send us an email AND you ask us to recount the events that happened over a year ago?? You need to contact my husband [name omitted] at [number omitted].

He has been waiting to hear from you for a while. We will NEVER stay at another Holiday Inn, we would rather sleep in our car! We have stayed in other Holiday Inns and they are ALWAYS sub-par (generally unclean). However, we never had an experience nearly this bad! We had no choice but to stay there because it was all we could get on such short notice (we were stuck on the Jersey shore because of the weather). I am a successful blogger and the only reason I have not yet written about this is because I do not want to embarrass my husband any further! I take it will not take another year to hear from you?"

To my readers:

I apologize if I seem so out of character but I was so disgusted with this situation and would never suggest addressing a letter to any business in this manner. Besides, there is more than one way to skin a cat! We stayed the next few days at the Tropicana Casino and Hotel.

After our vacation, we still have yet to hear back from the original manager at the Hazlet, NJ location. If and when we do, they will offer us a stay at one of their disgusting locations (which they owe us) and we will refuse. I do not want their room..want their blood! I am going to bring light to this situation so that consumers do not fall prey to their substandard health practices. I was told by one of the managers that one of my reviews has turned away customers. GOOD..I plan on continuing until they have none left because they do not deserve what they do not care about..YOU!
So..I will tell you, DO NOT STAY at HOLIDAY INN! God forbid someone has some type of disease and you end up bathing in or sleeping in someone another person's fluids!!

Long live the power of the consumer!