Two Memorial Day weekends ago, we last minute decided to hop on a plane and head to Alaska. Anchorage, Alaska to be exact.  And what began as a last minute quick trip turned into a life changing experience. I learned a lot of things from that visit and it has changed my perspective on traveling altogether.

Normally when we visit a new city I tend to get a little antsy. There are so many sites I want to see, places I want to experience, etc. And worst of all there is so little time. I try to set a schedule to cram it all in but it never really works out. Reid has the opposite approach, where he likes to go with the flow and explore and just let the experiences present themselves. Normally I get a little upset, but because of his mindset we have been able to experience some pretty amazing sites on our various travels.

One of these times manifested itself in Alaska on the highway from Seward to Anchorage. He saw a sign for some fort or something and took a turn off the highway. I was nervous and definitely resisted. But then we turned the corner and we saw the most breathtaking view (pictured above). Reid immediately pulled the car over and rushed for his camera. I sat in the car pouting for a minute, but then I opened my eyes and was stunned. There was no one else around. It was quiet and although it was May the air was crisp and cool, enough to give you a good chill. I stepped out of the car and walked to the water’s edge. It was so quiet you could hear the ice move and it was the most beautiful sound. I took a deep breath of the salty but clean air and wished the moment would last forever.

Sometimes not having a plan is the best plan of all. And that is the lesson that has stuck with me.

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving from all your friends here at Dotting The Map! We hope you have safe and fun turkey travels!

Just a note that if you thought travel was stressful on Wednesday, you will be surprised to find out that according to USA Today it’s only the 36th busiest day of the year to travel!! Apparently summer days call for far more stressful times at airports!

I went on some pretty amazing trips last year that gave me quite a few amazing memories. The purpose of this blog post is to share those with you and let you look at some eye candy. These photographs were all done by my talented photographer husband. Enjoy!

Jefferson Memorial in Washington

Capitol Building

Rotunda in the Capitol Building

Rotunda in the Capitol

National Cathedral

Washington DC LDS Temple

Seward Alaska

Alaskan Fisherman

Alaskan Puffins

Waterfall, Anchorage Alaska

Bridge, Minneapolis Minnesota

Spoonbridge and Cherry, Minneapolis Minnesota

Hotel del Coronado, San Diego

Painted Ladies, San Francisco California

All I can say is wow. Really? An African airline that is launching this month called Airtimes Airlines is planning on offering flights where you pay by the minute- similiar to those cell phone plans. You can even book tickets via text message. I get that it’s unique and playing off the demographic of those who are younger and more tech savvy. But really- in an industry notorious for delays- who would be willing to pay per minute when they fly. Pay per mile- yes that makes sense. And I also realize that they probably only charge you for the average flying time, but the thought still makes me uneasy and makes me question this company’s viability. Who knows I could be completely wrong- maybe the concept will take off and become very popular. Proove me wrong Airtimes- Proove me wrong! Read the article that Wired wrote and let me know your thoughts!

An article was featured on CNN today that explained how to get your way with travel companies. I completely agree with it to the point that if you were seriously wronged these are some valuable tips to get your way- but not if you are trying to take advantage of a business for your own greedy pleasure. Here is an example of how we felt we were wronged and the company made it right (eventually).

One day the husband and I were making a day trip to San Francisco. We rented a car so we could head north and visit one of the redwood forests. We booked the car on Priceline and was told that $29 would be our set fee unless we added insurance and gas. We arrived at the airport and got to the rental car place- only to discover that they were out of the class of car we had reserved. So they upgraded us to a mustang. It made us a little nervous to drive this car around the city so we asked how much full coverage would cost. We asked for the total charge including Priceline fees and were told it would be $37. We felt it would be worth the cost so we opted for the insurance (something we generally do not agree to because we have full coverage on one of our cars). We had a great trip and nothing happened to the car.

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