Travel for Free

Lately all the sudden I'm getting offered free travel. FREE TRAVEL. This makes me so happy I could jump up and down and cry at the same time. I don't. Instead, I consider my options and choose the trips I really want to go on. Here are some of the ways this has happened, in the form of my

TOP FIVE RECENT WAYS I'VE BEEN OFFERED TRAVEL

1. volunteer for your alma mater I conduct admissions intrviews for my alma mater in the US and they've asked if I'd go for a few hours to a college fair over near Geneva, all expenses paid. You bet I will! I loooove the school, the area over on the lake and hotel rooms. I'm there.

2. volunteer to work on peoples' web sites I surf the Web a lot and ran across two brothers who need help updating their site. In exchange, they'll offer a week-long stay in a villa in Tuscany. They're Brits who live there. I didn't make that up and I'm not telling you the site til after I go.

3. request training Many companies would love for their employees to develop or hone their skills and knowledge. Many trainings are held out of town. Ask or offer to go. Even find trainings that would be useful for your department or position.

4. find work in other cities This may seem routine if you're already a business traveller, the trick then may be to keep it fun. If you work as a contractor or freelancer, nothing is keeping you in your little locale. Large corporate clients are so used to paying business travel expenses, if you're good this is not even a stretch. Make sure you're good, though, so you'll get invited back.

5. offer to help a friend Whatever you're good at, whether it's throwing parties or designing store displayes or IT support... offer to help a friend in exchange for room, board, transportation, whatever.

Oh, the places you'll go!

Cheeseburger in Paradise

In 1978 Jimmy Buffett's Son of a Son of a sailor album featured a song called Cheeseburger in Paradise. He says it's about a place in Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands... I've heard it's about a great place I've been on Cabbage Key, Florida. No matter. The point is this: all up and down the Florida coast there are still these little untouched, old, wooden-shack burger joints. You can drive your boat up to most of them and get some of the best fried fish sandwhiches or made-to-order burgers you've ever had. You may have to fight off the seagulls, but if you sing the song loudly enough between bites you shouldn't have too much of a problem.

My Mom and Dad, Stefan and I made an afternoon of it recently, lunching at the New Pass Grill... and then visiting the Mote Marine Aquarium. You know how cops always know the best local places to eat? A group in uniform pulled their boat up to the dock while we were there.



This guy hung around nearby for a while then got up the nerve to walk right through all the picnic tables to pick through the garbage can. He was gettin' himself a little Cheeseburger in Paradise,too!

Mote isn't fancy like Sea World -- it's the real thing. Adults - $15, Children 4 - 12 - $10 Stefan got beautiful photos:


The two dolphins were rescued after they'd beached themselves -- separately, not together. One was younger and wanting to play soooooooo badly. She finally gave up on getting him to play and swam across the pool and brought back right in front of all the visitors a hula hoop. Then she swam around knocking it up in the air and hitting it on every fin she had. She was having a grand time.

For a fine, cheap day in Sarasota spend the morning at Mote, lunch on Cheeseburgers in Paradise at the New Pass Grill then head back out onto the water or the beach!

Add this to the 10 Best List

I got this book, The 10 Best of Everything, for my fabulous German beau, Stefan, for his birthday. We're on a quest, he and I, to see just how good life can get. I thought this would be a superb guide, and it is. I recommend it. Reading this book I realize I should clarify what I mean by "Fine Things" here on this blog.

Some things that qualify as fine are downright stuffy and snobby. Some are overrated and expensive. For me, that ruins the experience. So some of my "Fine Things" may be snubbed by other connoisseurs as déclassé. So be it. I have lived in some of the most beautiful places in the world, grew up with parents who loved fine hotels and food and wine and took me to the best. But they are also great fun and down to earth and hardworking folks who appreciate sales and good values, so this list will not feature things that are fine because they are out of reach. We went to the Broadmoor but we also camped on the beach. Wild boar drank our water one night; another morning we woke with waves lapping into the tent. They're different kinds of fun.

To that end, there are a few things I'd add to the Top Ten lists in this lovely little guidebook to the best of the best. If you find yourself in the general vicinity of any of these places, I highly recommend them:

Destination and Speciality Restaurants: The Bubble Room Captiva, Florida
This place is bubble gum pink and chock full of Americana, from toy trains running through the dining room to the juke box tunes to millions of pieces of memorabilia. There are paint-by-number sets, Coca Cola ads and Christmas decorations that must be seen to be believed. Servers wear Scouting uniforms. The food is good, too. It's been years since I've visited, but I still think about the Bubble Bread.

Ice Cream: I firmly believe that Il Doge gelato in Campo Santa Margherita, Venice, Italy is much better than the world-famous Vivoli in Florence. I've tried them both numerous times over two decades just to make sure.

Also, it's just wrong to put a chain (Cold Stone Creamery) in the book for mix-ins in the ice cream when one guy invented the concept and perfected it in Massachusetts. Instead the authors should have included Herrell's Ice Cream, Northhampton, Massachusetts. When I lived in the Pioneer Valley there I loved the Chocolate Pudding ice cream with all sorts of things (especially Oreos, M&Ms get too hard when cold, in my opinion) mixed in on the cold marble slab. Yum.

I'll think of more of the best of the best as I read, I'm sure. I'll make a category here for them: Add this to the 10 best.

Happy connoisseuring! What are the best affordable things you know of?