Ok, I don't normally blog about the politics etc so much, but this one I can't miss. I've FINALLY seen "The Act of Killing." It's out on DVD. It's the most important movie I've seen. Ever.
Not necessarily because of the stated topic of the film, which is the genocide in Indonesia in 1965 backed by the US and other western powers. That IS important and I'll be reading and researching to understand that more fully.
For me the most important part is to realize that the people who committed this genocide are not that different from me. That nauseated me at the time and it nauseates me now. There were several moments during the film where I identified with one of the men on the screen. Scary. I also appreciated what they said. The pure truths that came out of their mouths and out of their experiences as victors.
So, what is this film. Well...it's a documentary but it's a surrealist film. Possibly more surrealist because it documents not the basic facts and events of the genocide. There is very little in the way of body counts, dates, political players being named. Instead, the director, Joshua Oppenheimer, tracked down some of the men who did the actual killing and asked them to stage scenes showing what they had done. In the DVD extras he states that he has 1200 hours of film over 8 years with DOZENS of these executioners. The executioners were not military men, government men. They were gangsters. Youth in gangs. They were used by the military, the government and the otherwise powerful to do the killing. Sound familiar? Do we perchance have contractors doing some of our overseas killing now?
Anyway. Back to this film (that's the trouble with this film, it keeps hitting you with things the US has done that are absolutely parallel...or absolutely central to this genocide like providing money, materials and lists of people to kill)....ANYWAY, back to this film.
The main executioner portrayed in the film is Anwar Congo. He claims to have killed 1000 people, more or less. I don't know if that is "true." But in the scheme of things where there are probably thousands of Anwars in Indonesia who killed hundreds of people, he gives us a picture of one. He may be "acting" and embellishing because as a victor he has been celebrated for his acts. Our own military men have been known to do this. During the Indian Wars in the US, the executioners embellished their body counts. Anwar loved movies. He used movies, American movies, to inform his methods of killing. He acted them out then. And now he stages scenes from his life. Oppenheimer told him, and the others we don't see the footage of, to stage these scenes in anyway they choose. He did not say that it had to be 100% realistic, accurate, etc. He said as the executioner chooses. This is how one executioner and his colleagues chose.
It's wrenching. It's surprising when you empathize with Anwar and the others. It's surprising how forthcoming they are. It's surprising how much they understand and say outloud. They know their prestige is based on lies. They also know that the US doesn't have a leg to stand on. As one executioner points out...when did we apologize to the Indians? What about Guantamo? Who are we to tell him what is a war crime. The victors define war crimes and he is a victor. Painful but true.
This is barely a taste of the film. It's incredibly complex.
As a film it is completely original. Werner Herzog says so.
http://theactofkilling.com/
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Sunday, February 9, 2014
The Throne
The handoff went well. I drove 2 hours north to pick it up. The sellers thought it wouldn't fit in their subaru (an outback) and thought I'd need to drive another half hour following them from town to their place. BUT it DID fit in their car (whoo hoo) so that saved quite a bit of time and effort for me. It was no problem in the forester. I would have stood up even, though I doubt it would have traveled well standing up.
I got it for 900$ less than the price of a new one and really....after the first poo it would be "used" anyway. It came with the manual and a few chemicals to get me started. And yes, I'm looking for a way to incorporate this with the vermicomposter though probably as a 2nd composting process rather than right in the rotating drum of poo and peat moss. The worms would not enjoy the rotating bit. Once they've been jostled they don't eat for a week or two and it needs to be rotated 2 times a week. The compost will NOT go on any food crops. Promise. It won't even go uphill from any food crops. I'm sure it's clean and contagion free, but seriously, gross. You can't get the cooties out no matter how much you compost it.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Composting toilet!
Yeay! Thanks to a tip from a friend, I scored a composting toilet for sale on craigslist. WOO_HOO!
On Saturday I'll go pick it up, it's 2 hours north of here. Then I'll have a pot to piss in. Just need a window to throw it out of and I'll be all set.
It's a non-electric sun-mar brand. It will work off grid and is rated for 2-3 people in residential use. Should be peachy for me. I COULD have dug an outhouse for less but it rains and is cold here for 6 months of the year. And there is bear poop on my land. I'm pretty sure I didn't want to be killed by a bear on my way to the toilet in the middle of winter. Also, it might be slightly less off-putting for guests to use a composting toilet. Or more...we'll see.
I'll post photos after I get it.
On Saturday I'll go pick it up, it's 2 hours north of here. Then I'll have a pot to piss in. Just need a window to throw it out of and I'll be all set.
It's a non-electric sun-mar brand. It will work off grid and is rated for 2-3 people in residential use. Should be peachy for me. I COULD have dug an outhouse for less but it rains and is cold here for 6 months of the year. And there is bear poop on my land. I'm pretty sure I didn't want to be killed by a bear on my way to the toilet in the middle of winter. Also, it might be slightly less off-putting for guests to use a composting toilet. Or more...we'll see.
I'll post photos after I get it.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Landed Gentry
Well, one goal of all the frugality was to buy land...where upon I could live "simply."
I just bought land (check). And now for the living simply.
It's all seeming a tad complicated at the moment.
I've got 36 acres. Basically bare. There is a constructed pond of dubious quality, but it does have water in it. There is a creek. Near the road so I'm not drinking out of it. The next step is figuring out what I need and want to do, to have, to live in, etc.
Do I get a well drilled? I think so.
What do I live in? Well...and underground house would be nice but drainage, soil type, depth of bedrock (I'm not up for blasting in bedrock), etc. Once I pick a house type, were do I put it? The flat bit by the road is well...RIGHT BY THE ROAD and soaking wet part of the year so not there. I do think I'll put a garage/shed there so when it's crap out, I can snow shoe to the house rather than spend a lifetime shoveling or working to afford some mechanical device to clear the drive.
The place is mostly hills so I'm going to be getting in shape one way or another.
Here's an aerial photo of the land:
I added the yellow bit all by myself. That's not the exact boundary. Parabolas are not normal boundaries in this country. The dark blot at the top is the pond. You can sort of make out the three hills or at least the two gulches dividing the hills. It has been in hay and you can just make out the tractor near the tight circle in the lower middle of the picture. Well, you can if you see it zoomed in on google.
The middle hill melts first, is not so far from the driveway, and has good south and east exposure and some shelter from the north and west, which are the windy sides. So I'm thinking of that as my first try for a housing site.
Jonny (HI JONNY) will be here next weekend and he's an architect and sh*t so he can tell me what to do and I can do it and it will be all his fault if I don't like it.
I'm going to keep trying to do this without debt (hear me knocking on wood?). Let's hope I can handle that.
I decided that a first and easy step is to sort through my stuff, it's winter after all and I'm not moving to bare land in the winter (weak). I'm going to try to cull back to 50%. I got rid of about 1/3 of my crap last year so this is the second cull. I've pretty much burned out my shredder since Jan. 1. Reduced 7 file boxes down to 3 half filled boxes. Old paperwork can be culled again. Then photos and books.
Then furniture and kitchen items. I'll probably end up with things in storage for a year or two until I can build something with a fairly stable interior temperature and weather proof. I see a trailer in my future...or a shanty. Something CHEAP to live in until I can get a house built. It could take a few years. I'm going SMALL since that is more cost effective in both the short term and the long term. As much passive solar as I can get and as much earth sheltering as I can get. A root cellar rarely freezes. Not freezing is good.
If I can swing it, a summer kitchen would be great. Maybe a summer kitchen with attached shower room to start with. I could live in that. We'll discuss potty options after I've read the county regs more thoroughly.
Wish me luck!
I just bought land (check). And now for the living simply.
It's all seeming a tad complicated at the moment.
I've got 36 acres. Basically bare. There is a constructed pond of dubious quality, but it does have water in it. There is a creek. Near the road so I'm not drinking out of it. The next step is figuring out what I need and want to do, to have, to live in, etc.
Do I get a well drilled? I think so.
What do I live in? Well...and underground house would be nice but drainage, soil type, depth of bedrock (I'm not up for blasting in bedrock), etc. Once I pick a house type, were do I put it? The flat bit by the road is well...RIGHT BY THE ROAD and soaking wet part of the year so not there. I do think I'll put a garage/shed there so when it's crap out, I can snow shoe to the house rather than spend a lifetime shoveling or working to afford some mechanical device to clear the drive.
The place is mostly hills so I'm going to be getting in shape one way or another.
Here's an aerial photo of the land:
The middle hill melts first, is not so far from the driveway, and has good south and east exposure and some shelter from the north and west, which are the windy sides. So I'm thinking of that as my first try for a housing site.
Jonny (HI JONNY) will be here next weekend and he's an architect and sh*t so he can tell me what to do and I can do it and it will be all his fault if I don't like it.
I'm going to keep trying to do this without debt (hear me knocking on wood?). Let's hope I can handle that.
I decided that a first and easy step is to sort through my stuff, it's winter after all and I'm not moving to bare land in the winter (weak). I'm going to try to cull back to 50%. I got rid of about 1/3 of my crap last year so this is the second cull. I've pretty much burned out my shredder since Jan. 1. Reduced 7 file boxes down to 3 half filled boxes. Old paperwork can be culled again. Then photos and books.
Then furniture and kitchen items. I'll probably end up with things in storage for a year or two until I can build something with a fairly stable interior temperature and weather proof. I see a trailer in my future...or a shanty. Something CHEAP to live in until I can get a house built. It could take a few years. I'm going SMALL since that is more cost effective in both the short term and the long term. As much passive solar as I can get and as much earth sheltering as I can get. A root cellar rarely freezes. Not freezing is good.
If I can swing it, a summer kitchen would be great. Maybe a summer kitchen with attached shower room to start with. I could live in that. We'll discuss potty options after I've read the county regs more thoroughly.
Wish me luck!
Friday, January 3, 2014
Travel: Getting There Thriftily
Bogus title, I know. Oh well.
Getting there seems to be the toughest place to cut $$ in my travel. Here are some things I try but I'm really and truly open to suggestions on this topic. This is a weak spot for me.
Flying.
It's convenient, fast, etc, but it also means you have to get to an airport. When you live in a populated area it's a bit easier. You can take public transport, or a cab, or a shuttle, or whatever. I live in the boonies. Taking the bus to the airport would be cheap, but for a 6am flight, I'd need to leave the house at about noon the day before the flight. If I arrived back at the airport anytime after noon, I'd be lucky to be home before 10pm. Still, I may try it sometime.
As it is, I end up driving to the airport, often the night before if it's an early flight, and paying to park. The convenience and safety and flexibility outweigh the cost for me. There are two hotels within walking distance of the airport which allow you to park your car for up to 1 or 2 weeks (they differ) for the price of a room. I calculate that cost vs parking in the airport lot and walking to the hotel. The benefit is, I don't miss flights. Counting on driving in the wee hours of the morning isn't a good idea for me. 6 months of the year we risk bad roads from ice, black ice, freezing fog, freezing rain, snow, fog, etc. And I'm just not up for driving at 3am anymore. Much safer to pay for the hotel.
Driving.
Since I'm not near a major airport, it can be quite expensive to fly. Especially when you add in parking. When the inconvenience of the flight schedules and the time to get to the airport, arriving 90min before the flight, etc, is added in, I often drive to places even when I could fly. For example, Seattle. There ARE cheap flights, but, I would need to drive to the airport, more than an hour each way, and pay to park, arriving 90 minutes before my flight. 90 minutes of wait time at the airport plus 90 minutes for the drive...now we're at 3 hours. The drive to Seattle is 5 hours. Once I would fly to Seattle, the airport is a good hour from where I need to be in the city. There is another hour. Now the total is 4 hours of drive/transit time and we haven't even added in flight time and tarmac time yet. It's basically faster to drive.
I found a similar issue when I calculated a trip to Portland. The flight times were extremely inconvenient and would have meant a night at a hotel in Spokane. For the cost of the hotel, I could drive and park at the Portland airport. So I did.
Bus.
I haven't taken a cross country bus lately. One issue is the boonies location noted above. About 2 years ago regularly scheduled bus routes started up in this area again. Since then the number of trips through has steadily decreased. Then there are the connections. It would take me about 11 hours to get to Seattle by bus given the bad connections. I could cut 5 of those hours off by driving to Spokane, but there is no where to park in the vicinity of the bus garage. I COULD park out at the airport and take the city bus back into town to the cross country bus terminal...but now we're paying for parking and adding hours to the trip again. There is a possibility of driving south to Moscow Idaho and catching a Seattle bound bus and I may try that sometime. If someone will let me park in their driveway. I can't just leave the car on the street in the winter due to snow plowing. I won't just get plowed in, I'll get towed.
Train.
I love the train in Europe. I'd love to take the train here. It leaves Spokane, for Seattle, at 2am. From a scary part of town with coin-op outdoor, unmanned, parking! By the time I add in the cost of getting a new car and the aggravation of dealing with the insurance after my car is stolen/stripped/smashed (or all three), it wouldn't be worth it. Taking the bus into Spokane...see above. I'd arrive about 8 hours before the train left. And then there is the cost. It's cheaper to pay for gas and drive myself. The train to Iowa would be fun too. I could possibly catch it in another town, also in the week hours of the night. It takes a day and a half to two days to get within 3 hours of my folks' house. So that is not particularly convenient. Trying to carry food for that long and to keep clean would be gross. Again, I'll pay less to fly or drive.
From all that it seems there is no cheap way to get places, distant places, when one lives in the boonies. So, here are a few ways I minimize the costs:
Flying: I keep "alerts" on cheap ticket prices for places I go regularly. I've never bought a ticket when one of these alerts emails me, but it gives me an idea of the lowest price I can get on a flight to that area so when it's time to go, I can shoot for something in that range.
I also keep track of websites that tell the best day to buy tickets and explain the current trends in flexible pricing (e.g., right now purchase on Tuesday and be ready to travel any day of the week. It used to be cheapest T-Th, but not always anymore). That also shows that I keep my dates somewhat flexible. I have a job and can't travel just any time, but I can usually shoot for anytime within a 2 week window. I use the aggregator sites like Travelocity and Orbitz, and I also call the airlines and check their websites and purchase whatever is cheapest. NO ADD-ONS. Not even a checked bag. I'll wear two sweaters and a coat onto the airplane but I will not pay 25$ for someone to kick my bag around the tarmac. For 25$, or whatever the bag fee is, I can go to a thrift store and buy several outfits if need be. I take whatever seat I can get and I suck it up. I will not pay to get on earlier, more leg room, marginally more edible food, etc. I carry nuts and a refillable water bottle so I don't starve on the flight.
And of course there is finding the cheapest parking, taking into account everything from delays, shuttle times, etc. Since I have a bit more $$ now than when I was in college, I no compromise a bit for convenience.
If you have the time and the airline offers, take the $$ to get off the plane. I could have done this on the way back from my most recent trip to Iowa, but the offer wasn't real cash, just flight vouchers that had to be used in a limited time frame, and would have meant getting back a day late. I skipped that offer but when I was in college I would have run off the plane for that sort of thing.
Find the most cost effective way to get from the destination airport to the final destination. Talking someone into picking you up for free is the cheapest. Check into shuttles and other group transportation. Not always the fastest, but it might work. And of course, public transportation. This worked fabulously in DC, will not work well in Waterloo, Iowa.
Driving: Keep the car in good shape with oil changes and air filters and proper tire pressure. Carry drinks and food from home to save $$ on road snacks (and the inevitable dose of Imodium from ill-advised road snacks). Drive slower. I gain 10-20% on gas mileage if I drive 60 or slower. That really adds up on long trips as well as regular driving. Leave plenty of time to get where you're going. I find that this cuts down on stress, which cuts down on snacking and speeding so indirectly, it saves me $$. Once you get where you are going, still use public transportation if you can. In Seattle I have a hotel that is thrifty and includes free parking. I take the bus and walk once I'm there. Driving downtown means gas, aggravation, and parking fees. Riding the bus means seeing strange people and getting good stories.
OK, that's a lot of information.
Getting there seems to be the toughest place to cut $$ in my travel. Here are some things I try but I'm really and truly open to suggestions on this topic. This is a weak spot for me.
Flying.
It's convenient, fast, etc, but it also means you have to get to an airport. When you live in a populated area it's a bit easier. You can take public transport, or a cab, or a shuttle, or whatever. I live in the boonies. Taking the bus to the airport would be cheap, but for a 6am flight, I'd need to leave the house at about noon the day before the flight. If I arrived back at the airport anytime after noon, I'd be lucky to be home before 10pm. Still, I may try it sometime.
As it is, I end up driving to the airport, often the night before if it's an early flight, and paying to park. The convenience and safety and flexibility outweigh the cost for me. There are two hotels within walking distance of the airport which allow you to park your car for up to 1 or 2 weeks (they differ) for the price of a room. I calculate that cost vs parking in the airport lot and walking to the hotel. The benefit is, I don't miss flights. Counting on driving in the wee hours of the morning isn't a good idea for me. 6 months of the year we risk bad roads from ice, black ice, freezing fog, freezing rain, snow, fog, etc. And I'm just not up for driving at 3am anymore. Much safer to pay for the hotel.
Driving.
Since I'm not near a major airport, it can be quite expensive to fly. Especially when you add in parking. When the inconvenience of the flight schedules and the time to get to the airport, arriving 90min before the flight, etc, is added in, I often drive to places even when I could fly. For example, Seattle. There ARE cheap flights, but, I would need to drive to the airport, more than an hour each way, and pay to park, arriving 90 minutes before my flight. 90 minutes of wait time at the airport plus 90 minutes for the drive...now we're at 3 hours. The drive to Seattle is 5 hours. Once I would fly to Seattle, the airport is a good hour from where I need to be in the city. There is another hour. Now the total is 4 hours of drive/transit time and we haven't even added in flight time and tarmac time yet. It's basically faster to drive.
I found a similar issue when I calculated a trip to Portland. The flight times were extremely inconvenient and would have meant a night at a hotel in Spokane. For the cost of the hotel, I could drive and park at the Portland airport. So I did.
Bus.
I haven't taken a cross country bus lately. One issue is the boonies location noted above. About 2 years ago regularly scheduled bus routes started up in this area again. Since then the number of trips through has steadily decreased. Then there are the connections. It would take me about 11 hours to get to Seattle by bus given the bad connections. I could cut 5 of those hours off by driving to Spokane, but there is no where to park in the vicinity of the bus garage. I COULD park out at the airport and take the city bus back into town to the cross country bus terminal...but now we're paying for parking and adding hours to the trip again. There is a possibility of driving south to Moscow Idaho and catching a Seattle bound bus and I may try that sometime. If someone will let me park in their driveway. I can't just leave the car on the street in the winter due to snow plowing. I won't just get plowed in, I'll get towed.
Train.
I love the train in Europe. I'd love to take the train here. It leaves Spokane, for Seattle, at 2am. From a scary part of town with coin-op outdoor, unmanned, parking! By the time I add in the cost of getting a new car and the aggravation of dealing with the insurance after my car is stolen/stripped/smashed (or all three), it wouldn't be worth it. Taking the bus into Spokane...see above. I'd arrive about 8 hours before the train left. And then there is the cost. It's cheaper to pay for gas and drive myself. The train to Iowa would be fun too. I could possibly catch it in another town, also in the week hours of the night. It takes a day and a half to two days to get within 3 hours of my folks' house. So that is not particularly convenient. Trying to carry food for that long and to keep clean would be gross. Again, I'll pay less to fly or drive.
From all that it seems there is no cheap way to get places, distant places, when one lives in the boonies. So, here are a few ways I minimize the costs:
Flying: I keep "alerts" on cheap ticket prices for places I go regularly. I've never bought a ticket when one of these alerts emails me, but it gives me an idea of the lowest price I can get on a flight to that area so when it's time to go, I can shoot for something in that range.
I also keep track of websites that tell the best day to buy tickets and explain the current trends in flexible pricing (e.g., right now purchase on Tuesday and be ready to travel any day of the week. It used to be cheapest T-Th, but not always anymore). That also shows that I keep my dates somewhat flexible. I have a job and can't travel just any time, but I can usually shoot for anytime within a 2 week window. I use the aggregator sites like Travelocity and Orbitz, and I also call the airlines and check their websites and purchase whatever is cheapest. NO ADD-ONS. Not even a checked bag. I'll wear two sweaters and a coat onto the airplane but I will not pay 25$ for someone to kick my bag around the tarmac. For 25$, or whatever the bag fee is, I can go to a thrift store and buy several outfits if need be. I take whatever seat I can get and I suck it up. I will not pay to get on earlier, more leg room, marginally more edible food, etc. I carry nuts and a refillable water bottle so I don't starve on the flight.
And of course there is finding the cheapest parking, taking into account everything from delays, shuttle times, etc. Since I have a bit more $$ now than when I was in college, I no compromise a bit for convenience.
If you have the time and the airline offers, take the $$ to get off the plane. I could have done this on the way back from my most recent trip to Iowa, but the offer wasn't real cash, just flight vouchers that had to be used in a limited time frame, and would have meant getting back a day late. I skipped that offer but when I was in college I would have run off the plane for that sort of thing.
Find the most cost effective way to get from the destination airport to the final destination. Talking someone into picking you up for free is the cheapest. Check into shuttles and other group transportation. Not always the fastest, but it might work. And of course, public transportation. This worked fabulously in DC, will not work well in Waterloo, Iowa.
Driving: Keep the car in good shape with oil changes and air filters and proper tire pressure. Carry drinks and food from home to save $$ on road snacks (and the inevitable dose of Imodium from ill-advised road snacks). Drive slower. I gain 10-20% on gas mileage if I drive 60 or slower. That really adds up on long trips as well as regular driving. Leave plenty of time to get where you're going. I find that this cuts down on stress, which cuts down on snacking and speeding so indirectly, it saves me $$. Once you get where you are going, still use public transportation if you can. In Seattle I have a hotel that is thrifty and includes free parking. I take the bus and walk once I'm there. Driving downtown means gas, aggravation, and parking fees. Riding the bus means seeing strange people and getting good stories.
OK, that's a lot of information.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Travel Souvenirs
When you travel...do you really need souvenirs?
Maybe.
I like to have a little something to remember a place by. I've gone through a few phases.
At first, I would buy books...uh, heavy and expensive and how many of those have I actually read? Zero.
Than I went through a calendars and whatnot phase. Better. But again, done after a year or so and other than the calendars, they weren't things I would just see on a daily basis, so not much remembering going on.
Now I get tiny things that I'll see now and then...and smashed pennies. The smashed pennies take up almost no space and cost 50 cents or a dollar each. And you usually get to turn the crank thingy which is fun and a little obnoxious so double fun. I'm thinking about having the pennies from a trip joined on a chain into a bracelet (by my sister so cheap).
The daily use souvenirs that have been great successes for me:
Tea towel from the tea and coffee museum in London. I use it as a cozy for my kitchenaid mixer and so I see it most days and think "That was a great trip."
A handmade pottery plate from Santa Fe. I met the potter and her husband and chatted. I really liked the plate and use it most days and think "that was a great trip." Since I had bonded with the potter and husband, they even stopped by Idaho for a visit on their way through. Fun.
Thin cheapo reproduction plates of English royal dishware from olden tymes. (I think Chris got me these...still love them). They are a bit fragile so I don't let guests use them...I wouldn't mind the damage so much but they are tin and the paint comes off in your food if you're not careful and I figure guests don't want to eat paint chips. They are cool and I remember the trip when I use them.
In DC, I tried to go even smaller. I got quite a few smashed pennies, kept the Van Gogh decorated metro pass card, and got chapstick from the Smithsonian. I put the pass card up with other tickets I've posed in a little space in the kitchen. It gives me things to think about while I cook. The chapstick is in my pocket.
In Wales (trip described in past post), I got a pen at a thrift store. It was new, but had a logo that reminded me of the store and of Wales. It just gave up the ghost.
I've got ticket stubs from Italy, Wales, Seattle, Santa Fe, Denver, pretty much everywhere I've been. These are fine souvenirs.
I guess my recommendation is tiny and cheap.
Maybe.
I like to have a little something to remember a place by. I've gone through a few phases.
At first, I would buy books...uh, heavy and expensive and how many of those have I actually read? Zero.
Than I went through a calendars and whatnot phase. Better. But again, done after a year or so and other than the calendars, they weren't things I would just see on a daily basis, so not much remembering going on.
Now I get tiny things that I'll see now and then...and smashed pennies. The smashed pennies take up almost no space and cost 50 cents or a dollar each. And you usually get to turn the crank thingy which is fun and a little obnoxious so double fun. I'm thinking about having the pennies from a trip joined on a chain into a bracelet (by my sister so cheap).
The daily use souvenirs that have been great successes for me:
Tea towel from the tea and coffee museum in London. I use it as a cozy for my kitchenaid mixer and so I see it most days and think "That was a great trip."
A handmade pottery plate from Santa Fe. I met the potter and her husband and chatted. I really liked the plate and use it most days and think "that was a great trip." Since I had bonded with the potter and husband, they even stopped by Idaho for a visit on their way through. Fun.
Thin cheapo reproduction plates of English royal dishware from olden tymes. (I think Chris got me these...still love them). They are a bit fragile so I don't let guests use them...I wouldn't mind the damage so much but they are tin and the paint comes off in your food if you're not careful and I figure guests don't want to eat paint chips. They are cool and I remember the trip when I use them.
In DC, I tried to go even smaller. I got quite a few smashed pennies, kept the Van Gogh decorated metro pass card, and got chapstick from the Smithsonian. I put the pass card up with other tickets I've posed in a little space in the kitchen. It gives me things to think about while I cook. The chapstick is in my pocket.
In Wales (trip described in past post), I got a pen at a thrift store. It was new, but had a logo that reminded me of the store and of Wales. It just gave up the ghost.
I've got ticket stubs from Italy, Wales, Seattle, Santa Fe, Denver, pretty much everywhere I've been. These are fine souvenirs.
I guess my recommendation is tiny and cheap.
Friday, December 6, 2013
Thrifty Vacation Housing Options
Moving along on my list of topics I said I'd cover about vacationing....frugally and simply (or fairly frugally and fairly simply since the MOST frugal and simple would be to sit at home in the cold and dark).
So, I've tried hotel/motels...some are a fairly good deal. Some are not.
I've tried vrbo.com (vacation rentals by owner), not bad. Prices go as high or low as you want.
And the DC trip was through airbnb.com. Again, price range is quite wide.
3 of us shared a 2 bedroom apartment in DC, with full kitchen, one full bath, and a washer dryer (nice ones, not those crap stacking ones with a top loading washer), breakfast foods included for about 35-40$/each per night. That was really good.
Here's a link to the place if you're curious:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/339208?guests=2&s=19fa
The beds were great. Pam (Hi Pam) got the couch so she'll have to give us a ruling on that. It was very private and no steps other than the front porch. It is in a working class neighborhood in DC. The Metro stop is literally yards from the front door. You can see the place when you get off the Metro. 4 stops to the Mall. So, we didn't feel we spent too much time or money on transportation.
Having the washer/dryer meant we could pack with only a small carryon that fit under the seat in front of us. The airlines sometimes require you to check the roller bags these days with the overloaded flights. That doesn't cost you money, but it does cost you time waiting for the bag. I personally don't want to pay to check a bag so the washer facilitates that savings.
By staying in a working class neighborhood rather than at trendier or more "nightlife" type area, we also got a less expensive place.
With airbnb.com much of your experience depends on your host so read the reviews and communicate with the host before committing. The host, Wayne, was awesome! Good directions and suggestions. He encouraged us to take a bus to the national cathedral rather than the metro. Even cheaper AND it's like getting a free tour of DC. Some people might not care for the bus as the poor people take the bus along with everyone else, but we didn't mind at all.
What you don't get with airbnb: a round the clock concierge, linen service, a cookie-cutter-predictable-chain-hotel experience, reward points, etc.
When I've managed to get excellent prices on hotels/motels, it's largely been in "mom-n-pop" type places. They don't have advertising and often don't have websites so there is some risk. But isn't life full of risk?
One of my favorite cheapy hotel/motel experiences was at Paul's Motor Inn in Victoria BC
www.paulsmotorinn.com/
This was several years ago and I cannot vouch for their current conditions. The room was clean and quiet (due to the cinder block walls...those don't transmit much sound). The onsite restaurant hadn't been redecorated, or restaffed, since the 1970s. If you like vintage you'd love it. If you like modern and exotic then probably not for you. The place came with parking. Since I drove there and it costs to park in the city, free parking is important savings for me at a motel/hotel.
In Seattle I generally stay at the Travelodge University. It's not the cheapest, but the location is good, the price is very good for the location, free parking, and there are some 1 and 2 bedroom apartments with full kitchens. These cost a bit more than the regular rooms but I'm usually able to recoup much of the difference by having 1 or 2 meals a day in the hotel.
I no longer go so far as to sleep in the car to save money. I have a job and find that sleeping inside with a toilet and shower available is way better and worth the money these days.
So, I've tried hotel/motels...some are a fairly good deal. Some are not.
I've tried vrbo.com (vacation rentals by owner), not bad. Prices go as high or low as you want.
And the DC trip was through airbnb.com. Again, price range is quite wide.
3 of us shared a 2 bedroom apartment in DC, with full kitchen, one full bath, and a washer dryer (nice ones, not those crap stacking ones with a top loading washer), breakfast foods included for about 35-40$/each per night. That was really good.
Here's a link to the place if you're curious:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/339208?guests=2&s=19fa
The beds were great. Pam (Hi Pam) got the couch so she'll have to give us a ruling on that. It was very private and no steps other than the front porch. It is in a working class neighborhood in DC. The Metro stop is literally yards from the front door. You can see the place when you get off the Metro. 4 stops to the Mall. So, we didn't feel we spent too much time or money on transportation.
Having the washer/dryer meant we could pack with only a small carryon that fit under the seat in front of us. The airlines sometimes require you to check the roller bags these days with the overloaded flights. That doesn't cost you money, but it does cost you time waiting for the bag. I personally don't want to pay to check a bag so the washer facilitates that savings.
By staying in a working class neighborhood rather than at trendier or more "nightlife" type area, we also got a less expensive place.
With airbnb.com much of your experience depends on your host so read the reviews and communicate with the host before committing. The host, Wayne, was awesome! Good directions and suggestions. He encouraged us to take a bus to the national cathedral rather than the metro. Even cheaper AND it's like getting a free tour of DC. Some people might not care for the bus as the poor people take the bus along with everyone else, but we didn't mind at all.
What you don't get with airbnb: a round the clock concierge, linen service, a cookie-cutter-predictable-chain-hotel experience, reward points, etc.
When I've managed to get excellent prices on hotels/motels, it's largely been in "mom-n-pop" type places. They don't have advertising and often don't have websites so there is some risk. But isn't life full of risk?
One of my favorite cheapy hotel/motel experiences was at Paul's Motor Inn in Victoria BC
www.paulsmotorinn.com/
This was several years ago and I cannot vouch for their current conditions. The room was clean and quiet (due to the cinder block walls...those don't transmit much sound). The onsite restaurant hadn't been redecorated, or restaffed, since the 1970s. If you like vintage you'd love it. If you like modern and exotic then probably not for you. The place came with parking. Since I drove there and it costs to park in the city, free parking is important savings for me at a motel/hotel.
In Seattle I generally stay at the Travelodge University. It's not the cheapest, but the location is good, the price is very good for the location, free parking, and there are some 1 and 2 bedroom apartments with full kitchens. These cost a bit more than the regular rooms but I'm usually able to recoup much of the difference by having 1 or 2 meals a day in the hotel.
I no longer go so far as to sleep in the car to save money. I have a job and find that sleeping inside with a toilet and shower available is way better and worth the money these days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)