Soakin' Up Some Vitamin D

I feel like that Johnny Cash song: "I've been everywhere, man!"

It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks what with Memorial Day weekend, my niece Angela's beautiful wedding and our trip to Fort Lauderdale.

I'm exhausted. :)

Truth be told, despite my weariness of living out of a suitcase, I love everything about traveling. In a future/alternative life, I'd make a great "Travel Concierge." I'm not sure if such a thing exists. Maybe I should invent it/one. At least, it would be a cool column concept.

There are a lot of tricks to organizing a good trip - and it doesn't have to cost three arms and two-and-a-half legs. Let me walk you through some tips - and you can use these if you have yet to put together a summer get-away. The good news: It's not too late to book a fun trip! Quit panicking!

OK, first, decide where you want to go. There are a lot of ways to do this. The most popular way is to look around where you are and then decide how far away from THAT you want to get!

Seriously, what interests you? Dining? The Sun? Entertainment? Sports? Adventure? Kid diversions? Relaxation?

For me, sun and relaxation are always at the top of the list. Now, how much would you like to spend? I have a suggestion: As little as possible. Visit a online travel agent like www.expedia.com and poke around at the possibilities. To stay up to date on some great deals, subscribe to the email service at www.travelzoo.com.

Actually, that is how we ended up in Fort Lauderdale the first time. Travelzoo.com tipped me that Spiritair.com was having a sale from Chicago (or, ORD as a trained Travel Concierge would say) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL). Every now and then, the tickets there from Chicago are incredibly cheap. One reason: Fort Lauderdale is the HQ (concierge-speak for "headquarters") of Spirit. So, in 2003, I found non-stop tickets for $43 each way!. Yes, $86 for a round trip. The trick here: Book the trip on a less-traveled day like Tuesday vs. Friday or Saturday.

With that info, the next step is deciding where to stay. A good resource is wwwtripadvisor.com. Here, actual travelers rank hotels based on their experiences.

In 2003, I was surprised to discover that a little, inexpensive, independently owned Fort Lauderdale hotel called the Tropi Rock Resort ranked in the top five among the hundreds of Fort Lauderdale hotels. I called and talked to the owner, Mick, and he was a great guy. I booked it and the plane tickets and we just thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was so enyoyable, in fact, that we returned to soak up some Vitamin D this week. Mick gave us a great rate for the return visit and lest ye be fearful of all of the stories about rising gas prices, airline strife, blah, blah, blah: We got a great rate from Spirit! Good prices still remain.

In fact, I checked on Tuesday night by doing a search on Spiritair.com and found I could still book a round trip from ORD to FLL departing Tuesday, July 19, 2005 and returning Tuesday, July 26, 2005 for $88! Yes, it has just gone up $2 in two years! Add tax, title, license fee, destination charges and "security" fee, the total for two tickets was $213.80! A compact efficiency for seven nights at the Tropi Rock is $490 plus taxes. The pool and gardens are lovely and the ocean is one-and-a-half blocks away!

Here's a Spirit tip: When checking in, inquire if there are open seats in "Spirit Class," their version of First Class. NEVER book Spirit Class online! If they have openings at the gate and you want to kick your vacation off in style, it will cost you between $30-50 per seat. It varies depending on demand, length of the trip, etc. It seems random, frankly. On the most recent trip, it cost us $50 each. On our last Orlando trip it was $30. It used to be $40 when Spirit flew to Las Vegas in 2004. It's all you can drink and free snacks, unlike "coach," so you'll get some of that back by consuming like a pig - plus you will be infinitely more comfortable. We consumed $36 dollars in "free" food and drinks on the three-hour flight to Fort Lauderdale. Those suckers in coach PAID for food and drinks and were uncomfortable to boot!

Just to make this seem even more commercial: When in Fort Lauderdale, guests of the Mark Sweetwood blog (pretty much just Mary at this point) stay at the beautiful Tropi Rock Resort. Check it out at www.tropirock.com. When flying, the Mark Sweetwood blog flies Spirit Airlines! Catch the Spirit at www.spiritair.com.

Now, if I could just get paid for that...

As always, feel free to send me any questions or comments about travel, tips or destinations!

Back to the pool!


Mark

P.S. While "researching" this blog chapter, I discovered that on this Tropi Rock page - http://www.tropirock.com/rooms.html - our actual room is pictured at the top! How cool!