Being the Perfect Air B&B Guest

When my family travels, we like to stay in houses instead of hotels, especially when we are going to be in a location for more than a day or two.  We've had great experiences with Air B&B and VRBO in locations from Hollywood, California to Bismarck, North Dakota. Some places are better than others, but I always try to keep in mind that this is someone's home, whether they are currently living in it or not. I also keep in mind that I am being rated as a guest and those ratings will be seen by property owners considering my request to rent their property.

So how can you be the perfect Air B&B guest? I have two basic principles - leave no trace, or if you do leave a trace, leave a good feeling. Think like a teenager after an illicit house party - make it look like you were never there. And, if you're so inclined, leave a little something behind to thank the owner. Here's how:

1. Take pictures of every room as soon as you get there.  We always check out the entire place when we get there.  It's easy enough to snap pictures while you take that initial tour. It will be a lot easier to get those little things like pillows, throw blankets and dishes in the right cabinets if you have pictures of the way you found it.

2. Carefully read and follow the owner's instructions about what to do before you leave. Each owner is different, but everyone likes to know you can follow directions. If you are staying for more than 24 hours, be sure to call the owner if you find any problems or have any questions.  Owners hate to hear complaints after you've gone, especially if they could have fixed them.

3. If you use up a supply of something, replace it. Most properties have some food staples, toilet paper, paper towels or cleaning supplies. You don't have to replace everything you use, but it's just a nice thing to do if you replenish one or more of the staples. Pay it forward for the owner and the next guest.

4. Don't leave stains or smells.  If you stain something and it is washable, take care of it. Likewise, if you stain something that can't be washed, don't try to hide it. If it's something small like a pillow, leave a little money or if it's big, like furniture or carpet, call the owner BEFORE you leave. Smells are tough too. I bring Scentsy with me when I can, but I can't carry multiple warmers in luggage. Airing out the house and some aerosol sprays can help, but be careful not to leave too much scent either.

5. Clean up. Some might disagree with me, but a home is not a hotel. You don't have to thoroughly clean the house, but at least gather up all the garbage. Clean the dishes and put them away. Make sure everything gets back where it was when you arrived. Strip the beds that were used and include the used towels. Wipe out the sinks and showers so you aren't leaving hair. Turn everything off and adjust the heat/cool settings where they were when you arrived. Again, be sure to follow the owner's directions.

6. Leave something behind. This can be as simple as a thank you note, a little candy, or a gift. Something for the house like dishtowels or cooking implements is a nice touch. If the owner has a guestbook, be sure to leave a nice note with some hints for the next guests about things to do.

I'm happy to have the option to stay in someone's house when I travel, so for me doing these little things is my way of expressing my appreciation and renewing confidence in good manners and kindness.

Cindy

Vacations with Teens

Last week we took advantage of some cheap flights and headed to San Francisco with our kids, ages 16 and 14.

Family vacations have always been a high priority for us.  With our varied work schedules, vacation time IS family time.  Kent and I realize that as the kids get older, there won't be as many family vacations in our future with just the four of us.  (Of course we joke that as long as we are paying and the destinations are cool, they will find the time!) 

While Kent and I have been to San Francisco several times, the kids haven't experienced a "city" vacation - no car, no hotel and no "kid" destinations (i.e. amusement park).  It was amazing.  We introduced them to Uber and a studio apartment.

We biked the Golden Gate Bridge.  We toured Alcatraz.  We shopped and ate in Chinatown and Fisherman's Wharf.  We rode the BART and the cable cars.  Yes, it was touristy, but it also was amazing.

When the kids were younger, we thought vacationing with teens would be a drag because they wouldn't want to hang with us.  We were wrong.  We have no physical limitations (they're not too little now and we're not too old yet).  We share the same interests in exploring and seeing interesting places, and the two of them stop bickering just shy of killing each other.

Best of all, by visiting "real" places, we get opportunities to talk about what it's like to be with people and in places that are very different than those they know.  While they don't have to be "of the world," they have to live "in" it. I love the fact that my kids still seek my opinion on things.  I don't know how long that will last, but like our vacations, I will enjoy it while it lasts.

Let's hope that's a good, long time.

cindy 

It's Just Another New Year's Eve ...

... and my husband is playing Barry Manilow on piano.  That seems to be one of our New Year's Eve traditions.

Many New Year's Eve traditions revolve around food.  We don't really do it every year, but in my family that means black-eyed peas.  In another tradition we developed with some old friends, it also means Scotch Eggs (Heart Attacks) in the morning.

This year I'm looking forward to being home together.  Someone has been in Rome in the last 2 years.  We won't have a big party, just the four of us eating junk food and watching a little television, maybe a movie.  At midnight it will be silly hats and noise makers.  It's not much, but it's what we do.

It's also time to make resolutions.  At my age I've seen too many resolutions come and go, mostly resolving to being healthier, exercising more and losing weight.  Yeah, sure, those apply again this year so I'll give them a cursory nod. 

This year I resolve to make time for the things I love to do.  Mostly that means sewing and crafting for my Etsy store.  With my busy schedule, I have to made the effort to doing in small doses.  Crochet is good for that and I can break up sewing projects into small tasks (cutting fabric, sewing a couple of things at a time or stuffing a nursing pillow).  I also want to be a little more consistent blogging now that I have a dedicated Surface Pro that I don't have to share with anyone else. [big smile on my face right now.]

Let's see what 2017 brings.  Happy New Year!

cindy

Loving the Lego Movie

I know I'm a little late to the game on this one, but we saw The Lego Movie tonight with our kids (almost 11 and 13).  I thought it might be a little childish for them, but it definitely was not!

I expected a huge number of commercials before the movie and my expectations were more than met in that area.  Instead of trailers there were actual commercials - lots and lots of commercials.  Boy, I thought, this is going to be one dumb movie.  Try not to fall asleep.

I was surprised.  The dialogue was witty and the characters and plot were engaging.  I honestly couldn't see where the film was headed which was unusual because the plot seemed simple enough.  The movie kept me guessing through to the end and I couldn't even go to the bathroom because I didn't want to miss anything.

It was absolutely commercial and I bet Lego sales will shoot up.  Even my kids mentioned they wanted to go home and play Legos and I didn't know they owned any.  My husband mused that the movie should have come out right before Christmas.  Three things I learned:

1.  Everything is awesome.
2.  Even a 2 hour commercial for a toy can be fun and entertaining; and
3.  Lego Land is the home of "Kragle"

Thanks, Lego Movie, for a great family night out on a holiday weekend.

cindy

Kitties - Blanca and LuLu

Earlier this year I wrote about Mackenzie's new cat, Lulu.  Lulu is all settled in now.  She's such a pretty cat and very sweet - from a distance.

She has a great relationship with our dogs (sometimes I think she thinks she IS a dog), and she definitely loves us from that distance.  Please don't touch me.  She loves when we feed her, when we play with her and when she can follow us around like a dog.  She is also pretty good at coming when you call her.

My husband likes Lulu, but misses the cuddly cats we had before the kids were born.  Lulu will never be the "I-love-to-sit-in-your-lap-and-sleep-next-to-your-head-at-night" kind of cat.  So when he heard of a lovable, guaranteed kissable cat who needed a new home, he volunteered.  This was HUGE - the idea that we would bring a fourth animal into the house, especially coming from Kent, was crazy.  (Mackenzie and I would be cat ladies if allowed.)  Enter Blanca:

Blanca is so different from Lulu.  She's an Oriental, so her body is longer and sleeker, she's a talker and she's a lover.  She does give genuine kisses, but she does stay on the move.  You can see her here drinking from the faucet - Lulu wouldn't get caught dead near water.  And yes, she is pure white (hence the name).

At first we were very nervous about introducing our little kitty ladies, but it turns out they have something in common - they BOTH think they are dogs.  They sniff each other (both noses and butts) and there is no hissing or growling involved.  There are a few swipes, but they are getting playful more than aggressive.  What may be even more remarkable is that they both are very comfortable with the dogs.  (I guess that shouldn't be surprising from cats that act like dogs.)

The other thing we've noticed is that each cat is getting to be a little more like the other.  Unfortunately, the small improvements we've seen with Lulu being close to us have come at the expense of Blanca becoming a little more distant.  We're still looking for the happy medium.

So now we are a family of 8 and the pets are close to outnumbering the humans.  I don't think we'll let that happen - we need to get the 8 we have comfortable under one roof.

cindy

All About Arizona - Scorpion Season

O.K., I know that most of my "All About Arizona" posts are about the beauty and advantages of living in the Sonoran Desert.  Today's post is not one of those posts.

It's scorpion season.  Actually, in my neighborhood, most of the year is scorpion season.  We live near the open desert so they are part of deal, including the ones living in your house.  This summer has been particularly bad, probably because of the recent heavy rains we have experienced.

Here's a perfect specimen.  Small, light brown with nasty front claws and the all-important curved tail.  That little stinger over its back is what gets you.  I've been fortunate - no "tags" (I prefer my term to "stings") in the 17 years we've been here.  Unfortunately, that's not the case for my family.  My husband was tagged on the hand last summer and my daughter has been tagged three times, most recently last week as she put on her shoe (it was inside the shoe).  I'm told the feeling is like stepping on a cactus needle or shard of broken glass, but that's just the beginning.  The next 4-6 hours is pretty excruciating pain which can spread over the extremity.  After that, it's about 24 hours before the numbness goes away.  Luckily no medical attention is necessary, unless there is an allergic reaction, which is rare.

In the last 12 hours I have killed three scorpions in my home.  Two were tiny, about the size of a dime. (The one below is dead.)  The tiny ones are supposedly the worst ones.

By now you're wondering why we haven't called an exterminator.  I'm not a big fan of pesticides in the house, and frankly, they have limited effect on scorpions.  As the weather cools off, we're waiting them out because they aren't around much in the fall/winter.  Also, this year I have a secret weapon:

Those stories you hear about cats being immune to scorpions - that's pretty much true.  Actually, the theory is that cats are very fast in striking and their pads are a little too thick for a stinger to penetrate.  Whatever the reason, Lulu is an awesome scorpion hunter.  She found two of the three I've seen in the last 12 hours.  Unfortunately, she's not great at killing them, mostly because she likes to play with them too much.

So it's not all perfection here in the Sonoran Desert.  There are a few pests to deal with, but I have my cat and a little time to wait them out until the most perfect time of the year rolls around.

Hopefully no one else gets tagged before then.

cindy

Day 19 - Great American Family Vacation - Back to Arizona!

If you've been following this travelogue for the last 19 days, thank you.  It's been an awesome odyssey, the best family vacation ever!

Our last day began in a rush to get out of Santa Fe.  We loved our long vacation, but we are all ready to get home.  Our one stop was the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest near Holbrook, Arizona.  (Please consider this the weekly "All About Arizona" because I am writing on a Saturday even if you won't see it until Sunday.)

Places all over the West are breathtaking, but Arizona will not be outdone in beauty.

At the Petrified Forest (where giant trees have turned into gorgeous quartz), we had our last hike of the trip.  Based on a deal the kids had with Kent, they have each now earned a Camelback water bottle.

After the Painted Desert, we headed downstate through the White Mountains and its gorgeous thick pines.  Weekend RV camping is sounding better and better to this family, who would never have considered staying outside of a hotel.  A typical summer monsoon thunderstorm chased us down the mountains, but it was still oh so beautiful, maybe more so because we are on the way home.

At about 6:00 p.m. we drove up to our home in the Sonoran Desert, smelly and exhausted, but happy to be home.  Tomorrow we will clean out the RV so it can be returned on Monday, Kent will go to work at church and I will get back to my job at the City of Phoenix on Monday morning.

Whew, what a trip!

cindy

Days 17-18 - Great American Road Trip - New Mexico

Day 17 was a travel day from the Denver area to Las Vegas, New Mexico.  We thought our campground was closer to Santa Fe, but not so.  New Mexico was high desert, pretty desolate and unpopulated.  That pretty much describes the campground where we stayed too.  The kids gamely tried out the swimming pool and we snapped a few pictures before they jumped out shivering.

That was pretty much the highlight of Day 17.  We couldn't light a fire because the area was under a fire restriction.  Thank goodness the KOA campground loaned DVDs.  "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" saved the evening.

Day 18 was much better.  We headed toward Santa Fe and our first stop was the Pecos National Historic Park.  This is one of the many locations in New Mexico where you can see where native cliff dwellers or pueblos were located.  A very large pueblo community existed at Pecos before the Spanish showed up in the 1600's.  The ruins of an old adobe church and underground kivas are still there to explore.

We also confirmed that New Mexico is the land of ants.  There are black ants and red ants with really big ant hills.  Kent is really susceptible to ant bites, so we were jumping around a bit.

Our next stop was Los Alamos Laboratory.  You can't actually go to Los Alamos, but we did find the Bradbury Museum which is a gem of a place dedicated to learning about the work of Los Alamos, especially the Manhattan Project and the first nuclear bomb.  It was free and we highly recommend it if you are ever in the Santa Fe area.  This is "Fat Man" a replica of the first plutonium bomb dropped on Nagasaki.

We probably stayed a little too long at the Bradbury Museum because we didn't get to downtown Santa Fe until just after 5:00 p.m.  I was a little disappointed because there were a few places I wanted to show the kids, including Loretto Chapel with the amazing staircase.  We trooped all over downtown Santa Fe, looking for a place to eat and finally found a little place where we could have our "last night" dinner which is a tradition for us at the end of vacation.

Tomorrow - goodbye New Mexico, hello Arizona and home!!

cindy

Days 15-16 - Great American Family Road Trip - Rocky Mountain High

After leaving Mount Rushmore we had a long drive to Colorado.  Because we were so late getting into Fort Collins (and because we all needed a shower), we broke down and stayed at a motel.  We all enjoyed it to a certain extent, but it was kind of a seedy motel for the price (which was higher than any campground where we have stayed).

Bright and bushy tailed (and freshly showered), we drove on to Rocky Mountain National Park.  The dense pines and smell of the same were amazing.  There is little room for RV parking, but we did manage to get to Hidden Valley picnic area.  It's a former ski resort that the National Park System has restored to its natural beauty.

We had to stop in trendy Estes Park for souvenirs and then it was on across the mountains to our KOA campground in Central City.  This one is atop a mountain with a vista of the valley below.  Wow.

We roasted marshmallows over perhaps the last campfire we will have :(  and headed off to bed late.

Day 16 (yesterday, July 16) we awoke to a bright, sunny day with the smell of pine in the air.  I wanted to see the headwaters of the Colorado River (it's that water lawyer thing in me), so we headed off to Granby and Grand Lake where it all starts.  This is as close as we could get without hiking 8 miles.  As it was, I hiked about 1/2 mile in the rain.

The views here are spectacular and we agreed that the tree covered mountains are even more impressive than Yellowstone, mostly because they are so thick and green.

We drove up Trail Ridge Road (thanks for the tip Sara - Mom Endeavors!) to the Alpine Visitor's Center at 11,000 feet.  There was still some snow there and we saw some elk!

I thought I had seen the most beautiful sites at Yellowstone, but this view made me cry:

So many beautiful places . . .

cindy

Days 13-14 - Great American Road Trip - South Dakota

We finally said goodbye to Wyoming and hello to South Dakota.  After a long drive we parked the RV at the KOA near Mount Rushmore.  I think I have said this before, but we have really enjoyed KOA campgrounds.  This one in particular was the cadillac - two swimming pools, horseback riding, bike rental, climbing wall, water slide, "pillow" bounce and splash pad for the kids.  Needless to say, after days of complaints about no wi-fi, the kids were thrilled to see someplace they could cut loose.  We decided to spend the day just hanging at the KOA.

Mackenzie and I did one of our favorite activities and went horseback riding.

Gorgeous scenery, right?  After horseback riding, the kids were off to the water slide and pool while mom enjoyed a good book.  Ahhh, camping at its best :)

That evening we met up with my sister-in-law and her partner for the lighting ceremony at Mount Rushmore.  It's quite the patriotic affair, with a movie about America and a flag lowering with all the past and present military personnel in attendance.  I highly recommend it.

The next morning we were up early (for us that was 7:00 a.m.) to travel to the Badlands.  It was a cold and rainy day - perfect as far as we were concerned and a real change for what is normally scorching hot at the Badlands.

The Badlands are a series of rock formations that look like solidified mud statues.  They reminded us of the hoodoos at Bryce Canyon except much smaller and more accessible for climbing.  We did a lot of climbing on these.

Here's another great family picture.  We've been pretty lucky to get several of these during our trip.

No trip to western South Dakota is complete without a visit to Wall Drug.  It's hard to explain what this is, but just imagine the biggest original kitschy tourist trap you can and Wall Drug will beat that.  

 They are famous for their jackalopes . . .

  And the home of free ice water and 5 cent coffee.

The next morning we went back to Mount Rushmore one more time for some daytime views of the presidents and then it's off to Colorado.

Time to start the trek back to Arizona.

cindy

Days 11-12 - Great American Road Trip - Little Bighorn & Devils Tower

When I was in the 4th Grade we studied states and their capitols.  We also were assigned a state.  I had Montana.  It sounded like a very far away place from southern Illinois and I was sure I would never get there.  I was wrong.  Yesterday I saw the real Big Sky Country - rolling pastures and blue sky as far as the eye can see.  As we drove back into Wyoming, I saw more horses in pasture than cattle.  I love horses so that was very cool.

Little Big Horn National Battlefield was worth the trip even if it is a somber place.  We heard a rousing 50 minute talk from a park ranger (and former high school history teacher and coach) describing the battle in dramatic detail.  We won't forget him soon and my kids also won't forget the history of this place.  General George Custer made his Last Stand and the Plains Indians (mostly Lakota and Cheyenne) won a battle but lost a war to protect their way of life.

The site is so quiet and unassuming - a couple of hills on a prairie near the Little Bighorn River.  The battlefield is dotted with white markers in the locations where each soldier fell.

On the top of the hill is a larger memorial where Custer and most of his men died.  You can see the exact spot Custer fell on the white stone with a black face.

On the same ridge is a monument to the Native Americans who died that day.  It's sobering to think of all the people at this violent confrontation lying silently nearby over 100 years later.

From Little Bighorn we worked our way over to the KOA at Devils Tower.  We have enjoyed KOA campgrounds, and this one was unique.  It was about as close to Devils Tower as you can get.  This was taken from our campsite:

Notice that there is no apostrophe in "Devils Tower"?  When Congress designated it the first National Monument, it was left out of the name and never added.  The Lakota legend says that eight siblings were playing in the forest - seven girls and one boy.  The boy was pretending to be a bear and the girls were running away.  Suddenly, the boy became a real bear and his sisters ran screaming in terror.  They climbed on a tree stump that started rising into the air.  The bear tried to climb the stump, and left his claw marks in the side.  The stump continued to rise until the seven sisters became the seven stars of the Big Dipper.

We spent the morning hiking around the Tower and watching the crazy climbers going up.

I think we also took our Christmas picture.

On to Mount Rushmore!

cindy

Day 10 - Great American Road Trip - Bear Tooth Pass/Red Lodge

We loved Yellowstone, but after several days the kids were done with the great outdoors.  Too bad for them because we still had to drive to the northeast entrance to the park on the Bear Tooth Pass Scenic Byway.  If you ever get to Yellowstone and have any reason at all to enter/exit through the northeast entrance, I highly recommend it.  It's closed part of the year for weather and there are lots of switchbacks through 11,000 feet of mountain, but it's awesome.

We saw lots of bison - herds for the first time.  Previously we were only seeing them individually, but mating season is almost here.

The views were spectacular and we were rewarded with snow on top.  Christian loved it!  Unfortunately, there were swarms of mosquitos in the snow area so my Arizona boy is experiencing the joy of multiple mosquito-bite welts on his arms and legs.

Mackenzie loved the little chipmunks/ground squirrels we found at the top of the pass.  At the rest area they darted in and out of weep holes in the retaining walls and ate right out of your hand.  (I know, they are wild and it's probably not a good idea, but it sure was fun!)

The ride down to the valley was full of switchbacks - the Google map looked like a child's squiggle drawing - no kidding.  We were rewarded at the bottom with more great views and lush settings.

We stayed in Red Lodge, Montana for the night and this was one of those places I wished we could stay longer.  The town had an old-fashioned main street with more antique stores in two blocks than I have seen in all of Scottsdale.  We had a great time walking through them with the kids.  For Kent and I we saw some things our grandparents had in their homes.  Christian found a rotary phone "from the 50's", but it was the same model Kent and I had as kids.  Sigh.

After dinner in town and more card games (still no wi-fi), we settled in.  Tomorrow, back into Wyoming and Devil's Tower.

Thanks for riding along with us!

cindy