Hey everyone, this is Shadoe reporting that my mom is smiling as she plans a trip to New York City. That makes her happy because travel is one of her favorite things. She hasn’t taken a trip in more than a year and is complaining about cabin fever.
My third favorite thing is hanging out with Mom (after eating and sleeping). She spent a lot of time this weekend researching a low-cost winter getaway. When she searches online and uses the mouse, I can stay on her lap because she’s not using the keyboard.
One of my favorite games is to jump on the file cart next to Mom’s desk, creep onto her lap and head-butt her right arm. If she’s using the mouse, I can stay. If not, she'll put me on the floor or a nearby chair. I’ll repeat the process once or twice before giving up. Mom will say, “Shadoe! You are relentless.”
Being relentless can't be too bad as her tone of voice is more exasperated than mad. Didn’t think we cats could distinguish vocal tones? Believe me, I know when it’s time to leave Mom alone and go snuggle with Sashi.
This Chicago winter has been particularly brutal as cold weather goes (read our last post for more on that). Low-cost travel translates to tax-deductible and brief, so Mom started looking on ShawGuides to find a writers’ conference that sounded interesting.
She squealed when she read about the Business of Pet Writing Conference in NYC next month. “Shaddy…I didn’t even know there were conferences for pet writing,” she said.
Mom should be a travel agent…loves researching and planning trips. First she looked for cheap airfares to NYC. Then she recalled that the conference hotel is near Penn Station and went to Amtrak’s site to check train fares. Bingo! A round-trip fare from Chicago to NYC would be $140. Traveling to the East Coast takes less time so an overnight train ride would be tolerable.
The next step was a visit to www.airbnb.com a good source for low-cost rooms. Don’t ask me how Mom knew to narrow the search for those rooms closest to the conference, but she figured it out. Wow, a private room in Midtown Manhattan can cost $200 or more. Luckily, some are in the more affordable $68-$125 range.
This site is great because you can screen for amenities such as wireless Internet, TV and breakfast. As a writer, Mom needs access to the Web for her laptop and it's better if your room offers it for free. Coffee houses and public libraries usually have Wi-Fi, but there are time limits.
Sorry, all of this activity has worn me out. Browsing the Web is Mom’s thing, not mine. My eyes are heavy and the computer screen is getting blurry. Sashi, make room for me!
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