BAGGAGE HANDLERS

It's videos like that which make me want to travel with carry-on only. I have done so in the past... once for a 5 week trip. I managed quite well with what I took, actually. But this time I want to check a bag with my snorkeling gear (doesn't all fit in carry on), my liquids (sun lotions, hair products, bug repellents, perfume etc), and the 8 rolls of McVites digestive cookies I am taking (don't ask). As well as some clothing... whatever won't fit in my carry-on.

Also, I recently purchased the most beautiful set of luggage I've ever laid my eyes on.

I mean, can you stand it?  I saw it from across the store at WINNERS when I was in Kelowna this summer helping my daughter paint her new condo.  I HAD to have them.  I didn't buy the big one because I tend to go overweight if packing a big bag and I am done...DONE... spending hundreds of dollars on an extra 10lbs of stuff, but I walked out of there with the other two and a huge...HUGE...smile on my face.

I didn't just buy new luggage because I couldn't resist the colour (although who could blame me if that was the reason?!)  in fact, the last time I dragged a heavy bag on two wheels through miles of airport, the stupid thing sometimes twisting off the wheels and wrenching my arm, I watched others blithely stroll by with their 'spinner' bags, upright, just gliding along beside them.  I determined then and there that I would have bags with FOUR wheels on my next trip. 

And now I will.

But I don't want that gorgeous finish to get scratched, dented or *gasp* cracked.  And if the baggage handlers treat it like the bags in above video, or pitch it down 20 feet or so to the tarmac below like in another video I saw, then my gorgeous bags might not survive (not to mention what would happen to the aforementioned biscuits packed inside!!).

So what to do?  

How about a little 'sucking up' to the baggage handlers?  Let them know that they are appreciated.  It couldn't hurt, right? 

This is what I came up with:

On both sides of the bag.

Let's hope it works and that I don't end up with something like this:

But get something more like this instead:

Well...without the 'HEAVY BAG' tag, and the poor spelling.

Here are some tips on how to get your bag safely to your destination:

1.

Buy a four-wheeled bag.

 (CHECK!!!!)

With a four-wheeled bag, the only time your luggage will be airborne is after takeoff.

"When we load a plane, we have to slide that bag along ... the cargo floor," Henry said.

"With four wheels, they can just roll that bag," he continued. "Now if it doesn't have the wheels, they'll throw it, kick it, toss it."

2.

Pack your items in a sturdy bag.

(Let's hope this gorgeous new bag is sturdy)

Make sure your bag won't crumble under pressure.

When shopping for luggage, look for bags made out of strong material. There are even bags available for purchase made out of the same material that the NFL uses for its shoulder pads.

"You should assume that this bag is going to be handled in the worst way," Henry said.

3.

Don't check in for your flight too early. (I am bad for this... part of my nervous traveler thing.)

Ironically, to ensure your bag's on-time arrival, don't check in too early.

"If you do it more than two hours early, they don't even have things set up for your flight yet," Cigelske said.

Your bag could get lost in the shuffle if it's set aside.

4.

Skip the curbside check-in.

(Never done this)

Even if you're rushing to catch your flight, avoid checking in at the curb.

"It does add one more layer to the process, more people to the equation," Cigelske said. "More hands, more things, means more things could go wrong."

Instead, head to the ticket counter, especially if you're past the cutoff time to check your bag in.

"You can ask the ticket-taker to have the baggage handlers come and make one more run," Cigelske said.

5.

Buy traveler's insurance.

(I have it through my Credit Card. I DID have it with the first insurance I bought for this trip but don't have that anymore!!!)

Airlines are only liable for $3,400 for loss, delay or damage to luggage. Some airlines don't even cover certain items, such as electronics or jewelry.

Travelers agree to this contract automatically when they purchase their flight ticket. Purchasing traveler's insurance can protect the contents of your bag in the event it is lost, stolen or damaged.

6.

Buy a bag with anti-theft technology.

(Ooops.  Gorgeous luggage has zippers)

Even if your bag is locked, a person can still get into your luggage by cutting the zipper open.

Luggage without zippers can help deter would-be thieves immediately, as people will be unable to easily use scissors or knives to cut it open.

7.

Invest in a tracking device.

(Hmmmm...tracking device huh?  I do always pack my info and itinerary inside, along with a list of everything the bag contains and a note saying I have a copy of the list with me)

Be sure to remove old routing stickers from your luggage. In case your bag goes astray, add a tag to the outside with your information, and pack an itinerary inside.

If your bag does indeed get lost, it might help if you have a tracking device. Certain devices can message you the location of your bag once it's landed.

8.

Use a carry-on bag.

(Right.  See above.)

It's recommended not checking any bags.

And if you are forced to check your carry-on at the boarding gate, remember to remove your valuables before handing it over.

IS IT JUST ME... OR DO YOU TOO FIND INCOMPETENCE EVERYWHERE?

I decided I was fed up with the back and forth phone calls about the missing travel insurance policy and the "we can't refund your money until we find the policy" nonsense.  SO ... I did what worked so well for me once before.

My friend, when reading the story (linked to in above paragraph) of how I got AA to find my daughter's lost luggage PRONTO, commented that I sure was one "can-do broad".  I liked that.  I decided it was time to bring out the "can-do broad" in me once again.

I start searching online for the name of someone in authority in either sales or customer relations at Allianz in the Ontario office.  It takes a long time, like well over an hour.  It is information that is really buried  but I end up finding a woman on Linked In who is the head of Customer Service in Ontario.  I can't see any contact information for her as she is not connected to me in any way and there is only a first name and a last initial.  So I Google her name with the initial and ALLIANZ, and I find a link back to Linked In with her whole name.  I still can't see any contact info but... the personal email of the agent I have been talking to was his first name - dot - his last name and then @alianz-assistance.ca  I had seen online another person's email at the company and it was his first and last name with the same ending so I start an email to her and type in her name etc and hope it works. I detail everything that has occurred to this point, ask her to intervene for a resolution, and hit send.  Heading off to bed (at close to 4am) I hope I wake to good news.

I do... it worked!!!! And she has replied to say she has some people looking into it. Actually what I wake to is a phone call from Shawn, the agent, to say that they are going to refund me the money.  THEN I go check my email and see she wrote to me three hours ago (time difference) to say that she has some people looking into it.  WOW.  So it worked.  Go to the top and you get speedy results.  I am ecstatic.

That done, it is now time to select some seats with more leg room on the longer legs of my flights to and from the Dominican Republic.  I pull up my flight itinerary on American Airlines website and... hellooo... what is this now?  My flights home have changed.  Now instead of Miami to LA then home, I fly from Miami to Dallas.  Excuse me?  Especially seeing how this means I fly out of Miami two hours earlier than the previous plan, did no one think this might be information important for me to have?

So I call AA.  The woman on the other end tells me that it is the responsibility of the sales company - in this case Flight Hub - to let me know.  AA sends an alert of changes to the company I bought tickets from and they then are to contact me and alert me.  I know she is telling me the truth because that is how it has always worked.  That is how it worked on the flights I had to cancel already (because the changes did not work for me).  As it happens, these changes I can live with - I no longer have a long lay over waiting for the flight to Vancouver so I am getting in four hours earlier.  But that is not the point.   She is rather surprised that I have not received notification and so takes all my information so that if there are any more changes, they can contact me directly.

I then call Flight Hub, ready to tear a strip off of them as the changes were made over TWO WEEKS ago.  Again, had I not wanted to upgrade my seats, I would have had NO idea that this had occurred.

The woman on the other end tells me they never got the alert from AA, thus they had no idea the flights had changed.

Sigh.  Typical blame game... NO ONE is responsible.  Right.

Whatever.  I now have my new itinerary printed out.  I will be checking AA's site daily to see if there are any more changes as I don't trust anyone now.

Yesterday I purchased additional travel insurance through my union's provider to pad out what I already had with them.

I don't have trip cancellation insurance now, which I thought I had before.  I also don't have baggage loss insurance... just what I get with the credit card for charging the trip with them.

It is astounding to me how much incompetence there is everywhere.  Astounding.

PRE-TRIP TROUBLES

So in my last post, I wasn't quite forthcoming about how I ended up choosing Sosua as the destination for my upcoming trip to the Dominican Republic.  Yes I had looked at property there online and yes, I wanted to make it part of my trip.  But my initial searches for accommodation on Airbnb had lead me to a small enclave to the west of Puerto Plata named Costambar.  From the descriptions I first read it sounded very pleasant; a small gated community of mostly expats from Canada with a lovely beach, a few restaurants and a couple of small grocery shops.  Perfect.

I selected a nice little apartment in a complex with a pool and proceeded to book it for the month long stay at $780 US.  Not bad at all.  The furniture in the place was a little heavy and dark, but I liked the look of the pool and it was a very short walk of about 50 yards to the beach.

Then, as time permitted, between setups on my show, I started to research Costambar a little more.  I began to discover that it was rather isolated, was near a big power processing plant, had unpaved roads that turned to mud in the rain, and was not advised to walk alone at night even a short distance from the restaurants to the apartment.  I really did not like the sounds of this.

I made some enquiries on a Trip Advisor forum as to if it was a good place for a single woman to stay and got some assurance that I 'should' be alright.  One fellow replied that I must take a few trips to Sosua as the main street was closed to traffic each evening to allow the restaurants to put tables and chairs out on the street for outdoor dining with live music.  It sounded lovely and festive.  As I researched things to do and excursions from Costambar, I learned that there were sailing trips to what was called a gorgeous beach perfect for snorkeling in Sosua.  I began to wonder why I wasn't staying there instead.

Once you book what is considered a 'long stay' at an Airbnb location (a month or more) there are no refunds offered with the site.  It is only at the graciousness of the host that a refund may be obtained. I found the place I wanted to stay in Sosua and checked with the host for dates and if she would hold it for a few days while I sorted out my reservation in Costambar.  She agreed to do that and then I contacted the first host and, much to my relief, she readily issued me a refund.

Once I booked my room in Sosua, I then turned my research efforts in that direction.  It didn't take long for me to start to freak out a little bit and wonder if I'd made a huge mistake.

Why you ask?

Because Sosua is renowned for it's sex trade business.  That's right, it is the red light district for all of the Dominican Republic!!  Men from all over North America travel there just for the young women they can buy.  I was horrified.  Horrified.  What had I done?!?

More panicked research uncovered a YouTube video from a guy called Cuba Dave who has sort of a internet travel show on that site for men travelling for sex.  In this video, he was advising men to stay away from Sosua as it was no longer the playground it once had been. A little more research revealed that apparently the city fathers had decided they'd had enough of this rather appalling reputation and were going to clean up their town. So they closed all of the brothels and strip joints, closed in the clubs (no windows, no outdoor seating) and cracked down on the street girls.  They began the task of encouraging a more family friendly, couple friendly environment.

Somewhat reassured, I decided to keep things as they were and hopefully all would be good.  We shall see I guess.

About three weeks after I booked my flights, I received notification from Ticket Pilot that my reservations had been changed and when I took a look at how, the changes were unacceptable to me. I called them and said I wanted to cancel.  They contacted the airline, United, and in a three way call it was explained that because the new flights changed arrival to a destination by more than two hours, I could cancel without penalty.  I had just upgraded the seats a few days prior but was assured that I would be reimbursed for the cost of that at the same time.  When I later checked my credit card, I was refunded the cost of the flights but not the upgrades.  Another call to the airline rectified this and the refund showed up a few days later.

I booked new flights with American Airlines through Flight Hub.  I was pleased to no longer be connecting through Newark as weather conditions there in winter had me somewhat concerned about possible delayed or cancelled flights.  Now I was connecting through Los Angeles and, back to two connections instead of just one, Miami - on both the trip there and the trip back.  I had a 14 hour overnight wait for my flight out of Miami on the trip home so decided I would go to South Beach and get a hotel for the night.  I had spent only an hour or so there on my way through from Tarpon Springs to Key Largo back in '09 and loved it so the idea of an evening there was very welcome.  I'd look for a hotel once the show was over and I had some time to think.  Also, to get flights I wanted, my trip was now extended by two days.

Having flights confirmed, a place to stay, and trip insurance paid for at the time I booked the first flights there was nothing much more to do until the show wrapped and I had some time to devote to the rest of the planning.  I would need to contact the insurance provider to extend my coverage the two extra days and I needed to look at upgrading my seats on the long flights. But that could be done once I had more time.

Now that the show is wrapped, and my two grand babies have arrived (did I fail to mention that my son and his wife and my daughter and her husband were both expecting boys within days of each other?!) I finally have that time.

I set about looking for a hotel in Miami first and after much searching, pretty much settle on a beachfront place at the exorbitant rate of $375 US for the night.  As I contemplate this, I suddenly have an epiphany.  I won't be arriving at the hotel until sometime around 7pm.  I will want to go for dinner and stroll Ocean Drive, maybe stop at a place or two for a drink and soak in the atmosphere.  My flight in the morning leaves at 7am so I'll have to be out of my hotel by 4am or so.  I'll probably be spending less than 4 hours in my hotel.  That will amount to $100 an hour!  Why spend the money on a hotel?  Why not stay up all night and enjoy what Miami Beach has to offer in the way of people watching etc as I am sure it is open all night long on a Friday night?!  What a great idea!  So that is what I decide I am going to do.

That all figured out, I call up the insurance agency - Allianz Global Assistance - to set about extending my coverage.  I have paperwork in hand with the policy number and when I give the agent on the line the information he astounds me by saying they have no such policy registered with that number.  He asks me to check my credit card statement to see if I have indeed been charged and if so, was it the Ontario office or a US office listed.  I know I have been charged and find the statement with no problem and it was the Ontario office.  He is stumped by this as he was sure it was because it was a US policy, which would have to be cancelled and a new Canadian one issued.  He clicks about on his keyboard a bit more and puts me on hold.  When he returns he tells me that he has informed his superior of this anomaly and that he will call me at 3pm my time to update me as to what they find. He asks me to send him a copy of my credit card statement with the charge and gives me an email address to send it to.

I hang up feeling very unsettled about this turn of events as I send off the PDF of my statement. What if I had never had to extend my insurance?  What if I had an issue while in the DR and needed medical attention and THEN it became apparent that there was no policy with that number?  I could only imagine the horror that would ensue for me in that scenario.  I decide that, should they find the policy or not, I am cancelling it.  I have medical insurance now with my union, thanks to the show that just wrapped, and I can get baggage and trip delay insurance through BCAA.  That is what I usually do and I wish I had done it this time but I foolishly decided to use the insurance presented at the time of buying the first set of tickets because I thought it would save me some hassle.

He never calls me back as promised.

So I call again the next day.  I of course get a different agent, I ask for Shawn and am told he is on another call but will call me as soon as he is off.  He calls a few minutes later.  I ask why he did not call me as he promised and he said because he never received the credit card statement.  I am aghast at this.  I assure him I did indeed send it and it did not bounce back, therefore he must have gotten it. And if he didn't, why on earth would he not call to alert me so I could resend it?  He replies that the email address he gave me is a general one that gets thousands of emails a day and so it must have been buried.  He then proceeds to give me his personal work email.  Exasperated, I ask why he didn't give me that one in the first place and he replies that he isn't allowed to give it out.  I respond with, 'well you're giving it to me now so that can't be true'.  He gets testy with me so I drop it and he never does explain why he wouldn't have called me to let me know about this.  I resend it to him while he is on the line to make sure he gets it this time and he does.  I tell him that now that he can see I did get charged, I want to cancel the policy and be refunded.  He proceeds to tell me that they can't refund me until they find the policy.  WHAT?!?  I am starting to lose it a little at this point and get rather testy myself.  I tell him that I have paid for something that I don't have, he has proof I have paid, and I want a refund.  Now.  He refuses, telling me that they can't do that until the policy is located.  He assures me it will be located and that there is lots of time before I leave to sort this out.  That they will refund me once they find the policy.  I then recall that the credit card I used is no longer active due to fraudulent activity and I will need to give him the new card number and tell him as much.  He tells me that I can have it refunded to any card I want and that he will call me for that information as soon as they have located the policy.

After hanging up, I don't like this at all but I have no more time to think about it as I am due at my daughters to help out for a few hours.

Next Installment: My 'can do broad' comes out, and more issues.

NEXT TRIP: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Travel fever has hit again and hit hard.

I worked on a tv series this past summer for almost 5 months.  It was a great show, and I loved that we were in one location the entire time, mostly indoors.  But what that meant was, I never saw much of the great summer we had this year in Vancouver as I was indoors in dark studios 14 hours a day (except for the 45 min lunch break where I'd step out into blinding sunshine and stumble my way to the catering truck with the rest of the crew who were shading their eyes and grasping for sunglasses). I don't even think I went to the beach once.  Maybe once right before the show started... I can't really recall.  The show itself was really challenging for me, being that it was 75% CGI (computer generated) so lots of green screen work.  Shooting on a green screen stage is very different from practical sets and so that challenge, coupled with a big cast and SO MUCH CONTINUITY to follow (injuries galore - along with bandages and braces, a couple of props that appeared in many scenes but kept changing either their ownership [a magic ring] or their physical appearance [a rope weapon that sometimes had a weight on the end and sometimes didn't]) wore me right out.  The physical fatigue of 14 hour work days plus a two hour commute was matched only by the mental fatigue of keeping up with and keeping track of all the many many MANY details over 13 episodes of a linear storyline.  Basically a 13 hour movie!!

SO.... in September I decided I deserved a trip somewhere warm when it was all over - to get the summer I never had and to get some much needed R&R.  I wanted to go for a month but preferred to keep it to $2000 or so on the flight and accommodations.  Quite the challenge.  After looking at Mexico, the BVI and the Bahamas and ruling all out because of the cost, I turned to the Dominican Republic - somewhere that has been on my radar due to wishful searches for real estate in the Caribbean and discovering that you can get a lovely condo there for a shockingly low price.  I had, during said searches, decided that a discovery trip to the DR should be in my future to see if it was somewhere I could live for 6 months of the year, come retirement time.  I suddenly recalled this in my search for a budget conscious trip, and VOILA...

The condos I had found that I liked were in a small town on the north coast called Sosua.  I knew nothing of the place but eventually decided that was where I would stay so I could take a look at the real estate.  A quick search online revealed that the town has a lovely beach, many restaurants, and is popular with North Americans for both travel and relocation.  It is a short 20 minute cab ride from Puerto Plata and the international airport there, which was perfect,  so I booked my flight(s).

Flights to the DR from Vancouver are surprisingly cheap.  All in I paid $760.  What I really liked was that it took just one connection (instead of the usual two to the Caribbean) flying from Vancouver to Newark to Puerto Plata.

I decided to try Airbnb for accommodations, as I have had friends who have gone that route and had nothing but good things to report, not the least being the great prices.  After some searching, I ended up settling on a lovely place right in the center of Sosua owned by a couple from Sweden.  They have three suites with separate entries off of a large porch overlooking the main street and, bonus!! - there is a bakery downstairs.  The couple live at the rear of the building.  There were glowing reviews from previous guests so I booked it at $730 for the month!  A bargain.

My room in Sosua

Looking towards the entrance to my room in Sosua

My lovely bathroom in Sosua

Next I will post on how so many things have gone awry with this trip already, and I haven't even left my house!

YVR to LAX to MIA to GND

As usual for me, I get to Vancouver airport far too early but I'd rather that than be freaking out because I am afraid of missing my flight.  I went through that one time in Miami, and I never want to feel that level of stress and panic over the very real prospect of missing a flight ever, ever again.  I actually have time to have a nice, leisurely meal as I knew there'll be nothing served on the flights.

My flight from LA to Miami is overnight, arriving at 6:30am and I have a 9 hour layover.  Walking through the terminal I see a sign for American Airline's Admiralty Lounge.  Oh what a great idea!  On enquiring, it will cost me $50 US dollars but I consider that a small price to pay for some peace and comfort.   There are free snacks and a couple of machines that dispense the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted - some sort of spice in it.  Add to that, huge windows looking out onto the runway and a plethora of magazines and the 9 hours virtually flies by.

My plane to Grenada!

The plane is an hour and a half late leaving thanks to some passenger suddenly deciding he no longer wishes to fly to Grenada.  The luggage compartment is opened up and the handlers begin to search for his bag.  It takes them 35 minutes to finally find it, and we can hear them tossing the bags about, then the pilot comes on the intercom to tell us that, in the search, the wall of the compartment has been damaged and a panel is being brought over to replace it.  I looked at my seat-mate, a lovely looking 35ish fellow "If that's the case, what kind of shape must our luggage be in?!?" I ask and we both laugh a bit nervously.   We get to chatting and it turns out he is from Belize, an officer in the military there, and is the assistant to their Governor General who is up in first class.  They are flying to Grenada on official business to do with the 30th anniversary of the toppling of the post-coup military invasion.  I had not realized until this moment that it was the anniversary let alone 30 years.

My lovely Belizean seat-mate - wish I had written down his name.

Having lost our place in the lineup for take-off, once the panel is replaced, we have another half hour wait on the tarmac for our turn to go.  I am worried because Rick is planning to meet me at 7:30 at the airport in Grenada so send him a quick text and let him know I won't be there till 9.

We arrive in Grenada and it is so hot!!  The heavy warm air is fabulous!  And again, that scent that only comes in a tropical environment fills my senses and I feel giddy with excitement.

Rick isn't here yet so I take the time to use the ATM in the departure area to get the Caribbean dollars I will need.  Thanks to Trip Advisor, I knew this was a good place to tick this off of my short list of things to do.

Rick and his girlfriend, Alessandra, finally arrive with a video camera to record my 'arrival'.  Rick is bearing a mug of rum and coke for me.  It is icy cold and very welcome, if rather strong for my taste.

We get into the cab of a character named 'Cat Eye' and head over to Prickly Bay Marina, where the boat is anchored.  Being that it is dark out, I can't see much of the island but I can see enough to realize that the roads are impossibly narrow and that people drive like madmen.  And there are people walking at the side of the road everywhere!  I am thinking my idea not to rent a car until I get a feel for what driving here might be like was a good one!

At the marina, we head over to the boat in the dinghy to get my stuff aboard and so I can change into something much much lighter, and then head back to the marina to join the party happening at the bar there.  I am famished so order a pizza.  Honestly, it is the best pizza I have had in my life.  Thin, crispy crust and delicious toppings.  I wash it down with a cold Carib... I don't drink beer as I don't like it but didn't know what else to order and it actually went great with the pizza.

Rick, Me and Alessandra - no idea who the other guy is

I am very happy to finally be on this island and to sleep on a sailboat tonight!

10 DAYS BY LAND AFTER 10 DAYS BY SEA

If you've been following along as of late, you will know that the reason I am taking a trip to the Caribbean this week is that I won 10 days on a charter sailboat.  I wrote about how I won it a couple of months back, when it happened.

Usually when I take a trip it is months in the planning.  This one was so unexpected and has happened so fast it is the reason, I think, that I still don't quite believe I am going.  It isn't anything I had thought I could do any time soon, maybe ever, and certainly not this year.

By now I should have long lists of what to take, where to go, what to see; an itinerary of exactly what to do each day (which is not set in stone so that I can take advantage of opportunities as they arise).  I should have packed at least once to do a test on what size luggage to use and how much it is weighing in at.

I've done none of that.

I did make a list in 2011 after my month in the BVI of what I took and what I should have taken on that trip, and I have it on my laptop so that I can access it when I need it again.  It will require some modification for sailing and for taking liquids as I will be checking luggage this time, so I won't have to buy all my toiletries there.

I have a phone number of a good taxi driver, thanks to Mike Sweeney of Zero to Cruising, as they spend hurricane season in Grenada each year so know a lot about the island and the people.

Today I spent considerable time reading up on Trip Advisor and Grenada tourism sites for recommended restaurants, beaches etc. and started that list.

The one thing I did do a while back is research a place to stay for the second half of my trip, the land-based 10 days that I will spend on Grenada.  Again, turning to Trip Advisor and internet searches, I found a lot of nice hotels, most out of my price range.  I did find a few that pleased my budgetary sensibilities but was not sure of the establishment and many seemed very bare bones and in the thick of town or way out in the boonies.  So again I turned to Mike and he recommended a place called Siesta Hotel.  I had seen that one in my searches and it was on my short list.  They also had a very attractive deal whereby if you pay for the entire stay at booking, you get 25% off their already reasonable price - a price which did not have any tax or gratuities added.  Every other hotel had another 25% tacked ON to cover that.  So all things considered, I went ahead and booked with them and paid up-front.

It's a smaller hotel (just as I like) with a lovely pool and only a 5 minute walk through the grounds to the beach, which I am pretty sure I will be able to see from my room.  All in at $725 for 10 nights including the exchange rate on my credit card, I consider that a great deal.

Entrance to Siesta Hotel where I will be staying

The rooms overlooking the pool

The restaurant, right by the pool

I don't anticipate spending a whole lot of days at the pool, maybe one or two.  I intend to get out and explore, find some gorgeous beaches, and meet some great people.  One thing I did read about, that I intend to attend is Gouyave Fish Friday.  You can read about it here.

WORK, TRAVEL, WORK, AND MORE TRAVEL

It's been just over two months since my last post and I have been pretty busy, what with my place being renovated extensively and a relatively steady flow of work.

I had mentioned that I was hoping for enough work before I left that I would have enough set aside to pay my bills for a month or so after I came home, so that I could go away and not worry about all that stuff.   Well, that's why I haven't written - I have been working a fair bit since.

I had more work than I could do, quite frankly.  In fact, I can't think of a time in my career that I have had so many calls for different shows.  I could not do them all as most offers ran on the same weeks... sometimes one wishes one could clone themselves!  Since my last post, I've worked on two television movies (the two I mentioned); I ended up not doing the movie for a producer friend as I had mentioned, as I was asked to work on a union TV series - Arctic Air and it involved a trip to the Northwest Territories. Having never been there and not ever intending to go there (after all, my goal in life is to get closer to the equator, not farther away!) I was excited at the prospect of seeing somewhere very different and not having to pay for it.   I have to say that, despite the biting cold wind that howled relentlessly across the Canadian Shield, it was beautiful in a way that cannot be denied.  Rugged, raw, big sky, crisp air, and Yellowknife is a town like no other.  Art wherever one looked, even the refuse containers.  I am so thankful I was able to have the experience.  The only thing that I was unhappy about was I didn't get to see the Northern Lights.  The first three nights I was there they were spectacular, apparently.  I wouldn't know because I was sleeping (they don't come out till 1:30 am) due to early calls each morning.  The last night I was all set to go out and see them, blanket and all, but the sky was overcast so they were not there.  I will regret forever not skipping sleep for a few hours.

I have to say that I LOVE AIRPLANES so getting to work with so many on this show was a real treat and getting to be RIGHT ON THE RUNWAY as airplanes, both ours and commercial ones, took off and landed was an amazing experience.   At one point, we had two of ours in the air and they flew really low and right over our heads as we filmed them.  What a RUSH!!

My first glimpse of The Canadian Shield, something I remember learning about in grade 4

Gorgeous view from one of the highest vantage points in Yellowknife; the Pilot's Monument

Perched at the very edge of the cliff at Pilot's Monument as we shoot a scene, the monitor placement meant one step back and it was over for me!

Bullocks, a pub in Yellowknife.  The interior of this pub is recreated on a stage in Aldergrove, BC for the shooting of Arctic Air

One of many painted dumpster bins around town. Unfortunately I did not have time to take pictures of them all as we had a gruelling schedule

A house I came across while walking from one shooting location to another 

Up close and personal to four water bombers.  Huge and impressive aircraft

Photo op with a fellow crew member

Buffalo Air, home of  The Ice Pilots.  What a great place.  I haven't ever watched the show but it is an iconic brand that Yellowknife is very proud of.  The DC-3's are amazing!!

Another photo op!

Me and 'Buffalo Jim' the owner of Buffalo Air

Mikey, Buffalo Jim's son

No sooner did I get back from the Northwest Territories than I received calls for no less than four different productions, two of them TV series.  Unfortunately I had to turn all of them down as they each had schedules that overlapped my trip to Grenada.  Some might say I should have cancelled the trip, and to be honest I wondered myself if that was what I should do.  But then I thought, this is why I work... to take trips like this. I have heard so many stories of people in this industry who take work over all else and thus never get away, never spend time with their families, never live.  I don't live to work, as much as I love what I do, I work to live.  The incidences of divorce in my line of work is high and attests to the folly of the 'work at all costs' mindset.  It is also the industry that has the highest number premature deaths of all ... ALL ... unions in North America.  The work is hard, not glamorous as everyone thinks, and the hours long.  My week is never less than 72 hours and most often is in the 80's. Some weeks I have worked 90+ hours.   That is hard on anyone's body.

I also just worked a day on Almost Human, a new TV show for Warner Brothers.  A colleague was ill and needed a day off.  Wow what a day (or should I say night).  We started at 13:30 and I was not off the clock till 07:30 the next morning and we were in a dank, cold, dark old filthy abandoned foundry warehouse.  It was brutal but it was a union show at a great rate so that cheque waiting for me when I get home from my trip will be nice!

Anyway, all that to say, I leave for my trip in 5 days and am able to go with a clear mind.  I don't have work lined up for when I return but I am not worried.  Something will happen, it usually does.

Tomorrow I will write about the plans for the second half of my trip ...  10 days on the island of Grenada.

TROPICAL HAIR WARNING

WARNING: People who only like looking at pictures of beautiful people should read no further as I have posted pictures of myself looking my absolute worst. I honestly haven't shown anyone most of these pictures, I look that hideous, but in the interest of education, I have humbled myself and exposed myself to the world looking my... as I said... absolute worst. You've been warned!!

I used to be a hairstylist - many moons ago. So it kind of figures that I am fussy about my hair. Like a dentist, it is one of the professions where you can't do your own work so I am very picky about where I go for cuts and color and when I find a good stylist, I stick with them. Since I was 19 I have had three hairstylists; Christopher, of Christopher and Claud Hair design - the salon I apprenticed at - cut my hair from the time I started working for him in 1977 until 1985 or so when I decided that traveling to Vancouver (where he moved his shop from Surrey - where I worked, to downtown Vancouver) was too much for a mom of 3 small kids. So I found George in Langley, where I lived. He had his own salon, Amadeus, for the first few years then he sold it and joined the huge new Spa Utopia and I followed him there. I stayed with him until 2009 when my son started dating a hairstylist and when it became apparent that she was most likely going to be a permanent part of our family, I thought I should start to go to her as a gesture of acceptance. Turns out she is a FANTASTIC hairstylist. Dare I say the best I've ever had? I think I dare. So I have been very happy for the past few years with how my hair looks. Recently, my son was offered a fabulous job in Calgary and so they are moving there later this year. Now what will I do?

Anyhow, this all to say - I am very fussy about my hair!!

So when I go to the Caribbean, I have a terrible time with my hair. I have fine hair with a bit (and I do mean a BIT) of a kink in it (can't really call it a curl). When I am in the humidity of the tropics, it goes instantly limp and sticks flat to my head. Add to that the constant breeze in the islands and it looks TERRIBLE!!! (Wind is the other enemy of fine haired people). When I was headed to the BVI for a month, I asked my (now) daughter in law if she could give me a loose perm so that I'd have some curl and body to work with and, when I went swimming, I wouldn't have to worry about getting my hair wet and losing whatever I had managed to do with it that morning. She said that, due to the highlights in my hair, a perm would just burn it and cause breakage, which I pretty much knew she would say but I was hoping perms had advanced some since I was a stylist. So the whole time I was there, I looked terrible. I mean really terrible. And I have the pictures to prove it.  (I should add that, as makeup slides off your face about 10 minutes after it is applied when in the tropics, I am wearing little to no makeup in these photos which definitely adds to the 'terrible' factor).

I am posting this picture so you can see what I look like at home and also because the feed for this blog always posts the first picture and I sure don't want it to be one of the following!!

This one taken not an hour after having a shower and doing my hair!!

Walking around in the suffocating heat of Road Town for a day resulted in this lovely look.

This was probably the hottest day I have ever experienced and I was so overheated I thought I might pass out... my hair certainly did!

Here I tied back some of my hair at each side to try to 'poof' it out a bit.  Didn't work as well as I'd hoped.

I honestly look so bad and so different than I do here at home that an island fellow I met and spent the last day of my trip with had no idea who I was when I friended him on FaceBook just two days after getting home. And when I told him who I was he replied, "WOW!! You look TOTALLY different." Yeah, I know. Thanks.

I did a search online to see if there were any tips or information on this problem out there in internet land and it turned up a few tips that I will try on my next trip:

1. Use shampoo and conditioner for FINE hair. This will add less weight to the hair.

2. Mid-day, use a dry shampoo (I love the one from Tresemme that adds volume). This will immediately absorb oils from heat and sweat and put some life back into your strands. Just spray at your roots, flip your head over and shake. Then brush your hair well. It will be good as new! (I don't know why I never thought of this). When I would blow-dry my hair in the morning, I could feel the heat of the day coupled with the heat from the blowdryer causing my scalp to sweat,  wetting down the roots I had just worked on to get some lift so this one is a MUST for me to try.

3. Use an anti-humidity hairspray (again, I recently discovered that Tresemme makes one and it's amazing in the humidity of Vancouver's rain forest so perhaps it will work as well in the tropics).

So these are great for keeping styled hair looking 'great' all day. (We will see how it works on my next trip). But what about after a swim? Am I still going to look like a drowned rat as my hair dries flat and stringy with a bit of a kink? It's not long enough for a pony tail.

I'd love to hear what you other fine-haired readers do for this. And I don't want to hear from people with naturally curly hair complaining about how their hair frizzes out in the tropics, I really don't. You have no idea how lucky you are. I'd give anything for frizz. I have yet to see someone with naturally curly hair look dreadful on the beach. It just doesn't happen. Any curl... ANY... is better than flat greasy looking hair.

***UPDATE:  Took a trip to Grenada and the Grenadines for 3 weeks, 10 days of that on a sailboat and all three of the above tips really worked, especially the dry shampoo!  YAY  Pict's are on the posts about the trip which start HERE.  I mean, still not like at home but WAY better than the month in the BVI.  And an island fellow who I met on the beach one day (looking terrible with my hair pulled back in clips) was a taxi driver and picked me up later that same day to take me for dinner and when he saw me come out of my hotel room - well, lets just say his jaw hit the floor.  I look SO different when my hair looks good and I have a bit of makeup on!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

As I reflect back on 2012 it is with slightly mixed feelings; I managed only one short trip this year! With my friend Lucy I went for 5 days to Las Vegas - a place I had not been since 1980!  I had such a great time with her there even though we didn't get more than a day and a half of the hot sunshine which was our sole reason for going.   As for other trips... I knew I most likely wouldn't make it back to the BVI but I really did hope to go back to Mexico to get the rest of my dental work done. Alas, Revenue Canada decided that a whole raft of write-off's that they allowed in 2009 and 2010 were no longer applicable and so retroactively disallowed them and applied them to my 2011 filed return.  So the expected $6000+ tax return was reduced to $1,200.  It could have been much worse; I heard stories of others in the film industry who paid sums of up to $20,000 in back taxes due to the same situation.  It doesn't seem right that they can change their minds like that and make it retroactive. They have been hard after the film industry workers for the past year or two so it was just a matter of time until they got to me, I guess.  One thing they did to me, which I called the union about and they'd never heard of, was disallow all of my union deductions from my paycheques unless I had a letter from the employer (which, in legality, is actually the payroll company that each production hires) stating which union the deductions had gone to.  This makes no sense as the paperwork the union sends me for tax time clearly states they are the ones who received it.  The union rep was aghast as my call to her was the first she had ever heard of this happening.   She promised to look into it and I need to follow up on that with her in the new year.

So all that to say, I didn't get to go to Mexico for dental work as that was what the tax return money was allotted for.  I didn't go to Palm Springs for Christmas this year either as the flights were so expensive.  When I went in 2009 it cost $240; 2010 $350; I didn't go last year because my daughter's due date was December 23 and there was no way I was going to be gone for that.  This year the flights were $570.  That is a huge increase from when I started going and I am just not willing to pay that in a year I have only worked on low-paying independent films, and only half a dozen of them at that.

On a much happier note, and this eclipses anything I could consider sad or negative that happened this year.... I became a grandmother on January 2nd to the most darling little girl anyone could be blessed with.  Malia has brought untold joy into my life and I treasure every moment I get to spend with her... and that has become increasingly more as the year has progressed.  Other grandmothers told me that having a grandchild in my life would be a joy like no other but I never imagined just how much.  It is indescribable.  And I don't quite understand it... after all, I was a mom to three fabulous kids.  But this is so different.  And as I develop a relationship with her it overflows my heart when she lights up when I walk into the room, when she picks up my iPhone and waves it at me and sways as if in time to music  - her way of telling me that she wants me to play music and dance with me, so I put on some pop music, sweep her up into my arms, and we dance around the room together.  I love it that she goes to sleep faster for me than anyone else... as soon as I take her into the nursery and turn off the light she rests her head on my shoulder and tangles her fingers in my necklace as I kiss her head and sway her off to dream land.  

On May 5th, my son got married (at one of the most beautiful and fun weddings I've ever attended with food that was out of this world) to the love of his life and I have to say.... she's a keeper.  We love her to bits.  Isolde's sweet nature, kindness, and the way she thinks the world of my son is all a mom could ask for.  I am very thankful for the choice in spouses my two married children have made.

My third child had an amazing gift of a trip to Kenya for three weeks to live on the Masai Mara with a Masai tribe.  She was awarded volunteer of the year at her company for all of the work she does with youth in her community.  She was able to choose where in the world she would like to go where a charity which her work sponsors, Free the Children, have a presence.  She was beyond excited to fulfill a 'bucket list' dream of hers to go to Kenya and go on safari.  As her mom, it gave me untold joy to see her be able to fulfill this dream and to relive it with her, once she was safely home, through her stories and amazing photographs.

I was so thankful for fairly steady work from one busy production company this year, who would have hired me for every show they did had it been up to them, but the director gets the last say on who his script supervisor is, so I missed out on only two or three but got the rest  - even the ones with new to Vancouver directors who just went on the producers' say so.  

I FINALLY got to see COLDPLAY live.  I've wanted to do this every year they've come to Vancouver but either couldn't afford it or was working.  This year I made it happen... I gave a ticket to my daughter for her early April birthday and one to myself for my late April birthday.  Best. Gift. Ever.

I am so thankful for my family and my friends.  Some friends I don't get to see often enough but I know that we are there for each other and that when we do get together it's like we've never been apart.  I am very rich in the friend department of life... Fran, Cary, Carol, Jule and Lorraine; five women I wrote about earlier this year, as well as Donna, Denise, Debbie, Erna, Dave, Cookie, Roberta, Brenda, Alison, John - these friends I have had for decades.  Then there is the abundance of newer friends I have made from the film industry and I could never list them all but these are some of the ones I have come to love as much as my old friends... Lucy, Linda G, Tana, Lisa, Linda SB, Lynne, Connie, Kim, Ron, Eric, Michael, Jeff, Irene, Violet, Laura, Lecily, Carol, Amy....  so many many wonderful people in my life.  And I can't forget the wonderful new friends I made on my last trip to the BVI... Walker, Nancy, Linda, Mike, Rebecca.  It almost makes me teary to think of each one as I type their names and think of what they mean to me.  So blessed.

As I look ahead to the uncharted waters of 2013, I feel at peace and sense that it will be another year of personal happiness, achievement and full of wonderful friends.  I am feeing good about the work situation with the chance of working on a series come early spring as well as some personal production projects I plan on working very hard on with great hopes of success.   I look forward to Malia's first birthday celebration next week and can't wait to dance with her at her party.  The next year will bring great changes for her as her already pretty incredible vocabulary for one so young (about 20 words and a few phrases!) will expand and she will learn to walk (so close already).  I look forward to spending more time with her and cementing my place in her life as her much loved Nan.  

I hope to have much more to write about on here that concerns travel.  I am again hopeful that I can make it to the Dr. Arce in Mexico early in the year to finish off what he started as it will make a huge difference to my ability to properly chew food!  Here's hoping for a decent tax return.  Lord knows I've put enough money into my car for repairs in 2012 that that alone should account for a decent write-off.  

As this year comes to a close, I am so close to 40,000 views on here.  I am hoping to cross that line before chiming in the new year... that would be so exciting for me.  Please stick with me as my dream of sailing the Caribbean, one way or another, has not died.  Even if it's just for a few weeks at a time, I plan to make it happen and be assured you will get the complete details here as soon as it does.  I have two huge goals this year towards that dream; get fit and take sailing lessons.  There.  I've said it. Now I have to do it!!!

Thank you all so much for your faithful readership and I truly appreciate every one of you.

Blessings to you all and may you have a joyful, healthy and prosperous 2013!

With ultimate thanks to the God I serve and his son Jesus...

For the last time in 2012...

Sandra