Greetings Fellow He Travelers,
My Uncle Alvin died a few weeks ago.
He was my dad’s eldest brother and was married to my mom’s sister Doris. I was thousands of miles away, but I realized I needed to be there for my aunt. I also knew that several people from both sides of my extended family would be at the funeral. People I haven’t seen in over 20 years.
I found myself traveling to Salt Lake City on Spirit Airlines,
a budget airline carrier which we generally avoid putting customers on. To be honest, the Spirit experience had its upsides. Because they charge for carry-on and checked baggage, most people reduced their burden and checked a bag, or traveled with a backpack etc. This made boarding much quicker, as people didn’t have to battle for overhead space. Plus, I paid for an upgraded service, which was just $15 for the privilege of choosing my own seat. Therefore, I was immediately upgraded to the first boarding group regardless of status. Yay!
The experience was further improved by purchasing items in-flight. Since they don’t give out any freebies, the flight attendants were able to move very quickly through the aisles and gave excellent timely attention to any service calls. The seats weren’t as nice as Delta’s, but at least they had padding, unlike a few other budget airlines. The tray table was only big enough to hold a drink and maybe a phone, but that was ok. I’d downloaded a few shows from Netflix to my phone since there’s no in-flight entertainment on Spirit.
My jeep was parked at my Salt Lake City office,
I needed to go there to get it. If I’d thought ahead, I would have called a cousin or two and carpooled to the funeral in Sweet, Idaho. Instead, I had a solo journey to Boise, where I spent the night in the Inn America. A low frills roadside/airport hotel.
On my way to Boise, “a city you’d want to have a beer with.” I called a few past travelers and caught up with them. I spent a couple of hours chatting with my good friend Dave, whom I met on one of our tours in Costa Rica. We have a long-standing tradition of me calling him to catch up, during my long road journeys. We share stories of adventures past and present, and most importantly, Dave helps me stay awake at the wheel. ?
At the funeral,
I found out that my sister Kirra, her daughter Keyarra, and my brother Nathan were also in attendance. My sister talked me into going back and hanging out at their Hilton hotel for the night, rather than driving home immediately. We stayed up real late chatting and I ended up sleeping on the floor. It wasn’t the first time and won’t be the last time I fall asleep on a hotel floor, ha.
After that unplanned journey,
I’m very much looking forward to once again hosting our upcoming Egypt – Nile in Style tour. I far prefer He Travel’s upscale version of traveling, to my unplanned adventure. Speaking of which, here are the latest updates on our last-minute tour inventory at He Travel.
Inventory Updates:
For the December 2023 European Christmas Market tour, there is only ONE PRIVATE ROOM left.
Our January/February 2024 Bali Gay Cultural Tour; which I am planning to personally host this year, only has TWO ROOMS left.
I hope to see you on tour,
Warmly,
Zachary Moses
HeTravel – CXO