The Southwest Rapid Rewards Kerfuffle

Earlier this week, Southwest Airlines announced changes to their popular loyalty/frequent flyer program, Rapid Rewards.

Based on the comments on their Facebook thread, it appears people are PISSED.

Here's how it used to work: Fly a one-way segment--any segment, whether it's Tampa-Seattle or KC-St. Louis--earn one credit. Get 16 credits, earn a free flight.

In other words, any 8 round trips within a two-year window earned you a free flight to and from any Southwest destination. They had rental car and hotel partners too (1/2 credit per stay/rental).

Under the new system, you earn points based on how much you spend. Similarly, the points can be redeemed like cash toward flights. It's just like a hotel rewards program. The cheaper the flight, the fewer points you earn (and the fewer points it costs).

People are not happy.

Here's my list of reasons, followed by why I think their consternation is misplaced:

1. They don't understand the rules. 'Nuff said. Kneejerk anger for the sake of anger.

2. They think they've changed the rules to make it much more difficult to earn a flight. This is a little true, but not worthy of outrage. On a dollar-for-dollar basis, it now takes 10 roundtrip flights to earn an equivalent free flight (instead of 8). Note I said "equivalent". That means you can't shuttle from Tampa to Ft. Lauderdale 8 times, then earn a free round trip to Portland, OR. You shuttle 10 times, then get your 11th shuttle (or equivalent) free.

Plus, your points never expire under the new system. A lot more people will be able to eventually earn a free flight now.

And by the way - at one point, I was traveling 3+ times a month for work. Granted, most of that was on Southwest, but to this day I have NEVER earned a ticket on another carrier. I don't see how a leisure traveler ever could do so.

3. They think they've drawn up the point structure to benefit business travelers. So what? Leisure travelers fail to recognize this: if people didn't travel for business, air travel as you know it would not exist. Period. So spare them your resentment. Businesspeople, especially those who frequently have to pay through the nose for short-notice fares, subsidize that $89 seat you bought to Las Vegas. And while you associate the airport with fun places like Sin City, they associate it with yet another week of being away from their family while they visit a construction site in Birmingham, AL. They are the only reason there are so many flights available at those fares. Forgive Southwest if they're trying to build loyalty with those who spend the most.

Here's the real reason for the anger.

They think Southwest has sold out.

Southwest has traditionally served smaller, regional airports like Dallas Love Field instead of DFW, and destinations like Louisville, KY instead of Boston, MA. Well, guess what? They serve Boston directly now. They're back in San Francisco, and they have a presence at NY LaGuardia and Newark--all expensive places. They're not the little airline that could anymore. They're a huge carrier, and the most profitable by far of US airlines. As recently as 5 years ago, they were the closest thing to a "populist" airline as there was: no first class, no preferential treatment, no option to pay more and get more.

Not anymore.

You can pay extra for "Business Select", which gets you on the plane first to avoid the cattle call (and gets you a free drink and extra rewards points).

You can pay $10 extra to upgrade to the "A" group.

Rewards flights, which used to be valid as long as there was a seat available on the plane, can only be used on flights that are less than half-full at the time of booking. Also, I think people are pissed that they can't use $800 worth of cheapass roundtrips to earn a transcontinental flight, even though that policy was kinda ridiculous for Southwest to even offer. You can't stay 10 nights at a Motel 6 to earn a free night at the Four Seasons, for crissakes.

And their fares? Not really all that cheap anymore when you compare them to others.

Yes, bags still fly free. And yes, their people are more laid back/fun/friendly than those on your average legacy character.

But everyday people are pissed because they thought Southwest was THEIR airline, on THEIR side.

Nope. Things done changed.

Feelin' Minnesota

We’re heading up to the Twin Cities this weekend to see the northern outpost of our family and knock out some overdue IKEA/Trader Joe’s shopping.

Every time I go up there I find a reason I would love to live there. Before I leave I inevitably see something that confirms I’m just fine right here, thankyouverymuch.

First off, if you haven’t been, it’s about time you went—it’s a fun place. It’s a straight shot right up I-35. It only takes about 6-1/2 hours from KC if you keep yours stops brief.

The metroplex is larger than Kansas City by a good 60%. In turn, they have many more options for shopping, restaurants, music, theater, sports teams, and other things that generally make a city desirable.

The city feels much more urban than Kansas City, with more public transit, denser population, more innovative architecture, and more truly self-contained neighborhoods.

The population is well-educated; this is to be expected in a city that contains one of the five largest colleges in the country (the University of Minnesota). I’m usually taken aback by how kind people are there. “Minnesota Nice” is not an ironic concept.

By the end of each trip I’m reminded:

The largeness of the metroplex also means it is far more difficult to get around. The traffic snarls are nearly constant, exacerbated by seemingly never-ending construction projects.

The cost of housing is much higher there. Yes, this is what happens when you have a desirable place to live, but I like having an affordable mortgage payment. (Wages are only slightly higher there.)

And then…there’s the weather. On average, it is FIFTEEN degrees colder there than in KC from December to February (and this is the warm part of Minnesota we’re talking about). Think about how you feel on a cold, windy January day in KC…now subtract those 15 ticks off the thermometer. Yeah. The ground is frozen for months.

To be fair, a hot summer there is far more pleasant than a hot summer here. They average 8 degrees cooler temps from June to August with far less humidity.

However, I remember walking two blocks from a bar to our car a couple winters ago. It was a windy night, and my fiancée was almost painfully uncomfortable. She said something to the effect of “this is ridiculous and please remind me of this if I ever mention moving back here”.

I told her, “The bad part of all this? This isn’t even THAT COLD for Minneapolis.”

It was 14º at the time. The average—AVERAGE—low in January is 4º.

No thanks.

Vacation, Part 3: Last Day in the Canyon

We spent the morning exploring the east end of the South Rim, where the overlooks are farther apart and a car is required.

We were amazed by all the different languages we heard in our time there, as people from all over the world were drawn to visit. It drives home how truly unique and renowned the Grand Canyon is.

A few more photos, some of which show the Colorado River thousands of feet below:





We traveled the entire length of the highway to the east entrance of the park (some 20 miles), and as we turned back it began to rain a bit. We made it back to where we started, and before we left the park we pulled over to get one last look.

Here's what we got:




And this:



We're thinking we might go back someday.

Vacation, Part 2: Elevation, Shmel...*catches breath*...evation

Our second day at the Grand Canyon would be one of our most exhausting in recent memory. I mean this in the best possible sense.

We chose to take a day hike, descending on the South Kaibab Trail into the canyon. We weren't sure how far we would go; we decided to see what "felt" right.

The trailhead is at an elevation of 7200 feet. The Colorado River is at 2500 feet. Translation? The trail tends to look like this:


The views were absolutely amazing, though:


This was our view for lunch:


We descended further, until we turned around and saw how far we'd come (gulp):


Yes, we had to make it all the way back to the top, so we figured it was time to turn back.

The downside of hiking into a canyon is that the hard part comes LAST. You're already worn out from coming DOWN the rocky trail, and two and a half hours later you realize you've descended something like 1500 feet.

Now, consider that you're still at almost 6000 feet altitude, and...well, your midwestern lungs just aren't happy with you. We had to stop about every 5 minutes on the way up and take a serious break. We recovered fairly quickly, but we couldn't go far between breathers. Looking back to see how far we'd climbed kept us going, because the canyon rim never seemed to get any closer.

Finally, we made it. This sign was apropos:


To give you some perspective, here's a view of the ridge we traversed:


We celebrated with some haute cuisine:


After all this, we still walked another several miles (on level ground, thank you) to take in more of the views. We were absolutely beat, and we gorged on pizza once we got back to the hotel.

I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Vacation, Part 1: Erosion is Beautiful

I landed in Vegas at 10am; my fiancee didn't arrive until 8pm as she was flying in from Boston. After a quick spin down the Strip to see what was in store for us later in the week, we got to our brand spankin' new Comfort Suites to get some sleep before our road trip.

About 30 miles south of Vegas is the Hoover Dam. Many statistics are thrown out there about the enormity of this thing. My two favorites are:

1. The dam was finished in 1935. Some concrete deep in the heart of the dam is STILL curing.

2. The dam contains enough concrete to build a 2-lane highway from San Francisco to New York.

It's big. Them are cars up on top.


I pushed our rental Sonata pretty hard; we didn't see the legal side of 90 mph for much of the trip. The speed limit was 75 and we were mostly just keeping up with traffic, so I didn't feel I was being reckless or anything.

The scenery through Arizona got progressively nicer as we approached the highway that would take us to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We got to our Best Western (quite nice - I would recommend it), relaxed for a moment, then made our way into the park.

There are no words to adequately prepare you for the first time you walk up to the rim and see the vastness and colors and shapes come together. There are no pictures to do it justice, which doesn't stop me from posting some anyway.

You really have to go. Everyone should see this at least once in his or her life:


Here are the layers of rock, all of which are exposed at certain points in the canyon:


The canyon:


You must see the canyon, especially at sunset:


Eventually it looks like this:


We finished our evening with a lovely meal at El Tovar, a lodge next to the canyon that was built in 1905.

More to come...

Respite

These last few months have been busy. It seems like it's been a constant stream of stuff hanging over my head.

Remodel a bathroom.
Buy a house.
Sell a house.
Move.
Get settled.
Make wedding plans.
Find a car.
Travel for work.

I've longed to have a couple weeks where I simply had nothing major to do.

I think I'm finally there.

I've been looking forward to the Grand Canyon and Vegas for quite a while, and Ken Burns' work has only made me more excited.

I will fly into Vegas Saturday, enjoy the drive to the Grand Canyon (by way of Hoover Dam and Lake Mead) and back, then spend the latter half of the week enjoying the artificial splendor that is Sin City.

I can't wait.

Midwest Airlines' Death Rattle? (updated)

I got an email from Southwest Airlines today: they are adding service to Milwaukee. This is not good news for Midwest Airlines, which at one time was KCI's second-largest carrier.

Starting November 1, you can fly non-stop on Southwest to Milwaukee’s Mitchell International from six destinations: Kansas City, Baltimore, Tampa, Las Vegas, Orlando, and Phoenix.

Midwest Airlines, which is based in Milwaukee, flies these same routes non-stop (with the exception of Baltimore). With more direct competition on these routes, Midwest will almost surely be forced to cut prices.





Additionally, Southwest already serves nearly every major airport served by Midwest--plus dozens more. This means competition on nearly every route Midwest flies out of Milwaukee.

Now factor in that Midwest has struggled mightily over the last few years, cutting a huge percentage of its capacity systemwide. Kansas City almost looked like a second hub for them not long ago; now there’s slim pickens for flights.

Southwest is in a very strong position considering their history of profitability (a few recent quarters aside), and they are poised to play the role of bully. More and more airport gates are vacant, meaning Southwest can fill them at a discount. Let's face it: Southwest is about the airline capable of adding capacity, which gives them incredible leverage.

The trump card for Midwest, of course, used to be the actual flying experience. Their Boeing 707s were configured with extra-wide, extra-comfortable 2x2 seating instead of the standard 2x3 you’d find on other carriers' 707s. Basically the whole plane was like a first class cabin. The scent of freshly baked cookies wafted through the cabin, and you used to even get a flute of champagne. And the food was free…and really damn good.

As costs increased, the wide seats, champagne, and free meals disappeared. All that is left are the cookies, and they simply aren’t enough to pull me away from another, less expensive carrier with more flight options.

It looks to me like Midwest’s days are numbered. I’ll remember them fondly.

UPDATE (/nod m.v.):

Midwest Airlines Sold

Jon Byman
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee will no longer have a hometown airline if the planned sale of Midwest Airlines to Republic Airways goes through.
Republic announced Tuesday its intention to buy Midwest.

MORE...

Recap

What’s been happening:

-Two weekends ago we got to visit our friends Corey and Mo in Chicago. We had a fantastic time, saw the current incarnation of The Union, and enjoyed a beautiful Chicago day on Saturday.

Some recommendations: go to Hot Doug’s (featured yesterday on CBS Sunday Morning) for some yummy encased meats. Choose whatever you want, but make sure you also get a corn dog. On Friday and Saturday, they offer French Fries fried in duck fat. Also, unless you have some time on your hands, don’t bother showing up between 11am and 2pm. It’s a popular place.

Edmund Fitzgerald Porter is delicious, and it goes great with sketch comedy at a BYOB theater. The beer selection in Chicago puts ours in KC to shame, as their geography puts them in the distribution networks of all the East and West Coast breweries.

Speaking of, try the Hopleaf on Clark to satisfy your beer geekery needs. They focus on Belgian styles, but their beer menu is a 16-page pamphlet of all things hoppy, malty, and happy. From Dogfish Head to Urthel, any beer lover will find plenty to like there.

We had outstanding Indian food at Viceroy. Located on Devon Street, which is packed with Indian businesses, Viceroy served up some delightful cuisine. We sampled over a dozen things among us and we liked them all.

And go to Millennium Park. Just go.

-This weekend, we remodeled our bathroom. It’s amazing what a couple hundred bucks in paint, flooring, and lighting can do to a room. Now that the house is exactly as we want it, it’s time to sell it. From what I understand, that’s the way it always is.

-The Red X wine tasting never fails to satisfy. We attended with our friends Alan and Amy (it was Amy’s first time) and had a great time. And Stone Canyon Pizza does a really good job.

-We ate at Blue Koi last night with a group of friends and had a great time catching up. Try their current special—“Spicy Buns”. You’ll feel dirty ordering them and happy eating them.

-Wyoming. I went there last week (no ex-girlfriend sightings); I'll be there once a month through September. *sigh*

The Odds, Redux

After hearing my story about running into my high school girlfriend in Wyoming, a friend relayed the following:

A friend of mine had a business trip to New York. He was seated next to a middle-aged woman on the way there, and they talked a bit to pass the time. On the return trip a couple days later, he happened to be seated next to the same woman.

Reveling in the coincidence, the woman inevitably took on the role any meddling mother with a single daughter would inhabit when crossing paths with a guy who is by all appearances successful and witty: matchmaker.

You need to meet my daughter, she’s this, she’s that, blah blah blah.

The guy figures “what the hell” so he agrees and sets up a date to have a drink at the American Restaurant at Crown Center.

A couple nights later, it’s time to meet. He gets to the restaurant, walks to the bar…and that’s when his internal “oh shit” alarm starts going off.

The woman’s daughter was the same girl he had a one-night stand with a few weeks earlier.

After an awkward conversation and a cocktail that was certainly consumed more quickly than normal, they went their separate ways, betrayed by the smallness of this world of ours.

New York

Just got back from a super-quick, last-minute business trip to NY.

Observations:

1. Herm Edwards was on my flight on the way there. Paul Splittorff was on my flight on the way back.

2. Our flight path took us to the southwest corner of Manhattan, then we turned north, looped all the way around the city, made a U-turn, and landed at LaGuardia. The skyline views were stunning--first the Statue of Liberty, then lower Manhattan with all the skyscrapers, then Central Park, then the Bronx and new/old Yankee Stadiums, then around the other side of the island to land.

3. I am so glad I'm not a business traveler for a living. If I had to eat every night at the Ruby Tuesday bar with all the other road warriors, listening to the d-bag salesmen hitting on the women half their age as they talk about all their business conquests/fish tales, I just might off myself.

4. This is a public elementary school. The picture doesn't even do it justice.

It was built in 1935 with a bonafide 4-lane bowling alley in the basement. It requires manual ball return and pinsetting (i.e. a pinboy). You can't even find a bowling alley where you keep score manually any more.

I also came across some survival water circa 1962. Cuban Missile Crisis, anyone?

Ireland, Part 5: Drinks

You may have heard the Irish have a reputation for drinking. In some ways, this is accurate. There are thousands upon thousands of pubs nationwide—an inordinate number, really; only a nation that truly enjoys its beers and spirits could keep them all in business. Also, any taboo or guilt about drinking we may feel here in the US (specifically, the Bible Belt) is noticeably absent there.

On the other hand, we went out almost every night we were there. I witnessed exactly TWO drunk people all week*, and one of them was a snotty American broad. (You know the type—whiny as hell, talking way too loud in a know-it-all condescending tone, oblivious to how arrogant she sounds…the type of American that people like me feel compelled to apologize for). This means either the Irish mostly drink responsibly, or they have an superhuman ability to hold their liquor. I would lean toward the former, with no offense intended to anyone's liquor-holding ego.

*Admittedly, we weren’t out super late most of the week, but still…one would have seen far more drunken antics in the States in the time we spent in pubs.

They are quite proud of their homemade products. You may have heard of a beer called Guinness..did you know they make it in Ireland? True story.

One of the most impressive things we saw in Ireland was the Guinness Storehouse, a seven-story altar to all things stout. The atrium was designed to represent the world’s largest pint glass, and it’s located next door to the St. James Gate Brewery. This is the brewery where Arthur Guinness famously signed a 9,000 year lease in 1759. They have the actual lease on display:





After a trip through exhibits explaining Guinness' brewing process and history, you get to redeem your ticket stub for a free pint at the Gravity Bar. This is a glass-enclosed bar at the top of the structure, affording 360º views of Dublin and its surroundings. You're only 7 floors up, but almost nothing in Dublin is taller than that. Here is Dublin disappearing into the Wicklow Mountains:



Our "perfect pints":


Guinness plays an important (albeit indirect) role in our adventures. My fiancee did not like beer at all until she tried a Guinness. This single flavor epiphany years ago has led to us seeking out all kinds of new beer, taking tours, talking to brewmasters...Guinness was her gateway beer. We thanked them:



EVERY pub in Ireland has Guinness on tap. Almost every pub has Carlsberg (Danish lager) and/or Budweiser on tap as well. Aside from that, you see a lot of Harp (lager) and Smithwicks (ale); both are Guinness products. Also, Bulmer's Cider, and even Coors Light (gack!) in a couple places.


The closer you are to Cork, the more likely you are to see Murphy's and Beamish, two other delicious Irish stouts. Both are brewed there, although...well, it's complicated. Murphy's is owned by Heineken, and Beamish is owned by Foster's, and Heineken just bought Foster's. Got it?

Beamish is good, but it's Murphy's and Guinness that I waver on. Asking me to pick my favorite depended on the day. Murphy's is a bit sweeter; Guinness is a bit drier. Both are a big ol' pint of yummy.


Oh--and a couple people asked me if they serve beer at a warmer temp over there. This is a myth. The beers were consistently cooler than cool, which is to say "ice cold".

Most pubs also had at least a dozen bottles of Irish whiskey turned upside-down in wall-mounted brackets for easy access and pouring. You've heard of the Jamesons and Bushmillses; we were quite happy with Paddy and Powers as well. The differences are rather subtle, and we don't purport to be whiskey aficionados, but they were quite enjoyable and most were actually less expensive than beer. We got a couple small bottles at the duty free shop on the way home.


All in all, I think the attitude toward drinking in Ireland is similar to my own. I firmly believe that a little alcohol is good for you in many ways: it alleviates stress, makes you happy, and strengthens social bonds. Now if I could just get rid of these shakes....

Ireland, Part 4: Cuisine

We both dig good food and beer. Part of our preparation on any vacation involves researching a few restaurants we want to try. In the US, brewpubs/gastropubs* with interesting menus rank very high on our list because it’s the culinary equivalent of multitasking.

*I love the concept of gastropubs but hate the term. I always associate the prefix gastro- with IBS or something.

Our research for Ireland consisted of reading a few online articles, perusing a Fodor’s travel book (which was fantastic, by the way), and watching Bourdain and Flay traipse about the countryside, mysteriously always finding yummy treats and eccentric folks. (Wow! They have friends everywhere!)

Well, the opinion from all outlets was unanimous—Ireland, once a culinary wasteland of blanditude, was in the midst of a flavor renaissance! The roaring economy was the main factor: on one hand, immigrants searching for work brought along their culture and food; on the other, the boom in disposable income among the Irish led to more travel and the revelation that, hey—these spices taste good!

For this reason, we looked forward to our food experience....but unfortunately, the results were decidedly meh.

First though, I must say our breakfasts were consistently satisfying. We stayed at B&Bs and were very well-fed. We had a hot breakfast every day with our choice of breads, cereals, fruit, bacon, sausage, eggs...even the black or white "pudding" (blood sausage) was there for the asking. The hosts fed us so well that every morning after I finished breakfast, I thought, "I might actually be getting tired of bacon and sausage." (If you think these thoughts ever managed to persist until the next breakfast...um, have we met?)

As far as lunch and dinner go, the food is still predominantly bland. Don't believe the hype. I think people like, say, my grandparents would be just fine with all the stews, potatoes, and other stick-to-your-ribs grub. That stuff just doesn't do it for me. We ate at pubs a few times, mostly because at the first one we tried my fiancee ordered a fish special that looked like something off Iron Chef--beautiful presentation and flat-out delicious. My "hot pot" (a savory lamb stew) was, in retrospect, very flavorful as well.

This turned out to be the exception, not the rule. Pub food is basically bland meat and potatoes...lots and lots of potatoes. I mean, UNGODLY amounts of potatoes. I'm not exaggerating when I say my week in Ireland easily doubled my 2009 YTD potato consumption.

How bad was it? Midweek, we were both craving something--ANYTHING--with some flavor. The restaurant we visited had an Indian curry dish, so we gave it a shot.

It was tasty--a nice take on curried chicken served with rice.

AND mashed potatoes.

AND fried potatoes.

But here's the problem: restaurants in Ireland are exorbitantly expensive thanks to the explosion in their standard of living. Seriously--I read that it's cheaper to eat in New York or Paris than Ireland right now. Our no-frills pub meals came in at about $35 for two; add a beer and it was about $50. These were the least expensive places to eat, mind you. (If you're in Killarney, you may also get a nice heaping side of kerosene fumes since the furnace wasn't drafting properly.)

To get the "cuisine" that was allegedly everywhere and so univerally lauded, you were stepping up to $100 per couple minimum for a meal that would run you about $40 per couple here in KC.

Knowing we had a tremendous splurge coming the last night of our trip (our most expensive meal EVVVARRRR--details soon), it was really hard to justify too many of those.

In fact, I think our two most satisfying meals on the trip were the aforementioned "exception pub" meal and the pizza we ordered in Cork after walking past the menus of a half-dozen "cuisine" spots.

It was the first time $25 for a pizza and two Diet Cokes ever felt like a bargain.

Finally, as if there were any doubt that we are absolutely not full-time foodies: we also had cajun chicken "panini" (that's what they called them, but they really just toasted subs).

Twice.

From gas stations.

We needed something quick on the road. Tastier than you might think (they did make them fresh), though one of the other quirks about Ireland is trying to get people NOT to put mayo on stuff. I hate it, and they use it in even far more nefarious ways over there--you'll find it snuck into stuff you'd never imagine. Yeah, the deli chicks looked at me strangely when I requested that they leave my sammich dry.

I don't care. Mayo is for sucks.

Pictures!

The "exception pub": Sonny's in Galway

The River Liffey, Dublin

Old meets new--walls of Dublin Castle surrounded by modern flats
Main Street in Adare, Co. Limerick...but it could really be anywhere in Ireland.


I don't know what these plants are (did Dr. Seuss plant them?), but they're over 6' tall

Ireland, Part 3: It's the Stupid Economy

It was a very interesting time to visit Ireland. The country is in the midst of a financial implosion that makes ours look downright palatable.

In the early 1990s, Ireland was one of the poorest countries in Western Europe. The formation of the European Union and aggressively low corporate tax rates drew a multitude of new business opportunities to the nation. The result was explosive economic growth, dubbed “The Celtic Tiger”.

Companies moved to Ireland by the dozen. Jobs were everywhere; unemployment went from double digits to 3% (which is technically “full employment”). Wages soared. People from all over the world moved there to take advantage of the good times. From 1995-2007, almost every year resulted in GDP growth nearing (or even exceeding) double digits.

Suddenly, Ireland was the richest nation in Europe.

In the meantime, the average home price neared $500,000. That’s nationwide, mind you—not just in Dublin. Disposable income was plentiful, but inflation topped 5% per year. Wages grew so high that jobs were being (gasp!) outsourced.

And now…saying the bubble has burst is a vast understatement.

Property values have plummeted by 40% (again, this is nationwide, not just in pockets) and some are predicting a real devaluation of 75% by the time it’s all settled. The economy is set to contract by 8% in 2009. Unemployment is over 11% and CLIMBING.

And on April 7th, as we were driving along the west coast, the emergency budget was broadcast on the radio.

My jaw dropped. Income and health care levies were doubled instantaneously. What amount to tax credits for kids were cut in half. Mortgage interest deductions were phased out.

The newspaper summed up that a family earning 60,000EU would be paying an extra 185EU per month. Think about that—how many families earning $60k here in the states have an extra $185 just sitting around every single month? Okay, now double that family’s mortgage payment and answer the question again. (Yes, I’m ignoring the exchange rate because the higher prices there make their buying power in Euros about the same as ours is in dollars.)

It was obviously the talk of the nation while we were there. People are justifiably terrified.

Here are the effects on different people in different situations. They’re very short and totally worth reading; you can even skip to the bottom to read one sentence and see how badly some of these people are going to be affected.

Cohabitating Couple

Single-Income Family

Dual-Income Family

Single Parent

Single Worker

At the very least, we can appreciate that our economic situation could certainly be worse.

*sigh*

Okay; that was depressing! Here are some pictures to cleanse your palate.

Ireland, Part 2: Driving in Reverse

My only other worry was how I'd adjust to driving on the left side of the road. All the reading I'd come across indicated the roads were poorly marked, mirror-bustingly narrow, and (in the country at least) saturated with livestock.


We got to the rental car agency, where we were promptly stuck with fees and insurance of $320. There was no getting out of it, even on a car that was "included" in our travel package. In retrospect, I DID feel good (for the first time in my life) about having full, zero deductible coverage on a rental car, even though (spoiler alert) I didn't end up needing it.


I figured we would basically get a clown car, and I was right. Somehow we made it work.

For the record, I did NOT put that ding in the car. Not only was the car tiny, but it was...well-worn.

After taking the pictures for posterity (and, frankly, to cover my ass), we got in the car. Not only are you driving on the opposite side of the road--you're SITTING on the opposite side of the car. This is where I became incredibly glad we upgraded our car to an automatic. I can't imagine trying to pick up driving on the wrong side and remembering how to drive a stick...with the wrong hand.

The first trip was nerve-racking. I had been up all night, so I wasn't very focused to begin with. The roads are actually marked well, but differently--everything is painted white, so the direction of travel is even more confusing, especially when there are an odd number of lanes on the road (which happened a LOT).

Then, we got to the first roundabout. Holy crap. Transposing everything in my head, looking at the hundreds of cars bearing down, flashes of European Vacation going through my brain...wait, where is Swords Road? Google Maps says take Swords Road; there is no Swords Road! Gah! Turns out, all the roads on the highway system have been assigned numbers, and the numbers appear on the signs now. We figured it out and finally made it to the hotel that we couldn't check into for 6 more hours. We parked the car for the day, because we were told in no uncertain terms not to drive in Dublin.

We also obtained a GPS for the trip, but the device had two substantial glitches. First, the software was out of date, so any roads constructed in the last few years did not appear on its maps. Turns out they have built a bunch of roads recently. We were frequently depicted as driving through some sort of sheep field, no road in sight. Second, the GPS didn't seem to have data on road width, so on at least a half-dozen occasions it tried to send us down a road that was more narrow than my driveway. Nevertheless, we were glad to have it, even when Emily the Brit's condescending voice told us she was "reCALCulating".

Anyway, after the first day, things got better. I figured out roundabouts, city driving, and the fact that a 100 km/h (60 mph) speed limit does not mean you will physically be able to go that fast. Unlike here in the states, you will not see signs telling you how far you must slow down to take that curve ahead. Occasionally a construction truck will barrel around the corner at you, and you better be ready. It was definitely not the least-stressful way to see the country, as there were very few moments of relaxation behind the wheel.

But I wouldn't change a thing. In the end, I drove 726 miles overall (my fiancee was quite alright with not driving, thank you very much), and we saw--on our own time--all of the stuff below. Those poor suckers on the tour buses missed it all...and this is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg.

Ireland, Part 1: Transatlanticism

I’ve been thinking about how to write about this amazing trip.

The simplest way would be to give a list of all the things we did, journal-style. But that would be dry, and I feel like the trip was a week-long experience rather than a series of events. Therefore, I decided to write about general topics…Irish Style!

Once the trip was booked, one of my few worries involved how I’d cope with an 8-hour trans-Atlantic flight in coach. I’m 6’4”, and I’m certainly not on the slender end of the spectrum. I have never once been able to fall asleep on a plane*, and this flight was no different, which kinda sucked because it was an overnight flight...and we would arrive in Dublin far too early to check into a hotel. It made for a rough first day, but I digress.

*There are a couple exceptions, but they both occurred when I had a whole row to myself on a Southwest flight and I curled up in the fetal position. Even then, it wasn’t great, and I woke up with the impression of a seatbelt buckle on my face.

Just sitting on a plane for a couple hours makes me altogether irritable. The seats just aren’t contoured for people like me. Plus, I get bored easily and get hungry/thirsty often.

That's what made Aer Lingus a nice surprise. First off, we could each check two bags at no charge. We only had one true check-worthy bag between us, but we went ahead and checked 3 bags because we could.

The seats were pretty roomy for coach, even with the guy in front of me reclined all the way. Sure, you have to get up and stretch every so often, but I wasn’t all that uncomfortable.

Part of that is because I didn’t have to read (which absolutely kills my neck on a plane) to keep myself occupied. The in-flight entertainment system was fabulous. We had about 16 movies at our disposal (each way, mind you—they changed them on the way back), plus an entire season of 8 TV shows (Mad Men among them), and about 300 CDs. They also had about 50 video games, including Centipede, Missile Command, and bar-style electronic trivia that you could play against the other people on board. All on demand, whenever you wanted them. Which is good when you keep taking a few minutes to try to fall asleep and keep giving up.

Between the flight there and the flight back, I saw 3 movies and she saw 5. I was a little more into the games and music. Morbid curiosity made me listen to a couple tracks off this (it was strangely enjoyable):

From a food standpoint…we had the hookup. They fed us a snack and a drink as soon as we got to cruising altitude, then they served us dinner—a full dinner with salad, bread, pasta, cheese, and cheesecake. It wasn’t Justus Drugstore by any means, but it wasn’t bad either. It was certainly more than I expected. They came by and gave us coffee or tea about 6 times, and they let us get up for more at our leisure. Then, to top it off, they served us breakfast—a hot ham and cheese croissant, potatoes, and a small pastry. Service was similar on the way back.

None of this cost anything, by the way.

And that’s kind of the point of this post.

On our roundtrip flight from Chicago to Dublin, the two of us received a combined 8 baggage checks (we only used 6), 8 meals, unlimited use of the entertainment system, and unlimited soft drinks.

We flew United to get to Chicago. The same things we received free of charge on Aer Lingus would have cost us $108 each on United. (Or $137 on US Airways, who charge for movies/headsets/soft drinks.)

$108 per ticket would have made our flight to Chicago as expensive as our flight to Dublin.

It’s 3,673 miles from Chicago to Dublin.

It’s 403 miles from Kansas City to Chicago.