Canada travels

Today is the last day of 2009 and it’s been an amazing year! We managed to travel a fair bit this year, actually the most we’ve traveled in one year… EVER!

2009 started off with a week up in a cottage in the Kawartha Lakes region, close to Coboconk, Ontario. My husband is an avid winter camper, camper PERIOD, as seen in other posts in this blog but I…. AM NOT! That’s putting it mildly. So when he booked this trip to go camping in the middle of a Canadian winter… I thought he’d lost his mind. Thankfully he knows me well and booked a brand-spanking new, deluxe cottage! This is my kind of camping! To top it all off… he got quite the deal on the place. Can you believe a full week for around $130!! He’s a deal finder if I’ve ever known one. It was an amazing week away, to rest and relax and to enjoy our children. As leaders of a church… the last 4-6 weeks of each year are extra busy and sometimes overwhelming.

In June I took my 3rd child back home to White Rock, British Columbia. Trust me… he didn’t mind missing 2 weeks of school by this point of the school year!! Our time out there was filled to the brim with visiting family and eating at my parents wonderful Roadhouse restaurant. The trip spanned a family wedding and my younger sister’s birthday and many wonderful moments in between. These kinds of trips would not be possible without the generosity of my parents, without their wonderful gift each year… I don’t know when I’d be able to see my family.

Then came summer! It didn’t really feel like summer here in southwestern Ontario, the weather did not want to cooperate! Regardless, my hubby managed to get a couple of weeks in of his style of camping. He took a group of youth from our church canoeing/portaging for a week and then took another group of men from another church and our oldest son on a trek through the woods and beautiful lakes.

Towards the middle of August we started packing for our greatest adventure of the year. We took 3 weeks off and drove to South Carolina for our family’s very first big vacation. Imagine 7 of us in a vehicle (we took a teen from church to help look after the kids)… on the road for a minimum of 10 hours a day… resting in a few locations along the way. We broke up the trip into a bunch of stops…

Our 1st big stop: Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. My hubby booked us a few days at a horse ranch/resort. We stayed in a Yurt! Yup, a large tent but this was a deluxe version with a beautiful kitchen, master bedroom and even flat screen TV’s! While we were here, hubby golfed the rest of us either lounged by the pool or went horse-back riding. I even tried my hand at tennis! We did manage to do some siteseeing “off the ranch” in the 4 days we were here. We drove a little bit into town to see Thomas Jefferson’s house, Monticello. He was one smart cookie!!

Then we were off to the Outer Banks of North Carolina! First night… Kill Devil Hills. We didn’t have much time here, not enough time to see the Wright Brothers National Memorial/Museum, just a quick dip in the Atlantic Ocean and we were off. The next day we spent over 10 hours in the vehicle again, driving through Rodanthe and taking a couple ferries along the way until we could get to our friend’s place to crash for the night in Morehead City, NC.

The day after that brought us to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We stayed in two different locations while we were here, I think for a total of 9 days. The first half of the stay was spent in a resort right on the beach, we could come and go in the surf as much as we pleased. It was a new experience for the kids… swimming in salt water! I kept having to tell them to keep their mouths and their eyes closed. They didn’t have anything available for our entire stay in Myrtle Beach so we had to move to another resort called Harbour Lights, this one was a lot further from the beach but thankfully they had a pool! They were also a lot closer to tons of golf courses so hubby was in his element! He took our oldest golfing one day and had a really great time together.

Our final destination in South Carolina brought us to one of my favourite locations in the entire United States of America! Charleston, South Carolina. We stayed in an old Cotton mill that had been converted into an Inn, it was in the heart of historic Charleston so I could easily walk to wherever I wanted to go. I strolled the streets and markets alone while hubby took the kids to various sites like, Fort Sumter and an aircraft carrier. It was wonderful and peaceful and chalked full of history! Hubby and I had a chance to spend a romantic weekend here in late October 2008, I have a photo album on facebook you can view those incredible shots! The weather was much better that trip so my pictures turned out better.

Then began the end of our journey, the long dreaded 16 + hour drive home… resting for a couple of days in West Virginia with my hubby’s sister and her hubby. I questioned my sanity at a few rest stops along the way. I don’t think we’re ready to drive to DisneyWorld next summer.

September blew by, my hubby took a church business trip to California the day after we got home from holidays and followed it up by helping his brother move clear across the country, that was quite the road trip for him!

And then boom, here we are! The end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010. It’s been an amazing year, it’s difficult to mention everything that has gone on, I think we had 6 weddings, two of which my hubby performed and I photographed. It was full of God moments and encounters, blessings and opportunities to share with others. I’m looking forward to 2010 and not just because we head back to the Coboconk cottage tomorrow…

Happy New Year Everyone!

(more…)

In June of 2007, I surprised my baby sister in BC by flying out for her birthday, she was turning 33. I took my baby with me, Jake was almost 2 at that time… meaning he was free. Oh how I long for the return of cheap travel! Now I have to pay for 6 full airfares and flying within Canada is not cheap!! Rabbit-trail…. Anyway, it was hard keeping the secret from her but I managed to do it.  This is a review from that trip home.

After a wonderful 5 hour – across 5,000 klm – flight from Ontario to BC, my mom picked us (Jake and myself) up from the Vancouver airport and off to their place we went. To all my friends and family from there… sorry I couldn’t see you — we were only there for about an hour before we packed my stuff into my parents RV and we were off.

Jake was a good traveler – the second helping of Gravol kicked in nicely. Now don’t sit there and think, “What a terrible mum – she drugs her kids!” Yes, yes I do! I’ve flown with kids for over 11 years – at least 1 or 2 times a year… and most of the times, I’ve flown with them as the only adult! I’ve learned a few good (doctor approved) tricks over the years. If you’re interested – I’ll share them with you another time.

Back to my travel log.

We drove for 3 hours that night before I made my Dad stop and sleep for the night, it was just after midnight!  I was worried about him falling asleep at the wheel and as much as I was keeping him awake – I couldn’t keep myself awake (remember it’s a 3 hour time difference for me, midnight in BC is 3am for me back home). We slept – wedged between two giant semi trucks – at the side of the road in Clinton. It seemed like moments after I closed my eyes my Dad was at the wheel again. I stared hard at the clock trying to focus… it was 5:40am. I crawled into bed with my mom at the back of the RV at 5:45am but couldn’t get back to sleep.

It was a slow go all day long. We were carrying a heavy load behind the camper, my sister’s new-to-her 1967 Chevelle on an already 2,000 lb you-haul-it trailer. The RV didn’t want to move very fast. Downhill we were going 45 miles / hour! Up hill… if we rocked back and forth (just kidding) we could make it to the top doing around 30 and that’s no joke! Something that should have taken us 8 hours

in a regular car or 9 or 10 hours in an RV with no heavy load… took us 15 hours in total – discount an hour or so for dropping the tailer off and grabbing lunch in Quesnel. We pulled into Prince George just before dinner time yesterday.

La didn’t know we were coming. I only told her hubby a couple of weeks before. I wanted it to be a true surprise. My Mom drove Lise’s new car into her driveway and Dad drove the RV right behind. He started honking the horn to get the family outside. Mom got out of the car and Lise ran up to her crying. I stayed hidden in the back of the motor home. I couldn’t wait any longer – I gingerly walked around to the front of the vehicle and said nonchalantly, “Hi!”

It took her a minute to comprehend what was going on. She screamed and cried even harder and screamed some more. She grabbed me and held on tight, I thought she was going to faint at one point, she didn’t want to let go. Her hubby was just smiling along… she was surprised! My dad tried to get pictures of her face but I don’t think the angle was right, I should have picked up a video camera. It was priceless!

Her hubby had the BBQ ready to go and so we had a wonderful steak dinner with all the trimmings just as if we were eating at The Keg. It was a great first night of my time with my sister in the “Prince” as locals call it – a place where the national bird is the Mosquito!!! I should have brought my bug suit!!

This has to be the most memorable trip home, surprising my sister like that was priceless! You have to understand what she was going through at that time in her life. They had recently moved to the north, leaving both of their families behind and her husband had been diagnosed with CIDP – it was a hard winter for them. She needed her big sister and I needed her. It’s a battle they haven’t won yet but I continue to pray and support them as much as I can living over 5,000 klm away.

I have a photo album on Facebook if you want to check it out.

Ok, I’ll admit… I’ve been a bit consumed by travel insurance lately. Maybe because I’ve been bitten by the “you didn’t tell me you billed twice” thing with a US hospital. There’s something on my credit report, I’m waiting until Monday when things are open again to find out exactly what it is! I’m not impressed.

So I guess I’ve also been ranting at home about insurance and this whole ordeal because on Friday, my hubby gets a local business paper and the front page article is all about travel insurance, “Uninsured travel might sicken you.” Hubby throws it at me, “Here, add this to your blog!”.

I haven’t had time to read the full thing this weekend as there are only 5 days before Christmas and all throughout the house, all the creatures are stirring and even the mice! I have 4 kids, have I told you that yet?! 4 kids who are very very excited about Christmas Day. That’s to say it mildly!! lol

But here’s the gist,  it’s true, if you travel without travel insurance the costs could be enormous. Before you go away again, check with your insurance provider. If you have a credit card, you may and may not be covered. My sister went to Hawaii with her family and her husband got stung by a ton of jellyfish. They went off to the hospital and when she called the insurance part of her credit card company, she found out that they weren’t covered. Why? Because they didn’t inform the company about the trip before they left the country. So here they were, he’s burned all over his chest and arms and they have no money to cover the hospital bills.

That’s all I’m going to say about that for a while. haha yeah right!!

Single Trip or Annual Plan — which is best?

I used to work in a credit union and used to purchase out of country insurance through their cooperative insurance provider. Right before each trip, I’d take out a plan for that particular trip. It only took me a couple years to smarten up! Since I’m a frequent traveler to the US (3-4 trips to the US a year on average)… which plan do you think would have been best for me? It would have been nice if my co-workers would have suggested the annual family plan. Better yet, it would have been nice if I had put more thought into it myself…. think of the money I would have saved?!

An annual travel insurance policy or (multi trip annual plan) is the best option for frequent travelers.
If you made more than one trip this year, an annual plan offers comprehensive coverage at a reasonable cost. It protects you and your family for an unlimited number of trips during a period of twelve months. There is a wide choice of maximum number of days available on the market and an annual plan may be extended in case of longer absences. I typically purchases one that allows me to be in the US (or other nations) for at least 2 weeks and if the holiday is extended, I can simply phone up and pay for an extension.

In some cases, an annual plan may also include trip cancellation and trip interruption. The benefits of cancellation insurance are subject to a maximum of up to $3,000 per insured person per covered trips and $5,000 per year for trip interruption, subject to a maximum of $5,000 per insured person per trips. What if this amount is insufficient? You can simply request a higher amount of coverage for your trip cancellation and interruption.

What about baggage insurance? The basic rate includes basic coverage of $500. You can always increase it to properly protect your belongings. For example, if you are traveling with your golf bag (hubby’s happy he can finally do this since our kids are out of the stroller age) or other valuable items, you can increase your coverage for baggage insurance to protect it at its fair value and therefore for the trip.

A Multi trip annual plan is the most practical and economical travel insurance coverage. Benefits such as trip cancellation / trip interruption, baggage, can easily be adapted for every trip you make in the year. There are several products available to you, an expert in the field can recommend the best program adapted to your needs and your budget.

Not all insurance companies are alike. Shop around! The most expensive plan does not necessarily mean the best and likewise, the cheapest isn’t always the way to save money.

You put a lot of time and effort into getting the right life insurance policy right?!  You should put the same effort into getting the right travel insurance policy.

A couple of weeks ago I got a strange phone call from a man with an accent, a deep southern drawl. He said he was from a collection agency in Knoxville, Tennessee and that I had incurred a bill while recently visiting a hospital in the US and it needed to be paid – NOW!

I talked about the injury and the whole ordeal with the travel insurance here. I left the hospital with a bill that said ZERO. The insurance company I had purchased my travel insurance through had spoken directly with the hospitals administration while I was seeing the Doctor in the ER and it was dealt with.

Or so I thought…

After I threatened to call the RCMP on this man… which was after he threatened to ruin my credit for not paying this outstanding bill… I shouted more than I probably should have but still!!  I kept asking him for proof of what he was telling me. I kept telling him that I left the hospital with a bill that said, “PAID”! He said this was an additional bill and that bills sometimes get lost in the mail.  It seemed fishy to me. He wanted my credit card number so that we could settle this over the phone so he wouldn’t have to ruin my good credit score. I think I probably threatened to call the police again somewhere in here… so needless to say, I hung up on him and called my travel insurance company.

Apparently Doctors in the US sometimes bill separately from the hospitals but of course I don’t have proof of this because I never received a bill, neither did my travel insurance company. Now I have been trying to dig up the name of the hospital in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee so I can find out if this collection agency is telling the truth… that I have an outstanding bill somewhere out there, hanging over my perfect credit rating.  Can a collection agency in the US ruin the credit of a Canadian?!

I am still very thankful I purchased travel insurance but I really would have wished I would have read the small print while at the hospital. Which is ironic as I was in there for an eye injury!

I’ll keep you posted on this.