Mary B's Guide to International and Domestic Travel "We Turn The Ordinary Trip Into A Challenging Adventure"

Travel Tips and Rules

Another Bright Idea
Mary B's Rule 1:
Never Arrive Early

At the request of the FAA, airlines have begun advising passengers to arrive two hours prior to their departure time.  Don't!  Instead arrive 15 minutes before scheduled departure to avoid all other passengers who arrived two hours early and caused the delay passing through security.

Why Make Reservations When You Can Leave Home Without Them

 Advance Car Rental?  Why? So your credit card payment might be tied up for months or years when the car rental company files for bankruptcy? So they can bump your reservation and give your car to someone else just because you arrive a few minutes late?  So they can regale you with the oft used excuse, "our computer system is down, we can't locate your reservation even if we had a car for you"?

For Mary B's subscribers, we recommend arranging for car rental at the moment you need your car and not a minute sooner! Avoid the potential legal and financial dangers if your rental car company goes belly up before you get your car.

Travel by Tractor Trailer

Truckers are very nice people and are always willing to give a lift to planning-challenged travelers.  Besides, Bubba knows all the "good eats" places associated with Truck Stops where you can purchase a disposable camera (Mary B's Rule #88-Buy It there) to have memories of the splendid scenery passing you by at 85 MPH.
 
Take the case of Pat E. who, with backpack in hand (see Mary B's Rule #143-Travel Light), traveled from San Francisco to Los Angeles via Omaha. Pat forgot to enlist Trucker Technique 14, failing to remember to journey North-South on even numbered days and East-West on odd numbered days.

CAR POOL

Mary B heartily recommends car pooling -- especially on long trips -- so that you can get to really know your fellow passengers, conserve fuel and lessen traffic congestion.  Also, you'll enjoy the opportunity to develop your interpersonal skills of conflict management and aggression avoidance you will need on other occasions, such as crowded elevators, rental car representatives, credit card clerks when you encounter them.

Say So Long To Samsonite
Au Revoir  to Louis Vuitton
Arrivederci to Gucci

Be sure to check your luggage before going outside the terminal for a smoke. Why? Because, even if you miss your flight while smoking your cigarette, at least your luggage will arrive at your destination and will be waiting for you if or when you finally arrive. It is untrue that your luggage will be automatically removed from the aircraft if you do not make the flight.  Be sure to ask for additional air miles and an insurance claim form due to separate travel of your luggage.

And what the heck, even if your luggage is lost or stolen by flying alone it's just mostly old clothing and toiletries.  Don't be a cheapskate! Help put steam in the economy and buy everything when you reach your destination. (See Mary B's Rules 88 and 143).

Check out our testimonials:

"I used Mary B's Guide to International and Domestic Travel  on a trip from Cincinnati to Chicago.  Although I ended up going through Bangor, Maine in the middle of winter, I found the people in the Northeast very friendly and the snowdrifts beautiful in the moonlight."

Gordon W.

Helpful Hints From Mary B

While availing yourself of the usual types of conveyances, don't forget the often overlooked shuttles, trams, mules, camels (multiple humps are preferred) and llamas when stranded in Peru or Bolivia.

Some travelers like to set their watches and clocks to local time. We suggest otherwise. Besides avoiding jet lag, you can add excitement by surprising your relatives or friends in the middle of the night and rousting them from their beds.

"Now, thanks to Mary B. I fly by the seat of my pants, an interesting sight."

Tom C.

Las Colinas Bail Bonds (619) 562-4666 Service to Our Clients Spanning Three Decades

Travel Writer                    Mike Eister
Travel Writer              Dusty Rhoades
Design                                   Ida  Kno
Consultant           Haywood U. Buzsoff
Consultant                         Hardy Knox
Security                       Buster Noggin
Editor         Gary "Specialized" Nelson
Legal              Dewey, Cheatum & Howe

As a retired military officer, I know how the Government moves men and material around the globe. But, Mary B's travel tips have certainly given me a totally fresh approach that every Government agency can learn from, and that will cost no more than a DOD hammer or toilet seat.

Popeye S. USN (Ret)