Made it out of town to a much warmer climate!

Heck I've worked with 3 airlines so at the time I could over look little things cuz I was flying free! But when a person pays for a ticket (actually I used airmiles for this trip) well a person can vent about these things. So if I have a choice in the future I may pass on US Airways which I flew today cuz think they suck! My first clue was when I went to check in online & found out I'd have to pay $15 to get an aisle or window seat. But a middle seat has no extra charge so guess where I sat cuz I'm cheap plus it's against my priniciple to pay extra. Then when I went to check in at US Airways I found out they charge $15 for the every bag checked in! I'd probably have to get a bank loan (if I could qualify) to pay for excess baggage. Unfortunately I couldn't take my backpack as carry on cuz it's a bit big given I've got all my things for 8 months of travel! So of course there were no free drinks or snacks on the 3 hr flight! Bu you could get water for $2, beer $7, $7 for a hot meal or $5 for leftovers! So cheap old me is thinking that I may take a picnic basket on my next 3+ hr flights.

But here I am in 28 C / 85 F Phoenix for the night! I don't have a problem with the temp or the city but I made a mistake staying here over night. I wasn't thinking (as usual) cuz I wanted to bypass the US and fly into Mexico to start my trip. But to use my air miles for some reason I thought I only had a choice ot either flying to Guadalajara or Mexico City but I had been to Mexico City before. So I decided to fly to Guadalajara but had to spend a night in Phoenix cuz if I fly to Mexico City I'd have to wait until the end of Oct to get a seat. So I decided on Guadalajara but there was a woman sitting next to me flying to Puerto Vallarta and getting there at 5 pm today on US Air. So I thought sh*t why didn't I think about Puerto Vallarta so I wouldn't have to stay overnight in Phoenix. Actually I thought Puerto Vallarta was too touristy and I had been there before!

So when I got to Phoenix I thought why not check if I could change my flt to Puerto Vallarta instead of Guadalajara. But found out have to pay $150 extra for the change so I passed on that idea. But the guy gave me a 20% discount coupon to stay at a local hotel. But heck was going to stay at the ariport until I realized that I got into Phoenix at 10 am and didn't leave until 9 am tomorrow. So thought unless I was like Tom Hanks in the Terminal Man well maybe I should get a room. So I got a cheap hotel room at the Quality Inn for $49 (still 4 times the price of a hostel in Guadalajara), a free shuttle plus a free breakfast in the morning. So decided to pay the piper for my bad decision!

I found that Arizona State University campus, bars and resturants are 3 miles away. So decided to walk there cuz had time to kill but the clerk at the front desk says no one walks there. But checking the ppl at the hotel it seemed a few had eaten a couple extra Big Mac's and probably hadn't walked in a few years! So I walked and realized that after the cool weather I experienced in Vancouver & Edmonton in the past week that it was a bit hot! But boy that cold beer sure tasted good when I made it there!

Sure glad I have my little computer with me cuz can blog, email or write stories in my room! But figure I better enjoy this room cuz this will probably be my last room to myself for a while. Actually have a free 7 day Timeshare condo to be used anywhere until the end of Nov. But have chosen not to use it cuz it's not my thing anymore so tried to give it away but no one wanted to use it!

So now it's onward to Mexico tomorrow to see what's happening there!