How do you do it?

I think that it is perceived that I travel a lot. And I think, by most standards I probably do. But here's the thing, I don't travel for work. My work is restricted to an 8 foot stretch of kitchen at the restaurant I own. If, for example, I put 12 hours in on the job I genuinely spend 8 hours of that pacing back and forth in the little kitchen area preparing 150 or more meals. The other four hours a day on the job are split between cleaning a dining room, organizing staff and rushing around town picking up supplies.  My work world is truly VERY narrow. And in order to work 10-12 hour days, I have to restrict any outside or personal activities.

I don't shop for leisure. I do not go out for lunch. I don't go to movies or concerts, except for maybe once or twice a year. I don't circulate in a typical manner. I don't go for drinks after work and it's extremely rare that I would go out for a sit down meal. Quite literally, I might eat dinner out with my family once every 2-3 months. (That's not to say that they don't do these things without me.)

I do my shopping on-line, or at 11pm at night. I am a regular at Shoppers' Drug Mart as they are open to midnight in my area. As far as I'm concerned, you can buy just about everything you need at SDM!

The other thing I have come to know as gospel, after owning a restaurant for several years, is that you can try to take a day off, or an evening off, but something typically comes up. Equipment or staff issues require immediate attention when you are open 7 days a week, 11 hours a day to the public. Your customer expects consistency, prompt service and reliability regardless of what issues are going on behind the scenes. Therefore, a "day off" is kind of like a four leaf clover.... you know they exist and you have seen them, but they are not always easy to find.

If I am within cell range, the work world of advertising reps, suppliers, regular customers, staff and people looking for sponsorship will find me. So, I have myself convinced that the only true way to get a holiday or a breather, is to leave town. So that's what I do whenever possible. That in reality is 2-4 times a year.

I have very capable staff and a support team of suppliers and repair folks. They can survive a few days without me. They make good decisions and I trust them. They key is to just "walk away" and tune out work for a few days at a time. I love my 3 day getaways!

If you can imagine spending $150 a week on leisure activities like movies or dining, or events and another $50 on liquor or treats, I simply take that and put it towards my jet-away getaways. Plus, the real "trick" or my key to travel, is my points. I'm talking about credit card miles, Aeroplan points and the like. They are like chocolate to me.... I crave them, stash them and devour them regularly.   I would rather use $200 worth of points for a discount weekend away, rather than try saving for 2 years and take a bigger vacation for free.

Plus, I hunt for travel bargains like a hyena on the range. I don't care if I pounce on a zebra or an antelope, or slow warthog. I just want a tasty little vacation. I keep my eye on a few destinations and when the right one hits the right price, I pounce. For goodness sake, I waited 5 years for the Turks and Caicos!! But I do know that if I'm really hungry for a break, I can always find Vegas or Phoenix at a bargain and that will tide me over until I can grab a feast.

That's just restaurant life. You miss out on some of the regular, ordinary (wonderful) things, but you do have other fantastic opportunities. I suppose for people who travel all the time for work purposes, they would equally value a quiet day at home or in their hometown. For me, in my pressure cooker of a windowless environment, I escape through travel. I love it. I love everything about it. I love the restaurant, the people, the independence, the self-reliance and I love the chance to jet-away and recharge. It's all good!

Quickie travel update

Allegiant Air (from Minot & Grand Forks) have a few bargains on the website right now. Should anyone wish to go GF to Orlando, there are some $50 flights (one way. With taxes $71) available in May. Also, looks like similar bargains to last year available to Phoenix/Mesa the first two weeks of September 2012 - if you are able to book early and commit now.

Vegas looks like it's running about $350-400 per person, round trip for 4 nights most of the spring and early summer. No bargains jumping out at me in that regard, but always a fair price.

Also note that just this week, Allegiant opened up their booking window to Nov 13, 2012. So, if you're so inclined, you could grab a decent price on September or October long weekend travel, before demand drives up the price.

Cheap Getaways with Allegiant

Allegiant Air has made an impact on the Canadian and Northern USA travel market with its border town getaways. All along the US/Canadian border Allegiant Air has been popping up and establishing themselves at secondary or small market airports. For example, the Grand Forks airport in North Dakota, or the Bellingham Airport in Washington state.

Allegiant has very select routes, but does them well. They have negotiated excellent package rates with hotels at their destinations. I'll use the Phoenix/Mesa Arizona example. Allegiant flies into the Mesa Williams Gateway Airport, rather than the area's major PHX (Phoenix Sky Harbour). It is a super easy airport to navigate and is an ideal jumping off point for a relaxing desert vacation.

Depending on the season, Allegiant will fly between 2 and 4 times a week between Grand Forks, and Phoenix/Mesa. I've seen one way flights as low as $39.99, but they do go up in price to around the $300 mark.   It just depends on supply and demand. Remember, around school and traditional calendar holidays, flights will always be more expensive.

One current example (Oct 27th)  is for a mini vacation in early December. Two adults can travel from Grand Forks, to Phoenix/Mesa for $775. That's all taxes included, airfare and hotel for 4 nights at the Arizona Resort & Conference Centre. It's not a 4 star  hotel, but Allegiant does recommend it and it certainly does have a good location and pool. However, if you would prefer to go high end. The iconic Arizona Biltmore (A Waldorf Astoria Hotel) is just $500 per person or $1037 per couple, all in.
Yup, $500 for a quick trip or sanity saver as I call them.

Allegiant flies to Orlando FL, Phoenix/Mesa AZ and Las Vegas NV pir of Grand Forks.  I should note that in Florida they use the secondary airport at Sanford which is over an hour from Disneyworld, but still a substantial savings over flying into MCO (Orlando International) with a bigger airline.

In Las Vegas Allegiant has space on the tarmac at THE Las Vegas airport. (LAS - McCarran International.) So with this destination and Allegiant, you're already a winner because you will save money over the bigger airlines and arrive in exactly the same spot.

As a matter of fact, you could take your sweetheart to Vegas February 11-16th, 2012 for $950 a couple (all in) and stay at the fabulous Monte Carlo. For just a few more dollars you could stay at Paris, Planet Hollywood or TI (Treasure Island).

Allegiant flies modern, first class planes. Depending on the model, they hold between 80 & 120 passengers, so popular dates/flights tend to fill up quick.

Florida is the newest destination for flights originating in Grand Forks. Minot does not yet offer Florida as a destination. However, as Allegiant has so far committed to fly the GF to Sanford/Orlando route from November 17th 2011 to May 15, 2012 with the possibility of becoming a permanent route. This is AMAZING news for area residents who may wish to take the family to Disneyworld.  It could save you 20 percent or more over the current cost of a Disney vacation.  I will follow up and write a column on this soon.

One quick example. Grand Forks to Sanford/Orlando November 24th to December 1st 2011, for 2 adults $984 all in. That's a whole week in Florida for less than $500 per person, including air, hotel and taxes. That would be to stay at the Wyndham Lake Buena Visa Resort in the Downtown Disney area. This hotel is a Disney partner hotel (but not on-site) and does indeed offer Disney character breakfasts, and shuttles to the park. It is also newly renovated. To stay the aforementioned dates, as a family of 4 with 2 children under 10 would cost $1425 all in.  Now, of course park passes, food etc would be an extra charge, but this is an EXCELLENT start to an inexpensive family vacation in sunny Florida.

I personally have flown Allegiant and would do it again. (Allegiant.com)  I just wouldn't check any bags. They have big time add on costs at Allegiant for checked bags, priority seating etc.  But a savvy traveller can save money with Allegiant and get to the popular destination quicker than  originally thought possible.