Thursday, March 1, 2012

Thursday's Ramblings - The consequence of high gasoline prices

“There are some things I can't control, & that's just the way it is.”
                                                                    Susane Colasanti

About two months ago I made a big leap and signed up to go to the Create Mixed Media in Irvine, CA.  I had first seen this on my facebook page and after investigating it, I just knew it was something I wanted to do.  There's also going to be one in NJ and another in Chicago, all on other dates.  The Chicago one is still a long ways off and there's no mention as to which workshops will be offered.  I found workshops that I really wanted to take in Irvine and thought I would just go ahead and do it.  Other than the airfare, the cost would be the same whether I was in Irvine, CA or Chicago.  Everything seemed so simple, right? Wrong!

After I registered for the workshops, I debated which day to fly in and which day to fly back home.  Then I thought maybe I could get together with my cousin and his family.  I hadn't seen him in almost 30 years.  So I contacted him and then we had a few calls back and forth over the period of a few days.  We decided I would try and fly back late on Sunday (maybe taking the red-eye back home) so I could spend the day with all of them.  By the time I got back online, prices were beginning to rise and seats were selling fast.  The amazing thing I discovered was that the flights leaving in the evening cost more than the earlier ones.  Years ago, the red-eyes were the least expensive way to fly.

During all this time, rumors were flying around about gasoline prices going up.  Well, we all know  when this happens it has a snowball effect on everything else, including airline prices.  I kept hoping to find a really great deal, like I have in the past, but after checking different sites online, with different dates, times, even airport locations, it just kept getting worse.  Finally today, I did what I really didn't want to do.  I messaged my cousin and my roommate for Irvine and told them what was happening and that I might have to cancel my plans on going to California.  Most of the flights I wanted were in the $450 and much higher range.

I have another month before I really need to cancel the workshops.  So for the time being I'm going to keep looking and checking for a great deal.  Feel free to suggest some sites that I might have overlooked or some other alternatives.  I've been checking with Kayak, Orbitz, Priceline, etc., etc.   I'll keep you posted on this as soon as I know more.  Wish me luck! 

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