Family Vacation - San Diego

So as some of you know I fantasize about the idea of a STAYCATION. I love not driving, flying or fighting other people to get where I want to go.

Driving sucks. You have to time when your leaving So Cal because if you leave at the wrong time, it could take you hours to get out of your own neighborhood. It once took me 3 hours to travel 50 miles. So leaving in the wee hours of the morning is best.

If your traveling by airport then forget it. Just expect to be miserable the whole time. Everyone is irritated they have to strip down, pull out electrical devices, get scanned like your some foreign object. Then waiting to be funneled into a metal tube where the seat belts barely snap closed and your arm is in the lap next to  you. I love how these plane designs are from 1963.
My favorite part is the guy trying to cram a carry on luggage the size of an elephant into the overhead compartment. That guy always puts it above MY head. I am always the lucky guy who sits there with some stranger's crotch pressing against my shoulder while my life hangs on the line with the fact that he is strong enough NOT to drop this luggage on my head.

The most exciting part of arrive at your timeshare/hotel is to realize that your there 2 hours early for check in. Now your exhausted, irritated, hungry and smell bad from traveling all day and they tell you that your room won't be ready until 4pm. HOW FRICKEN LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CLEAN A ROOM. You kick us out at 11am and can't have 1 room available until 4pm. Seriously???

So, I get into my room and we always do the same thing. I run around turning on all the lights. I see what immunities we have. I look in the kitchen at all the utensils i know I am not every going to use on vacation. I just like to know my options. Then I cran on the AC. I figure that I am getting every pennies worth of this room. I order 7 bags of coffee right away knowing they only gave us one bag fot the first day. I also ask for extra pillows knowing that your head is going to sink right through the first one as soon as you go to bed.
Then the music source. I must set up music knowing that this room was decorated in 1985. I set up my MONSTER BLUETOOTH SPEAKER that plays all my music from my iphone without even docking it. I then set up my little office/charging station. A place for my toys. ipad, laptop, watch, keys, iphone, gum and hotel key. This is my go to spot. Surf the net, play music or just read a book.

This week it's San Diego. It's close to home. Quick drive. And closer to mexico meaning even better mexican food places that the OC. Yes Seaworld and the zoo are in my plans. To make it fun, I have brought my CANON T2i with the zoom lens. I plan on documenting everything in photos and video. I also brought my iphone of course and will be hitting as much food spots as possible to bring back home for my JACK ON THE GO SHOW (http://youtube.com/jackonthego)

So what are some things you hate about vacations and what are some crazy rituals you do when you arrive at your room?

BUYING A CAR

So my wife and I are shopping for a car. Not just any car,but a small SUV with room. We are willing to give up cargo space for leg room.

My wife and I refuse to ever buy a new car just for the fact that it loses thousands of dollars of value just by driving it off the lot.

Here is what we do. We start shopping between May and June for a car. We agree that unless it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, we are not going to buy a car until September. We know that the last quarter of the year is when deals happen. Car lots are trying to dump cars for the new year. Also if you buy a car at the end of it's year, you are getting a car that is a year old with 0 miles on it. Keeps the value up.

The next thing we do is buy used or demos. These cars can be marked down as much as $10,000. Our last four cars were from enterprise rent a car. They sell theirs with new belts, tires, filters, and fluids and they still give you bumper to bumper coverage. I bought a 2001 grand am in 2002 with 27,000 on it for $11,000. Used is good.

The last car I bought was the dodge grand caravan. It was a 2006 and I bought it in 2007 with only 260 miles on it. It was a car used to drive customers back to their work while the dealer fixed their car in the service department. I paid $15,999. A new one was $30,000. I love the stow and go seating that goes underground, but that's another story.

Now we are looking for a ford flex. We want a 2010 since 2009 is the first year. You never buy a first year car. You all know why.

We have told four ford dealers to be on the lookout for a low mileage FLEX SEL. We are hoping for a return or financing that fell through or a return on 60 day option. We will wait and see. A new FLEX SEL will cost $32,000 bare bones. A used one will have all the features for about $26,000.

Stay tuned. This could take awhile, but will be worth it.

Location:Orange County, CA