Have PMS Will Travel

Ah - time to plan a summer trip to Vermont.

I'm just itching to dig into the TV and internet issues, but first I have to get there.

Getting there means usually flying to Boston and then renting a car. I hope no one is surprised that renting a car for 2.5 weeks in the summer out of Boston costs about twice as much as the plane ticket.

First: plane

At the end of April I flew to Boston from SFO on JetBlue.

I actually prefer to fly red eyes because I cannot stand to lose a day sitting in the air, even though I love looking out the windows. When you fly the red eye, everyone settles in and sleeps. Bathroom trips are minimal for one and all. Even the children chill out for a few hours.

The best deal for that trip required flying first to Long Beach, CA from SFO, and from there to Boston.

The flight from SFO was packed, of course, and the entire crew seemed to be suffering from a sort of PMS I really hadn't quite experienced even in these days of enhanced security and tension.

We were told multiple times during the boarding process that our bags MUST fit under the seat in front of us. AND if our bags didn't fit, we would be TOLD to make them fit - or else. This was repeated multiple times.

The rest of the blessedly short flight went along these lines. We were reminded NOT to get up and go to the bathrooms no matter how badly we needed to if the seat belt light was on. Then when I had the nerve to ask for orange juice during drink service, I was informed that we had all been told - multiple times! - that the options were: Pepsi, Diet-Pepsi, Sprite, and Water. Period! After waving my hands a bit, a small water was tossed into my lap.

Long Beach turns out to be a tiny airport and the boarding area was tiny with about 8 flights waiting for boarding in a space about 1,500 square feet.

However, the trip to Boston from there and back to SFO was flawless. We were not harangued beyond the normal admonitions and the passengers - except for a few elicit bathroom trips - seemed to be resigned to compliance without additional reminers.

And now I am once again booking with JetBlue. Happily they have renewed non-stops to Boston from San Jose so we can give Long Beach a miss this time around.

As a clarification: why to Boston if I'm going to Vermont?

1. Lots of family in Boston, where I was born.
2. Only 3.5 hours drive to our place
3. Longer and more expensive to fly into Manchester, NH or Burlington (probably cheaper cars) which are still at least 90 minutes from Greensboro.

I used to prefer to fly into Montreal until I almost got left behind due to overbooking on the way back to California. Realizing that there were no more CA flights until the next day and tired of explaining why - as a US citizen - I was headed the wrong way over the border with a Canadian rental car, I re-opted for Boston.

And cars. Cars usually cost 2x the price of the air ticket.

Last summer, I chose the cheapest possible option: Dollar.

Taking the Dollar van from the terminal, we rolled by all the other rental cars lots and then turned down an alley way, crowded with weeds and an abandoned car leaning on the left side.

The rental counter was staffed by young people in flip flops, shorts and a variety of Dollar t-shirts. The carpet was stained and an aroma filled the air.

Right across the street, I could see Hertz. I felt like an illegal immigrant on the Mexican boarder, looking at paradise a few feet away.

My designated car had so many dents and dings that we gave up on noting them all. Half way to New Hampshire, I realized that the cover for the fuses next to my left knee was missing.

To be fair, the car gave me no trouble although the tobacco smell drove me a bit nuts.

This year, I'm renting from Hertz.