Will you be heading for faraway horizons this summer? Here are some highly useful links to help you plan and travel.
Best Travel Links
This site searches the other travel websites for prices on airfare, car rentals, cruises, and hotels, then lets you buy from the site you like best.
Airfare Watchdog is a great place to find discount airfare. They also list deals from airlines that do not show up on some of the big travel fare sites (such as Southwest Airlines.)
VRBOVacation Rental by Owner is a very active site with up-to-date listings of properties all over the world that are rented out by their owners.
The biggest bargains on this site are on what they call undercover hotels. By not divulging the name of the hotel until after it is booked they are able to give lower rates on all of them.
Track the status of any airline flight.
Find out what your money is worth anywhere in the world.
Find out if you should be packing a bathing suit or rain gear! Weather Underground makes it easy to check the weather in any location.
Rental Car Insurance TipsDo you know what's covered through your auto insurance when you rent a car? This interesting article on rental car insurance is worth a read.
Summer Home Maintenance 
Here are some projects around your home that you'll probably want to have checked off by now:
Clean your clothes dryer vent system, from the dryer to the exterior vent cap. You can use a professional service, or buy a do-it-yourself kit such as
this one on Amazon.com.
Clean and repair gutters and downspouts. Consider replacing loose gutter nails with lag screws, which are stronger and more secure.
Check your fire extinguishers to see if they need to be replaced or recharged. (They should actually be checked each month.) The
Fire Extinguisher 101 website is a great place to get practical information about choosing and maintaining your extinguishers.
Replace batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
Check the water hoses on your clothes washer, refrigerator icemaker, and dishwasher to make sure that there are no signs of cracking or bubbling.
Clean your garbage disposal by grinding ice cubes, lemon juice, and running water for one minute.
Houseplant Care
Check the soil around your houseplants. If the soil is dry and cracking, you can remove an inch or so and replace it with fresh, high quality soil.
Fertilize more frequently. Use a half-strength liquid fertilizer every four weeks throughout the spring and summer.
Is it time to re-pot? If you see roots poking out at the bottom, consider increasing the pot size by about an inch. Make sure you loosen the roots when you put the plant in the new container. There's good advice about this at
PlantOasis.com.
Home Security
If your summer plans include travel, here are some tips to keep your home safe while you're away.
Submit a mail-forwarding or hold request to your post office, and put any scheduled deliveries and newspaper subscriptions on hold.
Place security bars in the runners of sliding windows and doors.
Disconnect your electric garage door opener. Bolt the garage doors down, or run a padlock through the runners so that they cannot be forced open.
Program your answering machine to answer calls on the first or second ring, and turn the message volume down.
Arrange for lawn care during your absence.
Use a timer for interior lights, radios and televisions, and choose staggered timing.
Keep a list of all of your credit card and bank account information. Take it with you on your trip so that you'll be able to easily cancel or monitor accounts if you need to.
Tip: If you are ever the victim of a home burglary and have to replace expensive items such as electronics, be sure to dispose of the packaging for those new items discreetly. The same thieves may be keeping an eye out for the empty packaging in order to find out when your stolen items have been replaced.
Stay Safe Out There!
Many people are surprised to learn how quickly their car heats up in the sun.
The interior temperature of a parked car can reach lethal levels in a very short time, and leaving windows cracked open makes very little difference.
For example, one study showed that on an 80 degree day:
A white car's interior temperature rose to 115 degrees in 20 minutes, and 135 degrees in 30 minutes.
A black car's interior temperature rose to 171 degrees in 20 minutes, and 192 degrees in 30 minutes.
Temperature increases can be dramatic even on cloudy or relatively mild days. A car parked in the sun on a 72 degree day heats to 91 degrees after just 10 minutes, and 106 degrees after 30 minutes.
Tip: Children and pets heat up much faster than adults do because they have lower body masses, so these kinds of temperatures are especially hard for them to handle.
Remember: Be prepared, stay safe, and enjoy the upcoming summer season!
Do you have questions about this information? Just give me a call, or click 'Reply' to this email and I'll be happy to answer them.
Does it seem as though spring is flying by? Summer is right around the corner, and now is a great time to make sure you're ready for everything that comes along with warmer weather and the travel season.
If the Greyhound in this photo looks like a tired but patient mom, there's a good reason!
