How To: Plan Your Vacation With AI

I recently fiddled around with AI a little to see what it could offer in the way of vacation planning. It is not all encompassing but it can definitely be a good place to start! Here I will walk you through what I did to create an example of an itinerary for a trip to Germany in December. I used ChatGPT, which can be found here. To get information you just type what you want into the chat box; you can also paste information in the box and ask it to summarize, analyze or expand on the information. 

First, I asked it to create a seven day itinerary in Germany in December that could be done without renting a car, all within 150 miles of Frankfurt, and it should be fun for kids aged 10 to 15, with interests such as WWII history, castles, medieval cities and traditional German food. I did this and it spit out a good itinerary, but then after reviewing it, some of the places were a bit out of the way, like one day was 150 miles to the west of Frankfurt and the other was 150 miles to the east, which seemed like too much time spent on transportation and not enough spent in the cities themselves. 

Additionally, some cities on the list had lots of large government buildings, which seemed less important to me than WWII history or castles. I decided I wanted less government buildings and maybe a live sporting event, which would be fun for the kids, so I told it to edit those parts and it did. It even told me that if I want to go to a live hockey game, I may want to get tickets early, as they sell out fast. Here is an example of one day on the itinerary: 

For this example specifically, I asked it to provide some restaurants with vegetarian options in old town and it came up with seven of them. Here is an example: 

I then asked it use the finalized itinerary and do the following: Please use the last itinerary to provide a cost estimate for four people, using the train or bus and staying in low/mid range hotels. It broke it down by category and summarized it here: 

Obviously this may not be exact, and I have not fact checked it yet, and we would probably not eat out every meal or need two hotel rooms, but this is a pretty good start! I then decided that with four people, the transportation by train and bus seemed a little high, so I asked it to recalculate using car rental and parking in the estimate instead. Here is what it came up with: 

It also reminded me of the following: 

Additional Tips for Car Travel

Insurance: Ensure you have adequate car rental insurance coverage. Check if your personal car insurance or credit card offers coverage to potentially save on additional rental insurance costs.

Navigation: Use a reliable GPS or smartphone navigation app to help navigate unfamiliar areas and find parking locations.

Parking Apps: Consider downloading parking apps specific to German cities to find and pay for parking more conveniently.

Autobahn Rules: Familiarize yourself with German driving laws, including Autobahn regulations, speed limits in certain areas, and winter driving conditions.

Isn't this cool? As you can see, you can really drill down if you want to. I don't know if we will use all of the suggestions, but will likely use a couple of them, so it is a lot easier than having to do all of the research myself! Please let me know if you would like more info on what the full suggested itinerary looks like! In addition, let me stress that my favorite way to find good travel suggestions is from real people! So, I will ask all of you: if you have ever been to Germany, do YOU have any suggestions of places to visit within 150 miles of Frankfurt? 

Have you ever used AI to plan a vacation? Have you ever used AI for anything else? If so, what was it and how did it go? 

TGIM

Holy moly; it's nearly October! It's been evident in the colors of the leaves, the harvesting of corn and the smell and sight of the apples shining in the trees, ready to be plucked. Luckily it has not been too cold in Ontario yet, although it was about 40 degrees Farenheit the other morning in Portland! 

Near Toronto: 

The high of the last week was: A great time in Portland hanging with the pets, hiking, walking around town and spending time with friends. We went to Forest Park, got DFL at a trivia night, hiked around Mt. Hood and went to the Timberline Lodge for breakfast, and spent a lot of time showing one of my friends who had only been to Portland once around the cool and quirky neighborhoods of the city. It did rain a little on us, but otherwise it could not have been nicer. 

Mt. Hood: 

The low of the last week was: I don't really have many lows. I guess the worst thing, which is not that bad, is that my flight from Portland back to Canada was delayed, and I got back to Canada late and was hangry and tired by the time I arrived. But, c'est la vie! 

Something I marked off my to-do list was: I bought my tickets to Europe for my trip with K and the kiddos! We have been trying to coordinate schedules and it's hard with their school and sports things and the prices just kept going up and up and up, so I am happy that we finally got it in the books. Now I can start to plan the rest of the trip, but I was waiting to be sure of our flight first, as they were not really location dependent (we were happy to go wherever the flights were cheaper!) 

The book I am reading is: On audiobook, I just finished two of the books in the Survivors Book Club Mystery series. I think they were just what I needed, as I've been struggling to focus on books lately. They were easy and light, and I like the characters and they went by fast. I actually read two in one day today! For e-book, I must admit to not pick it up my Kindle in ages, and so I am still on the first book of The Expanse series... 

The best thing I spent money on was: Aside from the Europe trip, I've really only spent money on food! So I guess it would be meals out with my friends who came to visit me in Portland. We usually had two meals a day, late breakfast and early dinner, but I still feel like I ate a lot!! Actually another thing I did was splurge for a cell in a hotel that used to be a jail in Ottawa. It was very fun even though my room was tiny! Here's a picture of my cell. 

My plans this week include: Pedaling, looking at stuff, taking photos of stuff, eating, and a trip to Montreal!

My favorite photo from the last week is: of my buddy Emi. This is her "give me treats" face. 

Butt and Gut Update: Although I have had no gut issues while riding, as soon as I get off the bike for a few days I seem to start to have issues again. So I guess the way to avoid issues is to burn a shit ton of calories? I don't know. The butt is good still, knock on wood, even though I still have a very basic saddle and I alternate wearing padded shorts and regular shorts. 

What are you reading? What was the high/low of your week last week? What have you crossed off of your to-do list lately? 

What I Learned

Welcome to the technology version of What I Learned. Over the years, obviously I have done a lot of things wrong for a long time and then I find out a trick and I am floored and I never look back. Here are a few things that I have found that make things so much easier when using the phone or computer. 

VPN: This is good for when you are using a lot of public networks and need security, or...if you are traveling and you want your app or website to think you are still in your country of origin. I have a good story about this which I will tell in another post but for now just know that your Netflix account does not have the same shows when you are in a different country. So if you want to have the same shows, or same subtitles etc. your IP needs to be in the country you come from. Also banking is much easier if you are "not" abroad! I use NordVPN, but there are several different options and they are not expensive, and it has saved my butt a few times!! 

Feedly Boards (Categories). I started using this when I first started using Feedly, but at the time, I only had a "favorites" category. Once I started having to use my phone to read articles, I quickly found that I needed more categories, as I like to go back to posts I have commented on to see if the author has replied to my comments. When I am on the laptop, I used to just leave the article open, then revisit it when I went back on the computer. 

However, with my phone, this is not as feasible. So now I have boards for the following: 

Commented: posts I commented on

Returned: posts I commented on and returned to and read the reply (once this is done, I remove the commented category)

Past due: posts I commented on, returned to and there is no reply after a certain amount of time (then I remove the commented category and don't go back again and waste time checking).

Book ideas: articles or posts about books that I want to add to my holds/loans on Libby

Vacation ideas: articles or posts about places I want to research more, go to, or review

Ideas: articles or posts about something that I think would be fun to write about at some point

You can bring up just the one category and see a list easily and you can also add or remove the category from the list or within the individual article or post. 

Google Reader Mode. If you use Chrome and you have any websites that use a lot of ads or photos and take forever to load or scroll, you will love the Google Reader Mode Extension. It breaks down the post into words only, and gets rid of all the pesky minutia. This also often works for posts where you can only see some of the post and then need to log in; if you hit the Reader button right away, you can get the entire article in Reader view. 

Here is an example: Purple travels a lot and retired early and I like reading her stories; however, I do not have the patience for the site to load due to so many pictures and inserts and ads! 

Big pictures! Too many ads and Instagram links!

So I pop it into Reader and voila. In Reader, you can also save, print, and read aloud. You can also change the font and size and things, but I have just left it on the default for this. 

So much cleaner! See top right for options.

Camera shortcut for phone. This may seem obvious to some but when I was on the Tour Divide, a guy I was with told me how he wasn't taking a lot of photos because it was a pain to get his phone out, swipe to open, push the camera button and then take a photo. I told him that he should have a shortcut to enable him to do it without all that fuss. For my phone (Pixel), you have to double click the power button. You can then take the photo using the volume button (either one) therefore enabling you to do it fast, or when it's wet outside, or when you have gloves on, all without touching the screen. My parent's Motorola is a quick wrist twist back and forth to activate. Also, in case you are scared, if a stranger does this, they cannot access any prior photos or other things on your phone, so you can have someone take your photo at Yosemite without worry. What is your phone's camera shortcut? 

Schedule send for text messages. Since I am often up at the buttcrack of dawn, and this is when I have time and motivation, I often set up a bunch of texts to go out later in the day when normal people are actually up. I also do this for birthday texts if I think of it the day before, I will schedule it for the next day so I won't forget. The only downside of this for me is that if I am not in service at the scheduled time, it won't go out, so it doesn't help me in that case. In Android you hard press the send button and it will give you an option for times; once you choose your date and time, you hit the send button again and it will be set! I am certain iPhone has something similar; can anyone confirm?  

What method do you use to check responses on comments if there is no auto email feature? What tricks to you use to keep track of ideas, future books to read or vacations to research? What tips and tricks do you use to save time with technology, the internet, or your computer? If none of the above, do you have any tips or tricks you often use in life? 

Honk If You Think Helmets Are Sexy (And Other Random Acts of Kindness)

One of the things that I did on this trip was to have people come and meet me along the way. My friend K came with her girls to meet up with me in Canmore, and as we were driving around we would sometimes see people with bikes full of gear riding on the side of the road. I made them cheerily honk the horn and roll down their windows and cheer for the cyclists. They thought I was crazy but I tried to explain to them that it's the little things like that which sometimes make my day, and if we could pay it forward, why not? 

They did not really think about the long days in the saddle with nobody to talk to and sometimes the only noise you hear all day is the cars wizzing by, but why would they? So I am here to tell you ten things that I've experienced and have been very appreciative of so far, and probably no long haul cyclist would refuse or be upset by if you did them. 

A friendly honk. I have had people lean on the horn in an unfriendly way, but usually a quick toot toot is such a happy sound to hear as you are lumbering up a hill with sweat dripping down your face. 

Speaking of sweat, I will almost never say no to a cold drink. I told my Mom that even if it's a soda, which I rarely drink, or even diet soda, I don't care. If it's cold, I will happily drink it! Near Merritt, BC, after accidentally going over the Coquihalla summit, a guy offered me a zero sugar Sparkling Ice and let me tell you, it was the best drink I've had in a while. 

Cold(ish) drink! 

Coquihalla summit. Not fit for bikes!!

A wave, thumbs up, hang loose or any goofy hand or arm movements are welcome, with some obvious exceptions! 

I sat in a bar in Michigan talking to some bear hunters and when I went to pay my bill, one of them offered to buy my drink. How nice is that?

Somebody bought me these! Thanks! 

In New Mexico, on a stretch of about 90 miles and 8,000 feet of gnarly climbing with no water sources on a 90+ degree day, I was walking my bike uphill over some rocks when a man in a kitted out fourrunner stopped and asked if I wanted water. If I have enough, I will sometimes say no, but in this case, I was so happy that I could have hugged him. 

Warmshowers is a cycling accommodation swapping service, and the people who have hosted me have all been wonderful. However, in the New Mexico desert, there was no place good to camp and when I asked a man if there was anything around, he called a friend and she not only let me sleep in her yard, but she fed me and let me shower! Seriously, all I need is a small place to put my tent and a tree to pee behind, but she went above and beyond. 

The Toaster House in Pie Town, NM. Free, with donations accepted. 

To all the old men in Tim Hortons and McDonald's: I loved spending time chatting with you, hearing your stories, and learning about the local area.

I'm fact, to everyone at any bar or restaurant or hotel or just randomly on the street who has asked where I am going and why I am doing this and how I do certain things and have been so curious, it was really nice to chat with you too. You really made my day. 

So many cars have moved over to the left and have given me a lot of space when they can and let me tell you, that is so nice. Even big rigs will sometimes get all the way into the other lane on a two lane highway and man it really makes a difference. Side note and fun fact: did you know that if the big rig does not get over, they often create a kind of rip tide/vacuum of air after they pass that can nearly knock me over? 

Often if I am sitting on the side of the road having a snack or adjusting my clothing, people will ask if I need any help. While luckily I never did, I am so grateful to them, because you never know when you may need help. I always do the same too, except often they have just stoped to pee 🫣 or eat. But that's okay; it's better to check anyway!

I have really been impressed and touched by all of the random people who have made my journey better in some way, often by just doing something small, and maybe even sometimes not even realizing it! This list is not all inclusive; there were people who gave me rides, people who let me take my bike into the room even though it was not allowed, people in Montana and Colorado and New Mexico who have fed or housed me and other cyclists or hikers and want nothing in return except for us to pay it forward...the list goes on! 

What unexpected thing has someone random done for you in your life? What random thing has made your journeys in this life better? Do you feel that people in certain areas or walks of life are more likely to give or receive random acts of kindness? 

Everything is Random Today

Today is Labor Day. In a normal year, for basically the past ten years, I have taken my two week vacation on this week and the next. I only have to take nine days off to get ten (or really 16 days total including weekends), the kids have gone back to school (mostly) so the places I want to see aren't packed, and the weather is perfect for backpacking and traveling. Is it weird that I am currently jealous of my past self and am kind of wishing I was somewhere in the mountains hiking? Is it possible to have FOMO when you are simultaneously doing something else that is fun? I guess it is! I guess we always kid of want the grass on the other side, even when ours is growing great and is healthy and green. Or is that just me? I actually like my grass now, but kind of want to pop onto the other side for a few too! 

As a side note, did you know that the Portuguese do not talk about the grass being greener? Instead they say something like this, a galinha do vizinho sempre é mais gorda, which I believe translates roughly to, "your neighbor's chicken is always fatter," but you can probably Google it to get the actual translation. I love things like this, where you learn how other cultures say the same thing as you do. I also enjoy hearing how they say things differently, for example, when I learned that in Spanish or French you do not take a pee, or go pee, but instead you make a pee, or you do not go grocery shopping, instead you, do/make your shopping.

The other thing that I loved when I learned it was that roosters crow in different languages! Knock me over with a feather. I am not sure why my English centric brain did not realize this, as it seems obvious, but I was surprised and delighted by this news. Here are a few examples. Portuguese/French - cocorico. Chinese - wo-wo-wo. Korean - kkokkiyo. Arabic - SiyaaH. Spanish - quiquiriquí (this was the first one I learned). Also if you start to research this, you will realize that cows do not moo and cats do not meow, and then you can really get your mind blown. I took a year of French in college, and then went to work at a grocery store in Bordeaux for a summer, but to me, the roosters (and other animals) still sounded like they were speaking English. 

I am writing this from Tim Horton's. If you would have asked me six months ago how many times I'd been to a fast food joint in he last decade, I would probably be able to count the number on one hand. However, on the last six months, between this and McDonald's, I've increased my visits by probably 5x. Am I eating a lot of donuts and big macs? Nope! I normally go in to use the WiFi, charge electronics, use the bathroom and get out of the weather, and will usually buy a coffee. Today it's hot and humid and the air conditioning feels great. However, there is a man sitting next to me that looks like he slept pretty rough, and he's been sitting there milking the same coffee for a long time, but as I look at him, and then to myself, I wonder if people think the same about me. I do have helmet hair, and due to the humidity am quite sticky and sweaty, I don't smell great, and I've been milking the same coffee for awhile now too. I wouldn't say that the Timmy's coffee is great, but just like having a real toilet, when you've been going without for a while, even the most basic one is so nice. The other good thing about Timmy's and McDonald's is they don't kick me out, except for the McDonald's in Canmore, which had a sign saying that you could only stay for a half an hour. 

The other place I go if I'm in a smaller town is the library. It's not just for books, and they will let you sit for awhile and use the WiFi and plugs at your leisure. Thanks to all of you who are paying the taxes to allow me to do this, as it is a life saver! Also the librarians are normally nice and even have local information. When I was in Wisconsin, I got stuck in a bad rainstorm and the place I had planned on camping was like a lake. I went into town and into the library (soaking wet) to find out if there was any kind of lodging in town and the wonderful librarian Kim not only was super nice but she called around to find out if one of the women in town had availability at her rental and then went outside to make sure I was connected with the landlord! 

Speaking of the library, I have two things to say. First of all, if you need more ebook or audiobook library holds, you can get a card at the Broward county library in Florida. They don't care where you are from, and so you can get ten more books added to your queue! Secondly, I'm struggling right now to concentrate on audiobooks and so have been listening to tons of podcasts. For some reason, if the audiobook has two time periods or points of view, I get lost easily and the lose interest, so I probably DNFed at least five books in August. It's not you; it's me. It's probably just a phase, and I need to clean out my podcast queue anyway, so I am okay with that. However, I have capacity for 24 holds, and of course they are all becoming available now, and I already have about ten books checked out because usually I can go through about a book per day, so I need to decide whether or not to pause some of the holds now. First world problem, eh? 

Speaking of books, this is not one that I DNFed, but I read David Sedaris' Holidays on Ice and it was his worst book that I've read so far. I generally enjoy him, but am not a huge fan of the stories including animals; nor do I love that he is pretty offensive about disabled people (FYI, he uses the R word a lot). If this is the only book of his that you've tried, please read a different one, as it is not a good representation of him as an author. 

Tell me something random about you. What custom or phrase from a different culture or language have you found interesting? How do you feel about fast food coffee? What book have you DNFed recently?