On the Road: Priceline plane tickets

Since David and I couldn't compromise on when we would leave Oklahoma and start heading back to Virginia, I put him on a plane back home, and stayed with the two girls.

Being cheap, I first priced the tickets on Kayak, they were about $1200 (and this is round trip, even- never buy one way tickets, they are always MUCH more expensive). Then I went to priceline and named my own price. Every time I got rejected, I changed the return flight date since we were only needing the first half of the ticket anyway. I eventually got a ticket for $277, total.

I love priceline, it is always exciting bidding on travel arrangements. I have done lots of priceline travel, but the safest bet for that site is the plane tickets only. Hotel rooms bought on priceline don't always live up to expectations. For instance, once when my little family of three was living with the circus in St. Louis, my parents decided to come out to visit. We were living in the Haunted Bus, which is a converted school bus, essentially an RV without the bathroom. There was no room for the parents. So they booked their trip online, flight and hotel room. They arrived and discovered that their hotel room was walking distance from the arch, right near the river. It was a beautiful building with beautiful views... if you paid full price. They checked in and got their room assignment, headed to the elevators. It appeared that their room was DOWN one floor. It was underground. They went down and when the elevator opened, they entered a hallway/workzone. The underground level was under construction, and the quality of their room was proof of the needed renovation. My dad pulled the sink off the wall just brushing his teeth! Luckily my parents are good-natured. They had a great time visiting, and spent as little time in their hotel room as possible. After all, they had a circus to visit!



Here I am in June 2004, when me, my husband, and our 8 month old daughter, Emilie, were living in the "Haunted Bus" on the circus lot in St. Louis. Our neighbors were the Flying Pages, a trapeze family. this is how my mom, the real estate agent, described our living arrangements, "Here is Liz and Dave's circus lodging AKA Haunted bus. The couch is at the front flanked with an end table on one side (doubling as a refrigerator) and garbage can on the other. Across from the couch is the kitchen. It is equiped with a microwave, hot plate, utility sized sink, counter, cupboards and TV. Out of view and behind me, when taking the photo, is the bedroom closed off from the living area by curtains. It has a double bed, 2 dressers and the baby crib. The covered patio is off the front and sports a picnic table and grill. Pretty nice set up."