Tuesday, June 22, 2010

How technology helped us on our vacation

I know this may be preaching to the choir, but I've been thinking about how technology has helped us enjoy or enhance our current vacation more.

Wanting to leave Calgary a day earlier than planned, Darlene Googled 'Cranbrook hotels' and the first result was a Trip Advisor article stating the top rated hotel. Darlene booked it even though we have driven past its unassuming frontage before and it ended up being a very pleasant surprise. Darlene says "The to-die-for beds are luxurious and are also owned by David and Victoria Beckham."

Our next stop, Spokane, yielded a super package via the Davenport Hotel's web site. We stayed in the new wing for a price lower than any other room and while there, noticed that their restaurant food is on for half price after 6pm.

The Heathman, where we are staying in Kirkland, only came onto our radar thanks to a Google search for 'Tempurpedic bed hotel Seattle' on our last trip here. Good thing we found this place, as the Heathman is a very well kept secret on the east side of Lake Washington. It's a great base to visit all parts of Seattle. Our stay came with a free boat cruise of Lake Washington, free bike rentals and a $40 daily credit in the hotel restaurant (breakfast was amazing).

While planning for this trip, we searched online for transit options and discovered that for $2.00 we could ride a 30 minute bus from a block from our hotel in Kirkland to downtown Seattle. That was pretty awesome considering what parking is like in Seattle.

Our Garmin GPS made it so easy to get around. I can't imagine what it would have been like to try to navigate to the malls, stores, restaurants and sights we visited had it not been for that little genius. Make a mistake - the GPS plots a new route for you. Need a Shell gas station nearby? A 7-11? Drug store? Easy as pie. And I stored all of the addresses of all the places we wanted to visit on my iPhone.

All in all, technology has definitely enhanced how we experienced our trip. I am grateful.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

...and don't forget new found recipes via the interwebs. It was fun last night, I know it's our turn to come to your house.

Anonymous said...

Ooh, I had no idea you could google a temperapedic bed in a hotel. Cool!! R