Travel Tips for Doing Comic-Con on a Budget
I’m a little bit of a closet nerd, and I’ve secretly always wanted to attend Comic-Con in San Diego — but I could never justify the cost. Last summer, I ended up planning a trip to San Diego during the middle of Comic-Con, less than 2 weeks before the convention started. It was a little tricky– but in the end, I spent less than $500 on travel and accommodation. Since my trip was so last minute, I was unable to purchase a badge, but I still loved roaming the streets and absorbing the atmosphere. If you’re looking to go to Comic-Con without spending thousands on airfare and accommodation, here are a few easy tips. Fly for EXTREMELY cheap by signing up for an airline rewards credit card. We’re still far out enough from Comic-Con where you have time to sign up for an airline credit card, meet the spending requirement, and use the mileage benefits to purchase your ticket. How to meet the required spend? Easy. Pay all monthly expenses with your new credit card. Cell phone, cable/internet, electric, car insurance, health insurance, gasoline, groceries, etc — you should be able to hit the the spending limit in less than two months. Southwest is currently offering two promotional deals: Spend $1000 and receive 25,000 bonus miles, or spend $2000 and receive 50,000 miles. Cost: $69 OR $99 annual credit card fee + $5 fee to cash in miles with Southwest. Fly into Los Angeles (not San Diego). I despise LAX with the fire of a thousand suns (if purgatory exists, LAX has to be it), but it can offer substantially lower airfare options than San Diego. And, if you use tip #1, it could mean cashing in fewer of your precious miles. Additional Tip: If you do fly into LAX, drive to San Diego early in the morning or late at night. Traffic before Comic-Con on I-5 is a nightmare, or park in a town just north of San Diego and take the train in. For car rentals and last-minute flights, use Priceline’s name your own price tool. For car rentals, like most people, I find pretty good deals through price comparison sites. For last minute flights, if I don’t have any miles to spend, I look at current roundtrip flight prices via Kayak or Momondo, and then try to buy a ticket for 40% less using Priceline‘s Name Your Own Price tool. It requires extreme flexibility — the caveat is you can’t choose your arrival or departure times, or airline– but I’ve saved a TON of money booking last minute travel. If naming your own price makes you nervous, Travelocity has bare-bones flight...
Mardi Gras Tips for First Timers
Mardi Gras is my favorite time of year. I adore the week-long celebration– full of costumes, delicious King Cake, endless drinks…and with varying levels of debauchery, depending on your style and inhibitions. If you’re celebrating Fat Tuesday in New Orleans this year, here are a few tips! Get to the party early: Mardi Gras isn’t just one day of revelry. The Mardi Gras season begins on Twelfth Night, and it only builds from there: in the weeks preceding Fat Tuesday, there’s more and more parades and events that ultimately crescendos the weekend before. Some of the best Krewes roll the Thursday and Friday nights preceding Mardi Gras. Muses is a favorite among locals, and my personal favorite is Krewe d’Etat, which is a parade full of political satire — on a local and national level. krewe |kroo| noun. A private social club that sponsors balls, parades, etc., as part of the Mardi Gras festivities. Then there’s the Super Krewes: Endymion, Bacchaus, and Orpheus. These three are known for their high-tech floats, intricate design, and elaborate costumes — as a result, they draw enormous crowds. Get there early! Fun fact: Mardi Gras is privately funded by the members of the Krewes. The dues to join a Krewe are hefty, but it covers security, barricades, street sweepers, street closures, permits — and of course, all the “throws”. throws |THros| noun. Items one can catch at a Mardi Gras parade, including but not limited to: plastic beads, speciality beads, doubloons, cups, toys, light-up trinkets at night parades, plus Krewe-specific items (Coconuts from Zulu, Muses throws specialty shoes, toilet plungers at Tucks). Track the parades with WDSU’s Parade Tracker. I LOVE THIS APP. It provides you with all the information you need: Schedules, maps of parade routes, and even the chance of rain. Best of all, once the Krewe rolls, it tracks where on the route the parade is and keeps you updated if the parade is stalled somewhere on the route. The app really comes in handy when you’ve been waiting for thirty minutes after Proteus, wondering where the heck Orpheus is. WWL has a parade tracker app as well — but I prefer WDSU’s interface. BYOTP. Public toilets on parade routes are scarce, and toilet paper is even scarcer. Closer to downtown and the Quarter, hotels require their guests to wear bracelets in order to gain access to their lobby (and bathroom facilities). In Uptown, public restrooms are nearly impossible to find. The city created a new ordinance this year banning private port-a-johns on public property — making toilets even more of a scavenger hunt. There are port-a-johns on most major intersections, although their cleanliness leave a lot to be desired. Always have a few extra tissues (and hand sanitizer!) in your pocket. Get...
What to Expect When Visiting Oak Harbor, Washington
Oak Harbor, Washington is nestled on Whidbey Island, one of the islands amidst the waterways of western Washington. If you’re driving to British Columbia by way of Seattle, you should absolutely take a detour to Oak Harbor. The sunlight is always up, it seems. Full sunlight would spill through my hotel’s curtains every morning at 5am, and every morning I’d wake in a panic that I’d overslept. The sun wouldn’t dip beneath the horizon until after 10pm. The best parts of Oak Harbor are right off the highway. It felt like I was in a painting. To be this far north in the winter must be brutal, but Oak Harbor in the summertime is enchanting. And apparently, the Puget Sound is one of the best places in the country to become a raw oyster fanatic! While I enjoy oysters Rockefeller, the thought of raw oysters makes me gag (the only time I’d tried one was in Charleston — and it was gross). I wasn’t the kind of person that ate raw oysters before visiting Oak Harbor. One of the guys on our crew is from Washington, and promised I wouldn’t regret trying an oyster from his homeland. I learned that the Pacific Northwest provides the sweetest oysters in the country, specifically the Baywater Sweet variety — which are farmed in the nearby Thorndyke Bay. I had my first raw oyster from the Pacific Northwest at Fraser’s Gourmet Hideaway. We sat at the chef’s bar and got to talk a little with the owner and head chef, Scott Fraser. We watched him prepare each dish with scrutiny; every plate a masterpiece. As soon as I took a sip of my glass of Maryhill Viognier paired with a raw oyster, I knew I was in for one of the best dining experiences of my life. Each appetizer was better than the last. The crabcakes were delicious, the calamari was perfectly breaded and tender — but the tapas plate was my favorite. Have you ever had a bacon-wrapped date? It is absolutely exquisite. After an excellent meal, we walked to the nearby shoreline. It was almost ten o’clock at night, and the streets were quiet as somewhere behind the clouds, the sun finally began dipping beneath the horizon. It’s hard not to think about the infinite when staring into an endless canvas of blues and dashes of a fading sun. There is a LOT of driftwood on the banks of Oak Harbor – I’d never seen so much in my life! If you’re headed to Victoria from Seattle in the summertime, I highly recommend a night’s stay in Oak Harbor. It’s a hidden gem in the United States, a...
Throwing the Rule Book Out the Window in LA
One of my favorite quotes regarding lifestyle philosophies comes from Fahrenheit 451: “Stuff your eyes with wonder,” he said. “live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. Ask no guarantees, ask for no security, there never was such an animal. And if there were, it would be related to the great sloth which hangs upside down in a tree all day every day, sleeping its life away. To hell with that,” he said. “shake the tree and knock the great sloth down on his ass.” I’ve said a thousand times how I’ve wanted to get a last-minute gig somewhere unplanned and just make it work. Fly by the seat of my pants for awhile, live in the moment, for the adventure. About a month ago, when I got offered a job on a Thursday night that required me to be in LA on Monday morning, it was tough to finally say Yes. Three months based out West, but with a crazy, travel-intensive schedule. It left no opportunity to sneak away to see Gunner, and that was almost the reason I turned the job down entirely. We’ve done the long distance thing for awhile now, but we’re almost at our wits’ end. The thought of three months apart and two thousand miles between us was about to push me over the emotional brink. I had to focus to keep from falling apart. I found an apartment. I booked a cheap flight. I packed two suitcases, paid all the bills, and cleaned my room better than I’d ever done in my entire life (by the way, if you need a place to stay in Nashville, let me know!). I took one of the latest flights to LA on Sunday night. I ran on pure adrenaline for that first week, barely sleeping or eating, working 24/7, and finally crashing a solid week later. I’ve gotten into a routine here. I like my one bedroom apartment in North Hollywood; I make my coffee exactly the way I did in Nashville. I love the morning breeze and the faint smell of lilac when I walk outside my door. In ways, I’ve grown a little attached to my life in Southern California. I miss Gunner, but it isn’t a focal point. It’s only three months, embrace the adventure, I tell myself every morning in an attempt to ward off any feelings of loneliness or homesickness. And somehow, we are being given the next week off from work. I was planning on going down to San Diego, or exploring some other part of this...
Revisiting Places You Once Adored
When you’re a teenager, you have preconceived notions of what you want out of adulthood. You want to drive a Ford Explorer and live in Southern California. That’s not what you wanted? Maybe it was just me. (And let’s be honest, that’s a pretty ridiculous combination: a gas guzzling automobile in the land of the environmentally conscious? That never would have worked.) I’ve been to Southern California a fair amount for someone who has no family here or real reason to come here. Each time I’ve ventured West, it excited me to come out here, and I mourned the day when I’d have to head back East. It was thrilling to see stores and restaurants we didn’t have back home. People here spoke Spanish, ate sushi, and were crazy about avocados. There were palm trees and more than three lanes of traffic. Visiting Los Angeles was as big of an adventure as you could have when you’re from a small town in Virginia. It’s been a few years since I’ve been to LA. In that time, I’ve fallen pretty hard for New Orleans, a boy from New Orleans, and the swamp. I love southern hospitality, warm summer nights, soul food, an affordable cost of living, and saying “y’all”. It took me awhile to accept that I’m from the South, but now I’m proud of it. It’s a lifestyle that I’m fond of, and I never want to leave. Working in tv/film, I’ve definitely embraced the change of pace and opportunity to get out of Nashville for a bit and learn from some great Los Angeles producers. But, it’s the first time I’ve been to California and been completely indifferent about it. It’s the first time I’ve been able to look at it from an unbiased perspective. I see the beauty here, but I also see the flaws. It’s the first time I’ve been here where I realized this isn’t the life I want. I’ve grown up. Have you recently visited a place you once had blind adoration for? How have you changed?...
Help Hattiesburg Rebuild: Ways to Donate
To help residents affected by the January 21st, 2017 tornado, here is Petal’s Facebook page. On February 10th, 2013, Hattiesburg was hit by a massive EF-4 tornado. There were no deaths, thankfully — but it devastated several neighborhoods and businesses. Being here for the cleanup has been amazing; several local businesses have organized volunteer efforts, social media has helped coordinate donation centers. The community has really come together and massive progress has been made in just over a week. However, there is still so much work to do. Several neighborhoods around town were hit; numerous homes were completely destroyed. Hattiesburg needs your help as they continue to clean up and start rebuilding. If you can’t make it down here, here’s a list of charitable organizations and relief funds that will utilize your donations to the max and help those who need it most. Charitable Organizations Here’s a list of places, some of which are based in Hattiesburg, that are rebuilding the community and accepting online donations. ExtraTable.org – Based in Hattiesburg, Extra Table was started last year to help combat hunger. 100% of donations go towards purchasing food bought in bulk, all administrative costs are paid separately. They’re helping keep shelves stocked for the displaced residents of Hattiesburg in need of a meal. You can donate online or mail a check. Christian Services – Christian Services has been at the forefront of assisting tornado victims, organizing volunteer efforts and distributing donated goods. Visit their website to learn more about the organization along with information regarding how to submit a donation via check or PayPal. Also, check out their Facebook page to track all of the ways they’re helping the community. Salvation Army – The Salvation Army has also been heavily involved in assisting Hattiesburg residents. While they accept online donations, to be certain your money is going towards Hattiesburg’s tornado relief, you can write them a check and designate “Hattiesburg Tornado” on the memo line. According to their Facebook page, checks can be mailed directly to their Hattiesburg office: 5670 U.S. 49 Hattiesburg, MS 39401. Red Cross – The Red Cross’s local office in Hattiesburg was destroyed by the tornado, but they’ve still been able to help take care of the community. You can’t specifically donate towards Tornado Relief in Hattiesburg, but you can give a broad donation towards Disaster Relief. Specific Relief Funds A few local churches have organized relief funds to assist specific families in need. St. Thomas Disaster Fund: St. Thomas Acquinas Catholic Church of Hattiesburg knows of at least 9 families in the Hattiesburg community that lost everything, and set up a fund to help them rebuild. Read more on their Facebook page. Donations can be sent to: St. Thomas Disaster...
About
I'm Laryssa, and when I'm not working in film or television, I'm attempting to travel -- or I'm here, providing resources for working in film or travel. Read more Elsewhere on the internets
Recommended Gear
