14 March 2009

Oh what a sad day....

If you haven't yet guessed it UNC lost but they shouldn't have.  It was a very exciting game though and even though they lost you could feel the excitement in the air because it was a close game.
I was glad I wouldn't have to pay another $10 for parking the next day.  Without Lawson though it was iffy that they would win a game that was close, he really is a staple in their game.  That's ok though, they need to let him rest up for the BIG tournament so I'll forgive this lose if they do well there. :)  We went back tot he hotel we were at yesterday and got our faces painted and hair sprayed then we found out that UNC was staying there and while we were there we got to see the team off onto the bus to the game.  The band was in the lobby playing a nice send off. It figures that I didn't bring the good camera, I left it in the car cause I figured we wouldn't need it until the game, damn it.  I got so pictures but they weren't that great.
Now I will sit patiently to see how they are ranked in their bracket (really not patiently) and who they may be up against.
More to come ....

And the response to my USAirways question when a fare goes down after purchase ....

Dear Ms. 

Thank you for visiting usairways.com.

When a new lower fare becomes available after a ticket has been 
purchased, customers are entitled to a lower fare guarantee refund 
within the following guidelines. The difference in fares needs to be 
more than the change fee of $150.00.  The change fee will be deducted 
from the difference and the residual amount will be issued in the form 
of a US transportation voucher for future travel.  Additional rules and 
restrictions may apply. 

The lower fare is available for the exact itinerary previously 
purchased.
No portion of the reservation has been flown.
Lower fare guarantee refunds are not available for online ticket 
exchanges. Certain promotional fares may be excluded.

For domestic reservations please call 1-800-428-4322, for international 
reservations please call 1-800-622-1015 to seek a lower fare guarantee.
    
If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to reply
or call our Internet Support Desk at (800) 327-7810.  We know that you 
have many choices and we thank you for choosing US Airways

Sincerely,

Karilyn Smith
Internet Support Specialist
US Airways

13 March 2009

I can't believe

That I didn't write about this before but it just popped into my head.
I finally bought our tickets to Germany.
Now to how that came about.
I check usairways.com almost 4 or 5 times or more a day (yes I am compulsive but damn it I want a good deal).  I am using them only because of the credit they issued me from a prior trip mentioned in a prior post.  For the 3 months or so, the prices haven't really varied, the majority was $1300 or so a piece. DAMN that would be about $2600 just to get there forget spending money. But then one day the prices were $1089 or so. So now I'm think hmmm do I wait longer or jump on the deal.  I figure wait longer, if I get desperate I can always got to priceline.com
Then more time passes and the price drops to $898, now we're talking because plus taxes we're about at $2100 for both.  But still, and I wait.  I'm getting a little nervous but decide to wait anyway.
I have read several articles on the net that always discuss when the best time to check for deals is.  What they say is check between Tuesday and Wednesday.  Also they suggest certain days of the week to fly which will have cheaper tickets.  They specifically mention don't check weekends because that's when everyone else does and you are less likely to find deals.
On e saturday morning i'm about to leave the house in an hour or so and decided just for the fun of it to check prices.  I also chose the flexible date option and after plugging in my usually dates (which were the ones I was getting the cheapest price for), low and behold, if I traveled the day before, my ticket is only $487.  What, i jump on this start to make the only purchase and realize that I have to call yo use my vouchers.  I'm rushing around the house trying to get everything together because you never know how long the deals will last.  I finally get through on the phone and get the tickets and in the end each ticket cost $510.35.  Not to shabby huh.
I am very pleased at this point.

Now for the bad part, I just went back to the website and saw that the tickets came down again.
Now my ticket is $447 and the ones on my original day have come down to $758.  Maybe I should have waited longer but overall it was still a good deal.  I can't complain too much.  I saved a grand what a couple more bucks (could have been put toward the hot tub fund but we wont go there).
Lesson learned don't go back a check prices after you have purchased your tickets.  You may end up getting upset and there is nothing you can do about it.

(PS I just finished writing USAirways asking them if I could get a refund for the $40 difference, I'll let you know what they say, it doesn't hurt to ask right.)

12 March 2009

First day at the ACC tournament

The trip was uneventful, thank goodness but because I was being lazy with our departure we arrive a little late for the 1st game.  It's all good though, it's not like it was UNC playing because we would have been way early for that.
No snow which is always good.
So we get to the 1st game after paying $10 for parking which I thought was ok until I found out there were no in and out privileges. This is not exactly good when you have a 6 year old in tow and there are 4 games and you know eventually you will have to leave for a bit and come back.
Don't even get me started on the over priced food either.  Oh and I just wanted a nice hot tea and even that was going for $4.
In the first game I wanted Miami to win as UNC had trouble beating Virginia tech but of course Virginia Tech won 65-47.  Damn it #1
Second game Clemson vs Gerogia Tech, didn't really have someone I wanted to win in that one, but decided I didn't want Georgia Tech to win just because i"m not liking it down here. SO of course they won 86-81.
Third game (yes there were a lot of games) Maryland vs NC State.  I no likey MD at all.  There was no way I wanted them to win.  Of course they do 74-69 but it was a really good game and close up until about the last 15 minutes of the second half.
The fourth game was Boston College vs Virginia. Another team I didn't want to win, Boston College as they were one of the few teams that beat UNC this season. Obviously you must see the trend by now meaning they won 76-63.  This too was a pretty good game so no complaints.  We left just before the 1st half ended as it was getting late, it was already past 2200hrs and K was getting sleepy.  He did pretty well today except for a minor infraction at the first game.  After much talking things went much better the last two games.

Well it's getting late and I want to make sure we're up bright and early.  Tomorrow is the big day, UNC vs Virginia Tech at noon.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

GO HEELS!!!!!!

11 March 2009

ACC tournament countdown

That's right, it's that time of year again. March Madness has begun and just like any other college basketball fan, i'm in full swing of it except this year, I get to go to the ACC Tournament.

As a recap, I love UNC and all other teams suck. They just won their conference by beating out the ....,I'll keep it nice, Duke. What a wonderful day for us UNC fans, they beat them both times this season.

Let's not for get many kuddos out to UNC's player, Ty Lawson for being named ACC player of the Year. (thank goodness he is a junior, one more year with him let's hope)

Hopefully our trip to ATL will not include snow again.
Stay tuned for more of my musings.

So below is the schedule for the Tournament:

Opening Round: Thursday, March 12

#8 Virginia Tech vs. #9 Miami Noon

#5 Clemson vs. #12 Georgia Tech 2 p.m.

#7 Maryland vs. #10 NC State 7 p.m.

#6 Boston College vs. #11 Virginia 9 p.m.

Quarterfinals: Friday, March 13

#1 North Carolina vs. Winner Game 1 Noon

#4 Florida State vs. Winner Game 2 2 p.m.

#2 Wake Forest vs. Winner Game 3 7 p.m.

#3 Duke vs. Winner Game 4 9 p.m.

Semifinals: Saturday, March 14

ACC Semifinal 1
1:30 p.m.

ACC Semifinal 2
3:30 p.m.

Championship: Sunday, March 15
ACC Championship Game
1 p.m.