Traveling With Tech

So this weekend I had an interesting adventure. I went to Spokane WA for a convention. Since the convention was walking distance to my hotel I decided not to rent a car to save a few bucks. Upon arrival at the airport I had an unexpected experience. My hotel had no shuttle service to the Airport. I had called them about shuttle service before I booked, but I was just talking to them about how to get to the convention center, and so I didn't think about the airport shuttle. I was a bit upset, but I found a cab and headed to the hotel. Well the ride kept going and I suddenly realized that it was going to be an expensive ride. 25 dollars including tip to the hotel.

Then I thought about another decision I had made that was now a problem. I had arrived at the airport two hours early and checked a bag. When I arrived at my terminal they were boarding for a flight that was also going to Spokane. I asked if they were sold out, and at getting a no I asked if they could put me on that flight instead which they did. But now I had to go back to the airport and get the bag I checked.

There was no way I was taking two more cab rides, and so I checked into my hotel room and went into the business center and got on the internet. I would have used my room's connection but my laptop was in my checked bag. I quickly found a bus route, and for one dollar, and an hour of bus riding, I could be back at the airport. I quickly left the hotel with printed directions, and after a little confusion I was on the right bus headed for the city center. Unfortunately because it was late in the day I was on the last bus to the airport and so I could not take a bus back to my hotel.

While on the bus I whipped out my tMoble Shadow cell phone, with windows and opera mini, and googled "rental car." I found an ad for budget rent a car on Google ads and was quickly on their mobile web site. I also checked enterprise rent a car's mobile site. Each place had a car for about 25 dollars a day. I still wasn't sure if I was getting the best deal so I went back to google and searched for something like "rental car comparison." Quickly I found myself on www.rentalcars.com which also had a mobile website. I was able to pick that day and quickly found that enterprise had the best price. I was able to place a reservation on my phone. It was cheaper then getting another cab, as I need another cab in two days anyway to get back to the airport. So for about $50 I had a way to get back to my hotel and back to the airport on my way home.

Without my cell phone and the internet I may have found myself paying much more.