I'm soooo CHEAP

yes, you read correctly, I'm cheap; stingy; miserly; and if you believe the "nicer" word - frugal.  I have been soooo stressed out about buying our tickets to Alaska that I have been paralyzed with fear that I will be buy the blasted things and then they will go on sale.  So... the last few days I have been checking the tickets/flights/prices and had finally committed to getting the "best" price I can only to discover my new "travel agent" mode wasn't working so well if you don't work IN an office and have access to their internal booking system.  CRAP.  So.  I waited to the morning - and of course everything is CRAZY at work lately and there is too much going on there as well... so I get the call in at 1pm.  And they are SOLD out on that price margin on THAT day.  ARGEEEEE $%^&*() bleep, bleep, BLEEEP. 

OK, deep breath, make some calls, make some arrangements, put things on a 5pm hold with the travel agency for the ONE flight I can find in the "reasonable" range (*read in here less than $800 a body).  who's idea WAS this trip anyway?  LOL... yes, yes, yes, I know it was Dad's, and he's forgiven for this dream - it is a valid one...  and I am excited... but I'm working myself in to a tizzy because I'm CHEAP! frugal.

I find the solution after a call to Butch regarding the ppredicament I find myself in.  Turns out he has sky miles enough to get HIM there... but no-one else.  HOWEVER this is better than what I'm finding, so I call into Delta, get his tickets for him..  So.  Flights booked, rental car booked.  Sigh a bit of relief for now. 

The killer part of all this?  Our flights SUCK.  We leave here at 4pm and arrive at 11:30pm in Anchorage... then have to drive a few hours to go south.  The way home?  Oh, yeah, even more pleasant - we leave at 4pm and get home NEXT day at 7:30am.  Sucky.  However we should have a long flight from Seattle to Atlanta to get some sleep on the plane.  We're going to be miserable when we get home...    should have booked in December when I knew for sure what our dates were.. would have been ahead of the game.  Ah, well, hind sight on this trip planning is 20/20 in the rear view.  Let's pray the rest goes well.