More on Today’s topic in a minute. A little background, after all, you know I have to give you context for you to make some sense in my idle ramblings. I am not sure if you have notice at pattern in my writings or not. We, Pickle people, are soooo very predictable, especially as we age. Perish the thought. We use to be good with a fresh pair of underwear and a toothbrush to travel. Fast forward 50 years, we now required three bags, one each of our clothes and one for the just in case and medical equipment. Also gone are the days of just climbing on the plane or into the car with no plans or reservations. We research the hell out of stuff. Finesse coupons, mileage, shoulder season deals to make sure we are maximizing our dollars. Old habits die hard.
Typically, every year around Mother’s Day (read shoulder season) we are not home. We are traveling. Cruising was normally our go to, but more recently we have been concentrating on completing my Bingo Blackout board of all 50 states, American Territories and North American countries. Eddie has already gotten blackout and shouted Bingo, but I want to have that same feeling of finishing my board. There is also a separate National Park bingo card that we know we won’t complete, but there are bonus points when we get a two-fer that gets two squares (one on each type of bingo card) on a trip. In the past, I have researched our April/May options and offered a list to Eddie, who makes the selections and I make reservations. The management/labor dynamic is alive and well at Casa Pickle.
This year our choices were New Hampshire and Vermont or the Badlands (think Mount Rushmore and the two-fer). Eddie decided NE charm was this year’s choice. I confess, I knew very little about any of these places, where to go and stay. Enter in AI. Chat GPT, Clyde, Genius and assorted other names of AI owned by the alphabet companies were the potential paths. I downloaded Chat CPT on my tablet. Pinterest has cheat sheets on how to best used AI. Are they tracking my question, yeah, but who cares about two older citizens asking questions…we keep our clothes on and do not do anything illegal.
Once decided where we were going, I asked Chat GPT how to get there, where to stay and what to see, giving it some specific Pickle parameters…like restaurants, accommodations (read 4 star or above, no tents or squatting in the woods), gentle trails, scenic vistas, a selection of sights worth seeing and an unhurried vibe. Within seconds it gave me a 10 day travel plans. We made or selections and then asked Chat GPT to refine various parts. For example, it suggested Mills Falls Resort in Meredith. It sits on the banks of Meredith Bay. Turns out that there are several places under the Mills Falls Resort banner…some on the water, some perched on the hill. We asked for a balcony on the water, fireplace, whirlpool tub, and living room…go big or go home. The balcony rocking chairs are a big bonus, Chat GPT is a fast learner. Traveling in the shoulder season we don’t get some things, but big nice rooms at a bargain price, yes, please. We both decided or refined our request for accommodations, I let Eddie decided the day by day stuff, and made reservations at those places or things that needed a reservation, for everything else, I am Eddie this trip. Have not done in-depth research, surprise me.
Chat GPT flew us into Boston from IAH, non stop. Eddie is best with the one and done flight schedule. CG made tons of secondary suggestions in and out of Newark. Yes, that Newark where United is cancelling flights as I write. Eddie and I both decided a 7:30 AM flight from Boston, with chronically early arrival at 12:30 (EST) and a two hour drive to Meredith would be perfect. No night driving, no rush hour. Yes, we would have to get up at 4:30 in the morning, but giving our sleeping issues, we were probably going to be awake anyway. CG must have known how much we hated the calf scramble at IAH Terminal C check-in. Our flight was out of Terminal E, and we could check in at Terminal E. Wow, talk about feeling like we had won the lottery. Despite this being the first day (5/7) of Real ID, after 20 plus years of deadline changes, we sailed through everything in a matter of minutes. The longest wait involved getting coffee at the Starbucks from the app. I failed to asked CG where the fast coffee location was. Lesson learned.
Mid day, mid week, Logan in Boston is an efficient well oiled machine. Our small Ford Escape has been upgraded to a very tricked out Black Explorer-shoulder season, baby, shoulder season. The car’s monitor screen is larger than some of our TVs. Talk about technology driven cars…Eddie’s car is a 2013 that he uses none of the on board systems for, mine I use but default to Car Play where I plug my phone into the system. So, it took a hot minute for me to pair my phone’s Bluetooth, get the climate control and seat stuff figured out. I am sure CG could have helped, but Eddie was ready to roll, now!
The two hour drive to Meredith was uneventful, just as we had requested. Despite being on Interstate most of the way, it was blissfully void of truck traffic. We arrived by 3:30 in Meredith. It met our expectation…charming framed houses around a mountain lake, with shops and restaurants galore. Our room did not disappoint either…the balcony or the sofa by the fireplace is where we have spent time drinking our coffee, reading or writing since we arrived. The otter swimming by and the loons in the lake have been bonuses. Thanks, Chat GPT, you do know how to plan a nice trip.
Okay, your homework is to download Chat GPT on your phone or tablet. This is the future for all of us, you need to get comfortable with it. It has an Ask a Question prompt very similar to Goggle search. If you do the “free” (less than 20 questions a day) part, but have an account, it will learn you. When it comes to things like travel, it will learn who you are (2 people over 70—no crazy nightlight suggestions needed) and your typical preferences. The other thing I have ask it for is how much certain household repairs or replacements should cost me where I live. I do not have to give my information to Angi or Thumbtack to get a price range…and I do not have to suffer from what we call the lake effect on pricing. We get a phone ballpark quote, then there is the lake upgrade when they come to the door. Happens every time.
What are we missing by being in Meredith during the shoulder season. Traffic-the charming two lanes roads and traffic circles are bumper to bumper. The summer Bank of New Hampshire Concert series that includes Keith Urban, Shania Twain, James Taylor to name a few. Yeah, we are good. Tomorrow’s question is what do Chat GPT, Xfinity and Cheryl’s cookies have in common…and a review of the White Mountain National Park (two-fer day) Highway drive.
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