Mr. Deals is Back!!!

Some of you might remember Mr. Deals. He used to be my Sunday feature and somehow or another life got busy. He blames it on a new baby, working for a startup, blah, blah, blah, excuses, excuses, excuses. Well, after a few of his followers asked him where the hell he is been, he has agreed to make a come back. I also might have told him that if he starts writing again he is allowed to buy yet another surf board.

So here you have it folks, Mr. Deals is back!!!! For those of you who are new to the blog or have no idea what the heck I am talking about, the next few Sunday’s will feature a few of his favorite posts from the past. This will allow you to fully understand where he is coming from when he writes going forward. Don’t worry though, after that he will start original writings. He promises!

This is Mr. Deal’s first blog post from 2011! Enjoy!

My Wife the Travel Blogger

I figured it was time to give the readers something new, a new perspective so to speak. I realized that as the spouse of a travel blogger, I probably lead a very different life than most of you when it comes to travel arrangements. Now some of you may be able to relate to my situation but regardless, I hope this makes for a fun post that will keep you coming back to dealswelike.com for more. I mean, I did come up with the name! If you enjoy, comment away.

So about 6 years ago I decided this woman (Mrs. Deals) was the one. It was a long distance relationship, one that involved (ironically) travel to see one another. She was in DC, I was in NYC. Luckily (I guess), she had the job that put her on the road quite a bit. What did that mean? Alternative travel to NYC instead of back to DC. What that meant for me, less time on the bus down to DC (I don’t miss the traffic). After a year of this, her travel started to pick up so much that she didn’t need an apartment. What she needed was a place to repack her suitcase every week. My apartment became her “weekend layover.”

Fast forward and here I am, traveling for work here and there, while she is not on the road as much. But her love for travel craziness didn’t stop. She may as well walk around with a t-shirt that says “travel agent” because even my co-workers go to her for travel advice, tips and deals. But really, the question is, what does this mean for me? I travel every so often and enjoy a decent number of vacations. Sometimes it’s with her, sometimes it’s with the boys to snowboard. Let’s just say I’m not allowed to plan my own travel, even for work. Here’s a quick story to give you an idea of what I’m living with…

It was about 2 years ago. I had a trip planned to Kansas City for a night. I thought I’d be smart and get my hotel reservation all set and not tell her. She was working from home for a couple weeks. I figured I’d leave work early before my flight, grab my bag and say goodbye. I went home and she was there, working away, but within 30 seconds of me walking in (I am probably being generous with time), I hear: “Wait a minute! Where are you staying?!” I cringed, thinking I had it in the bag and I was going to get away with this ‘doing it on my own thing.’ Boy was I wrong. Within the 10 minutes that it took me to walk in, get a snack and put a few last minute items in my bag for the trip, my hotel room was rebooked, a new Marriott number was set up for me so for she and I could capitalize on the referral incentive. I don’t think I even had a chance to pee before all of this was done.

I quickly realized my travel planning days had just ended (before they ever really even started). Although I wanted to feel that sense of accomplishment doing my own thing, looking back, it wasn’t so bad to have a personal travel agent living with me. My work trips and personal trips are all taken care of with detailed instructions and my friends are starting to get the same treatment (I almost feel cheated on).  But none of us are complaining about the great deals from Mrs. Deals.