Hey! Welcome to 52 weeks until I’m 50 years old! Actually it’s now 45 weeks until I’m 50! If you are new to my blog, below are other subjects I’ve pondered and written about. Some may resonate with you or at least give you a chuckle. If you are counting down with me, thank you and let me know how I’m doing!

I have a few fantasies. Not only am I a rock star, but I am also a world traveler.Traveling is my way of collecting visual memories for the scrapbook that lives in my mind. It’s also a way of experiencing history in person. I don’t feel the need to collect art for the walls in my home. I’d rather spend the money to see history and art in person through travel. I have this line I’ve been saying for many years, “Fill my passport and my jewelry box,” not my house.There’s a reason for it. And it may be a curse actually. My grandmother Anne, who is still kicking at 102, is a world traveler. She would spend her summers abroad and always brought back what I call “wearable art,” otherwise known as jewelry. She’s adorned me with some beautiful pieces over the years.” And, I have followed somewhat in her traveling footsteps.

I recognize these feelings inside me of being pulled…to stand where other marathoners stood in Athens and feel the ground beneath my running shoes. To swim in the “Blue Lagoon” in Tahiti just like Brooke Shields did. I want to jump off a (small) cliff in Satorini into the Mediterranean with my stomach in my throat screaming all the way just like the girl did in the “Traveling Pants” movie. And, I love to experience culture, people and taste meals like Diana Lane did in “Underneath the Tuscan Sun.” I’m in awe when I see firsthand what famous architects have created that has stood the tests of time with my own eyes. I can never contain the excitement of searching for a trip, finding my next experience and then counting it down. But…I have to say…to be a world traveler, you really have to get some class.

So I ask you, have you bought class, and should I? I have flown Coach most of my life and for a 5’2″ chick on a good day, it’s been relatively fine. But really, 12 hours in a seat that measures 18.25 inches and only reclines enough to give you a backache, when is it worth the bucks to buy some class? I questioned my taller friends, which is pretty much anyone taller than me! They relentlessly spoke about the lack of  leg room to stretch. Finding foot room in front is crowded with someone’s stuff. Their knees are pushed neatly against their tray tables which of course, are in their upright position. And, the person sitting next to them doesn’t know where his or her space ends and ours begins. The answers were absolutely hilarious. How our minds work to rationalize spending money, or not, and where the threshold is has me pondering. Flying stiff, sore and annoyed when “they,” the folks who have purchased some “class” have the flight attendants close the ugly, silly half a curtain on the folks down the aisle! LOL! When should one “world traveler” choose to purchase some serious class? Have you answered that question? My inquiring mind wants to know!

I’ve learned that in Business Class, the seats recline, but not totally flat – still, enough to get a good night’s sleep.There are pre-flight drinks (oh my…I like that) and newspapers (do people still have these now that iPad has taken over the world?), the attendants take care of you the minute you get into your seat. Kind of nice. May be worth considering. Read on and you may really want to be “Classy!” First Class is something else. Class is sexy. The seats have more positions- schmancy lumbar buttons and side-to-side buttons – and a space for your carry-on luggage by your seat. I dig that. And…audio books, movies of all kinds in addition to the in-flight movies! A trolley with wine selections! I think I may have just answered my own question of threshold! But then…here it is, wait for it…a dessert tray with selections! As a foodie though, I need to remind myself that the food and wine are still nothing like restaurant quality but who cares, I can recline more than 6 inches! Are they still trying to impress me? I find little extras like sleek pouches with shampoos, spritzers and slippers? What to think? And all for a mere $600 or so a person extra.

I consider myself a down to earth girl. Yes, I’m the dewfess on the plane who purchases the aisle seat so I have control of when I go to the bathroom without permission from another. If you watched “Whitney” last week, I get her! We both purchase aisle seats when traveling in pairs! I am also the dewfess who wears the over-sized noise cancelling headphones to block out others conversations so I can dream of my next adventure and the goofy eye cover that says “If I’m Wearing This, Don’t Ask Me What I Want To Eat.” I’ve learned to sleep anywhere. I’m thinking I don’t need to buy too much class. It doesn’t enhance the trip all that much.Plus, let’s face it…if I fly cramped, I have more hard-core cash to bring back a little “wearable art.”  You with me or are you buying class?

Thanks for visiting and I hope you had a chuckle. You can subscribe to be notified when I blog below by clicking, follow me on Twitter @GatorgirlPress or Twitter @Diningduchess, follow me on Facebook @RandiAileenPress or Facebook@DiningDuchess. Or if you’d like to write me directly, my email is randi@52TO50.com.