Since we are getting up there in age we decided to travel NOW to the places we want to see instead of waiting until we are too old to enjoy it. The fact that gold has doubled in price means the antique mall sales have been great and the slush fund is very slushy. So (for some insane reason) since last Thanksgiving I have planned 18 trips over 15 months. Some are just weekend jaunts to Tunica but others have been like 9 days in Switzerland and several cruises. Anyway the whole point is that I have discovered two interesting things that I have never seen before. In Basel Switzerland our tour group stayed at the Movenpick hotel. They have several floors in the hotel that anyone can access but if you want to go to your room you have to swipe your card before getting on the elevator. The elevator then takes you to your floor automatically. I never did find out if it was possible to visit a different floor to visit a friend since your card only gets you to your floor. Looks like the future is here.

Another discovery, which may not be that new, is that on Princess cruise they use a medallion to pay for everything. You order at the bar and the bartender somehow knows which medallion is yours and charges your room. The same goes for playing slots or table games. You give your money to the machine and when you are done the machine credits your medallion with whatever is left. If you change machines you just tap your medallion and tell it how much you want to transfer. The bad part for me is that I always like to "squirrel" chips away when playing at the table. That way I "forget" how much I have invested in the game and many times come out ahead when I thought I had a loss. Also it makes the casino think that I am losing more than I am and may help with comps. Problem with Princess is that they make you swipe your medallion when you cash out chips so they know for sure exactly how much you lost. Where is all of this leading to? I sure looks to me like chips will soon be a thing of the past.