We just hit autumn and its already only 93 days until Christmas (and 84 to Hanukkah). That means I’m actively on the hunt for great gifts for this year. While some of you are huddled in sleeping bags outside your local big box store or sleeping off a turkey coma in front of a Thanksgiving Day football…
Like so many each year, I showed up in Vegas a high roller. I’m leaving with my tail between my legs. I’d don my sunglasses for anonymity – and to hide my tears of embarrassment – but I wouldn’t be able to see the screen of my iPad to share my story. You see… I…
I have a lot of one night stands. Don’t judge me – its not what you think. My travel pattern is such that I rarely sleep in the same place more than two night in a row while traveling. And it is not one where I typically get to pick out the most posh hotel…
I was a waitress for several years. And because of that work, I often HATE being part of a large group in a restaurant. I know at some point during dinner, my server is likely to be fantasizing about the multiple cocktails they will need to have that evening to recover from the torture of…
Earlier this week, I made the dumbest mistake… or at least my most recent one. I have a history of doing really stupid things. For example, when I was in grad school, I was running late driving from work to campus on an evening when I had a big exam. The campus was 30 miles…
I haven’t been flying United much these days. And because I haven’t, I missed that one of my favorite Hemisphere features – One City, Five Hours about how to have great layovers with limited time in various cities – had not been published since 2011. Often my travels for work limit how much time I…
I’m the queen of my routine. I domestically fly (almost exclusively) American Airlines, US Aurways, and Alaska Airlines. If I stay at a chain hotel, its going to be of the Hyatt, Starwood, Marriott, or Hilton persuasion. And if I cruise, its likely to be on Seabourn. Because of that, I haven’t been one to…
This post was originally posted in August of 2005 on my old (long-gone chances are, you ever saw it so it’s new for here) blog. A few things have changed – I’m now an hour from the airport (back then it was 15 minutes from driveway to terminal) and I have better technology (I travel…
Rumor has it that Richard Branson is expanding into hotels. Actually that part is fact. But in the viral marketing campaign for the new brand, Branson is encouraging individuals to start their own rumor about what the new brand will deliver. The rumors have been running rampant on Twitter… I’d pay extra for that service!…
Is chivalry dead? It certainly felt that way in Atlanta this afternoon. The home of the Braves was three strikes out when it came to questionable behavior. I’m not talking about the truly Southern gentlemanly stuff like opening doors, standing up when I approach a table, or pulling out my chair (which I am admittedly…
Feet on bulkhead walls, diapers being changed on tray tables, people taking off too much clothing in flight – these are just a few of the interesting things I’ve run into on recent flights. Many of those behaviors often become the subject of “passenger shaming” – a practice where individuals take photos of the individual passengers…
I love traveling solo. There is something blissful about experiencing a new place and being guided only by my own impressions of it. Yet I often wonder existentially whether if I have no photographic evidence of my time there, did I really visit? I should take more photos with me in them – but sometimes…