• 2021 Travel Review

    I’m going to follow my 2019 summary template, both for consistency and because it’s a quick-and-dirty way to catch up my blogging. Starting with 2021 travel statuses earned: Honestly, earning status in 2021 was a no-brainer. Everyone basically rolled-over again. As for personal trips in 2021:

  • 2020 Travel Review (no, seriously!)

    Ah, 2020. The year started off promisingly: We had so many epic trips planned for 2020: Even when the pandemic became a reality, we were slow to adjust and we tried to go to Puerto Rico in March. Reality finally crashed hard there, as lock down in San Juan hit our second day on the…

  • 2019 in Review

    NOTE: This was written in December 2019 and never posted. Instead of improving/updating, I’m publishing this little time capsule.  Have I blogged this year? So many travels, so little time… But to sum up this year, I’ll start with elite statuses earned this year: American Airlines, Executive Platinum United, Silver (via Marriott) Marriott, Titanium Hyatt,…

  • Berlin in January

    Chris had a work trip to Europe and I had time in my schedule to join him for a long weekend in Berlin, where his work trip ended. Since we have some friends there, our primary goal for this trip was to catch up with them; sight-seeing was a secondary objective. Flight details: Hotel details:…

  • Anniversary in Copenhagen

    We’re not really sentimental about our wedding anniversary, but it’s a great excuse (not that we need one) to plan a trip! It’s in March, so Chicago’s weather is typically “meh” and I usually want to get away. We have a strong preference for direct flights when planning short trips (not exactly unusual, I know),…

  • Four weekends, four cities

    I love the points/miles game. We get to do absurdly wonderful things, like spend weekends in other cities, for not too much cash. Over the past 5 weeks, we’ve been to 4 cities for relatively little out-of-pocket cash. Philadelphia First up was Memorial Day weekend in Philadelphia. We probably overspent on airfare (30k each on…

  • Wowsers, it’s been a while

    I’m back, for who knows how long. But I’m finding value and pleasure in revisiting past travels (both here and on Chris’s blog), so I’m going to try to keep notes and post them again. I’m going to start by updating this blog with our most recent travels, then work my way back. Most of…

  • Another packing list, this time for Argentina

    The “Six Item Challenge” has been around for a while now and I’m trying to figure out if I can travel under those limitations.  What is it? You pick six items of clothes (not including underwear, socks/tights/hose, workout clothes, or accessories) and wear only those items for a set period of time (a month, six…

  • So, it turns out that I think status is worth the effort…

    One day. Literally one day after I posted my thoughts on whether status was worth actively pursuing, I decided to go on a mileage run. Which I’m currently doing, three days after posting my thoughts on whether status is worth pursuing. What, you may ask, is a mileage run? For the sane people who read…

  • Prague (and how I got hooked on luxury hotels)

    Chris does a fabulous job blogging about our adventures, so I don’t want to retread the same ground he’s covering.  But I do have a few thoughts of my own on our most recent trip. In November 2016, I took a mileage run to Beijing Hong Kong (long story short: United wouldn’t let me on…