In a few short months, I’ll be whooping it up in Vegas. I’ll be there for a big blogging conference and a little bit of R&R and gambling and I’m sure I’ll be doing some shopping in Las Vegas, too! We haven’t even looked at hotels yet, but I want to stay somewhere nice, right on the strip. When I read about the pool complex at the MGM Grand – sold. 5 pools, 3 whirlpools, a lazy river, fountains, and waterfalls. That’s my kind of resort! The kids won’t be coming on this trip either, so I’ll have plenty of time to chill by the pool without playing referee.

When I was 12, we took a trip from our home in Tarpon Springs, Florida, through Missouri, all the way to Denver, Colorado, and then south through New Mexico and back east through Texas back home. We did this in 2 weeks, and our tight time line was the reason we didn’t go up into the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. We stopped to admire the arch, but the wait time to go up one of the two trams was 4 hours, and my father decided we couldn’t, or that he wouldn’t, wait.

Visitors to the Gateway Arch this summer will also have a wait ahead of them, as one of the two trams used to take visitors to the top has closed, and will remain closed for the next two months. A snapped cable trapped 200 people at the top of the arch this week, and in new cables have to be made and installed now. (Which makes me wonder – why don’t they have backup cables in a warehouse somewhere?)

I had the pleasure of making my first and only trip (so far) to Utah a few years ago to visit a friend. Though my time in Salt Lake City was short, I did get a trip up the mountain to one of the local ski resorts for a day of pampering at the spa. Had I been able to spend more time in Utah, I would have liked to see some of the other cities I’ve heard about, like Park City, home of the Winter Olympics in 2002. Park City is home to the Sundance Film Festival and the United States Ski Team, and it is also a vacation destinations for people who love to ski. This Park City hotel website will help you to find the perfect resort for your stay in Park City. I really liked the April Inn, located right on Main Street downtown. The building looks like something right out of the 1800’s – based on that, I can only imagine how picturesque the town of Park City is!

If you’ve ever flown on Southwest, you’ll know that they have a unique policy for seating their customers on planes. You are not assigned a seat, instead, Southwest uses an open seating policy that allows passengers to choose a sit upon entering the plane. If you’re traveling with a larger group, or your kids, this doesn’t always work out. I have a family of 5, and if we aren’t first in line to enter that plane, we’ll be seated apart from each other.

Southwest is exploring options now for traveling families, and testing a few things on flights out of San Antonio. They are trying designated rows specifically for families, and having families pre-board. While Southwest says they’re not trying to segregate families from business travelers, effectively, they are. Don’t get me wrong – I’m fine with that! I travel with and with my kids, and when I’m without my own kids, I’d prefer not to sit with a screaming baby in my row. I would happily choose to sit in the non family section.

When you think of Africa, you no doubt think of lush tropical jungles, vast savannas, and hot deserts. Do you think of snow covered peaks? These Kilimanjaro experts would like for Mount Kilimanjaro to be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Africa. If the thought of traveling to Africa on your own to tour the nation sounds a bit daunting, you can book a tour with Tusker Trails and let Eddie Frank show you the wonders of Kilimanjaro first hand.

Eddie was born and raised in Africa, and has scaled the mountain 31 times in 30 years. Wow! He’s made a trip up the mountain for each year of my life. That’s just the kind of guy I’d want by my side if I were to attempt such a feat. Eddie also participates in 5 climbs for charity every year!

Tusker Trails isn’t limited to Mount Kilimanjaro tours either. You can also book tours to see the rest of Tanzania, other parts of East Africa, and Mongolia.

When I flew on US Air last week, I was offered first class upgrade upon check-in, for the total of $100 each way. Now, had I known there would be a screaming baby in my row on the way to Pittsburgh, I would have gladly ponied up the cash. My company was paying for the ticket, so it would have had to come out of my pocket, but it would be a small price to pay for peace and quiet and more leg room.

It got me thinking – do they no longer bump people to first class, instead hoping that they can sell people the tickets for $100 one way? Have you ever been offered a free seat in first class?

When I was in high school, I briefly entertained the thought of becoming a foreign exchange student. Two things stopped me – I had only taken 1 year of French at that point (not what I considered to be enough) and I knew I’d be incredibly homesick if I went to Europe for 3 months. Had there been educational travel tours available back then, I would have been first in line to sign up. Rather than spending your time in the same house for a period of months, these tours allow students to visit places with a group of their peers and see all the major sites and attractions. For example, a tour in Germany allows for stops at:

• Olympic Stadium
• Nymphenburg Palace
• Black Forest
• A cruise on the Danube
• And more!

Believe me – your kids will have a much better time touring Europe with kids than they will with you! And it’s a great chance to let your teen have some independence and shine.

I’m not very pleased with the suitcases we bought from Target for the kids.

Oh I know, I shouldn’t expect much for $20, but I guess I was expecting them to come through their first trip unscathed. Matthew’s bag looks fine – we got him black, which helped. Catherine’s lavender suitcase came off baggage claim in Detroit with a rip in the material, and Gracie’s pink bag is now black with some sort of grease.

Serves me right for buying “cute” luggage for the kids!

If you’ve got American Airlines and have been frustrated by the lack of options to book short trips – listen up! AA is once again allowing customers to book so-called “short-hop” flights (example: Chicago to Atlanta or Dallas to Denver) for as little as 15,000 of your AAdvantage miles. You can begin booking these flights on AA.com for travel through September 1st, 2007, through February 20, 2008. Your flight must be on American Airlines, American Eagle or AmericanConnection carriers to use this deal.

Branson, MO bills itself as a family friendly version of Las Vegas. This former small town in the middle of Missouri is now home to many shows and attractions featuring the stars of country music and the natural wonder of the Ozarks. Although I’ve never been to Branson, I imagine that it’s probably a bit like Gatlinburgh, TN, with more glitz and glam. There are hotels, resorts, and Branson cabin rentals available to vacationers. The Thousand Hills Golf Resort offers an award winning 18 hole golf course, beautiful views, and a location just minutes from all of the action in Branson. Most of the cabins feature hot tubs, fireplaces, and porches, and some can sleep up to 16 people.

Our second stop on our Canadian vacation was Montreal. We left Toronto and made the drive east towards the city, arriving in the late afternoon. We stayed for 3 nights, beginning Friday June 22nd, at the Doubletree by Hilton Montreal Centre-Ville, located at 505 Sherbrooke Street East in Montreal.

Price: After comparing prices on the major travel websites, I booked the room directly through the Doubletree website, paying $125USD per night, for 2 rooms. The rooms at this hotel were not suites, but the hotel did offer free breakfast and a coin laundry, which we felt was a good trade off for not having a microwave and fridge in the room. We received a small discount off the regular room rate by selecting the “Get Going Canada” rate.

Location: While the hotel wasn’t located right downtown, in the middle of the hustle and bustle, the location was excellent. Two metro stops away from the center of Montreal, and the metro station was under our hotel! It was nice being on a quiet street, filled with residences and offices. My only complaint about the location is that there wasn’t much to eat in the immediate area. It was perhaps a 10 minute walk away, but not bad.

Cleanliness: This hotel was perfect. Beautiful lobby, clean corridors (with fresh paint, even!) and perfect rooms. I let out a huge sigh of relief when we entered our room and saw that everything in it, from the bedding to the furniture was in pristine condition.

Staff: Here’s where I have mixed feelings. Some of the staff was helpful, others…well, they were clueless. The hotel website stated there was a coin laundry, so my husband inquired about it, only to be told it was 5 blocks away! I looked at the website again and verified it said coin laundry on site, and called the front desk again to inquire. The first person I talked to claimed there wasn’t one, then the manager said there WAS one, but they weren’t sure where it was – perhaps the 2nd or 3rd floor? (How exactly does one manage a hotel without knowing where the coin laundry is?) When I had an issue with the laundry (see below) their response was apathetic.

Amenities: The pool was inside but large, and heated. The kids enjoyed it quite a bit. We had fantastic views of the city from our room as well. After searching the 2nd and 3rd floor for the coin laundry, I went back to the front desk to inquire where exactly it was – keep in mind I was dragging a bag containing dirty laundry and detergent. One of the staff finally left the desk to walk me upstairs, where we found the laundry on the 4th floor. I put in clothing, and put in soap, and put in coins…and discovered it was BROKEN! Thoroughly infuriated by now, I trudged back downstairs and complained that now I had dirty, soapy clothes. Their response was that they would let me know when the machine was fixed. Grrr!

The hotel also boasted free breakfast, but the first person we asked about it said they would have to check our “room plan” to see if we were eligible. Again, I verified on the website that continental breakfast was offered to all guest, and complained, and magically our breakfast passes appeared.

Comfort: Doubletree excels when it comes to comfort. The bedding and mattress we slept on were FABULOUS. However, the a/c didn’t work right in our room for the duration our stay. Despite multiple complaints, the manager’s only solution was to provide a single fan for our room.

Overall rank: On a scale of 1 to 10, the Doubletree by Hilton Montreal Centre-Ville receives a 7. It could be much higher, had the staff not been quite so inept.

You can forget about good surfing where I live. The Gulf of Mexico has wimpy waves, so you can boogie board, and you can wind surf, but you can’t actually surf on a surf board. (Except for those few times when a hurricane is coming and the wind is kicking up huge waves!)

If you want to do serious surfing, you head for the big waves of Hawaii. Poipu, Hawaii is one of the neatest places you can go. The small town boast a population of just over 1,000 people. In fact, at any given time, they’ve probably got more vacationers staying in Poipu condos and hotels than they do residents! But the lack of residents translates into a quiet, picture perfect place to relax in one of these beautiful Poipu vacation homes and find some great waves. The town features several posh high end resorts, as well as many Poipu vacation rentals to choose from. Once you’re settled into your room, had out to the local beaches and catch a wave. Poipu is located on the south side of Kauai (also known as Kaua’i) which is the leeward side, meaning sunnier and drier weather for tourists. You’ll enjoyed the laid back feeling that Poipu has to offer, as well as great beaches (Poipu Beach was named the #1 beach in the world by National Geographic Traveler!) and waves.

This is a sponsored review.

I’m currently working on my review of the Doubletree we stayed at in Montreal, and when I’m finished with the review, I’ll be publishing it here AND printing 2 copies to mail. One will go to the corporate offices of Doubletree, and the other will be sent to hotel management. No, we were not happy with our room, and yes, I am the type to complain in writing

I figure that the worst thing that can happen is they won’t do a thing. The best case scenario would be a credit for part of our stay, our a credit towards a future stay.

Now that our trip to Canada is behind us, I need to get passports for the kids. We lucked out by driving into Canada last month, because passports aren’t required, but in 2008, they will be. It’s as good a time as any to get the kids passports, because they’ll be good for a long time!

Getting a passport for a kid seems like a big hassle though. I was 17 when I got my first passport (1993) and I remember going to AAA with my mom, taking the picture, and mailing the forms in. Now you need to present yourself in person to the passport authority, with both parents present to prove that you’re not trying to sneak the child out of the country without one of the parents knowing. You can see why we haven’t done it yet!

A friend asked me last week how we booked our cruises. We’ve been on quite a few, and the last few I’ve booked on a site called CruisesOnly.com. I love, love, LOVE this site because they always have fantastic deals, and they feature all of the major cruise lines. You can usually find the same price, if not better that you’d get by booking through the cruise line directly, and they also offer special deals (like shipboard credit) that most of the cruise lines won’t offer you. We booked a cruise through the site a few years ago, and between the time we booked and the time of our trip, the cruise price dropped. I called Cruises Only and mentioned it and they sent me a credit for the difference!

Walking around a city is the best way to see it, so when I arrived in Pittsburgh this week, that’s just what I did! I was picked up at the airport by Marisa, and we drove off towards the city. My friends had said that entering Pittsburgh at night was spectacular, and Marisa agreed, saying that coming through the tunnel and seeing the city in front of you was like coming through the front door of Pittsburgh. I couldn’t agree more.

Until we entered the Fort Pitt tunnel, the landscape was mostly nothing but trees, but wow – once we came through the tunnel, the city lay before us, all lit up. There were rivers to in front of us, and beautiful homes on the mountain behind and above us. Pittsburgh doesn’t pimp out the view enough!

Once we deposited our things in my hotel room, we walked from my hotel (located next to PNC Park) over the Sixth Street Bridge into downtown, up a few blocks, and back over the bridge. I oohed and aahed over the city – the old buildings, and bridges on every block crossing the river, and the lights up on the mountain. It really is a beautiful place that doesn’t get enough credit!

One more reason my home airport rocks – they offer FREE wireless access to travelers who are toting laptops around. Take THAT, Detroit! It’s a nice little perk for the torture my shoulder is taking by lumping this laptop bag around. I’ve got a DVD to watch on the plane, too. By the time I touch down in Pittsburgh, I should be all caught up on season 5 of The Dead Zone.

This will hopefully be the first of many hotel reviews, and since I plan to do this more than once, I’m attempting to adopt a format that I can use for all future hotel reviews. I’ll be using the following criteria to give each hotel a ranking, on a scale of 1 to 10:

• Price
• Location
• Cleanliness
• Staff
• Amenities
• Comfort

Our first stop during our trip to Canada was in Toronto, and our home away from home for 3 nights was the Best Western Primrose, located at 111 Carlton Street, in downtown Toronto. We arrived on Tuesday, June 19th and checked out on Friday, June 22nd.

Price: We paid approximately $115 a night for our room with 2 double beds, and a street view. My mother paid $20 more per night, because she requested a room with a microwave and fridge. Upon checking in, my husband and I were also given a room with a microwave and fridge, and we weren’t charged any additional money for the upgrade. Overall, the price isn’t bad for a downtown hotel, but other factors, like cleanliness will, and DID affect how we viewed the price. Read on!

Location: We couldn’t have asked for a better location. For those of you who don’t know Toronto, Yonge Street is considered to be the backbone of the city. Walk north on Yonge Street and you’ll hit shopping and Bloor Street. Walk south and you’ll come to Eaton Center and the Hockey Hall of Fame. Our hotel was on Carlton Street, just about 3 blocks off Yonge – it was a very do-able walk, and if we didn’t want to walk, there was a metro station at the intersection of Carlton and Yonge we could go to. The hotel was in the so called “gay district”, and had 2 gay clubs within a block away, but we’re not offended by alternative lifestyles. I only mention it in case some are. The neighborhood felt safe, and there was a park (Allen Gardens)across the street where my husband jogged and took the kids to play. The old Maple Leaf Gardens was across the street, too.

Cleanliness: This is an older hotel, and it shows. While the lobby has been renovated at some point, the guest rooms we stayed in on the 6th floor had not been. The carpet was older, but in good shape, the bedding was a typical polyester hotel spread, and the bathroom…well, the bathroom had seen better days. While our room was clean enough, the bathroom had some mold issues in the shower grout, and the tile and grout was cracked and bulging away from the walls in some places. It was an unattractive bathroom, to say the least, and mold grosses me out.

Staff: Some of the staff was extremely friendly, like the concierge who booked our tour for us. Others…well, they could take us or leave us, and vice versa. For instance, a parking spot wasn’t available when we checked in, so we were told to use one of the public pay lots in the area. That’s ok – it’s just the manner in which this information was conveyed to us could have been a bit warmer and friendlier. We never saw our maid, but the room was done each day when we returned, and that’s all that matters to me.

Amenities: Where to begin? The pool is located on the 3rd floor, and gives you a nice view of the city. While the pool was large, the area around it for seating was extremely small – perhaps 4 feet on all sides. It was older looking too, and there was no slide. The kids enjoyed it, but it wasn’t a place to hang out for hours on end catching the rays. (Fine for the purposes of our trip!) You can see from the picture below that the area around the pool is just big enough for chairs and for one person to pass by:

While there was a restaurant in the hotel, there wasn’t any type of free breakfast offered. Thankfully, there was also a Tim Horton’s attached to the hotel, so we were able to find cheap eats each morning. While I’m on the subject of amenities, the hotel DID offer free wireless internet. The issue for me however, was that there was no outlet at the desk in the room. The only extra outlet was behind the bed, which mean moving the laptop to the nightstand between the beds to be charged. A small pain in the rear, but the free internet was nice.

Comfort: What bothers me the most about this hotel is that on the hotel website, it states:

Our newly renovated rooms offer all the conveniences of a luxury hotel, coupled with the conveniences of home.

Obviously, neither of the rooms we had for our group had been renovated, ever.

I also found this tidbit on the website:

Duvets with a 250 thread count are the standard at the Best Western Primrose

The picture of the guest rooms on the main page of the hotel website shows this image:

Lovely, isn’t it? Too bad our room looked nothing like it. I would have been quite pleased if it had. There’s nothing like a comfy bed with cushy white sheets and a duvet! However, our room looked like this picture found a bit deeper in on the website:

Those bedspreads leave a lot to be desired. And while I’m on the subject of comfort, the beds were not. The sheets were ill fitting, the pillows were lumpy, and the blankets were older and wash worn. The towels in the bathroom had seen better days as well. We “borrowed” more towels from the pool area so that’d we would have extra, but didn’t ever need them. I didn’t complain about the bedding issue while we were there, simply because I never saw the areas of the website I’ve referenced above. I certainly would have loved to have the duvets they feature and the renovated rooms mentioned!

I’m not really sure where to put the elevators, but they’re worth mentioning. It’s funny that in a city that has the CN Tower, with elevators speeding upwards at the speed of car, we stayed in a hotel with the slowest elevators I’ve EVER experienced. It became the joke during our 3 day stay. It wasn’t uncommon to wait for 5 minutes for one of the 4 elevators to come to our floor, or to the lobby.

The hair dryer also broke in our room after the first day. I was lucky that I always pack my own, and didn’t need it, but it just drove home the age of the hotel and the real need for updated rooms.

Overall rank: On a scale of 1 to 10, the Best Western Primrose in Toronto receives a 6. Had we stayed in a renovated room, I could see that rating going up, but sadly, we did not. The location was excellent, but I wouldn’t chose those hotel again if I were to go to Toronto, because there are simply so many other choices in the area. The bedding and bathroom were a big turn off for me, and the location and free internet access can’t make up for the run down feeling that our room had. As one traveler stated on Travelocity, if you’re looking for pampering and a high class feeling, this is not the hotel for you.

My husband and will be heading off for a beach weekend in August, ALL by ourselves! The reason for the trip is to attend my husband’s 20th high school reunion. It’s being held at a resort on Clearwater Beach, in Clearwater, FL. The resort is high priced – normally $300 for a suite, but thanks to the reunion organizers, we got our suite for half of that. The first night will be an informal night at a local restaurant, and the 2nd evening is a banquet and dance.

Even though the events aren’t until the evening, I plan on taking advantage of my time at the beach. We’ll be leaving home on the morning of the event so we can spend the day on the beach before schmoozing that night.

What’s the farthest distance you’ve ever walked in a weekend? For most people, it’s probably a few miles around a city they’re visiting, or a few laps around Disney. For me, it was the 60 miles I walked around Philadelphia last October as part of the 3 Day Walk for Breast Cancer. My sister and I walked together last year, and we’re both walking again this year, although in separate locations. She’s walking in Philly again, with her cousin, and I’m walking in Tampa.

If you didn’t read my post here, I’ve met my $2200 goal, and I’m helping my sister now. If you donate $50, you get 10 links in return, on 10 different sites, and 9 of those links are permanent! A big thank you to Charles over at C.Whyte’s blog for donating to my sister.