Category Archives: Trip Reports

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Wednesday Wakeup: How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep in Hotels

Do you sleep well in hotels? Maybe that’s even too broad a question to be asking, or maybe you have a simple yes or no answer. Friends, knowing I spend a lot of nights each year in hotels, often ask if I sleep well in hotels and if I have any tips for them. It turns out, when I started talking with other travelers about this, many people don’t sleep well in hotels! That being the case, I thought I’d offer up some ideas and tips. As we all know, sleeping well, and especially when we travel, really is essential to functioning well and enjoying our travels. Hotels are unfamiliar territory and often offer us obstacles to sleeping well, so we have to be strategic and creative in order to get a good night’s sleep.

Tip #1

Many of us are hotel loyalists. And with each hotel chain, comes a certain bed type and mattress brand. Chances are you’re nodding your head and thinking about how you sleep better at a Westin on their bed versus at a Hyatt on their bed. It does take our bodies time to get accustomed to mattresses, so take this into account when looking at and booking your hotel options. You can also ask the hotel what their mattresses are made of. If you’ve ever slept on foam, for instance, you’ll know that these mattresses don’t breathe well. No matter how high you turn up your air conditioning, it’s likely you’ll still sweat and heat up. Cotton mattresses do tend to keep you cooler and this often leads to a better night’s sleep.

a person's feet on a bed

Image source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/alone-bed-bedroom-blur-271897/

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PSA: National Park Passes Not Valid at Parks Operated by Contractors [Updated]

Update 8:15am PT on 11/14/17: Clearly I made a mistake and I apologize. I posted the information I received way too quickly and without verifying it. My friend read that though the senior pass is a good value, because there are fees and charges at parks operated by contractors that the passes don’t cover, it can add a lot of money to what might seem like a good deal. He misunderstood and thought entry fees weren’t covered at parks using contractors. When I received this information from him, it seemed like a good idea to let people know. But of course, it was wrong and the entry fee is indeed covered by the pass. It’s good to have readers who call you out on these kinds of mistakes!


Did you purchase a National Park Pass before the rates went up? If you did, or know anyone who has one, it’s important to remember this! Though the passes are valid at parks operated the National Park Service, they are NOT valid at parks operated by CONTRACTORS. One popular National Park that falls into this category is Yosemite. Always remember to check into this or you might be surprised when you’re asked to pay an entrance fee!

a mountain range with trees and a waterfall

Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park. Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosemite_National_Park

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​​7 Tips to Maximize your Fun at the San Diego Zoo

Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend.  I just got back from a great San Diego weekend trip and had an amazing time at the world famous San Diego Zoo, so I wanted to share some tips to maximize the amount of fun you will have at the zoo too.  I am no expert at seeing zoos, but I think some of these tips will help make your visit more enjoyable.  For those who haven’t been to the San Diego Zoo before (or in a long time), the zoo recently celebrated its 100th birthday and made many improvements over the last few years.  Without further ado, here are my 7 tips to maximize your fun at the San Diego Zoo (with 2 bonus ideas at the end).

1 – Buy discount San Diego Zoo tickets online.  The normal price for tickets is $52, but if you buy them through Groupon, you can get tickets for only $39.99.  This deal is only good through December 20, but I am sure the Groupon discount comes around often.  To super charge your Groupon purchase, sign up for Ebates and earn cash back on your Groupon purchase.

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Vancouver Wonderful Walks #2: Gastown, Yaletown & False Creek Loop

Please check out my first post: Vancouver Wonderful Walks #1: Seawall Loop through Stanley Park

You might say I travel a lot, and though many of those miles are spent in the air, if I kept track, I’d bet I walk as many miles as I fly! When I wrote about how to spend the perfect long weekend in Vancouver, I touched on my favorite walks, but didn’t go into much detail. Vancouver is one of my favorite cities for walking! During my recent trip to Vancouver, I took my favorite walks, only this time I made extensive notes so I could share them with you. Here’s one of my favorites, which I call the Gastown / Yaletown / False Creek loop.

I stay at the Hyatt Regency when I visit Vancouver, and it never disappoints me. As you’ll see in the photos, luck was on my side for this week because the weather in late October was amazing. Beautiful fall foliage everywhere. So let’s start this walk from the Hyatt. You’ll exit onto Burrard Street and head north towards the water. As you walk towards the water, you’ll pass a historic and architecturally stunning building, the Marine Building. The art deco details are worth seeing so make sure to go into the lobby of the building and look around. Take the elevator up a few floors and when you get out you’ll have an overhead view of the lobby. Beautiful! On the ground floor of this building, you will find one of my favorite JJ Bean coffee locations. It has seating on the second floor if you want to relax, read, talk, and stay a while.

Make a right on Cordova Street. You’ll be heading to Gastown. This area of Vancouver can be touristy, but many locals live/work/play here too. There are lots of restaurants and coffee shops worth visiting. The steam clock on the corner of Cambie and Water Streets is probably the number one site people come to see here and it’s a fun photo opportunity. You’ve actually walked two miles already!

a clock tower in a city

Gastown Steam Clock. Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_clock

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Vancouver Wonderful Walks #1: Seawall Loop through Stanley Park

You might say I travel a lot, and though many of those miles are spent in the air, if I kept track, I’d bet I walk as many miles as I fly! When I wrote about how to spend the perfect long weekend in Vancouver, I touched on my favorite walks, but didn’t go into much detail. Vancouver is one of my favorite cities for walking! During my recent trip to Vancouver, I took my favorite walks, only this time, I made extensive notes so I could share them with you. Here’s one of my favorites, which I call the Seawall Loop. I stay at the Hyatt Regency when I visit Vancouver, and it never disappoints me. As you’ll see in the photos, luck was on my side for this week because the weather in late October was amazing. Beautiful fall foliage everywhere.

a park with trees and benches

Fall has arrived in Vancouver

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