My Travels

I found cheap airfare on United to Newark International Airport . With the current United promotion to achieve 1K status, I opted to make a trip and visit friends living in New Jersey. My second trip to the New York area for the year, it was remarkable how quiet Newark International Airport has become. The last time I was here was in 2019! I did get upgraded to the United Polaris Business seat but I don't think it would have qualified to get into the Polaris Lounge at the airport. Bummer deal but what can you do? I haven't realized how many "Orange" city names there are until now. It's a cute locale in the suburbs of New Jersey. About half an hour west of Newark, I'm reminded how green and foresty the area is outside of Manhattan. I was able to spend and afternoon in Manhattan. The vibe seems quieter in these pandemic times. There were still people out and about but not to the levels I'm used to. It was nice to get into places that would have obnoxious li

Originally, I had booked this trip with a friend for a first time ever visit to Hawaii. The friend couldn't make it and so the trip ended up being for fun. Flew on Southwest Airlines to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport . Luckily, I did the Safe Travels precheck before landing into the airport. The lines for checking was huge and somewhat chaotic. It was nice to flash the wristband and walk through the hordes to baggage claim. I definitely recommend doing the precheck if the airline has that option. For Southwest, it isn't near the gates so make sure you ask when you check your luggage the location of the precheck.  Checked into the Hokulani Waikiki Hotel by Hilton Grand Vacations . The last time I was in Waikiki, things were barely opening up and so I was curious how things have changed with Governor Ige warning travellers away. The hotel was empty enough that they were willing to even give me a late checkout option upon arrival. I was

 An innocently stated statement of "I want to go to Legoland" was the impetus for an extended family trip down to Carlsbad. I wasn't able to stay as long as the rest of the group but was able to check into the Springhill Suites San Diego Oceanside/Downtown hotel. Despite the "san diego" in the hotel name title, this hotel is in San Diego like Laguna Niguel is in LA. I did find the hotel very charming and the location is great. Great corner where the ocean and pier meets the downtown night life spots. Coming in late, I was still able to find eateries open (huge plus). The hotel did have the breakfast options fully operational. The hotel was packed from a local soccer game going on in the area. I would definitely come back to this area. Compared to my Chula Vista/Imperial Beach trip last year, this one was better in terms of food access and beach conditions. Legoland wasn't operating at full capacity. Some of my favorites like the churro cart was not operatin

 I returned to Santa Maria for another car repair job. This time around, the government rate got me into a one bedroom suite at the  Fairfield Inn & Suites Santa Maria . I still sometimes get turned around trying to find the entrance of the hotel but you can't beat the rate. This particular trip was a quick overnight since I was able to schedule a tow with AAA. Other than visiting the local Costco, I pretty much stayed indoors due to WFH obligations. Dining Cha 101 - I opted to "see" what a boba place would be like in Santa Maria. Located on 340 E Betteravia Rd Unit E Santa Maria, CA 93454, I ended up ordering the mango michelada. It seemed a safer choice. It was fine but I wouldn't go out of your way to get to this place. Al Pho - Located on  1201 E Main St Ste B Santa Maria, CA 93454, some would say eating at a vietnamese restaurant would be a bad idea. I ended up enjoying my meal (pho) and summer rolls. It wasn't quite the same style as in Orange County but

Checked into the Embassy Suites San Luis Obispo for a friend’s wedding at the Madonna Inn . It looks like this Embassy Suites was recently renovated and the interior is very modern looking. Although the breakfast buffet wasn’t available, the hotel did serve hot food. Rates have gone up in the summer and I was able to use hotel certificates for the two night stay. I’m always surprised when room rates can exceed $300 for a weekend night but I guess people need to make back some lost revenue. Dining At the Madonna Inn, I did order a strawberry cake (seasonal) before the wedding reception. The catered menu was bbq chicken and tri tip. A traditional bbq meal and it was tasty. Nipomo Ranch BBQ - I enjoyed a plate of brisket with the tri tip nacho fries. Two Broads Ciderworks - Since I went to Santa Maria earlier in the year, I was given a $40 gift certificate (from the local spend in San Luis Obispo). I haven’t tried their cider and they aren’t open yet for in person tasting. So I used th

It has been over a decade since I was last in the Fingerlakes region. I have always wanted to come through the area on a vacation rather than for work. With no international trips planned for 2021, I opted to explore this part of the States. Hopped on a multi stop itinerary (stops in San Francisco International airport and Dulles Airport) on United Airlines to land into Syracuse International Airport. Airports do seem livelier these days but still low volume of people. I was glad to see at SFO that there were a few food options still open in the evening time. Normally, I would run into the United Lounge but the entire airport felt like a lounge given the low number of people to open eateries ratio. Dulles was much more packed probably because I landed in the morning and people are trying to fly to Europe.  At Syracuse, I didn't find a better rental car rate than Enterprise via Priceline when I booked the flight months ago. I had hoped the rental car shortage would have improved but

With all the cheap flights to Hawaii, it isn't hard to keep coming back. On this trip, it was a quick weekend stay made a little shorter by some food poisoning.  Hopped onto a Southwest flight to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport . Lodging for this trip is the  Hilton Hawaiian Village Kalia Tower . With the travel surge hitting Oahu, I was able to see first hand the tourist traffic. With international arrivals halted (Japan has strict quarantine rules), the make up of the traditional Hawaiian tourist has changed. I was seeing plenty of mainlanders and typical frat like behaviors around the streets of Waikiki. I suspect that there were also a lot of first time visitors as well. Since it was a short trip, mostly stayed on resort and in Waikiki proper. I've been to this Hilton many many times but this is the first time I've stayed in the Kalia tower. This particular tower is at the edge of the resort property similar to Grand Islander. The rooms are larger, the one bedroo

On a lark, did an overnight trip to San Diego. I had read that the San Diego Marriott Gaslamp Hotel having a lounge with a birds eye view into Petco Park . Given the current state of world affairs, I didn't think attending a live sporting event will be possible in 2021. So I thought it would be fun to use a free night certificate and splurge on going to San Diego and watch the game al fresco style. San Diego Marriott Gaslamp Hotel/Altitude Lounge - I have not stayed at this particular hotel in San Diego. It is right next to Petco Park and the area is a madhouse when on game days. My upgrade was confirmed to a suite. The hotel room was a little dated but very comfortable.  San Diego Marriott Gaslamp Suite Living Room San Diego Marriott Gaslamp Suite Bedroom I had contacted Altitude Lounge a few months before the stay and they could not confirm access. I didn't realize at the time that if they couldn't confirm access that it was unlikely I would see t

Experimented with  Southwest Airlines to Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport . The only drawback was the flight required a layover at Oakland International Airport . I haven't been inside Oakland Airport in about 18 months right before the pandemic struck. It was still under construction last time so I assume the eateries I saw this time around are all relatively new. Hard to tell because the airport is partially closed due to the decline in air travel. With no food available on flight, it was really important that I had snacks especially for the over water segment. I opted to get a sandwich from Peet's Coffee . I don't know if it is normal for Peet's to have pasta but the Oakland location has pasta in addition to sandwiches.  After landing at Kona Airport, COVID screening was required. Luckily, it was a quick swab and a texted results a few hours later. I suppose if it was positive, they'd send someone to make sure quarantine is enforced. I was also happy t

My "annual" trip to SLO was canceled due to the pandemic. Instead the Santa Maria tourism board decided to copy SLO’s promotion and created their own visit Santa Maria campaign. Of course, I think there were concerns for the city if anyone would use the $100 visa gift card within city limits. It was a fair issue as I wandered around the area but not necessarily stayed in city limits. But ultimately, I would think that at least the hotels would benefit and that was good as well.  I checked into the Fairfield Inn & Suites Santa Maria and was glad to see I was upgraded to a studio. I had noticed earlier in the day that the rates dropped by $6 per night but I wasn’t willing to try to get the cheaper rate at the front desk. The agent did tell me that the city promotion was finished within 48 hours of announcement and that they had a very good month of January because of it. Made me feel good to have submitted my request as quickly as I did.  Fairfield Inn & Suites Santa M