A Travel First...

Friday is a huge day for me. It will my very first flying experience on Southwest. Yes, I have flown thousands of miles over the last decade, but never on Southwest. I haven't been avoiding the airline, it was never an option. My home airport used the be Des Moines, and it is not a Southwest city. But since my move to Oklahoma, I am firmly in Southwest territory. In my 11 months here I haven't seen a flight price that makes it logical for me to fly on the famous airline, until this weekend

We are going to San Diego to a wedding of a childhood friend. I scored $180.00 roundtrip fares and looking forward to the trip. I heart San Diego.

Keep it classy San Diego!

It Has Been Since June...

You are right, I haven't made a post to this blog since June. This year has been crazy for me. I moved to a new city, joined a swim team, started a different job, met heaps of new friends, and I have been trying to keep my sanity.

I have done some traveling this year. I went to LA in February to visit my friend Krystal. She is one of my friends from New Zealand and was in the states by herself for the first time (She is only 20). We had a chance to hang out a bit and I was able to fly from Tulsa to LAX on a buddy pass from my friend Sean.

I made a very quick trip to New Zealand in May on a last minute flight, and a cheap one at that. I was there to see my friends, visit some of my favorite spots, and to eat some great food. Mission accomplished.

In July, I spent a long weekend in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It is in the middle of the Ozark mountains. The hills/mountains are beautiful. There are some very historic buildings and the place we stayed was AMAZING!












Since I am living fairly close to my relatives, I have spent some time over the last year with family in Iowa. They have mainly been long weekends, but still fun to catch up.

I have some plans over the rest of the year. I am going to San Diego for a wedding the first weekend of December and a trip back to Iowa for 10 days in late December.

I am trying to make a renewed effort to do more and document some of the travel I have planned in 2011.

San Diego and San Francisco

I celebrated an important birthday in September, it ended in a 0. To celebrate, I wanted to spend a weekend somewhere. I had my Facebook friends pick my location, and the winner was San Diego. My heart was set on San Francisco, but the flight price and time did not match my budget or work schedule, so San Diego it was. A couple of days before leaving I was playing around on an airline website and notice there was a very good price for airline tickets for the Sunday I was going to be in San Diego to go to San Francisco. I bought the ticket.

San Diego
I have often heard rumors that San Diego has the same feel and look that Sydney does. I love Sydney, so I knew San Diego might be my style. I arrived in San Diego very early in the morning and wanted to head straight for the beaches. I spent some time on Black's Beach near La Jolla, just a few minutes north of San Diego. The beaches were covered in fog when I arrived, but it ended up being a stunning midday on the beach. There were interesting people all around, I loved it. Plus, the beach had tall cliffs, similar to those on the east side of Sydney.

I then spent some time in and around the center of the city. Since San Diego is one of the main spots for Marines, there is a strong military presence. There are boats scattered all around the harbor and even some boat, museum type spots. The downtown area has a great district call the Gas Lamp District. There are heaps of high end stores, restaurants, and lots of hotels.

San Diego had a great vibe. There were lots of things to do around the city and the people seemed to love to be outside, and who wouldn't with perfect weather most of the year, as well as being real people. I loved it!

San Francisco
San Francisco has a very live and let live attitude. You can really see anything there, and I wish I would have been there more than 12 hours, but I don't think it is going anywhere. When I got off my early morning flight I went immediately to look for the sites that San Francisco was so famous for. There was Fisherman's wharf, the Financial District, Golden Gay Bridge, Alcatraz, Bay Bridge, amongst others.

There were also interesting people. From businessmen in suits to people walking down the street with very little clothing on. There were good restaurants, nice people, and beautiful weather when I was there. I will be back, soon!









Photos of San Diego and San Francisco on Flickr

San Francisco...Why Not?

I will be honest, I really wanted to go to San Francisco next weekend. It is a city I am very interested in learning more about and exploring. But, the day I wanted to book the ticket from Des Moines the prices had shot up over my budget. I was slightly crushed, but still very happy about the weekend in San Diego.

Thursday night I was bored, so I thought why not see how much it would be to fly from San Deigo to San Francisco for a day, my friend Max would be there and it would be great to see him. I was shocked! I found a roundtrip ticket on my favorite domestic, hub-and-spoke, legacy carrier for only $76.00 for the day! So add San Francisco to the list!

This trip is totally my style, trying to cram in a lot, at a reasonable price. I will have video and pictures to show off the fun I am having!

Keeping it Classy San Diego

I have a big week ahead of me, including a birthday that ends in 0. So I thought it would be appropriate for me to go on one of my last minute trips. I actually need to take it because United Airlines is offering double EQM (Elite Qualifying Miles) for trips before mid-December and this one trip will allow me to keep my status for next year.

I started looking for the Special Deals for last minute fares that come out on Tuesday. It usually requires a Saturday departure and a Monday or Tuesday return. It was a banner week for Special Fares from Des Moines and I found inexpensive tickets for lots of destinations.

I decided to allow my 500 Facebook friends the chance to vote on where I should go. Of course, I did have the power of veto at my disposal. The destinations my Facebook Friends had to choose from were:

Albuquerque
Austin
Charleston,SC
Charlotte
Denver
NYC
Palm Springs
Phoenix
San Diego

Within about 3 hours, and after 20 responses it was clear San Diego was the winner and New York City was in a close second place. Part of the draw to San Diego was the fact I have never been there, it is often referred to as the Sydney of the USA, and there are plenty of hostels to choose from.
As, I said this would be a Nick the Traveler trip without some kind of hostel included.

I am not sure what I am going to do in San Diego. I know there are nice beaches, I know I will be scouting some hotels for a friends wedding, and I am sure I will have a great time.



If you have any suggestions about the trip, please let me know by posting a comment!

A Dream Come True

Since I started on my trip Round the World I was hoping and praying the trip would be the BEST if I was able to fly business class from London to Chicago, my last long haul flight. This morning, I asked the check in person, I was still wait-listed. Then, when I arrived at the gate, still wait-listed. Then about 10 minutes prior to boarding my named was called. YES, I was going to sit in Business Class! I am flying on United Airlines and they have recently upgraded their Boeing 767 fleet with lay flat business class seats, with about half of them facing the back of the plane. I was fortunate to get one of the seats facing the rear of the plane, which was a new experience for me.

The meals were fantastic, the wine poured easily, and I did get a couple of hours of excellent sleep after not getting any in London. It was the best flight I have ever been on. It was worth spending the extra points for the upgrade, and I am excited to be back home.