Airport hotels

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Brad Christensen

Here is a great idea about how you can save on your airport parking:

Before you pay the horrific fees at the airport for parking call around to airport hotels to see if you can park there for free while you are on your trip.

For example, I’ve stayed at different hotels close to the Salt Lake airport and paid $60 for the night in the hotel and then left my car in the hotel while I was on the trip. Normally to leave your car at the airport and then pay $7 per day while you are gone. That means that if you are gone for 7 days you would pay $49 in parking fees at the airport. Wouldn’t you rather pay an additional $11, get a night in a hotel, and free breakfast in the morning?

Keep in mind that the Salt Lake Sheraton, which is a Starwood Hotel, will allow you to leave your car there and shuttle you to the airport for free. They will pick you from the airport when your trip is over.

This is a great choice. Do the research and find an airport hotel that will allow you to stay there and leave your car.

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Missoula-Banff-Glacier Motorcycle Loop

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Brad Christensen

As Sheldon already posted, for the moment, the focus of our wanderlust has narrowed to the isolated stretches of road that will carry us to paradise in the coming days.  My conversion to motorcyclism was predicated on my insatiable desire for travel -well, that and my testosterone.

If our sole intention were to ride the road and allow the serentity of the road to escort our minds into caverns of thought for which ordinary life never allows, the trip would be sufficient for our purposes.  Yet, it will be so much more than that. We will stand at the edge of panoramic mountain vistas which beg the very same question asked by Cicero,

“Who is he, to whom human affairs seem great, when one contemplates the Earth in all of its glory?”

We will build a bond of brotherhood, sharing experiences which excite our senses – experiences like cliff jumping into the icy clear waters of glacier-fed lakes, sharing stories over delicious meals in roadside cafes, and immersing ourselves in the grandeur of God’s creations.

The road is ours.  We long for the smell of pine, for the warm-to-cool transitions from sun to shadows, and for the sensation of flying through narrow valleys between steep, towering walls of granite.

We do not have souls.  We are souls who have bodies.

 

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Wanderlust: Motorcycle Style

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Brad Christensen

It all started last year when one of my friends purchased a motorcycle.  It lit a different type of wanderlust in my blood.  I borrowed a bike from my father-in-law, and I took a trip from Idaho Falls to Glacier National Park and back in 48 hours.  The drive was spectacular and the scenery was breathtaking.  I was in love.

Next thing I knew everyone was buying a motorcycle.  I was pretty excited about the prospects of having my own bike and not having to borrow, so I invested (I usually don’t use the word invest when it comes to vehicles, but I’m investing in experiences this time) in a 2006 Suzuki Boulevard.

This is my machine and I can’t wait to ride it.

As everyone started buying bikes we all got excited about doing a big ride, a Big Awesome Ride, to be specific.  It would be nicknamed the BAR 2011, in the name of the Big Awesome Ride.   The itinerary that was created was a little steep for me.  It was going to encompass over 3000 miles in 10 days.  I decided to cut that in half by only driving 1500 miles over 5 days.  This would be a pill that I could swallow.

I know that this is a travel blog, but I’m telling you that a motorcycle ride across the west is incredible.  High mountains, sharp turns, potatoes, and lakes are all around you.  We’re planning the following itinerary:

It has us leaving out of Idaho Falls headed toward Salmon, ID.  This city shares the name with the “River of No Return.” It is famous for its steelhead fish that are abundant in the fall.  Then the road will take us over the Lost Trail Pass into the Bitteroot Valley in Montana. Our first night will be in Missoula, MT.

The next day has us taking the 90 over to northern Idaho, so we can explore Couer d’Alene, Idaho and Lake Pend Orielle.  Lakes abound in the Northern part of Idaho.  I’ve heard about its beauty all my life and never been there.  I’ve been to 25 countries and never been to certain parts of my own state.  The elevation is lower up there than it is Eastern Idaho.

We will then explore into British Columbia, and Alberta Canada going as far north as Banff, Canada.  I wish that I could continue on the Jasper, but we want to keep our rides right around 300 miles per day.  The ride then takes us down the Canadian Rockies and dumps us right in front of Glacier National Park.  We would love to stop at Waterton National Park, which is just north of Glacier, but we will see how time permits.

We will then take the east side of Flathead Lake and stop and fill our cavities with delicious ripe cherries.  I’m sure that we will take some home as well to share with our loved ones.  The ride then takes us back down to Missoula, where we will have our final descent into Idaho Falls via the Lost Trail Pass.

I’m very excited to soak in secluded hot springs across the west.  All in all it is going to be 1500 miles of beauty.  I only wish that my wife could come along, but with a new baby it would be impossible.  We’ve committed to to a couple’s BAR next year, so let us know if you would like to join us, or where we should stop along the way if you’ve been there.  We need to sleep, eat, and see the sites the whole way up and down.

Not from Idaho?

If you’re interested in a ride like this you might consider flying into Idaho Falls via the Allegiant Air flight from Las Vegas.  The Idaho Falls airport is also serviced by Delta and United Airlines.  Grand Teton Harley Davidson rents motorcycles by the day

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Winter Getaway with Starwood Hotel Points

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Brad Christensen

You’re not thinking about it right now, but if you’re like half of the people in the US, at some point here soon the leaves will start to change color and we’ll leave this sunny weather behind for another six months.

If you get started now, you could be lazing on this amazing beach at the Westin Resort in Cancun for at least 4 nights, entirely free of charge.  As you’ve heard us rave about, there is a great promotion at the moment for the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express which will entitle you to 30,000 Starwood points after you meet the $5000 spending requirement.

Sheldon posted not too long ago about the Alaska Airlines card, that would help you connect the dots with some free flights as well.

You may want to check out our post on some of our experiences in the Yucatan… by the time you’re finished you may be well on your way to planning a winter getaway.

If you like this idea, also check out these other posts:


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Award Wallet Promo Code

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Brad Christensen

You can upgrade for free to AwardWallet Premium service if you use the promo code: free-dqevtv.

AwardWallet is a great invention.  The guy who thought of that had a similar idea to the person who created Mint.com.  They both help you to consolidate your life into one login.  Sometimes I feel like our “Smartphones” actually make our lives even more difficult.  We need to simplify our lives and this is the way to do it for the frequent flier.

This service consolidates all of your travel logins into one place.  It logs into all of your accounts and shows you your balances of how many miles that you have with each of the companies.  If you’ve always flown on one airline then you don’t need this service.  This helps the world wanderluster who has so many accounts with different companies that it is hard to remember all of your logins and when your points expire.  The great thing about Awardwallet is that they help you to remember so you can be certain that you never allow your points to expire.

This is a snapshot of my AwardWallet account.  Sorry that the font is a little small, but I wanted to show you how it works.  It is so great to have all of the accounts in one place.
Keep in mind that you might have children who have accounts with all of the airlines too.  This is the BEST way to consolidate all of your accounts.

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Photo and Currency Quiz

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Brad Christensen

Where was this picture taken and what currency do they use there?

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Food is the Reason I Travel

Posted on August 6, 2011 by Brad Christensen

We have a Facebook page and we would love your participation.

  1. Make sure you are friends with WorldWanderlusting on Facebook.
  2. Post a picture of food that you’ve eaten in some place.  Don’t include the name of the food, or the place where you ate it.  We want everyone to try and guess where the food was eaten and what it is.

Mangoes and Sticky Rice

I love eating when I visit other countries.  I took my first trip to Thailand in 2006 and prior to that I’d never had Thai food in my life.  I had heard that Thai food was amazing, but didn’t yet know how good it really is.  One of the best desserts that I’ve ever had is Mangoes and Sticky Rice.  It is a chilled mango served on a bed of sticky rice with warm coconut milk poured on top.  They sprinkle toasted sesame seeds over the top in most cases.

Let’s be honest.  I dream about this stuff.  It costs you 50 Baht in Thailand and $7 here in the US if it is on sale.  It isn’t cheap, but the dessert is definitely worth indulging.

Laab Moo

It’s not only the desserts in Thailand that are amazing.  The meals are so delicious.  I totally recommend the Laab Moo.  I’ve never tried making this recipe, but the result in Thailand and at Thai restaurants is phenomenal.  Moo means pork, but you could ask for Laab Kai, which would be chicken at your local Thai restaurant.  Don’t get this meal if you are afraid of purple onions.  Sometimes the chef gets carried away and puts in quite a few.

Fruits

Durians (my hands) & Mangosteens (Shae's hands)

I love traveling to other countries and eating the fruits that they have.  I realize that you

Dragonfruit

have to have some cautions when eating in other countries, but you can have some delicious fruits too.  I’ve tried all kinds of fruits all around the world.  In the picture on the left you can see the mangosteens in my wife’s hands.  They are purple on the outside, and when you open them in the middle the fruit is white and looks like a clove of garlic.  It does pack a wonderful flavor though.

The durian is another story.  Those things are NASTY.  When you go to a shopping mall you can smell a durian from anywhere.  In hotels they usually have signs that say “NO DURIAN.”  The reasons for this is because they are really nasty.  I dare you to try one.  If someone reading the blog likes them, please let me know how you don’t vomit eating them.

The next picture is of a dragonfruit.  It tastes a lot like a kiwi (in my opinion) and is really delicious.  I would recommend it to anyone.

I know that I’ve talked a lot about Thailand.  Keep in mind that you can use the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express points at hotels in Bangkok (not much to see there in my opinion), Koh Samui, Krabi, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and more.  I’ve never stayed at these places, but they sure look like paradise to me.

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