tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30701455971004092392008-11-14T09:25:51.280-05:00Michael Strickland's blog on all things travel: news, deals, destinations, dreams and more.Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.comBlogger200125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-26713267973728287122008-10-23T09:28:00.002-04:002008-10-23T13:54:36.180-04:00

This blog is officially on holiday. That doesn't mean this blog is done, that I'm calling it quits. It just means that I'll blog when I feel inspired, rather than forcing myself to maintain the daily blogging schedule that I've managed to keep going since February. During the past nine months, I worked long hours to manage a large website redesign project at work, and I gave countless additional

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-86087701942290687482008-10-22T11:56:00.001-04:002008-10-22T11:56:00.484-04:00

Last week, a late-season hurricane named Omar swept through the Caribbean. The election-frenzied American media barely gave it a passing mention, and I didn't pay any attention myself. So imagine my surprise to learn tonight that the storm brushed Curacao, the island in the Dutch Antilles where I proposed to Cassie last month. I quickly emailed Sunshine, a friend we made down there, who

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-39915023945308221652008-10-21T15:44:00.003-04:002008-10-21T15:59:05.312-04:00

Awhile back, I posted a chart outlining the various fees that airlines charge for taking your pet aboard your flight. Today, I came across a treasure trove of other useful charts on AirfareWatchdog.com. Bookmark this page as a jumping-off point to these charts when planning your air travel, as AirfareWatchdog appears to be updating these charts on a regular basis. Frequent flyer fees. How much

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-58691381291689075252008-10-20T23:52:00.006-04:002008-10-21T16:22:23.617-04:00

This blog focuses on travel, not sports, so it offers no clue (with one exception) that I'm a die-hard San Diego Chargers football fan. I'm no crazy sports freak—football is the only sport I follow—but I've been a Chargers fan my whole life. Last weekend, I traveled with several other Chargers fans from New York City to Buffalo to see the Chargers face down the Buffalo Bills. If you judged the

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-82625473538479713322008-10-17T10:39:00.005-04:002008-10-17T10:53:36.773-04:00

Joshua Tree National Park, California  

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-8128706299168096462008-10-17T10:21:00.001-04:002008-10-17T10:55:02.667-04:00

The hard times in the airline industry in particular, and the broad economy in general, finally hit that bastion of airline profitability, Southwest Airlines. Today, they posted their first loss in 17 years—an amazing streak that has finally come to an end. It's no surprise. With the crazy economic times we find ourselves in, even a savvy, creative company like Southwest is going to find it

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-48062661640125182082008-10-10T14:06:00.001-04:002008-10-10T14:45:53.648-04:00

St. Willibrordus Church and cemetery in Curacao Photo by Cassie Craig  

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-4137555481216068752008-10-09T13:59:00.000-04:002008-10-10T08:51:26.237-04:00

In case you didn't hear about it yesterday, the Bush administration finalized plans to auction off slots and cap the number of flights at the three major New York City area airports. The Port Authority, airline industry and key members of Congress oppose the plan, saying it won't solve the problems, and that it'll hurt already-hurting airlines. I have no idea if the plan will work. But the fact

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-21270003572616546312008-10-08T08:22:00.007-04:002008-11-14T09:22:28.345-05:00

California has the best-known wines in America, and the state's Napa and Sonoma Valleys are its best-known wine regions. But they're hardly the only wine regions in the state—or the country. I'm lucky enough to have parents who live in the so-called "southern wine country" surrounding Paso Robles on California's Central Coast. To me, the wine produced in that region is just as good as Napa/

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-84252335547454029622008-10-06T09:02:00.004-04:002008-10-06T09:20:19.873-04:00

A few weeks ago, a large map was unveiled at Kellogg Park, the public space at La Jolla Shores in San Diego. Made of lithocrete (a mixture of concrete and recycled glass), the map covers some 2,300 square feet of ground, and depicts the La Jolla Underwater Preserve as a way to bring the undersea world to beachgoers who might not realize what lies under the waves. Accompanying the map is a wall

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-56747827571818437012008-10-05T12:04:00.006-04:002008-10-06T11:48:31.405-04:00

Cassie and I met two years ago at Dutch Springs, a flooded quarry in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania that is now a scuba diving park. Our respective dive clubs—from D.C. and NYC—organized a joint camp & dive event, and she and I both went for the whole weekend. Cassie was a new diver at the time, so the founder of her dive club suggested she buddy up with me for the weekend. The rest is history.... This

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-90686880360262044102008-10-02T07:48:00.003-04:002008-10-02T08:04:22.291-04:00

Picture a Ferris wheel. Now imagine that each carriage is an enclosed room, not simply a seat. Inside, each carriage is furnished with a dining table, chairs and fancy table settings. Wrap-around windows provide the view one would expect from a Ferris wheel. Sound like a fantasy? It's not—such a thing exists, and it's possibly the most romantic way to have dinner in Vienna, Austria. Think

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-20117143152517524712008-09-30T08:19:00.004-04:002008-09-30T23:20:40.108-04:00

Do I really need to describe this photo and what it represents? Cocktail hour at sunset on Curacao? Painkillers, the fruity cocktail equivalent of ambrosia? Our own private deck overlooking the Caribbean Sea, less than 10 degrees north of the Equator? Kicking up our feet after a day of swimming with eagle rays, sea horses, sea turtles, barracudas (not the Alaskan kind) and many other sea

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-34417774391118970132008-09-29T23:41:00.004-04:002008-09-29T23:53:28.480-04:00

Moonlight and a little music can be magical on any night, but when it's your first evening on a tropical island, and the music emanates from a cute church right across the street from where you're staying, you feel like you've entered a fairy tale. I couldn't put my camera away on that first day, even when the sun had long since set. When I peeked out the front door to investigate all the

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-82103799334738610642008-09-28T23:31:00.004-04:002008-09-28T23:43:08.240-04:00

The house reef at All West Apartments, where we stayed in Curacao, has seen some impressive visitors in the past year or so—if we are to believe what we were told. Pods of dolphin, a passing manta ray, even a random whale shark! So on each dive we made, not just on the house reef but everywhere, we kept glancing away from the reef, out into the blue, in the hopes we might see something big.

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-87540263376494814692008-09-27T14:58:00.007-04:002008-09-27T15:52:34.217-04:00

The following story is presented by reader request. Back in July, when we were still planning our recent week-long vacation in Curacao, I blogged about our decision-making about where to stay. My posting included pictures of the Tree House at Lodge Kura Hulanda that we were considering. Ultimately, we decided to stay at low-budget All West Apartments for most of the week, and then spend our last

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-9296721220855319002008-09-26T21:00:00.005-04:002008-09-26T22:58:32.826-04:00

One thing Curacao has over nearby Bonaire—the so-called "Diver's Paradise"—is lovely little beaches like Playa Lagun, pictured below. We pulled our pickup truck up to the sand here, strapped on our tanks, and wandered into the clear water. Though we enjoyed a nice dive on the reef, out beyond the mouth of the narrow bay, it was within the bay itself (in snorkeling depths) that we saw the most

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-78398620899366650872008-09-25T22:24:00.004-04:002008-09-25T23:06:34.794-04:00

The iconic waterfront of Willemstad, Curacao, architecture that earned designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Only about a million other people have taken this exact same photograph. Stay tuned... the Week of Travel Photos continues.  

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-28242984105503322952008-09-24T23:58:00.009-04:002008-09-25T00:10:45.581-04:00

As expected, Curacao provided a wealth of fantastic photo opportunities both above and below the surface. And like other dive trips, this one gave me the chance to further hone my underwater photography skills. I think I'm approaching the limitations of what my point 'n' shoot camera and housing can do, but with practice and patience, it's possible to get decent macro shots with a point 'n'

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-12061575614807824412008-09-23T23:18:00.004-04:002008-09-23T23:25:02.583-04:00

Those of you looking forward to this blog resuming its normal publishing schedule may have to wait a bit longer. I haven't even touched my luggage, and unpacking will also involve the laborious task of washing the dive gear (which would be far easier if I had a garage or yard). Until things settle back into something of a routine, I may take the lazy route and post some pictures instead of

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-47581966308703216282008-09-22T08:55:00.002-04:002008-09-22T23:46:32.880-04:00

We just got back from a week in Curacao. Yes, it sucks to fly in this Year of the Fees. Yes, United Airlines has started charging $50 for the second checked bag. Yes, because I was scuba diving on this trip, I had to check two bags. But all is not lost. We flew on Air Jamaica, which in a way was something like a flight back in time. Remember when you didn't have to pay to check two bags?

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-9448037626410369892008-09-12T16:22:00.000-04:002008-09-12T16:22:01.194-04:00

I'm on vacation, which means so is this blog! We're off to Curacao, in the Dutch Antilles, for a week of diving and relaxation.  

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-52099477547887295082008-09-11T23:47:00.001-04:002008-09-12T00:35:49.420-04:00

I've been beating this term into you, so chime in: What is 2008? That's right, it's the "Year of the Fees." The airlines have faced some pretty major challenges with high fuel costs and a bad economy, but they've done a fantastic job of passing on those costs to us travelers. A story today reports that Continental expects to bring in $100 million from its new $15 fee for a traveler's first

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-44659268336553537612008-09-10T23:58:00.001-04:002008-09-11T11:28:44.582-04:00

Want a $50 voucher good for air travel on JetBlue? This offer won't help a lot of people, but if you are already planning to fly on JetBlue this fall and early next year, then it might work for you. The details: Register now for the offer, book a flight by September 21 for travel between October 15 and November 15, and JetBlue will give you a $50 voucher—but the voucher can only be used on

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3070145597100409239.post-73926977045048744232008-09-09T20:39:00.002-04:002008-09-09T22:36:41.840-04:00

Who rewards your travel loyalty? And, the corollary to that question, Who deserves your loyalty? Airline mileage loyalty programs are nothing new—American Airlines started the first of such programs back in 1981, and other major airlines quickly followed suit. Next came airline-branded credit cards that earn you airline miles for each dollar spent. Now, many credit cards offer you the chance to

Michael Stricklandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15567279707233636345noreply@blogger.com0