A marriage of two airlines: the USAirways/American Airlines merger

Quite appropriate that the US Airways and American Airlines merger would be announced last week on Valentine’s Day – the marriage (merger) of two single parents (airlines) in a sense.  Sure we should be happy that they found each other but as children (frequent fliers) of each parent, we of course are a bit […]

Okavango Delta skeleton

Zebras on Day Three in the Okavanago Delta of Botswana

Waking up in my tent at 5:30 am was easy (this from someone who utilizes the snooze button to barely make it out of bed by 7am!) on my third day in camp – I was exhausted the night before from my full day in camp – the morning trek, the shower in the […]

Snow in Paris from the Louvre

Snow in Paris & Stranded in London Heathrow

With the snow on the East Coast this weekend which thankfully was a non-event in Philly for a change (although I did stock up on essentials – not milk, eggs, bread but wine, chocolate and potato chips to reward me for any shoveling I may need to do) it reminded me […]

Travel Savings Strategy – Winning on Twitter and Inspiring Wanderlust

I joined Twitter initially to participate in my workout studios contests – Twitter Tuesdays.  I figured that the odds of winning on twitter were pretty good as a small percentage of members were active on Twitter.  In the past year, I have entered many contests – some involve a simple re-tweet, a […]

Okavango Delta landscape

Okavango Delta Morning Safari Walk at Oddballs’ Camp

Day 2 on my Okavango Delta Walking Safari at Oddballs’ Camp begins at 5:30 (wake up call/visit to tent) with a light snack/coffee before heading out at 7am to start the first of two walks today.  My breakfast of champions this early is a power bar that I brought with me. […]

South African Flag

Safari Tip: Shipping Luggage from Johannesburg to Capetown

Checking into the Intercontinental Johannesburg, I arrived with two bags and a backpack.  Upon checkout, I would needed to be one bag lighter and make the weight (I bought a small travel scale just in case as backup) by shipping luggage ahead to Capetown.   The hotel was the perfect spot […]

Leopard paw

South Africa Safari Award Ticket – Flying SAA from IAD to JNB

So while it sounds great to say “I’m going on safari in Africa with an award ticket”, the reality is that I needed to reposition myself to Washington, DC from Philadelphia via Amtrak for the SAA flight from IAD to JNB (Johannesburg, South Africa).  The South African Airways (SAA) flight […]

To buy or not to buy…Airline & Hotel miles

When I talk about my miles, people usually say “I don’t fly to get miles” or “I don’t have a credit card with miles” and will tell them that they can buy miles to build up their accounts for a dream trip but also issue a bit of caution with […]

Oddballs' Camp Safari Tent

Packing for Safari – Which Duffel Bag is Best? How Many Bags to Bring?

When it comes to packing, over the years, I have gotten much better learning to travel with less.  So while I was told one bag on the bush plane, I didn’t really understand in practical terms how I would be packing for safari.  I think I knew but buried it deep down […]