My flight home wasn't until 5:00 PM (except then it was delayed but more on that later) and I wanted to have time to visit New Orleans before heading to the airport. Left my cozy condo at 7 AM on another foggy morning and hit the road. The drive was easy, although foggy all the way until just before the city. My friendly Google Maps navigator had me exit I-10 at Elysian Fields Ave, which runs through the 7th Ward. I noticed many of the houses looked pretty run down yet most had cheerful Mardi Gras decorations hanging on their balconies. Eventually I turned onto Decatur Street and proceeded to look for a parking lot. I read ahead of time that parking on the street in the city is not advised because the meters are tricky ... read more

Let me start by saying that the people in Gulf Shores are friendly. That applies to locals and visitors alike! I started my morning with a walk on the beach, which required me to ride down to the lobby in an already occupied elevator. The gentleman saw me follow him out the door and said "Morning walk on the beach too huh?" He is a snowbird from Valparaiso and gave me some food tips and wished me luck on my shell hunting. I walked east along the beach for quite a ways. Along my walk I saw several dead jellyfish (I was careful not to step on any), a Great Blue Heron and lots and lots of shells. The waves are very large right now and there are rip current warnings all over. The water temperature ... read more

Our flight home was to leave at 8:30 so I arranged for the shuttle to pick us up at 6. We left our fancy room and headed down through the very quiet hotel to check out and wait outside for our ride. The shuttle was a little delayed, but the airport is only a 10-15 minute drive from the hotel so no big deal. We got our boarding passes, went through security, got breakfast at Starbucks and reached our gate only to learn the flight was delayed. The incoming plane was late due to weather delays out of Minneapolis. But it was ok as we weren't in a huge hurry to return to 8 degree Chicago! On this trip, I got to cross one more state off my list, sing along with the songs of my ... read more

And here we go! Getting to, and staying in, Las Vegas turned out to be way cheaper than I thought it would be, probably because they want you to spend all your money in the casinos and not on travel. I booked the trip through Expedia and we flew Spirit Airlines so it was very inexpensive. Our flight left O'Hare on time at 9:00 and we arrived in Las Vegas at 11. We used Super Shuttle to get to and from the airport and I would recommend them if going to Vegas. I chose the Cosmopolitan when I picked our package on Expedia. I had no idea where we should stay, other than the Bellagio was probably not in our budget, and the Cosmo was one of the more inexpensive options. I did upgrade to get ... read more

I always hate when a trip comes to an end. It means you have to leave a place you spent discovering, you have to get back on a plane for x number of hours and you have to return to the realities of every day life. This trip came at just the right time when a break was needed from work and I felt so relaxed and stress free the entire week. It was hard to leave! We had one last breakfast at the hotel and spent our last few hours sitting on the balcony enjoying the sun and the ocean. Then it was time to check out and wait for the shuttle back to the airport. The driver took a nice scenic route up the hill behind our hotel and across the middle of the ... read more