No blog, no comments, no discussions this week, as I will be in Cuba and was advised not to bring a laptop.

Cuba is off limits to Americans, as we have no relationship with this Communist country,  90 miles from  the US border.  US citizens, with a visa,  can  get there from another country or can get there via  a charter flight from  Miami,  on a "mission". .  And so I found a mission.!

I will be gone for 8 days, and will tell  all when I get back. .  Am staying overnight  at the Crowne Plaza, @Miami airport., and  as Ron, Amanda and I always suggest, I  phoned the hotel for the name of the Reservation Manager and then emailed her, confirming my reservation and requests.

This CP automatically provides a full breakfast voucher for  Platinum PC members, but  I have to leave pre-dawn with the group for the airport,  and the kitchen will not be open.  Instead, they will prepare a box breakfast for me, fulfilling my requests for protein ( hb egg, cheese) and carbs,( fruit,  English muffin) . And the front desk person on duty might get me a cup of coffee., If  you don't ask, you don't get.

Hasta la vista.

As I retired  solo traveler, I  no longer have an employee or a significant other to pick up  travel tabs.  so it is especially important for me to maximize  hotel and airplane frequent stay/ flyer points.

Here are six ways, in no particular order,  that I build Priority Club Points:

1 Priority Club Connect, com  Flyertalk.com, Priorityclubinsider.com-  I have learned more and picked up  several thousands of points, by reading and registering for bonuses  listed on these three sites.  I f you are a  PCC newbie, check current  and older posts for  promotion codes.  .  And we all share when when learn ing of new ones.

2.PC Visa Credit Card - When staying at  IHG properties, and paying on the card, I get  bonus points. Amounts. change, according to hotel and season, but it never less than 3 pts per $ and Visa often has  promotions for using the card. at IHG hotels.  Charging other things, gives  one point per $1..If you are not currently a card holder, Visa is giving  many thousands of points for new card holders

3. Purchases on line with PC Partners Many vendors that I  use.anyway, are partnered with PC, giving    2 to 7 points per $ spent. My regulars are  drugstore.com, hanes.com, office depot .com, foot savers, Gaaim.com  Many  provide free shippping. and sometimes there are additional bonus promos.

4. Staying  at  IHG properties as a strong first choice.  Sometimes they are not where I want to go   or another chain has an offer to good to pass up, By  building points with one chain,   I get better deals ( Platinum status, for example ) more quicklly..

5.Priorityclub.rewards.network.com - By registering  credit card(s) here and eating at any of the thousands of restaurants on their list, I get 8 points per dollar of  total bill. There are often  promos, that double the points. In my neighborhood, there are  many restaurants on the program.  And when traveling I sometimes check to see what's where on the restaurant list. You do not need a PC credit card for this program; any cc is fine.  is fine., but it is only available in the US

6. Renewing my Ambassador  status -  A no brainer.  For , $100 renewal  fee,  I  get 5,000  PC points, a voucher for a free weekend night, when paying for the first night. and bonus points  for charging   IC's on the PC  cc. And that's in addition ot the  upgrades and other perks I get  all year at IC's and sometimes  from CP's, and Hi's.

Am I missing any big time bonus points programs?    I'm spending   all my points on a 3 night splurge in Paris and have to start building alll over again.

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Destination weddings were  a smart,   over the top way to celebrate upscale nuptials. That is, until the stock market came crashing down and a global recession affected everyone's   job, bank account or stock portfolio.

Good thing, too, not the recession, but the demise of the Destination Wedding.

A Destination wedding is just what it  sounds like.. Far from home,  it is  performed atop a mountain,  on a beach,  or a  5 star resort., perhaps in the next country or continent.,  It usually lasts for four days  (Thursday to Sunday) with planned events for the guests. Guests pay for their own transportation and accomodations and the  guest  list  remains the same as though the service and reception were around the corner. . I had heard about one in Venice, another in Santorini.

I was  thrilled to be invited to my first destination wedding   in Jamaica.  I   received a Save the Date  pre invitation,  6 months in advance. giving  heads-up information about planes,  the resort ,  and  tentative agenda of  planned events.  I  considered  staying a few extra days just for the fun of it. Perhaps  I would even rent one of the hotel villas and invite my children/grandchildren    for fun in the sun, 'though they were not   wedding guests..

I shuddered to think how much the four days would cost,plus wedding gift, shower gift,  and perhaps a smart new bathing suit or tropical outfit or two,   dropped the idea of a villa for  my family, and reserved , just for me,  the least costly room at the hotel.

When I booked air and hotel via Amex travel  (cheaper than the recommended agency for the wedding),  I  was stunned to learn this resort needed up front payment with a limited cancellation policy. . I took out travel insurance, just in case.

,  Sadly, almost at the 11th hour, the engagement was broken. It was a painful , probably embarrassing time  for the bride and the families.   I got  my dollars back , thanks to the  insurance.,  but  never  received  another destination wedding invitation.

Have you ever gone to a Destination Wedding.? What was it like? Tell all.

G- O- D bless all you  folks who constantly  travel  on the job all year.  How do you  survive flight delays and cancellations and sleeping out more that at home? I hope you  get paid royally for your efforts.

I am constantly on the go , but as a leisure traveler,  and  when I get to where I am going,  it is because I want to  be there.  It is not a job: I dont' have to see clients, do presentations and worry about bottom line or the family at home.  When I worked,  I did short commutes to Boston, just a few times each year, nothing like what you guys do now,  traveling all over the  globe all the time

These thoughts occurred to me  on a weekend trip  to Chicago. I  attended  a Gala  fund for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation  (JDRF)and also to see family so the visit was a happy one. 

Nevertheless,  my flights were delayed for more than  two hours  coming and going. Chicago was freezing and .I stayed at two hotels (one night  each in  comped rooms, but that's another chapter),

What's it like when you are always somewhere else because of your job?

Do  you eat too much  junk food, or drink too much on business trips. Do you keep in shape at the hotel  fitness center? Are you always exhausted from problems on the job,   or from   driving too far, or hanging out too long at airports? Do your shoulders ache from carrying  a too heavy briefcase?  How much do you miss your family and how often to you miss your  kid's soccer games and school plays?

Do you count the days, years when you won't have to travel as much as you do now?

Or,  do you really love business travel and see it as a perk,  a blessing that you are not  in a  9-5   job. Perhaps you like being away from home .

Or  do you continue to do what  you do  because the bottom line is the bottom line and you are rewarded handsomely?

Or , none of the above.

I wonder...

I live in the middle of Manhattan. Some folks think city living is awful, with  cramped apartments, noise,  no garden .   I miss my own garden, but otherwise  it's a trade off for  the joy of  city living.

Here is what  apartment living  in a city  is like.

1.  An apartment house  is not a community ; it's a building.    I hardly know anyone and few  neigbors socialize with each other.

2. Everbody but the bank delivers... supermarket, ,  wine, store,  pharmacy,  dry cleaner, you name it.  Phone for what you want and magically it arrives. Most services are within walking distance - up the street, down the street or around the corner.

3 You don't take out the garbage.  You toss it down a hole (compactor), in a service room  on your  floor,. leaving  recylables in designated boxes.

4 If you live in a serviced  building,  there is someone to assist with everything. including  changing a light bulb. .

5. City folk walk, walk, walk. It's healthier than driving  and  more interesting.  And In NYC, public transportion, by bus, subway or train, gets one all around the city and suburbs.

6.  Good hospitals are  often  in   major cities;  important  when  body parts go wrong.

7. Entertainment:  Best   theatre,  opera,  concerts of all kinds,  movies  everywhere, museums and more museums, lectures and adult ed in every neighborhood,  all kinds of sports ( spectator and participation), parks,  great shopping.

8. The downside?   Cost of housing..

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Annually, Conde Nast polls readers, for the best hotel, resorts and  airlines  in the world. I did a fast look, and  found only  one (count 'em just one!) , the Intercontinental,  in Buckhead (Atlanta) Georgia.  Where is the  Carleton, in Cannes the Amstel in Amsterdam or the Paris  IC? . I would give high marks to these..

Unless, zi need new glasses, , I didn't see any more IC's, than just Buckhead .

Four Seasons were all over the list.

I think in 2008, there were sesveral ICs.

Where did IC go wrong...or did it?

Do you think the list is accurate?

Gettng sick while traveling?  Need a doctor?

Not me! I'm healthy, and traveling for fun is energizing.

But lately, I'm re-thinking the possiblilties.  Recently, my friend  , Enid fell down a flight a stairs in Berlin and needed  two emergency surgeries., Another friend; was returning to NY  from Ireland,  on a plane which  made a stop in  in Maine,  to take off  a passenger who  was ill on board.

Could I be next? Not probably, but possibly.

I push  away  negative thoughts, but still, they linger. After all, I never thought I would be a cancer survivor, but here I am, 13 years later , beating the odds.

I never thought I would be widowed, but  one day, my  perfectly, healthy husband,  rolled off the couch and died. Just like that.

Stuff happens.

I rarely go to third world countries, in this chapter of my life, and feel safe  in cities with high quality medical care. Medicare covers me only in the US, and I could ,though never do, buy short term health insurance when traveling abroad. . As needed,  I can charge  emergency  medical service on  credit cards  and also access cash..

My doctor, after an annual checkup supplies me with a laminated card that fits in my wallet, which gives vital medical and contact  data  on one side and an  EKG graph on the reverse.

The  Amex card provides  evacuation coverage ( flying me on a medical aircraft home  and/ or to an accredited medical facility). They will also supply a lists of doctors.

The hotel staff will also  provide  names of doctors and clinics. and hopefully be knowledgeable and helpful. 

What else should I do? Anything?

I am neither a hypochondric nor one  seeks solutions for  problems that haven't  happened.

Your input is valuable.  HELP!

What a wonderful tourist spot!  I haven't been in DC since JFK was in the White House, and there was so much that was new and exciting..

I stayed at the  IC Willard, a grand old historic hotel,, recently renovated,  and a favorite of Lincoln. Location is excellent, on Pennsylvania Avenue, a block from the White House and walkable to   many historic sites and good restaurants.

I paid for one night,  used points and vouchers for three more.  As an Ambassador, I got  an upgraded huge room, with a view,  and the amenity was bottled water and a fruit platter.

The restaurant is  very French,  very good, but  somewhat limited, though  fine for bvreakfast.  Next  door , walking to right of entrance is the  Occidental Restaurant,  with a more diversified menu,  and the best crabcakes in town. the  Occidental is  on the PC Dining  Program, so as a member of that , I got 8 PC points per dollar. of total bill include tip and tax.

All the guidebooks and concierge  will tell you how to arrange capital  and white house tours,.tickets to baseball games, the Kennedy Center  and all the important museuems and historic sites,  I like the Frommer's guide, but there are many other good ones. 

Here are some must sees:

The Neuseum - (Not a typo error)-  a 6  story builing `focusing on  news and how it gets from the happening to the public. It includes  all media -for the last 500 years. including  newspapers, radio, magazines , tv and the internet. Who choose the news, how accurate, etc is shown with lots of interactive state of the art activities.  Don't miss this one.

The Smithsonian, 19 museums all in one area and free (like the Island in Berlin). You can't go to all or cover even one fully.So pick and choose before you go.   Start out in the Smithsopnian Castle, an information  building where you can sort out and plan your day. 

My faves,   at Smithsonian, are the American  Indian (gorgeous archecture, interesting exhibits,) The Hirschorn Sculpture Garden, and the American  History Museum (see Dorothy's ruby red slippers, Archie Bunkers Chair, Seinfeld leather jacket, and  more, more, more more.   Next door it the Museum of Natural History,  where the Hope diamond is displayed (think   blue doorknob; that's what it looks like)).

DC is a beautiful city,  with broad  boulevards like Paris, and no matter  how long your vist is, you will wish you had just a few more days.

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