The Best of What We Did and Where We Stayed in 2016

It’s been fun running around the planet this year staying in interesting places, doing exciting

Canada Geese in Texas

things and eating marvelous food! This blog is concerned with the best of the best; in this case, anything with a rating of four carrots, unless otherwise labeled, from my evaluation scheme (see Reading the Reviews). The review blog is actually divided into two parts. The first is about the places we stayed and our activities (The Best of What We Did and Where We Stayed in 2016), with the second having to do with food (The Best of What We Ate in 2016). Within each blog there are also two sections: International and US.

The Best of 2015 - Hotels

Restored cars

Planes, trains, boats, buses and cars – we didn’t ride bicycles or motorcycles, but those are two of the few types of transportation that we didn’t take this year. This has been a great year for travel and we’re looking forward to more voyages in 2016! In this blog and the two blogs that follow are only the hotels, activities or restaurants that rated four carrots or better. You’ll notice that we’ve given high ratings to hotels, restaurants and activities that are rather divergent. How can a hotel in Lubbock compare with one in France? For information about my rating system, see Reading the Reviews.

Reviews of the Road Trip to Yellowstone

Bears at Elk Antlers Inn

This was really a ‘trip down memory lane’ because we visited many of the same places I had visited as a graduate student then later as an instructor in field ecology. This trip, however, was different because on previous visits we had camped, and cooked our own food. We stayed in some nice places and ate some really remarkable meals. For information about my rating system, see Reading the Reviews.

The Devil Is in the Details

No matter where you go or how you get there, there’s lots of planning involved. The way we travel now is significantly different from the way we went places 30 years ago. Way back then we simply threw the camping gear in the Jeep and took off. Now we are more likely to explore places that are a flight or two or three away, making getting there much more complicated.

The plane, the plane…

Waiting to board an American Airlines flight

Choosing an airline isn’t particularly complicated. If you don’t have a preferred airline there are several ways to go about finding flights that fit your schedule and budget. There are many websites (Expedia, Priceline, CheapOair, Cheap Tickets, OneTravel, CheapFlights, Kayak, Orbitz, etc.) that will compare multiple carriers over a particular set of days and times. However, cheaper isn’t necessarily better. Some airlines have an extra charge for everything, including water. By the time you add on the ‘extras’, your cost may equal what you would have paid on a more well-known airline. Once you’ve chosen an airline from one of the ‘compare-all’ sites, it’s a good idea to take a look at the actual website for the airline. It’s not unusual to find additional flights, equal or better prices, and other information that you won’t find on sites such as CheapOair. You’ve probably heard that Wednesday is the best day to purchase your tickets and this is generally true, but the best day to fly is Thursday. On Thursday flights you can generally get better seats and have a better chance of an upgrade. My first choice is American Airlines and their affiliates partly because I live near an AA hub which makes getting good flights easier and cheaper. Several of my friends choose United Airlines for the same reason: they live near a United hub, making their travel simpler and less expensive. I also choose AA because Dave and I rack up ‘mileage points’, letting us qualify for upgrades, better seats, and free entry into the airline clubs and so forth. There is another website that is really helpful when you’re getting ready to travel: TSA. This site will tell you what you can and cannot take on a plane. If you’ve ever wondered what happens to things that are confiscated by TSA be sure to visit ‘What happens to things that are left with TSA’.