I hope you enjoyed yesterdays tip, because I have a lot more. Here is today's tip.

When we travel my wife is always buying gifts. She has this bag that folds up and zippers into a small package about the size of a small purse. When it is time to go home we have a extra carry on bag. We have a friend, who likes to pack her suitcase in a larger suitcase, so she has an empty suitcase when she comes back (don't tell my wife, she'll just buy more).

If you have a travel tip you would like to share, please drop me an email

With The holidays upon us, I thought I would spend the next few weeks on some travel tips:

My first travel tip is something I got from a restaurant (Cheeburger Cheeburger) we to go to. Trivia Pursuit cards. This works well for any kind of travel. Trains, planes and automobiles (just don't be the person reading if your driving). I like anything that get the family talking, and even more important thinking. The cards cover a range of topics, and can usually stimulate a conversation at some point. I also find it interesting to see some of the answers my family can come up with. With the number of cards that come in the game, you can kill what would have been boring travel time into great clean quality time with the family.

If you have some travel tips, please email them to me. Thanks

Hello again

Thanksgiving is getting closer by the minute, and since this is a travel site, let's talk about all the people traveling this week for family celebrations.

I like the commercial for American Airlines that says "we know why you fly" about the woman going home for the holidays, and the ticket agent says "return flights every hour". Been there done that.

I live in South Florida, and this is the time of the year when many people who live here go north for the holidays, and about ten times more people come here. We call these people Snowbirds. As soon as it gets cold up north, they come here for the winter like birds. We also have Snowflakes, they show up when it snows up north (who can blame them).

I know there are a lot of people who like the snow. People who like to ski, and other outdoor sports. We even have some of these people down here. South Florida has the second biggest ski club in the country. I assume that they have to travel to go skiing, since it rarely snows here ( you know I had to get back to traveling). I always thought that it was strange that people who liked to ski would live in Florida, but it seems that unless you live on or near a mountain, you have to travel to get there.

So, I guess it doesn't matter where you live and why you are traveling this holiday season, be safe and have a great Thanksgiving.

Here are some Travel Jokes I Found:

Travel Funnies
Actual stories provided by travel agents:
1. I had someone ask for an aisle seat so that their hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window.
2. A client called in inquiring about a package to Hawaii. After going over all the cost information, she asked, "Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the train to Hawaii?"
3. I got a call from a woman who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information when she interrupted me with "I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Cape Town is in Massachusetts." Without trying to make her look like the stupid one, I calmly explained, "Cape Cod is in Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa."
Her response was "click."
4. A man called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that is not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, "Don't lie to me. I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state."
5. I got a call from a man who asked, "Is it possible to see England from Canada?"
I said, "No."
He said, "But they look so close on the map."
6. Another man called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had a 1-hour lay over in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, "I heard Dallas was a big airport, and I need a car to drive between the gates to save time."
7. A nice lady just called. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:20am and got into Chicago at 8:33am. I tried to explain that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois, but she could not understand the concept of time zones. Finally I told her the plane went very fast, and she bought that!

Thanksgiving is always a focal point for me. Since we always have it here, all the little (and sometimes big) jobs around the house get dome just in time before the family and friends arrive. I have, over the years, started the work about t weeks before the big day, and I guess that I am writing about this now, is I have been fixing and cleaning outside for over 3 hours, and I needed a break.

So what does this have to do with travel? Well this year one of my friends is going to Las Vegas. Just him and his wife. There not even taking their daughter.

No family, no cooking, no weeks of cleaning and fixing, no stress. No just the 2 of them. They called Global Travel (they are members) and said get me a deal for airfare and the nicest hotel on the strip.

As I sit here writing this, I'm thinking maybe they have the right idea.

Let me know some of your ideas. Email Michael

In order to save on all my traveling costs, I joined Global Travel International's travel agent program. With my travel agent card, I have saved as much as 50% on hotels, discounts on car rentals and free upgrades, saved on cruises, and much to my surprise got a giant discount on airline tickets.

Now GTI has come up with new levels of membership that include something for everyone. There is a travel club which provides discounts for members who don't want to book travel for others. Associate Travel Agent for the beginner who wants to earn some extra income by booking travel. And last Professional Travel Agent for the experienced Travel Agent.

If it wasn't for the discounts I receive by using my Travel Agent card, I could not afford to take as many vacations as I do.

Now that my children are married and out of the house, my wife and I have been traveling more. We recently traveled to the Bahamas and stayed at Atlantis. It was an amazing place. They have taken the myth and brought it to life. Just walking around the property was great, seeing the different areas and fish tanks with all sorts of tropical fish including sharks. There is even a water slide that goes through a shark tank. What a ride.

If you get a chance to go there, get the meal plan, it will save you a lot of money.

The rooms were nice, and the pools and beaches were great. They had every resort activity you could think of and most important of all a casino.

If you are looking for a first class vacation on a Tropical Island, this is the place.

If you have a great vacation location, email me

Does anyone have the American Express Delta SkyMiles card.

In the last 2 years both my daughters got married, and I have about 200,000 miles.

It seems that everytime I call Delta, I can never get tickets on the dates I want. It is just like the commercial with David Spade. Every date I ask for the answer is no. And when I get a date I can live with, it's always at times I don't want. andthen they can't get me home when I want.

Does anyone else have this problem?

I live in Florida, and I wanted to go see my brother in California, I told him it would be somethime in April. I called Delta, and it took almost an hour to get it worked out.

I have a miles one card, has anyone used one of thoes?

Please email me and let me know. Thanks

Sorry it's been so long. I'll try to be more consistent. A few weeks ago I went to a Bed and Breakfast in St. Augustine call Casa de la Paz. I've never been to a bed and breakfast before, so I have nothing to compare it too. The first day my wife said she missed taking the elevator to the 3rd floor to the exercise room, and wasn’t sure she liked being at such a small place (only 7 rooms). By the third day, we were making reservations to come back in the spring. The inn has 7 rooms, all decorated differently, and were nicer than most of the rooms I been in much more expensive hotels. Our hosts George and Kathie Dann were the nicest people. The made us feel welcome and right at home. The breakfasts were excellent, as were the fresh baked pastries that were available all day. And if you have never been to St. Augustine, FL you are missing a big part of America's history. I can't recommend this inn and city enough. If you want to make reservations, their toll free number is (800) 929-2915.