The Hilton’s reward program is called Hilton HHonors and includes partners such as Embassy Suites and Hampton Inn, to name a few.

Quick Facts:
*can be redeemed at over 3,000 hotels worldwide
*has no blackout dates
*can use free room (category 1) at 7,500 points
*the more you stay the higher your status becomes (VIP) which means the faster you accumulate rooms
*best option for accumulating rooms is getting 15 points for every $1 you spend on your room

Marriott Rewards is a highly popular rewards program. There is something about Marriott that leads me to believe it has a cult following, which I suppose could be a good indicator of quality.

Quick Facts:
*have the ability to earn up to 25,000 bonus points if you refer up to five friends
*earn 5-10 points per each dollar you spend at participating Mariott hotels
*has blackout dates
*can be used at over 2,700 hotels worldwide
*category one rooms available at 7,500 points

Sheraton’s rewards program is known as Starwood Preferred Guest and is in conjunction with Westin and the W hotel as well as many more.

Quick Facts:
*can be used at over 860 hotels worldwide
*has no blackout dates
*three tiered membership levels
*2-3 points for every dollar spent at hotels
*free rooms at category 1 with 2,000 points
*stay four consecutive nights on points and get a fifth night for free

Holiday Inn’s program is known as Priority Club. One thing I like about the Holiday Inn is that it includes five star resorts but also has the cheaper but still nice option of Holiday Inn express (which does offer breakfast).

Quick Facts:
*can be used at over 3,800 hotels worldwide
*has no blackout dates
*has capacity controls (have limited amount of discount and free rooms they will book a night)
*earn 5-10 points for every $1 you spend on your hotel room or eligible charges (and increases as you get   higher up in the club)
*Three levels ranging from club level to platinum elite
*free stays at 10,000 points

Comparing and contrasting these four different programs it may seem that the Sheratons’ reward program would be the best when you have the opportunity to stay in a free room at 2,000 however, they only have 860 hotels worldwide, and you also only get 2-3 points per dollar. The Hilton and the Marriott are pretty close with just a few key differences such as blackout dates and referring bonuses. I like Holiday Inn’s program but you need 10,000 points to get your free room although it may be a nicer room than Marriott and Hilton’s category 1 room. I guess what it really comes down to is what you personally prefer and what you find convenient. I would take time and figure out which program is right for you and your travel needs.

***These are not all the facts please look at fine print when signing up for a program***

*Photo credit goes to Brian Hansen (Follow him on twitter: @bhans) *

In reality, when the economy falters the first thing to get cut is our vacations. As ironic as this can seem, it’s just the way it is. This reigned true in my situation. I was supposed to be going to Europe next week, but due to financial situations and an unplanned surgery- that trip has gone out the window. While I am sad about this fact it reminds me that while, no I don’t get to go on my Europe trip this year, that things could be a lot worse. We both still have our jobs, which is a blessing considering the industries we are in, and we are able to live comfortably. While there will be no traveling abroad for the likes of us this year, there are plenty of other trips we will be able to make. It’s a scary time for all of us- but as Joe Dirt would say:  “Keep on Keepin on!”

It was all set up. We had a condo with our friends, they were going to pick us up from the airport and we were going to spend the day at the beach. Surfing, tanning and building sand castles. Then we were going to get some of the best clam chowder in the world at the Splash Café. Yes, I was very excited about our trip to Pismo Beach this past weekend. The only problem was- it never happened. My husband plays ice hockey for a local league. He grew up in northern Minnesota, and has been playing hockey since he could barely walk. Chasing after a puck, he bumped his opponent (it’s a non-checking league) and it set him off balance which caused him to fall and slide really hardly into the boards. As a last ditch effort to keep his head from hitting the boards, he turned and took the impact with his shoulder.

We spent the next few hours in the Emergency Room. The doctor knew by looking at his shoulder that he had definitely broken his collar bone. Apparently, the collar bone is the first or second most commonly broken bone. The X-Rays came back and we realized just how badly it had broken. It was in three pieces with the middle piece turned on its side, making a z. Following up with the orthopedic surgeon yesterday confirmed that he will indeed need surgery to fix that mess. The doctor also believed that he had broken a few ribs while he was at it. So…. basically what I am trying to get at- no beach for me.

I spent a few hours this weekend wallowing in self pity but tried to make the best of it by going to a movie with one of my best friends. It also helped knowing my husband was in a great deal of pain and discomfort and was also sad that we had missed our beach trip. I busied myself waiting on him and focusing on making him comfortable. I found this article yesterday on CNN. It lists stories of people who had the worst things happen to them on their vacations. Realizing it’s not the most upbeat post I have written but, I am writing about it because it makes me feel better about not going to the beach. Hey, it could have been worse right?

This is a good one from the article:
Bruce Bush’s vacation in Hawaii started off perfectly. His family loved the “sandy beaches, hot weather and a tropical paradise I had never seen,” he wrote in his iReport. But Bush, who had been sick for much of the vacation, was diagnosed with cancer in a Waikiki hospital three days before his family was scheduled to fly home.
“The doctors wanted to admit me right away but something didn’t feel right about the situation. So Bush’s parents (he was 17 at the time) declined treatment and decided to wait out the rest of the vacation and ask his regular physician about it when the family arrived home in Indiana.
“By the time we went home, I’d already started feeling better,” Bush said.
The cancer diagnosis? A terrifying mistake. Bush had thought his illness was mononucleosis the entire time, and his doctor at home confirmed the diagnosis.

Are you kidding me? Imagine you are on vacation in HAWAII nonetheless, find out you have cancer (talk about buzzkill) and then go home to find out they were mistaken and it’s just mono? Ok… feeling better already.

Anyone else have some nightmare vacation experiences they want to share?

Visiting San Diego was something I had been wanting to do for a long time. I had been there once as a kid but didn’t really remember what it was like or didn’t even have clear memories of the visit. So the excitement I felt was a bit of an understatement. We had some issues with our flight- we weren’t able to land in San Diego due to the wind and so we were re-routed to LAX for a couple of hours. Then when we finally managed to get into San Diego, but it was so late that the rental car company was closed. Arghhhh. While it was a rough start, the rest of our trip definitely made up for it.

One of the great things about San Diego is there is so much to do and so much to see. Of course you have SeaWorld which is always an awesome time and the San Diego Zoo however these places can be a little costly but for sure worthwhile. We first ventured to Coronado because we had heard great things about the city. It was cool and fun to see- the hotel is beautiful and looks like it would be a great place to stay and vacation. The beaches are beautiful as well.

Other things I would definitely recommend to do during your visit to San Diego would be to journey to Point Loma, which is a hilly peninsula in the pacific ocean. Point Loma in and of itself has a few things to explore, Old Point Loma Lighthouse is kind of fun and you can actually go in it and see how the keeper lived, a museum, some bunkers from World War two days and some really fun tidal pools that kids (and adults) would love. The view you get of San Diego is breathtaking- but as a warning there is walking uphill associated, although it’s pretty accessible by car. Plus its pretty cheap admittance- about $5 that covers parking and is good for a week.

Gas Lamp Quarter is gorgeous. I would recommend plan to eat at least one dinner in the Gas Lamp Quarter. The small restaurants are a little pricey but it’s romantic and the food is worth the money. We drove a little north and went to mission beach. We rented bikes and rode along the board walk (it was about $30 to rent two bikes for a couple of hours). It’s more of a surf beach that is a lot of fun. It also was gorgeous.

Old Town San Diego is also worth checking out- as is Balboa Park (where San Diego Zoo is located). Also the waterfront is a fun place to explore old ships, and learn about San Diego’s history. Ours was a short weekend trip where we crammed in as much as we could. I would recommend a week long vacation so as you could relax and maybe enjoy a Padres game, SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo and all the great things San Diego has to offer.