Category Archives: Musings

Once upon a time there was a boy who loved to fly around the world using his miles and points. Around the globe he flew, visiting the far corners of the world; meeting new people and surveying new lands....

99 years ago, World War I ended on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month. We live in a world far removed from the Great War, the war that was to end all wars, but...

Yesterday I wrote about an amenity kit incident onboard my Alitalia flight from Rome to Los Angeles. Something happened later in the flight that I am struggling to process. First, let me preface this story by saying that it...

I spent the last week in two former Soviet Socialist Republics, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. As the Soviet Union collapsed, both declared independence in 1991. At one point, nearly every city under the sphere of Soviet influence erected a towering...

Earlier today I shared the lurid details of a passenger meltdown on a Delta flight from Seattle to Beijing. The question on my mind: would lethal force have been appropriate? First, let’s be thankful that lethal force was not used–that passengers...

For those of you have not read me for years, I love traveling to conflict zones. I’ve been to Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia purely for the sake of going. > Read More: Introduction: A Journey to Saudi Arabia...

Let me tell you a story. I’ll call it A Tale of Two “Mistake” Fares. Award Expert focuses on the effective utilization of frequent flyer miles and credit card points, but sometimes it just makes sense to purchase revenue...

With the arrival of Augustine, we are celebrating Mother’s Day in a new way this year: my kitchen now looks like a funeral parlor. I prefer to buy potted plants or trees that my wife Heidi and I can plant...

My dearest mother used to lie awake when I would travel, doing what mothers do well: worrying. I remember my solo first trip to Washington, DC. Just DC. It was a mileage run and I flew on a Friday...