New York City - city of amazing, fattening food!

Since I got a Forte Fellowship to Grad. School, I got the opportunity to go to NYC for the annual conference. I gave myself an extra day and a half to check out the city before the conference - but what to do? So many choices, so little time! I was a little worried about traveling by myself, but figured between the awesome subway and the fact that I'd be doing totally touristy stuff I would be fine.

When I arrived in the city, I made my way to my hotel in Soho by way of an extra long taxi ride. It was really easy to do until my taxi couldn't figure out where we were going.

Continental Airlines - still keeping some nice amenities!

Due to a strange turn of events I ended up flying on Continental on my trip from San Diego to Pittsburgh. I would be flying in to Houston then on to Pit for less than $100, I was pleased with the killer price, so I didn't really have any expectations from the flight. When I got to the airport, which was a zoo, the Continental lines were way shorter than anyone else, and I dutifully paid the $15 to check my bag. I figured the airline was nickel and diming the customers like the rest of them (I normally fly Delta, United and American) so I figured it'd be just a normal flight. Well to my surprise, I was wrong. Both trips showed movies (with headsets only $1 if you didn't have any) and meals! Admittedly the meals were small, but nevertheless, it was a very pleasant surprise. It really is the little things that count in my book, so Continental gained some good brownie points. I will definitely consider flying with them again in the future.

Drive up the California coast...

Since Brad moved to California, he's wanted to drive up the coast in his hot rod. About a year ago, we decided to go together, but have never been able to schedule a good weekend to go. We finally realized we didn't have much time before we move away from the state so it was time to go.

We worked a half day on Friday and then hit the road. We hadn't been going very long when we got stuck in traffic and nasty clouds rolled in. Fortunately the traffic was just due to construction and we passed by the weather quickly.

Since I moved to Lancaster, everyone has been telling me about a place called Solvang, that's a bit north of Santa Barbara. We decided it would be a good place to stop for dinner and to walk around for a while. The little city is a total tourist trap, but it is quite cute. Designed to look like a typical Danish village, it has lots of cute shops and pastry places. Unfortunately by the time we got there (around 6pm), everything was closed and the place was like a ghost town. It looked fairly rundown and we were disappointed to find that there were only 2 authentic restaurants where we could have dinner. The place we decided to eat had the cutest old man sitting outside playing an accordian. Unfortunately, the grill was broken, so we went to another place on the other side of town. The food was ok, but it was incredibly over priced. However, they had fresh strawberries fresh picked from the local Santa Maria, which were some of the best (and biggest) strawberries I've ever had.

After dinner we drove a little bit further up to Lompoc where we stayed at the Embassy Suites for the night.

Saturday morning we got up and started the main drive up the coast. Brad was pretty disappointed in the central coast saying he was surprised at how brown it was. However, once we passed Hearst Castle (San Simeon), he seemed to enjoy the view a lot better. The coast line is spectacular, and we lucked out with gorgeous weather. We stopped at a bunch of pull-outs to take pictures and admire the beautiful view.

We decided to drive up to Big Sur for a late lunch and take a hike.

The plan was to end the day in Monterrey. We decided to stop at Laguna Seca (a famous race track) and check it out. Brad was in heaven. There was a 24 hour mountain bike race going on and a few cars driving on the main track. I think Brad was a little bummed he couldn't race on the track, but he still enjoyed it.

Unfortunately Brad noticed the car was rattling pretty badly so he had to go in search of some parts for the car. He dropped me off at the Naval Post Graduate School, where we were staying for the night. I was able to do some homework so it worked out nicely. That evening we went out to Cannery Row where we had an awesome seafood dinner and walked along the beach.

The next day we had to head back home, but it was a really nice weekend.

Embassy Suites - what a nice surprise...

I admit it, I am a girl who loves luxury, esp. when it's priced nicely. I will rarely (unless I'm uber desperate) stay at anything less than a 3 star hotel, however I am also a bargain hunter. Since I have Hilton honors points, and truthfully am a big fan of their hotels, I always look at their hotels first to see if they have a good deal in the area I want to stay. They usually do and I have stayed at many Homewood Suites, Hilton Garden Inns, and Doubletrees.

This time my search found me an Embassy Suites for only $115 (yay for AAA prices) in Lompoc, CA. Besides being thrilled with the price, I discovered they include a free happy hour (drinks and appetizers) every night and free cook to order (not just your standard complimentary order) breakfast. That means omelettes, quiches, pancakes, etc. Seriously, in this economic market? I am impressed. Embassy Suites, you just earned my business, and a good recommendation!

Add to that, there is a special Hilton promotion right now where you get 1,000 extra honors points for staying at certain Hilton hotels, and this just happens to be one! Right on! I only hope the stay is as nice as I expect!