January 2018 - ADrayInTheLife

— By JorisJanuary 31, 20180 Comments

Visiting Places in Peril: My Cape Town Dilemma

“Should I stay or should I go now? If I go there will be trouble And if I stay it will be double So come on and let me know” The Clash One of the destinations I was most looking forward to on this sabbatical…

— By JorisJanuary 27, 20184 Comments

Points, Miles, & Tinder: How I’m Going to Super Bowl LII

I started my sabbatical travel a little over a week ago and was admittedly slightly disappointed that I wasn’t in Philadelphia to see the city celebrate the Eagles advancing to their first Super Bowl in over a decade. Even in Costa Rica, I saw coverage…

— By JorisJanuary 24, 20180 Comments

Picking Places: To Visit or Revisit

“Nothing much could happen Nothing we can’t shake Oh we’re absolute beginners With nothing much at stake” David Bowie Picking your next travel destination is hard. Ironically, I think the stress of the decision is so paralyzing that it actually causes some people not to…

— By JorisJanuary 22, 20182 Comments

My Loyalty Points and Credit Card Strategy

Earlier, I shared how I used almost 900,000 credit card, airline, and hotel points to save over $20,000 on travel expenses during my six-month sabbatical. The obvious next question that many of my friends have been asking me is: How did you get so many…

— By JorisJanuary 18, 20180 Comments

Self-Improvement Through Traveling

“Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment, would you capture or just let it slip?” Eminem When I was in college and regularly eating cheap Chinese food, I once got the same fortune in…

— By JorisJanuary 12, 20180 Comments

TV Tourism – The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

“Done laid around, done stayed around this old town too long and I feel like I want to to travel on” Harry Belafonte – “Done Laid Around (Gotta Travel On)” (From the movie “The World, The Flesh and the Devil”) It seems like everywhere I’ve…