Le's go to hav sum fun!

My first grader made this for me right before school started this year. How could I resist this request? We went to the beach, and I keep this visible to remind me to hav sum fun.

One of my favorite ways to have fun is travel. It may be my most preferred (and most expensive) hobby. Before children, I traveled extensively for education, fun, and business and also lived in Moscow, Russia; Paris, France; and various states in the US. Now that we have these crazy little people running around, we've dialed it back a lot. Still, we take trips whenever we can, and I look forward to visiting Asia and Africa and other exotic locales as soon as our family and budget allow (sounds like a long time from now). In the meantime, we mostly stay in North America.

I am not a high-end traveler. When my husband and I lived in Paris 12 years ago, we spent a whole month sleeping in our rental car as we explored all of western Europe. Even if I'm on an expense report, I don't need the most luxurious hotels or the trendiest restaurants. However, I do want a good night's sleep in a comfortable hotel, and I need to eat delicious food and see the most interesting things. Do you like to travel, too? If so, you are in luck today. Because I am super nice, I'm going to share with you how I manage: my three favorite travel-related websites.

Hotel:

biddingfortravel.com This website is a web forum that will help you get great prices on hotels (and car and air). People come here and learn how to strategically bid for hotels on Priceline, then they report their winning (and losing) bids. The first time you visit this site, ignore the clunky design and read all the instructions. Then go crazy. We have stayed at super luxury resorts for $100/night. We were in Quebec City about 2 years ago and stayed at a Loews with a killer view room that would have been $325/night, but we got it for $67! On the lower end, I've stayed in Residence Inns for $30/night. Emily just got a great room at a luxury hotel in Chicago for an upcoming trip, thanks to Priceline and biddingfortravel.com. Never book a hotel without checking here first.

Food:

Chowhound.com message boards This is my kind of place. These are people who love good food but don't care for pretension. People ask questions, write reviews, and give advice freely. There are some snobby foodies, but you're likely to see a hole-in-the-wall Thai joint recommended right alongside a tres chic, expensive French restaurant. When I am traveling to a new destination, I always do my research at Chowhound first to find out what the local specialties are, where are the best places to eat at any budget, and what to order. I've found fantastic places to eat in LA, New Orleans, Hawaii, Mexico and even Germany. This is one of my favorite websites of all time because I LOVE TO EAT GOOD FOOD.

What to see and do:
Fodors Travel Talk Forums These forums are populated by experienced travelers and locals who want to share what they know. I have used these forums to plan trips to everywhere from Rio de Janiero to Rome to Provo, UT. Seven years ago we took a cruise through the Caribbean. I planned wonderful and fun excursions for us at every port thanks to the Fodors forums. We traveled by cab, daily rental car or pedicab, got to all the sights when they were still peaceful and easy to see, and just as we were leaving to go to our next activity the cruise buses would pull up with their hundreds of passengers. We also saved money by not going with the cruise line. I will never forget snorkeling in Jamaica--we were the first ones to the reef, saw barracuda and amazing fish, and after an hour or two we left when the hordes of cruise tourists arrived. Sweet! One tip--before you ask a question, do a search on the site first to see if the question has already been asked. There's so much great info, not just on sightseeing and activities, but also hotels and restaurants.

All the Bossy Sisters like to travel. We love travel stories. If you want to share yours with us, please do! When my friends go on vacation, I always request a detailed trip report when they're home. Vicarious travel is pretty good if you're as addicted as I am.

I'm going to go to hav sum fun now.