New Orleans is a fascinating city with an incredibly unique blend of cultures and that makes it an amazing city for anyone looking to try something new. Like cities such as LA, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, people think differently here and normal rules don't always apply. However, what New Orleans has that those other "foodie cities" don't is hundreds of years of deeply rooted traditions to help guide the influences of those different cultures. This results in not just "great restaurants" in different silos, but almost a bouquet of foodie options that generally traces it's way back to either Cajun or Creole roots. For me, this makes it infinitely more fascinating and enjoyable to explore.

Traditionally, our wives and girlfriends sit and wait for us to pick a hotel that they want for Valentine's Day - but why can't we turn the tables and do things differently? We scoured the internet looking for epic hotel ideas that will inspire romance this Valentine's Day in a completely different manner than the typical 4-star resort with breakfast in bed!

Each of these motels caters to fantasies or have themed rooms that will make your Valentine's Day that much more fun compared to a eewwey gooey, boring romantic night at a typical hotel with red roses and chocolates.

As an American, it isn't often that I visit a building more than 200 years old, so when I had the opportunity to visit Hotel Pulitzer Amsterdam and discovered that the buildings dated back to a collection of 25 restored homes dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries, I was super excited for the experience. 

Anyone that's ever done the drive home from Las Vegas to Southern California after a weekend getaway can tell you how terrible the traffic is. This normally 4-5 hour trip can instead become 8-9+ hours of bumper to bumper rush hour traffic where you are forced to be at 100% attention on roads that would normally compel you to look around and enjoy the drive. So, instead of fighting that fight a few weeks ago, I decided to take the long way home and discovered a fantastic road trip that was a lot of fun to drive in the 2017 Flex that Ford gave to us for the trip.

I've enjoyed my share of ocean cruises on a few different lines to different hot and cold destinations so I consider myself a pretty experienced cruiser. However, despite this I found river cruising a completely unique and wonderful experience that I wish more people would consider. After being hosted on an amazing experience by Viking River Cruises, I wanted to share my thoughts so you can better understand the experience.

There are many rites of passage in a man’s life that require intricate planning. That first date, your high school prom, the first road trip with friends, the wedding proposal, and the last road trip with friends. Nestled in there is one of the most important things a man can be called on to do for a friend: being the best man. Being a best man involves much more than standing by your best mate as he says his vows and then making a funny speech about how he met his wife. You are also responsible for the groom’s last weekend of freedom: the bachelor party.

This has been one heck of a year, but let's make 2017 even more exciting by getting ready to make some bold vacation ideas. If there's one thing that we've all learned this year is that things can change suddenly, so now is your chance to seize the moment and make bold choices to see some amazing sites that will challenge your physical, mental, and emotional limits. This is time to MAN UP and take life by the horns instead of sitting behind memes on Facebook. Are you bold enough?

San Diego has more diversity in hotels than nearly any other city of its size. There are ultra-luxury hotels as well as small boutique hotels and then there's The Pearl Hotel. I've driven by this location dozens of times and didn't realize it was even there since it's one of those places that is literally hidden in plain site. However, after staying there a few weeks ago as part of our Beercation with Travelocity I can't believe I've missed this hidden gem.

Most people - especially those of us who are younger - don't think about travel insurance much. Personally, when I travel domestically, I assume other layers of protection will cover me including car insurance, health insurance, and credit card protection. However, for larger trips such as going on a cruise during the winter while living in Chicago I chose to get travel insurance. In those situations, my primary consideration was having inclement weather causing delays and missing the boat or that a hurricane might impact the cruise itself.  With our trip next week where we'll be sailing with Viking Cruises the situation was a bit different. The chance of a blizzard in San Diego or a hurricane in Switzerland causing us not to reach our boat would be pretty unlikely. I WAS going to roll the odds since I perceived the risk to be low. After all, spending a few hundred dollars to insure the trip didn't seemnecessary.

Its motto is "where legend meets history" and people there describe it as "classic Florida roadside attraction meets real-world archaeological site". Whichever way you choose to view it, the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park is absolutely worth visiting when you Saint Augustine. During our initial drive-by on the tourist trolley, I wasn't sure what I was going to find there since it seemed like a classic tourist trap but honestly, it did a great job of bringing the nearly 500-year history of America's oldest city to life in a way I didn't quite expect.

Ever dream of sleeping under the Northern Lights? Unfortunately that will never be a possibility for most of us since it is DAMN COLD. Even with someone to snuggle up with, it's something that hasn't been a reality until recently because it requires organization and planning. We love what Off the Map Travel is offering now with their Aurora Bubble Sleds!

When vacationing in an RV, you don't have to worry about where you're going to stay and adding those costs into your trip. In many cases, if you plan on a mancation involving the great outdoors, you'll be able to stay closer to nature when you bring along an RV.

When you travel in the US, there are typically two options - hotels and camping. In other parts of the world, campervans are a popular option but until recently they haven't really been embraced in the United States. Luckily, that's changing as it offers a very cool alternative for those looking for a "back to nature" experience but still want to retain the warmth of comfort of a nice soft bed.

Whether desiring to get away with a group of male friends or family members, West Virginia offers a wealth of possibilities for the ideal mancation. Spectacular locations and views provide many different adventure options. Whether desiring home-cooking, fast-food or exotic dishes, cuisine choices also abound.

Travel can be adventure but the trick is figuring out how to manage the risk so that you have a great time but avoid disaster. In some locations, severe weather can occur almost without warning - and other places the risk is omnipresent. Unfortunately, some of the most exciting places to visit can also be the most dangerous. That doesn't mean you should avoid them, simply take precautions and make the most of them while staying safe.

Not all travel needs to be planned and sometimes the best escapes are the ones where you fly by the seat of your pants and boldly go somewhere and then figure out what to do. That's sorta what happened last week for Heather and I when we visited San Francisco. We were invited for a quick media launch event, but decided to fly in early and leave late the next day so we could see some sights and figure out if this was a destination that we wanted to come back to and spend more time in the future.

To many people, the desert is an inhospitable wasteland but to me it is an open canvas just waiting to be explored. Lucky for me, this romantic ideal is shared by others as well! For many years, vacationers have made the journey to the desert so they can bake in the hot dry sun and relax in the pool, play golf, and generally escape reality for a few days. With La Casa Del Zorro, Heather and I had the chance to spend four nights at the resort with the first two being just us (and Niki Belle) in one of their casitas with a private pool. 

The words "pet friendly" seems to mean a lot of different things to different people in the resort industry. At the Park Hyatt Aviara is that they mean that dogs are welcome guests - like any other part of your family. This is our second time visiting and on both times all three of us were received warmly and with a sense that they were genuinely happy to see Heather, Niki and I walking through the lobby. This is a special feeling since it can be difficult to spend time together away from home without worrying about someone taking care of her.

Taiwan's slogan is "The Heart of Asia". There's a reason for that. It's situated pretty much dead center between China, Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines, and it has a little bit of all of that culture. Taiwan is literally The Heart of Asia, and it shows when you visit. If you are a foodie, this is a great place to visit so you can sample the best flavors from the region without worrying about visas, finding a new hotel, or taking extra flights. Coming up in August though is an awesome opportunity to explore the region even more at the 2016 Taiwan Culinary Exhibition.

 I did something I've wanted to do for a while but is completely outside my normal routine. I attended the Electric Daisy Carnival in Vegas. For those of you who know me well, it might come as a surprise that I would attend an EDM festival like this and probably more so that I had an amazing time.