Unlimited One-Month Travel Pass on Jet Blue

I am not sure how this flew under our radar, but Jet Blue was offering a one-month unlimited travel pass for $599 that would have allowed you to fly as many times as you wanted to any of the 600 cities that they service including international destinations! (Click here to see which routes they service.) International fees were not included in the promotion so it could have gotten a bit pricier if you were planning to jet down to the Caribbean, but all domestic fees were covered. Alas, JetBlue has stopped selling the passes as it seemed to have become much more popular than they anticipated.

Although we are not a big fan of Jet Blue's airmiles program, since they have no reciprocity with other airlines and all of their airmiles expire after 12 months (terrible, really), this was an awesome deal in its own right and one that we would have surely jumped at if it were still available. Given the popularity of this offer, one has to imagine that they will resurrect this promotion again in some format.... and perhaps some other airlines will get competitive and roll out similar offers. We can only hope.

Hidden Gem: Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh is an easy city to stereotype, so I really was not expecting much when I visited recently. Pittsburgh conjures images of steelworkers and burly football fans, coal mines, smokestacks and steel production plants, railroads and robber barrons, and perhaps even a few slam-dunking fish. However, after spending a few moments in Pittsburgh, it is immediately apparent that tucked away in the western part of Pennsylvania is a hidden gem.

One of the first things that you will notice about Pittsburgh is that it has a magnificent, photogenic skyline which looks great from a number of angles. For a particularly good view of the city, take one of two funiculars (cool, old, ski-lift like trams) to the top of Mt. Washington. Another thing you will quickly notice is that it is a city surrounded by bridges, hence Pittsburgh's other moniker, "City of Bridges", which is befitting for a city that is triangular in shape and bordered by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers (that then form the Ohio River).

Once you have had a chance to walk around Pittsburgh, you will see that the architecture too is also a pleasant surprise that is not at all dominated by its industrial past and actually quite unique and captivating. Two buildings of note are One PPG Place, which literally resembles a castle complete with turrets, and one of the Midtown Towers buildings which looks like it is capped with a velvet crown. Walking around downtown is definitely worth your time if you are a fan of interesting architecture.

Pittsburgh has a number of good museums, but if you can only see one, make sure it is the Warhol Museum, and be sure to check out the Silver Clouds exhibit which gets a lot of praise from visitors. The nightlife in Pittsburgh also has a lot to offer. There is a great selection of bars and restaurants to choose from throughout the city, but some notable places to find them are in the Strip District, the Waterfront, the South Side, and the North Shore. Pittsburgh folks enjoy live music so you will find much of it at many of their restaurants and bars. The new Rivers Casino which just opened in August is one of the latest hot spots and also a great place to spend an evening.

There are plenty of hotels in and around downtown, but I personally stayed at the Omni William Penn and can vouch that it is a top tier hotel, especially if you enjoy old world charm and impeccable service. It is the perfect location to set up your base for seeing the city and is very convenient to the Lawrence Convention Center. Word on the street is that the Westin, also located nearby, is a good place to stay too, if you prefer something more modern.

There is, of course, much more than this to Pittsburgh, but this is what stood out for me on a short two day trip. For more information, check out the Visit Pittsburgh website, and, of course, give us a shout below if you know of any other must sees in Pittsburgh, and, or have any good restaurant and hotel recommendations.

What to do With Your 25k Miles: Getting the Most for your AirMiles

By now, hopefully you have opened your Chase account and are happily waiting for your easy 25K miles to be deposited into your Continental OnePass account. Now comes the fun part-- planning where to go with your reward ticket. What can you do with your 25,000 miles you wonder? Well, 25k is the minimum number of miles needed for a reward ticket for travel within the US and to Canada. We like to get more mileage for our airmiles so we think a free ticket to Alaska, British Columbia, California and Washington State (or wherever happens to be furthest from where you are) make the most sense, or just to any destination for which tickets tend to be pricier. For instance, Jackson Hole, Wyoming is not as far as Seattle, Washington for us (we are in New York City) but tickets are usually quite a bit pricier, so that would be a great place to use a reward ticket for. We wouldn't be likely to use a reward ticket for a popular route like Miami because that would really only be a savings of about $160. But using it to go to Vancouver, makes that reward ticket worth over $500 to us!

If you're willing to wait until you get to 35k miles, then you'll have enough for destinations in Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean. In the past year alone, we have used free reward tickets to go to Hawaii at Christmas (published fares were over $1100), Provence for lavender season (published fares were over $1600), Mexico, St. Louis, and to island hop from Kauai to the Big Islands; in other words, we used 135K miles for over $3500 worth of airplane tickets! Now that's getting the most for your airmiles.

Royal Decameron, Montego Bay

We spent a few days at the Royal Decameron, Montego Bay in early July of this year. It is in the middle of the spectrum of all-inclusive resorts in Jamaica and an excellent value.

Situated in the heart of the Hip Strip, the tourist section and nightlife district of Montego Bay, it would be hard to find a more convenient location. Of course, the resort doesn't provide much reason to leave as the pools, beach, and activities offered could easily keep you occupied for days. Although the resort beach is compact and manages only a sliver of sand, this is Jamaica so it is still breathtakingly beautiful. We found that the free snorkeling here was among the best we have ever experienced at a resort. One downside is that we also discovered a surprising number of sea urchins very close to the beach. We are not sure if they were poisonous, so watch where you step! If you prefer a more spacious beach, you are also in easy walking distance of the famous and best beach in Montego Bay, Doctor's Cave, a site also known as essentially the birthplace of Jamaican tourism.

We found the food and service to be great and were pleasantly surprised to find an authentic sampling of local dishes. There are different offerings each day, but you can definitely eat like a local if you want. We had salt fish and callaloo for breakfast and jerk chicken and grouper fish for dinner. We also found that the bars were plentiful and conveniently located, and the drinks strong and easily customized to your liking.

The rooms were spacious, renovated, clean, and it seems that all face the beach. There are a variety of room options with some providing ground level patios and terraces. Wi-fi is also available, but sadly it is not part of the all-inclusive rate, and has to purchased in 15 minute increments. The reception was also patchy and completely unavailable in certain parts of the resort, and we had to go back to the main lobby to get a good signal. This was definitely less than ideal, but also something that we quickly forgot about as we enjoyed a rum punch at the swim-up bar. This is not the place to go if you need constant Internet access, but then again, do you really need constant Internet access in paradise?

The price is right too at about $75 per person per night and we have even seen it as low as $70 per person. We enjoyed it so much that we not only plan to return, but have already booked our next visit. Book yours now too! Enjoy!

Photo of the Week: Doctor's Cave Beach, Jamaica

Doctor's Cave Beach in Montego Bay, Jamaica, besides being near and dear to my heart, is one of the best beaches ever. Powdery white sand, turquoise waters that are always mild and warm, and highly accessible right there in the middle of town. Historically, the waters of Doctor's Cave Beach were thought to have curative powers, and after a day there spent soothing body and soul, soaking up the sun and then diving in to cool off, it's easy to believe.

The Bucketlist of Waterfalls

If we were to put together our bucketlist of must see waterfalls around the world, this recent article at Women'sDay would be a good start. Although it doesn't include Dunn's River Falls or Reach Falls, it still includes all of the ones that we would include in our own top list, such as Iguazu, Angel Falls, and even a few we didn't know about. Give us a shout if you think there are any that should also be included here.