TRIP History for 2014/2015/2016/2017

All of these trips are results of mistake fares or wanting to get out every few months, before Logan turns 2
Sometimes I don't even know why I travel so much, especially with children :-)  Certainly memorable

2014

• Jan - Taiwan
• April  - Italy <- mistake fare, $300/person to Italy (Florence, Venice, Milan). No regrets
• July - Atlanta, USA
• Sep - LA, Las Vegas USA
• Oct - Washington DC
• Dec - Taiwan

2015

• April - Seoul, South Korea <- mistake fare again ($500/person on Delta), will make it a family trip
• May - Turkey on Aeroplan, in TK Business-class <- mistake glitch, 50K Aeroplan/person
• Summer - Taiwan
• November - Dubai ($200/person nonstop on Eithad price error)

2016

• March - Paris ($300/person nonstop on AC price error)
• July - Prague, Hong Kong, Taiwan (Aeroplan Mini-RTW)
• November - Taiwan

2017

• March - Portugal, Spain (AA off-peak, 40K/person)
• April - SFO (Delta price error, $250/person)
• July - Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Taiwan (Aeroplan Mini-RTW)
• December - Nice (France), Taiwan (Aeroplan Mini-RTW)

TRIP - Los Angeles, Las Vegas

Another long weekend = another trip, this time to the hot California and Las Vegas
I am still not sure why I chose Summer to go, probably only because I saw Avios availability for YYZ-LAX and forced a trip out of it

LA/Las Vegas 2014.08 - Google Maps
http://goo.gl/maps/LkFlw

Day 1 8/30

• YYZ-LAX on AA 737. I saw so many airplanes at LAX/E-Z (A380 from Korean, SQ, Emirates, AF, Asiana), NZ all-black 777
• Pick up Volvo XC60 (Premium) after 1 hour wait (arrived 1 pm for 2 pm pick-up and was told too early, and at 2 pm they still had no Compact SUV for me so they gave me Volvo for "only" $10/day extra instead of free upgrade, whatever)
• Lunch - Skipped
• The Getty Villa
• Dinner - Gushi Korean BBQ take-out $32
• The Getty
• Hotel - Relative's house

Day 2 8/31

• Target & 85C Bakery
• Lunch - Ten Ren's Tea Time, Diamond Plaza, Rowland Heights
• California Science Center - Space Shuttle Endeavor!!!
• Olvera Street & Union Station
• Dinner - Curry House Little Tokyo
• Hotel - Friend's house

Day 3 9/1

• Breakfast - JJ Bakery
• Tzu Chi USA Headquarter @ San Dimas
• Lunch - In-N-Out Burger
• Fashion Outlet @ Primm - didn't buy anything
• Dinner - 
• Hotel - Vdara. Free upgrade to Lakeview room, facing the Bellagio fountain
• Fremont Street Experience

Day 4 9/2

• Premium Outlet North - bought 1 bag
• Lunch - Takeout from Vdara's Market Cafe ($50 F&B credit)
• Luxor - disappointing
• Premium Outlet South - bought Gap Outlet $50
• Dinner - AMEX Centurion Lounge @ LAS
• LAS-YYZ via WestJet

Expenses

• Flights - YYZ-LAX 19K Avios + $190; LAS-YYZ WestJet $625 for 3
• Hotel - $130 + $30 resort fee - $50 F&B credit - 7000 Aeroplan miles
• Car Rental - $200 for 4 days LAX-LAS one-way in Volvo XC60 SUV
• Gas - $100
• Credit Card (Food and misc.) - $500
• Total = ~$1800 CAD out of pocket (excluding miles used or credits earned)

Conclusion

It was a good trip to see things we have yet to see in LA and Vegas, but we both feel like it was way too hot and no need to visit anytime soon, and in future maybe just stopover in LA on our trip back to Taiwan is enough

TRIP - Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas (+Hoover Dam)

Another Canadian long weekend means another trip (one of many in 2012)
This time it's to the warm, beautiful West Coast (since it's cold in East Coast)

Day 1 Friday - Travel Day

• Drove to Buffalo and arrived quite early, relaxed in the lounge, and flew Delta to Detroit
• Had a plane switch at Detroit (2 hours delay) to LA and landed LA at 2am PST and hotel @ 3am

Day 2 Saturday - Santa Monica, Newport Beach/Balboa Island

• Visited T-mobile store to buy a Prepaid voice+data (2G) for only $10
• Walked the Santa Monica pier and took Ella to the ocean - she loved it
• Lunch from Cafe Crepes
• Drove to Rowland Heights, and then Balboa Island for a Balboa bar & walk along the canal
• Took the short ferry to Newport Beach side and walked the Balboa Pier (different than Santa Monica beach but equally nice)
• Dinner @ BCD Tofu house (Korean)

Day 3 Sunday - San Diego

• Breakfast @ Yi-Mei Deli in Rowland Heights
• Drove 2 hours to San Diego
• 1st stop @ USS Midway aircraft carrier museum - I spent 3 hours enjoying while Wendy doesn't
• 2nd stop @ Balboa Park - Ella loved it, because there were so many dogs  
• Dinner @ Ten Ren's Tea Time, Rowland Heights

Day 4 Monday - LA to Las Vegas

• Drove from LA to Fashion Outlet in Primm, NV - 1 hour shopping
• Onward to Las Vegas Strip, driving up and down, "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign
• Checked into hotel Treasure Island (waited 30 minutes to check-in)
• Went out to eat/visit The Venetian, the Volcano at Mirage, and sadly they cancelled Sirens @ TI show at 11:30pm due to high wind

Day 5 Tuesday - Las Vegas, Hoover Dam

• Took tram from TI to Mirage to see the small aquarium
• Walked to Caesars Palace to see the larger aquarium and Fall of Atlantis show (meh) inside The Forum Shops
• Lunch @ Cheesecake Factory
• Drove to Hoover Dam, walked on the new bridge walkway
• Back to Las Vegas Premium Outlet North
• Visited Bellagio to see the fountain show (3 times)
• Drove to Target to shop
• Returned rental car and flew red-eye back to BUF via CLE 

Expenses

• Flights: $300/person x 2
• Food: ~$200
• Shopping: $150 (LC) + $36 (Old Navy) + $45 (Crocs) + $50 (LS bag)
• Hote: $100 + $100
• Gas: $150
• Parking: $10 
• Car Rental: $130
• Tickets: $36
• Others: T-mobile ($10)

Notes - Transportation

• Slided $30 bill tip to car rental for an upgrade to SUV (Hyundai Santa Fe) instead of Ford Focus compact sedan. SUV wasn't bad and comfortable
• Star Alliance Silver gets me 1 free checked luggage on domestic flight - it was a lifesaver!!
• Used lounges at BUF (Priority Pass), DTW (AMEX Plat for Delta SkyClub), CLE (PP)
• No surprise, no decent/hot food in domestic lounges
• CLE United Club was the best as it had good breakfast selection (donut, yogurt, fruits, OJ) 
• Travelled via BUF, DTW, LAX, LAS (new Terminal 3), CLE
• DTW was the best - it had family room everywhere (LAS/CLE don't) 
• I hated trams/tunnels connecting terminals - that's DTW, LAS, CLE
• United offered initially $150, then $250, $400, lastly $500 for people to take later flights (via EWR or to YYZ even) from Cleveland to Buffalo.. I was so tempted, but in reality had to get back to work and others took the chances before me anyway

Notes - Misc

• The $20 trick worked at Treasure Island  in Las Vegas. I had Ella beside me too to sugar coat things. Result was not bad, as he upgraded us from regular room (no view) to high floor room with strip view (technically it was only $10 difference at booking). But at least he gave us 2 free buffet vouchers (worth $20~$24 each)
• Tip for future: pay $10 for the strip view room, then slide $20 bill for a suite :-) 
• Hotels this time (Crowne Plaza LAX, Treasure Island) were new renovated rooms but not much to write about.
• Ella was such a lovely baby that many people would turn back to see her after walking by. We are proud as parents that she responds equally lovely to others, and she loved dogs too much~
• We are all too old to fly red-eye nowadays - lack of sleep and a baby didn't help either