This weekend, I took a road trip to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to attend a friend's wedding. 💍🥂 Unfortunately, what should have been a simple overnight hotel stay turned into an absolute nightmare! I booked a room at a 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗼𝗻. Now, I'm a loyal Hilton customer. I've stayed at plenty of their properties over the years, and I generally know what to expect from the brand. So, I made one BIG mistake... 🚩 𝗜 𝗗𝗜𝗗𝗡'𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚! I figured, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘏𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘐𝘯𝘯. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦? Well... I found out pretty quickly. 🤦‍♀️ 🏚️ Red Flag #1: The Room Was DISGUSTING!When I arrived, the hotel looked like it was in the middle of a construction zone. 🚧 But things got MUCH worse when I walked into my room. 🤢 The musty, moldy smell hit me IMMEDIATELY. I walked into the bathroom and noticed: 🚩 Wallpaper peeling off the walls 🚩 What appeared to be mold growing around the shower 🚩 Water stains on the ceiling 🚩 A damp, neglected feeling throughout the room And mind you... 💸 𝗜 𝗣𝗔𝗜𝗗 $𝟭𝟳𝟱 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧! I immediately went back to the front desk and asked to switch rooms. They told me they didn't have another king room available, only a room with two beds. At that point, I didn't care about the bed situation. 𝗜 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗔 𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗡 𝗥𝗢𝗢𝗠! 😤 They agreed to move me and said they would adjust the price. The second room looked better at first glance, but I was already running late for the wedding. So I dropped my bag off and headed out without doing a thorough inspection. 🚗 Red Flag #2: ZERO Parking Spaces Available!Fast-forward to around 𝟭𝟭 𝗣𝗠. 🌙 I returned to the hotel, exhausted and ready to call it a night. Except there was ONE BIG PROBLEM... 🚨 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗪𝗔𝗦𝗡'𝗧 𝗔 𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗘 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗘 𝗔𝗩𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘! Not one! I went inside to ask the front desk what I was supposed to do. The employee's initial suggestion? "𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁." 😳 Excuse me?! After I expressed my frustration, he offered to move his personal vehicle so I could take his parking space.

We spent one week in NYC and had a blast! And my wife couldn’t have picked a better week! We missed the rain by one day so that was cool. As soon as we got home rain came in and never left! What surprised us the most was how safe we felt, even at night walking the streets! Granted we were up near Central Park, but we walked everywhere during the day! The subways were safe too! What we noticed was the makeup of people on the subways, mostly business people and families! We did splurge our first night and stayed in a fancy hotel and got spoiled to death! I don’t know if we have ever been in a nicer hotel as far as service and views! We did a lot of stuff we always wanted to and it was the first time spent in NYc outside of for work! Highlights: walking the Brooklyn Bridge, walking the Highline, Chelsea Market, St. Patrick’s Cathwdral, Grand Central Station, seeing more of Central Park, pizza! Seeing the Louie Vuitton building that looked like a giant piece of luggage! Sure we missed some things and just another excuse to go back!

Blueberry from Hotel! Truffles after lunch in NYC!

Okay I don't know how she did it but she works the deals using points from American, Costco, and the hotels. I'm a tall guy at 6'3" and because I have circulation issues, my wife is always trying to find the cheapest first class seats. When I find out how she did it, ill tell you.

If you're trying to travel with just a carry-on—or even a personal item on a Basic Economy ticket—compression packing cubes can make a huge difference. Unlike regular packing cubes, these have a second zipper that compresses your clothes after you've packed them. That means you can fit noticeably more into the same suitcase or backpack while keeping everything organized. Here are a few reasons I never travel without them: ✅ Fit more clothes into less space ✅ Stay organized (no digging through your bag) ✅ Separate clean and dirty clothes more easily ✅ Make it easier to repack during your trip ✅ Help you avoid paying checked bag fees PACKING CUBES ON AMAZON I've been surprised by how much extra clothing I can squeeze into a carry-on just by using compression cubes. They're especially helpful if you're flying Basic Economy, where every inch of luggage space counts. 💬 Do you use compression packing cubes when you travel? If so, what's the longest trip you've packed for using only a carry-on?