They say that timing is everything and for once I guessed right, 2009 was a good year to leave an insane business in a big city and start a new Internet Marketing consulting business, moving the family, lock, stock and  dog to a small town. I can safely say I am glad to be gone from the likes of Wyndham,  Hilton Hotel Corp. in Scottsdale, and working in the hotel business in general. Not that there is anything wrong with those particular brands, they are all equally screwed up!

I don't know about the rest of the country's resort destinations but I do know the Scottsdale market and they are down considerably over 2008.  According to the Arizona Republic's December 25th article Travel slump hurts Scottsdale hotels Scottsdale's hospitality industry continued to struggle in October with a 23 percent decline in revenue per available room from a year ago, according to Smith Travel Research.

Ouch! This means that hoteliers (us poor sales slobs) filled only 61.4 percent of their rooms, not a good number and not good news for hotel management companies who have to answer to investors . On top of that bad news they posted a miserable $136.79. average room rate, down over 21%!

Revenue per available room, which combines occupancy and average room rate, was $83.97. Basically what this all means is that in spite of a horrible travel slump, of the kind never seen before, the bull-whips come out and sales has to come through. I wish them all the luck in the world, I did it for 25 years and I am done!

Is there such a thing we wondered? Check out these 15 trips we found in an article in Travel+Leisure (Nov 09) that, according to them, have the potential to "transform travelers and destinations alike."

Take a look at a few of these volunteer and odyssey adventures and see if any of them could change your life. Then vote in our poll as to which vacation you think might cause you to see the world in a whole new way. life-changing vacations

Get Me OUTSIDE!

This is why I don't like treadmills in the spare bedroom, garage, working out at health clubs or other forms of indoor exercise,  other than they are boring, boring, boring, wall mounted TV or not. I don't care if Oprah has Michelle Obama, Tom Cruise, David Letterman, Ellen, Donald Trump and Tiger Woods on the same show! (wouldn't that be a show?), indoor workouts just don't work for me, even if I have a window to look out of.

If you ever wondered why your new year's resolution to exercise and lose weight lost it's momentum after only a few weeks here is a clue:

Hello! It's winter out there, cold, rainy, gloomy, etc. Your brain wants to be doing something outdoors, walking, hiking, just about anything as long as it's outside while your body cringes at the thought. Some refer to exercising outdoors as eco-therapy, or green exercise, although I think that word green is overused. Did you know for example that the color green balances the nervous system and is supposed to have a calm, soothing, effect?

When there isn't a whole lot of green around during winter where you live it can be tough to get motivated, much less stay that way until spring. But don't despair, just by seeking the natural world you can reap the benefits of re-connecting with the environment – a reduction in anger and stress levels only to mention a couple. Take the dog for a walk, bundle up and breathe the fresh air.

I have seen some interesting hotels in my travels, one with cave rooms in Cabo San Lucas, one in an ancient castle in Scotland and a few others but these weird hotels take it up a notch.

We took honeymoons off the list for just this one poll because everyone has fun on their honeymoon and it takes the pressure off of someone who may have had a better experience in another destination. No matter, we just want to know in general where you had your best overall vacation experience.
And feel free to tell us why!