Trip Home or Trip to Connecticut?

Last month, I went to Connecticut to visit with friends and family. My visit home was the first in over 10 months. The question I got ask frequently was “how does it feel to be home?”

Its an intresting question. For many people, the place the you were born or grew up will always be consider home. Connecticut is no longer my home. I have not lived full time in Connecticut since 2003, the year I left for college. I consider the DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia) my home. Come August, I will have lived in the Washington, DC metroplitain area for 10 years.

Even worse, my mom sold my childhood home a few years ago. She put the house on the market at its height and got a great price for it. 

My Childhood Home

A few years later, she bought a smaller townhouse for an amazing price. Downsizing from a 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath house to a 2 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath was and still is the right decision.

My Mom's Current Place

Therefore, when I come to Connecticut and am asked, “Am I happy to be home?,” I feel awkward. Yes, I am excited to be in Connecticut to see friends and family. But, I don’t consider this home. Catch-22???

I think this is a feeling many young people feel. Many of us leave “home” for the first time to go to college. The minute that we pull out of the drive way of your home, things immediately change. At college, every night we return home to our dorm and that becomes "home". As college progresses, we move into apartments or houses and that becomes even more home. Then college ends and the college graduate leaves the walls of academia and gets their first place. Since he or she is hopefully paying for their place on their own, this become "home".

My hometown will always have a place in my heart. I have thousands of memories, from Little League games to Drama Club performances, and one day I will bring my future family back there. However, it is no longer home.

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Hilton: Stamford Conference Center

In February, I had to go to a conference in Stamford, Connecticut.  I wrote here that I would be staying at the Stamford Hilton.

If you are driving, I don't recommend driving up to the front of hotel (pictured); instead drive down to the garage and park first. The entrance has a very tiny driveway and one can be stuck in their car waiting for someone else to move their car.

I used the conference rate and got my rooms for $115 a night. 

The lobby is large, spacious and full of light:

The lobby also provides many places to sit:

My room was on the 9th floor or the executive floor:

I was given a spacious corner two bed room:

The first thing you see when you open the door is a long hallway.

And the hallway continues:

To the right in the hallway is the bathroom. The bathroom was typical:

My luck with hotel bathrooms is not great. This one was disgusting:

                                        

 

When I arrived, I only had 15 minutes to change before a meeting. Needless to say, I stopped by the front desk and asked them to send someone up to clean.

The rest of the room was standard:

My room rate was only good for double beds, but I could have up to four people in the room at no extra charge. Why is this important? Well, my gold status with Hilton gives me free breakfast benefit and since I put down that there was three people staying in my room, I got to treat two friends with me at the conference to breakfast:

The hotel has club, but it is only open Sunday through Thursday's. The other days of the week, members with Gold Status get complementary breakfast (the buffet) in the restaurant downstairs:

There were both cold and hot options for breakfast plus an omelet station:

 

The hotel has a small gym and a pool. The gym is open 24/7, but the pool is open only from 6am to 11pm:

The gym has treadmills, elliptical, and some free weights.

 One needs to go through the gym to get to the pool:

The entire hotel had amazing photographs in the hallways:

Overall, the stay was great. This is the second time I have stayed at this hotel and each time has been great. Why would someone stay here? First, there are a ton of businesses in the area. Second, Stamford is not far from New York City via MetroNorth. Also, the Jerry Springer Show is taped down the road.

The hotel was spacious, the room was somewhat clean and my status was recognized...overall, a great stay!

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Points and Life Update

One of the reasons I am writing this blog is to keep a journal of my crazy doings in my late twenties. Here is a little update on what has happened in Q1 and what I have on deck for the rest of the year:

Quarter 1

• I earned 183,000+ points in Q1, on track for 600,000 for the 2013
• Visit a new state on my trip to Portland, Oregon
• Tried Voodoo Doughnuts (more here)
• Finished my $20,000 spend on British Airways Chase

Quarter 2

• Need to finish my Southwest Companion Pass (2,100 points short), read more here
• Need to complete Hyatt 5,000 bonus miles after $3,000 spend, read more here
• Decided what to do with British Airways and United Credit Cards - Bye Bye or Annual Fee Time???
• What credit cards for next application? Alaskan Airlines? Priority Club?
• Do I participate in this in US Airways Promotion? (HT View From The Wing) 

Upcoming Travel 

• 4/26-4/28 - Connecticut - Haven't been home in 10+ months
• 5/4 - Mileage run to SFO
• 5/10-5/12 - Blogging Conference in COS
• Memorial Day Weekend Trip - ???
• June - New Hampshire or Long Island
• July - Alaska
• August - New York City
• September - Taking my mom to South America
• September - Will Travel for College Football: UCONN
• Columbus Day Weekend - Norfolk, VA
• October - Will Travel for College Football: Northwestern???
• November - Will Travel for College Football: Penn State
• November - 10 Year High School Reunion
• December - Will travel for College Football: D3 Championship
• December - End of Year Trip???

Things I am Working On For The Blog

• Expedia Frequent Stayer Program
• Is Alaska the best airline for newbies?
• Anatomy of a Mileage Run
• Some other things....

Oh, and I have to squeeze in work somehow, tiny little detail. If you need help with financing to buy a new home or refinance your mortgage in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia or Delaware (NMLS #527599), please email me below. I would love to help you out.
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Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints!

Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com