About James
Hello everyone and welcome.
I’ve been traveling for work since 2012. Mostly boring places throughout the South East US. I’ve spent way more time than I’d like to admit in places like Augusta GA, Rock Hill SC, and Fayetteville NC.
I travel 50-60 flight a year and about 75 nights a year in hotels. I’m not a high end hotel or flight blogger. While I love a good vacation in business class, the reality is that I’m more likely to be sitting in the middle of the economy section than up front. I plan all of these trips myself using mostly best guesses and the experience that comes from more than a decade of being a road warrior.
I decided to start sharing my travels via this blog. It’s not the most thrilling adventures, but I love my job and the weird travel that I do. All of the pictures were taken by me or Valerie. We’ve really done all of these trips. I’m proud of the time and effort that has gone into these experiences. I do wish to share my tips and tricks and really do want to help others improve their travel experience.
I hope you can enjoy some of my trips and can learn a little about what hotels and airlines I like best. This is not a miles and points blog. I do use miles and points on hotels and flights for personal trips, but I don’t write about it. Don’t expect the Maldives, more like Milwaukee.
FAQ
How many flights do you take per year?
On an average year, I take 50-60 flights. Some years are heavier than others. I don’t write about all of my flights on Kinda Boring Travel, just ones that I think would be helpful.
How many nights do you spend in a hotel per year?
I spend about 75 nights a year in a hotel. This also ebbs and flows with my work demand. At least 20 nights a year are on vacation. The rest are work trips.
What is your favorite hotel?
My favorite hotel in the world is the CasAunoe Boutique Hotel Olbia. There’s just something about Sardinia and Olbia that I love, and the CasAunoe is everything I love about travel. It’s not expensive, huge, or over the top, I just like everything about it.
What is your favorite flight?
This is a hard question, I’ve flown some incredible flights. Singapore’s A350 in Business Class on the longest flight in the world comes to mind. In reality, some of my favorite flights are much more mundane or have special meaning to me.
Years ago, before Kinda Boring, I rode on a Delta MD88 with an old high school friend piloting the plane. He’s now a captain at Delta. I don’t have a flight review from that trip, but here’s my last trip on the Delta MD88.
In Hawaii, Mokulele airlines is such a fun and difference experience, 10/10 would recommend.
Coming home from a wedding in Costa Rica, Val and I were upgraded to First Class on Delta’s 757. After an amazing weekend hanging out with friends(and meeting new ones) this was a great trip home. Especially because our friends were on this flight too.
The little things, done properly, are some of the most fun. Singapore Airlines 737 Max 8 in Economy hits all of those boxes.
Why boring travel?
Kinda boring travel is the unsung hero of experiences. People love to talk about extravagant vacations or lavish work trips, but in reality, most travel is boring. I hope to note the details of this more functional than anything else travel. This is how most of us travel, I hope to show it’s still fun.
How many flights have you been on?
My best guess is around 1100 individual flights. I was never one to track my flights. I don’t keep a log book, so the exact number is unknown.
How many nights have you stayed in a hotel?
Another question that I don’t have an exact number on. I would guess about 1500 nights.
There have been years that I spent 250+ nights in a hotel. I even got a Christmas card from a particular hotel, they still recognize me, even 8 years later when I come in to stay. I’m at a much more comfortable and enjoyable 60-70 nights a year now.
Do you have a favorite destination?
It’s hard to pick a favorite. There are places I just cannot get enough of, Italy for example. I’d never turn down a trip to Italy. London and all of the UK is another example, I’d go back in a heartbeat.
What’s the first big trip you took?
When I was 14 I went to Japan with my mother. She was traveling for work and I saved up all of my money to go with her. 12 hours in a Northwest 747 economy seat was not very fun, but I was hooked.
Please contact me at: james@kindaboringtravels.com