Choose Red Roof Inn

I'm a big believer in brand loyalty, and while we usually stay in a timeshare, we sometimes don't have that option. When we need to stay outside of the network, we look for affordable and comfortable hotels that are close to where we're exploring or convenient in other ways. Red Roof Inn ticks all these boxes for me.

We had to add a day on to our trip to Philadelphia in order to not pay an arm and a leg on airfare, but I was able to work out a deal with Red Roof Inn to stay right outside of the city, where we would have a nice getaway from the noise of the city to relax in the evening.

Our room was nice and quiet, despite being off the highway, plus we had free WiFi, a comfortable bed and a great desk where I could get some work done (or check emails and browse eBay) and find directions to food.

I love having a place to sit other than the bed. It makes a stay more enjoyable. One can do work and eat somewhere else than where you sleep, plus it's way more comfortable when you're doing these activities and gives you more room to spread out in your room.

Our room had both a microwave and a mini fridge, meaning we could keep our drinks cold and also enjoy our leftovers later. We also had a one-cup Hamilton Beach coffeemaker for the morning, allowing us to get our morning caffeine fix and not have to brew a whole pot for just the two of us.

So you ever get a hotel room and wonder why the heck you can't get hot water or decent water pressure. Well, that's because most hotels have only a few water heaters for an entire floor of rooms. So, if everyone is taking a shower in the morning, someone (or a lot of someones) don't get hot water or good pressure. We had none of those problems at Red Roof Inn.

We had a long day of sightseeing, but even if we hadn't been dead tired at the end of the day, we still would have slept like logs, because the bed was roomy and soft and so comfortable I didn't want to get out of it. But I did, eventually.

The check-in and check-out process was super easy and the employees at the front desk were friendly and made the process quick and painless. This was my experience on previous stays as well, making Red Roof Inn one of my top choices in hotels. If you're on a budget and need a great place to stay with all the essentials, this is the place to do it. You can feel safe and taken care of and it makes an excellent home base for your travels.

Not only is Red Roof Inn affordable, but you can save even more if you check out their Deals page. You can book your room now by visiting RedRoof.com or calling 800.RED.ROOF.

Follow Red Roof Inn on their social channels: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

What's a must on your hotel amenities besides affordability?

Disclaimer: This post was brought to you by Red Roof Inn, in exchange for a free stay; however, all opinions are my own. I have enjoyed all my stays with RRI.

Happy World Vegan Day

Today is World Vegan Day and it makes me think about how difficult it is sometimes just to find vegetables in a restaurant. I'm lucky that I live in Portland, where there are tons of vegetarian and vegan options, but if you want to travel to other places, here's a great resource from WalletHub for cities around the country that are great for vegans. 

Source: WalletHub

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from U.S. Census Bureau, Council for Community and Economic Research, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Feeding America, Yelp, TripAdvisor, The Trust for Public Land, United States Department of Agriculture, Grubhub, Meetup and Vegan.com.

For a worldwide idea of best places to travel, check out this post. Do you have a favorite destination to travel to where you can eat vegetarian or  vegan easily?

Happy Halloween 2018

Like last year, we've postponed our Halloween party until the Saturday after Halloween, so I have no photos to share yet. I'll do it in a post later, but for now, let's look at my Halloween social media posts that you may have missed:

Day 31: Have you ever wanted to stay in a horror movie set? Now you can! You can eat (and sleep!) at the Texas Chainsaw Massacre gas station.

Day 30: If you want to feel the fear in Transylvania, give Dracula’s Castle a miss and head to any of the region’s other atmospheric haunts.

Day 29: Halloween time doesn't have to be scary. If you're looking for something a little less creepy and little more family-friendly, check out these must-do fall festivals across the US. 

Day 28: Have you ever wanted to visit a ghost town? You can hit up a bunch if you take a trip to Montana.

Day 27: What's the scariest Halloween event you've been to? It just might be this haunted hayride in LA this year.

Day 26: If you thought horrifying animatronics were relegated to Disney and other theme parks, think again. What would you do if you saw these things out in your regular life?

Day 25: What's more terrifying than tiny airplane seats? SMALLER airplane seats!

Day 24: From blood sausage to black pudding, these are the weirdest, grossest, and most delicious blood-based foods in the world.

Day 23: A terrible airport can be a traveler's worst nightmare. Want to know the worst, so you can avoid a "scary" travel experience?

Day 22: Have you heard of the creepiest urban legend of your state? I've never heard of ours in Oregon, but he also doesn't sound so scary.

Day 21: If you're like me and a big fan of American Horror Story, perhaps you'd like to visit some of their filming locales to get you in the Halloween mood: 

Day 20: Stick 'em up! The most jaw-dropping real-life hotel heists of all time.

Day 19: Travel disasters can be scary, but they don't have to be. Learn what to do when the "worst" happens.

Day 18: Do you go to haunted houses? Do you feel happy afterwards? You might!

Day 17: Do you know where all the best Halloween parties are? Here's where to get your spooky on!

Day 16: Sometimes underwater photo can be pretty eerie, especially for people like me who find diving terrifying. These photos of Mexico's cenotes are no exception.

Day 15: The world's greatest masquerade party is in Detroit and you should start planning your trip there for 2019 now.

Day 14: Transylvania is not the only place you can see signs of Dracula. In fact, there are many places in Europe you can get the heebie jeebies from Vlad the Impaler and Bram Stoker.

Day 13: You can plan a Halloween trip where costumes are involved and still pack light. Here's how.

Day 12: You know about Dia de los Muertos, but what about these other festivals that celebrate the dead?

Day 11: Halloween isn't all about the spooks and scares. It's also pumpkin season!

Day 10: Want to stay in a haunted hotel? Here are the most haunted ones you can visit.

Day 9: Do you follow the TSA's Instagram? It's quite witty. It's fun to see the weird things people try to take on their trips.

Day 8: I can't be the only one who enjoys seeing abandoned buildings and theme parks. Well, now you can visit abandoned movie sets too.

Day 7: Sometimes we tell kids stories to keep them from being bad and sometimes kids come up with stories to scare other kids. Here are the scariest bogeymen from around the world.

Day 6: I love a good ghost tour. We've been on several and plan to go on more when we travel. Williamsburg has a great one and New Orleans has several. If you want to know why they are so fun, here are some reasons to book one on your next trip.

Day 5: Did you know that the Halloween capital of the world isn't New Orleans OR Salem? Would you have ever guessed this?

Day 4: Have you ever been to a ghost town? Where? And what did you think?

Day 3: Do you like to travel? Do you want to hunt ghosts? This might be the job for you!

Day 2: Who else wants to visit a haunted theater? It's like two kinds of entertainment in one place! 

Day 1: It's October 1. Here are some creepy statues for you.

I hope you all are enjoying your Halloween celebrations. I dressed up as a lumberjack (jane) at work and will be dressing up for our annual party on Saturday. What are you dressing up as?