Hotels By City: Cheap Hotels, Hotel Guides & Hotel Blogs

I hear the term “big box stores” thrown around a lot these days. Best Buy, Wal*Mart, Home Depot—they all qualify. And I can’t think of the last time I visited a US town or city or even village (OK, I confess, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a village) that didn’t include at least one, if not all, of the above retailers. They take their knocks. ...

I live in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA—a city probably known more for its smoky, industrial, steel-producing past than for its rolling green hills, scenic rivers, numerous bike trails…well, let’s just say, than its “natural” offerings. Iron City Beer, The Pittsburgh Steelers (and its famous “Steel Curtain”), Pittsburgh Plate Glass, US Steel, the names Carnegie and Mellon—they all scream “industrial.” So it’s little wonder my in-laws (who, themselves, ...

Notable people I’ve met in my relatively brief time here on Earth include Meat Loaf, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Valerie Harper, Tom Bergeron, and a slew of Boston and Pittsburgh media-types and Pittsburgh sports figures (it kind of goes along with working in the radio industry). This isn’t exactly a who’s who of America’s Most Famous and Fabulous, but I’m proud of my modest list all the same. And ...

I’ve never been much of a joiner. My dabblings in membership consist of my church affiliation (the same church in which I was baptized…so I didn’t so much join as never leave), a brief tour of duty with the Boy Scouts, and a few extracurricular activities (as few as possible) in high school for the college applications and in college for the ol’ resume. So it surprised me ...

Pittsburgh is very proud of it’s sports history--five Super Bowl rings, five World Series titles, and two Stanley Cups—and I have the sneaking suspicion that my hometown is known, primarily because of these historic and storied franchises. During a five-year stint in Boston, I was often asked what many native-Pittsburghers throughout the country are eventually asked—“Pittsburgh…is that anywhere close to Philadelphia?” The answer, of course, is “no.” ...