Road Trip!   That’s what the hubby was shouting after the NCAA Selection Committee’s announcement of seedings for the tournament.  Yes, our beloved UCLA Bruins would be playing in San Diego so going down for the game (Second Round) was a no-brainer unless an unthinkable First Round upset occurred.  After all, if it could happen to Duke, then …

Fortunately, they safely put away the Golden Hurricanes of Tulsa in their first game and now it was on to the Cinderella-like team of #12 Stephen F. Austin, the unlikely victor over #5 Virginia Commonwealth.  

There's a considerable history of going to these games, starting back with the 1995 tournament, we traveled to Oakland for Rounds 3 & 4 to make it to the Final 4. Obviously it was then a yes to go to Seattle for the finals.  It is virtually impossible to contemplate how few hotel rooms there are for an event like this. When all of the final four teams are still in, fans start arriving Thursday and Friday for the first games on Saturday which determine who goes on to the championship game Monday evening.  I think I slept on the floor of what could generously be called a half-way house for recently-released criminals as the only accommodations available. But after people dump out of the city when their teams lose in the Semi-final round on Saturday, rooms become plentiful for the remainder of the stay.

Seeing the Bruins win that evening, with no less than the inimitable Wizard of Westwood John Wooden in attendance, was an incredibly emotional feeling. Oh, how I would have loved to share the experience with my dad, a UCLA basketball player from the '40's just prior to Wooden's reign. Alas, he passed away in 1990, but was his presence ever felt that evening.

Since then, we have traveled to Indianapolis, San Jose, Phoenix and various and sundry other locations supporting the team.  Once I flew in just for the final game.  One of the more interesting times was the San Antonio Final Four in 2008 where we started out in Bruin gear (they lost in the semi-final) then switched to Kansas gear (in support of the son's intended school). There is nothing like the excitement generated at these events.  Team spirit is amazing, and tons of high-fiving with folks you've never met.

Sunday's drive had to be timed to get to the beautiful San Diego State campus (the hubby's alma mater) in ample time, with first stopping both for lunch and to see the end of the day's other big game, Kentucky vs. previously-undefeated Wichita State.  The Shockers in the end got shocked, but the game lived up to the hype.  Safely in San Diego, we experienced yet another victory for the Bruins and a spot in the Sweet 16. Congrats to first-year coach Steve Alford; GO Bruins; and I booked a hotel for Dallas just in case ...

With Kathy Gordon -- we're both second generation at Pauley;
our fathers knew each other at UCLA and our families have always sat together!

With the son and the hubby outside Viejas Arena.

SHARING GREAT INFORMATION

When I’m in between travel as I am now, I spend a lot of time culling information from other travel sources.  One of my favorite go-to sources is Wendy Perrin, who writes frequently for Conde Nast Traveler.   I love her suggestions --  plus I added a couple of my own at the end .. !  

Six Things Every Smart Traveler Should Do This Month

FSTOP IMAGES - BRIAN CAISSIE

A look at Canada's Lake Louise.

How did it get to be March already?! Before you get too busy with your March To Do List, here are six things smart travelers should consider doing this month. The time is right to:

Scoop up the best seats for the Super Bowl
Most sports fans are so distracted by "March Madness" and trying to get last-minute tickets to the NCAA Final Four in Dallas or the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta that they forget that this month is when the NFL's On Location packages are typically released. These offer prime seats and sell out almost immediately. The packages should be released within the next 7 to 14 days. For access to the best seat locations, reach out to Jim Zissler of Inside Sports & Entertainment Group.

Book your spring airfares within the U.S. and your summer airfares overseas
"Folks should definitely be shopping for late May/early June domestic trips right now, and also for transoceanic flights for late June through late July," says Rick Seaney of FareCompare, whose fare alerts notify you by email the instant that fares drop.

Redeem your USAirways miles for travel on Star Alliance partner airlines
This is your last opportunity, as USAirways will leave the Star Alliance on March 30 and join Oneworld on March 31. The Star Alliance has many more mileage-award seats available to Europe and Asia, points out mileage expert Gary Leff, whereas Oneworld has more seat availability to South America.

Snap up a last-minute ski deal
Deals are rampant in late March and early April—even over spring break—but the best late-season powder is at resorts a little farther north and at higher elevation. Think Keystone or Snowmass, in Colorado; Banff and Lake Louise, in the Canadian Rockies; or even Squaw Valley, California, which normally receives a large amount of snow late in the season.

Consider a Mediterranean or Alaska cruise in May or early June
March is when cruise lines run the steepest discounts on these particular sailings. Yesterday Alaska cruise prices dropped to $499 per person and Mediterranean cruises to $489 per person, says cruise expert Tom Baker of Cruise Center. If you're hoping for a European river cruise, though, forget it; they filled up months ago. Book those now for 2015.

Book your beach resort for Christmas/New Year's

The best properties in the Caribbean and Hawaii fill up nine months ahead or more, with resorts giving first preference to returning guests. There are key dates during the year when rooms can open up, though, as deposits become due and cancellation penalties set in. If the hotel you want is already fully booked, ask when deposits are due and on what date cancellation fees kick in for the date you want to arrive, then call back on those days to scoop up a room that somebody else just cancelled. Or use a well-connected travel agent who has close relationships with the managers of the finest properties.

One of my own for those of you who are forward-thinking planners: award seats start loading into the airlines 330 days in advance!  If you know when and where you want to go, snag those seats as soon as you can.  Sometimes I book my outbound and then keep rolling over the reservation until the return date becomes available.  The process can be a bit time-consuming but the results are so worth it.

Lastly, have a Plan B in the back of your mind for your travels.  Even if you're going somewhere perceived to be completely safe, those Acts of God can come out of nowhere.  I am going though this now with our plans for the big trip next year ... Russia and the Baltic countries probably aren't a safe bet.   Eating our way through Spain and down the Adriatic Coast sounds like a pretty good alternative; no??