[warning that title is kinda sorta misleading... little more then kinda]

Recently a new conference has come to my attention, Big Omaha.  Their speaker list is impressive for a conference that I havent heard about (because I’m such the conference connoisseur… ok, so not really)  But I think it will be a great chance to meet a different crowd, while still getting to hear some of the speakers (and perhaps getting more time with them?)  that I have always wanted to.   Who I’m going to see:  Matt Mullenweg, Jason Fried, Gary Vaynerchuk, and mostly to meet people from the Silicon Prairie.  There seems to be several emerging technology, media, web, entrepreneur hubs. Can this be one too?

Win a trip to  Big Omaha…. umm, if you’re from NM, wanna come with me?  You still have to pay for yourself, but I’ll buy you a drink while we are there.  If we had several people, I would be willing to drive (then you dont have to pay for the travel).  Interested?  Email me or Contact me on Twitter.

Also, a shout out to Silicon Prairie News, they are doing a great job organizing / supporting / publicizing events like this and others in the area!

This last month I spend 30days flying everywhere I could.  All totaled I tooke 24 flights (which includes 2 flights to get to and from Denver, which the closest Airport that JetBlue services.) at a cost of $864 (including tax on international flights, and the southwest tickets)  I visited a dozen cities, in 2 countries.  Now I wasnt the craziest All you can Jetter, but I think I still got a great deal out of the trip (value of the tickets would have been over $4000).

Why?

Why not?  Really I work on the road (easier said then done) but otherwise I got to hang out in some really fun cities, with my scenery changing near daily.  To enjoy a month on the road (rather on the air) you have to love travel.  I do, so it all worked out great.

Favorites

I really liked San Diego, which is seemed like a fun city with plenty to do, and great weather.  I appreciated Washington DC because I

had never been there and I got to see building, monuments, and places I had only known from pictures and video.  Costa Rica was the best.  Visiting Costa Rica makes me want to go back, but it also makes me want to travel the rest of the world. Because travel is awesome! There is so much more then your town, state, or country.  Explore it, Experience it.  At least that’s how I feel about it.

JB

JetBlue, is without a doubt one of the best airlines I have ever flown.  They are a step above the rest.  If you get a chance to fly them, take it.  You’ll enjoy it, and find it harder to fly other airlines after that.

Community

The other great thing about travel is meeting people.  There was a great community around the jetblue deal on twitter, all using the #aycj hashtag.  I meet some awesome people both #aycj-ers and just other travelers.  If you are traveling alone, I do recommend checking out your options in Hostels.  More then just being a cheap place to stay it helps you meet others.  In Costa Rica I spent a lot of  time with the people I met at the Hostel and the really contributed to the trip.  It’s nice have people to do things with, it really made it more fun.