New Guest Contributor–Art Carden
Greetings, readers. I’m Art Carden. I wear a lot of hats: I teach economics at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, I’m a Senior Research Fellow for the Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics, I’m a Senior Fellow with the Beacon Center of Tennessee, and I’m a Research Fellow with the Oakland, California-based Independent Institute. I’m also an Adjunct Program Officer for the Institute for Humane Studies, which is how I know Jeanne and Keri.
I write a lot, too: I contribute regularly to Forbes.com, the Washington Examiner, EconLog, and Kosmos Online. Most importantly, I’m a husband and father. Shannon and I celebrate ten years of marriage on June 21st. She’ll probably drop in for a guest post every now and again. Jacob will be 5 at the end of July, and Taylor Grace and David will turn 3 and 1 in the middle of June. We’re home-schooling the kids, and one reason is because we love to travel and want to be able to take them with us.
I’ve always enjoyed seeing new places, visiting familiar haunts, and trying to live a life that is more expansive than my immediate surroundings. I travel a lot for work and pleasure, and I got into the “travel game†of credit card sign-up bonuses and the like in earnest at the beginning of this year. Gold is apparently my color: I’m a newly-minted Gold Medallion flyer with Delta, I’m Gold with Hilton Honors, I’ll be Gold with Starwood Preferred Guest after I meet a challenge at the end of this month, and getting TripIt Pro about a year ago made me a member of Hertz #1 Club Gold.
Most of our travel is probably pretty tame by the standards of elite extreme travelers, but I look forward to sharing our experiences with you. In the weeks and months to come, I’ll be using this space to review hotels, restaurants, airports, and other things frequent travelers will find interesting. I’ll be doing it from my vantage point in metropolitan Birmingham, Alabama (we live in Hoover, if you’re curious). This is a very interesting place to be a travel enthusiast at the moment. Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport is going through a major renovation, a new Westin just opened downtown, the Sheraton just underwent a major renovation, and the Wynfrey Hotel at the Galleria is being converted into a Hyatt.
We’ve lived in Birmingham for just over a year now, and we’re really enjoying exploring what the city has to offer. We look forward to sharing our adventures with you.
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Heels First is the travels and tribulations of two twenty-something frequent fliers jumping into the world of travel. Join Keri and Jeanne as they tackle mileage runs, elite status, and of course–the perfect travel accessories.
I’m thrilled to be on the team. Next stop: Atlanta. If you’re interested in meeting up, I’ll be working from the Starbucks in the lobby of the Peachtree Plaza Westin (next to the MARTA station) a little before 8 AM on Wednesday morning (6/12).
I always knew you wore heels.
@Scott: only for formal occasions.