Category Archives: Milepoint

Contributor Ridiculous Street Signs #3- No Holding Hands- Vienna

Contributor, Milepoint, Ridiculous Street Signs, Vienna
a sign on a pole next to a body of water

I recently shared one of my Ridiculous Street Signs posts on travel and frequent flyer site/ community Milepoint. Another member responded to my post by sharing one of his sign photos. I reached out to member M7VO aka Edward M. and asked if he would like to contribute his photo to my collection. 

Edward M. was happy to send me his photo and answer a few questions about the time when he spotted it.

a blue and red sign with a red stripe

Here is a little about the photo:

MLW: What country and city was it spotted in?
Edward M: Vienna, Austria- District 22: Donaustadt, coordinates (48.2248, 16.4362)

MLW: When did you spot it?
Edward M: I spotted the sign in October 2012 when I went for a hike along the scenic banks of the Danube River.

MLW: What was your reaction when you saw the sign?
Edward M: At first I was puzzled for a moment, then figured it must be a directive for parents not to bring young children into the protected area. Later in my hike, I saw some unusual- looking birds living and nesting in the area. I realized that the sign was a great idea. The rare birds wouldn’t have adapted to the noise and commotion, if kids and pets were allowed into the habitat. 
Just FYI- Vienna is a very kid- friendly city with well equipped playgrounds scattered throughout.

I want to thank Edward M. for sharing his Ridiculous Street Sign photo and letting us know a little about it! 


Have your photo featured on Michael W Travels:
If you have a Ridiculous Street Signs photo that you would like to contribute and have featured on Michael W Travels, feel free to e-mail me at michaelwtravels@gmail.com
(Not all photos will be featured but thanks in advance for sharing)
Don’t forget to:

Chicago O’Hare 5K Runway Run- I’m Going!

5K, Chicago, Milepoint, O'Hare, ORD, Radisson, Runway Run, SkyMiles, United Airlines
a logo with a plane and a road

I’ve already done two 5K runway runs this year and tomorrow my third one is coming up at LaGuardia Airport (LGA).

My brother mentioned the idea of taking a quick trip to Chicago to run in the O’Hare 5K On The Runway about two weeks ago. He saw a post about it on Milepoint (a frequent flier site we are both members of).

Kim and I went to Chicago a few years back and had a great time. We’ve wanted to go back but this will be a quick visit with my brother. (I’ll definitely miss Kim and Lucas while I’m away!)
We leave from New York for Chicago early in the evening on October 18 and head back home in the afternoon on October 20. We’ll have a little over a day and a half in Chicago and plan to make good use of our time!

Trip Planning:
To make this brief trip happen our goal was to keep the trip costs as low as possible. We looked at quite a few options for our flight and hotel. It seemed like we took more time planning the trip than the time we will be away!

  • The Flight: After going back and forth with a variety of options, we ended up booking our flight with Delta using miles. We each used 25K Delta SkyMiles and paid $5 tax to fly JFK-ORD roundtrip.
  • The Hotel: The debate was staying at an airport hotel vs. staying downtown. Each option had it’s pros and cons but due to the 5K starting so early on Saturday morning, the airport won. The decision became even easier thanks to the Radisson 1 for 1 promotion– Stay 1 Night, Get 1 Night. We each booked one night at the Radisson Hotel O’Hare which cost $98. (We found a code which brought the price down from the original price of $135) With the 1 for 1 promotion we will each earn a free night at any Radisson Blu or Radisson hotel in the US, Canada or Caribbean. 

The Runway Run: 
The Chicago Department of Aviation and United Airlines are hosting the O’Hare 5K on the Runway and Community Day.

A little about the runway run (from the race website):

The event will be a one-of-a kind opportunity to experience the runway like few people do and share in a Community Day after the race filled with fun for the whole family, entertainment and food. The course will feature the display of a United Airlines aircraft. The Day s festivities will begin with a brief program to start the race. Following the conclusion of the race, a portion of the course will be open to the community for viewing and photo opportunities in front of the United aircraft.

Some Details:

  • The race benefits Wounded Warrior Project
  • Walk & Photo-op on the Runway
  • Strollers are allowed on the course
  • Free entry to Community Day
  • Entry includes a T-shirt
  • Free parking

The run takes places on October 20 at 8:00am
Find out more and sign up for the O’Hare 5K on the Runway HERE

New Winner of Kiva $25 Gift Card

$25, Gift Card, Kiva, Milepoint, Winner
a logo with green leaves
The winners of my Kiva $25 Gift Card Contest were selected a little over a week ago. One of the GCs was claimed immediately and put to great use. Due to the other winner not claiming his card, I have selected a new winner.
a blue square with white text

The new winner is Commet #3: Maxi Leyerer who wrote “brilliant idea!!!”
(Please comment on this post with your e-mail address to claim the gift card)

I hope that Maxi will put the Kiva card to great use and have fun deciding who to give his loan to!

If you would like to sign up for Kiva Click Here

Winners of the Kiva $25 Gift Card Contest

Contest, Kiva, Loan, Milepoint
a logo with green leaves
I want to thank everyone for entering my Milepoint Kiva Gift Card Contest.
(Read about it here)

To learn more about the Milepoint Kiva Lending Team click here.

So on to the fun part.
The contest had 23 entries. Two winners were selected using random.org.
I am giving away one $25 gift card & Milepoint was kind enough to match the offer.

a blue square with white text

 Here are the winners:

  1. Comment #10: Tim who wrote “This is awesome!, Thanks just joined the MP team.”
  2. Comment #14: Carwag25 who wrote “Love the post and thanks for the mention of the Milepoint Kiva team!

I responded to your comments in the post. Please respond back with your e-mail so you can receive your prizes.

If you are intersted in joining Kiva, click here.

Contest: Win A Kiva $25 Gift Card

Contest, Gift Cards, Kiva, Milepoint, Random
a logo with green leaves
I posted a bit about the Milepoint Kiva Lending Team the other day.
You can read the post here.

I think Kiva is a really interesting and great non-profit. Their efforts are helping people all over the world become successful due to the generosity of it’s members.
Once you make a loan, you will see progress updates from Kiva through your 
e-mail. As the borrower repays the loan, the money becomes available in your account. You can then fund another loan, donate it to Kiva or withdraw it for something else. There is a 98.87 repayment rate for ended loans.

I joined the Milepoint Kiva Lending Team recently. Milepoint has been deeply involved in Kiva and has made a huge impact with it’s efforts.

Here are some stats about the impact of Milepoint:

  • Number of Team Members: 584
  • Number of Loans: 32,016
  • Number of Loans Per Member: 54.8
  • Total Amount Loaned: $1,510,875
a blue square with white text

If you are thinking of joining Kiva, why not join the Milepoint team?
To join Click Here

To show my support for Kiva, I am running a contest and the rules are very simple:

Leave a comment at the end of this post (don’t sign it anonymous) and you will be entered for a chance to win a $25 Kiva Gift Card.

I have TWO Kiva gift cards to give away- I will be giving one $25 Kiva gift card and Milepoint matched my offer and will be giving me another for this contest.

Contest ends on 2/17/12
The winners will be selected using Random.org.

**Update**
Kiva Gift Cards are also being given out on Mommy Points and Frequent Miler

Milepoint Kiva Lending Team

Anniversary, Kiva, Lending, Milepoint

To commemorate my one year anniversary (2/8/12) as a member of Milepoint, I decided to join the Milepoint Kiva Lending Team this morning. I heard about Kiva a few years back and always thought it seemed like a great idea but never got around to joining.

Some of you might ask what Milepoint and Kiva are…
Here is a little about them:

  • Milepoint is an online frequent flier forum. It’s a place to talk about just about anything related to travel, flying and airline miles. The content is created by members and the conversations and forums can be very friendly and helpful. You can check it out here.
  • Kiva is a non-profit organziation that allows individuals to make loans as small as $25 to help create opportunity around the world. You can choose who you loan to- it can be a farmer in Tajikstan or a housing loan for someone in Bolivia. You can check out Kiva and join the Milepoint lending team here.
I haven’t decided who I will give my loan to as of yet. I plan to narrow it down to three loans and then make a decision which I will post to my blog.
If anyone wants to help me out and make a suggestion, please leave a comment to this post!

Design Your Own Dreamliner

Boeing, Design, Dreamliner, Milepoint

How would you like to design your own Boeing Dreamliner?

Designing the Dreamliner is a lot of fun and can be addicting!
The site gives you a 360 degree view of the plane which is really neat.
You can choose different colors, use paintbrushes, add various Boeing graphics & add text to customize your Dreamliner. You can also change the background for the page.

a white airplane in the sky

When you are done designing your Dreamliner, you can add your creation to the gallery. All submissions are subject to approval & require a minimum 24 hours to post.

If you want to try designing your own plane, go to Design Your Own Dreamliner

***Thanks to member Switch2 on Milepoint for posting the link***