I have two passions in life, flying and hockey. Now I’m ready to embark on the trip that I’ve been dreaming about for years and figured it was time to share it with my fellow FlyerTalkers. It’s the ultimate hockey road trip, seeing 30 games in 30 consecutive nights in all 30 NHL cities. My adventure starts in Detroit on October 26th and wraps up in Tampa 30 nights later. Think Jack Kerouac meets Wayne Gretzky!

Here’s the routing - MCO-DTW-LAX-SNA-LGA-YUL-EWR-JFK-DFW-PHX-CMH-FLL-YOW-PIT-BOS-ORD-DCA-DEN-SJC-YYC-YVR-YEG-STL-PHL-MSP-ATL-YYZ-BUF-BNA-RDU-TPA

Or for the uninitiated - Orlando (home)-Detroit-Los Angeles-Anaheim-New York (Rangers)-Montreal-New Jersey-New York (Islanders)-Dallas-Phoenix-Columbus-Florida-Ottawa-Pittsburgh-Boston-Chicago-Washington-Colorado-San Jose-Calgary-Vancouver-Edmonton-St. Louis-Philadelphia-Minnesota-Atlanta-Toronto-Buffalo-Nashville-Carolina-Tampa Bay

I’ve put together a web site that describes my trip in more detail. I’m no techie and it’s still a work in progress, but I’ll be adding a blog function so that I can provide daily updates from the road. www.30gamesin30nights.com. Take a look and let me know if you have any suggestions.

I’ll be flying to 27 of the 30 cities, and over the past month I’ve booked 17 of the flights, while hoping prices will fall on the other routes. I’ve seen some decent one-way prices, especially on routes where the majors compete with Southwest. Almost all of my domestic flights are running between $59-$119 one way. So far, I’ve averaged $105.50 per city, often on UA/US. That will go up when I add some of the more expensive flights, such as YEG-STL, which has been hovering around $300. Time to burn some UA Choices.

I feel strange booking many of the flights, because as a mileage runner, I’m used to taking the slowest and most circuitous route from one city to the next. Now I’m doing the exact opposite, taking the most direct route possible, to minimize the chance of missing a game. It goes against everything I believe in to book a non-stop for $119 when I can take a flight with three stops and twice the EQMs for $99.

Next step is booking hotels and rental cars, but that’s the easy part, thanks to Hotwire and Priceline and a few HHonors 10k properties. If anyone has leads for great deals on hotels or game tickets, please let me know. I'm on a tight budget, you know!

Obviously, if I miss even one game, I fail in my quest, so I have worked hard to minimize the risk. I’ll arrive in each city by early afternoon, allowing 5-6 hours before game time in case of delays, plus have backup routings in place, whether on planes, trains or automobiles. Weather is a factor in November, but not as much as later in the winter, and I’ve tried to schedule some of the colder cities earlier in the trip.

If I do miss one of the first 20 games, I can still see 30 games in 30 nights by catching an afternoon game in Boston or Philadelphia on 11/23 then flying down to Raleigh for the night game. I’m a huge Tampa Bay Lightning fan and I’ve arranged my schedule to see seven Lightning road games, and finish up in Tampa. Then I get one day to rest and back to work on Monday! My biggest fear is coming down with a cold, so I’ll be bringing every remedy known to man with me. Of course, I won’t be checking any bags!

Friends or family are joining me in some cities, but I’ll be flying solo for most games. So for those FTers who are hockey fans, take a look at my schedule and let me know if you’ll be attending any of the games. I feel lucky to be "Living My Dream" and hope to see you on the road!

Steve