I've always been a sucker for anything warm and fuzzy: this applies to bourbon, hush puppies, cashmere blankets and sunrises and sunsets.

A few years ago, I visited the Northern New Mexico area, home of latte-colored Adobe houses, art galleries and the Sangre de Cristo (Spanish for "Blood of Christ") mountains. I have to say I was amazed at how fluid the color change of the mountains was: during the day, it was a brilliant red, and during the evenings…well, a dark violet.

This photo was taken right before the diamond of a sunset disappears into the Sangre de Cristo mountain silhouette. It was taken just after our tour of Ghost Ranch, which is where Georgia O' Keefe lived and painted.

I love how the dark, deepening hues of the sky and the contrast of the two mountain ranges. It was a spectacular, deep and meaningful sunset and I hope to visit again.

[The contest is currently closed. The winner is ALYSON. Congrats Alyson & hope you enjoy your stay. Thank you to all who entered! Stay tuned for more giveaways and thank you for reading the site]

I am always reminded of T.S. Eliot's quote when I feel my inner restlessness: "The spirit, unappeasable, peregrine."

The soul –I'm convinced –is a wanderer. Even after coming back from a well-planned, well-executed trip, I give myself barely a day of decompression before itching to get on the road again.

The lobby at the Roger Smith Hotel

It's like a New York bed bug: it just WON'T go away.

All the hours of uploading pictures, admiring the ones which should stay and which should be tossed out the virtual window, just serve to highlight that sense of loss. I should be exhilarated after a trip, but more often than not, I'm sad to see it end.

A born wanderer is always searching.

A Roger Smith Hotel Suite

Recently, I fought the urge to flee when bitten by the travel bug. I did something I've never done before: I took a staycation in New York City, in one of the suites at The Roger Smith Hotel. I had won this room in a Twitter contest, so I was excited to claim my prize.

I had visited the Roger Smith Hotel, located on 48th and Lexington, once before, during the TBEX holiday party. All the Picasso-style art on the walls reminded me of France's Bateau Lavoir district, where artists painted in the crystalline, open spaces.

The hospitality is unmistakable from the moment you set foot into the small but busy lobby: bright red — almost a scarlet/coral/saffron — walls immediately warm you up, especially if you're bringing in winter with your shadow.

I had a lovely suite, 1511, to share with my husband for one evening, and everything detail was in place: from the bottle of wine with two elegant glasses, to the handwritten "Welcome" card.

I felt as though I were in another city on vacation. Even if you "staycation" in your home city for an evening, time seems to stand still. That night, I sipped the warm comfort of the wine, indulged in Indian takeout from Darbar, and flipped through the TV stations with firefly hands.

After getting lullaby-ed by the soft traffic sounds and using the city lights as nightlights, we fell asleep and were blissfully unaware we were less than a few miles from home.

The next morning, after indulging in a Big Apple-sized breakfast, I felt like the proverbial zillion coins. I did not have to make my bed, nor worry about my daily list of household chores. Both mind and body had gone on a vacation, and there's nothing more relaxing and recharging than the feeling of escape.

The Penthouse at the Roger Smith Hotel

So, why should YOU take a staycation?

1) I get it: you don't have a million dollars, but you want to feel as though you've gone somewhere. Do yourself a favor, and BOOK your favorite hotel or local B&B and eat breakfast in bed.

2) You can check out the local hotels. Chances are when visitors come to you for advice on where to stay in your hometown, you don't really have a clue. You've heard good things about Hotel XYZ through the grapevine, but you don't really have firsthand experience. The answer is, clearly, a staycation.

3) You can indulge in other treats because you've saved on airfare and other travel costs. Opt for a spa treatment, or order a five course meal. Life's too short to be too frugal.

To celebrate the true "staycation" experience, The Roger Smith Hotel is offering one FREE HOTEL ROOM for an evening to any traveler for the month of January 2011. Simply enter a comment below to be considered, and a winner will be picked within 24 hours (since time is running out). Also be sure to let me know which date you'd like to stay at the hotel.

Hope you have a great staycation!

- Charu

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the finale of the "World's Unluckiest Traveler" contest finale, held at the Comix Club on 14th Street and 9th Avenue in New York City.

The "World's Unluckiest Traveler" is a distinction that many travelers wouldn't seek. I imagine ship encountering storms and 25 foot high waves (think "The Perfect Storm") or twisters barreling through vast emptiness, plucking a few houses and humans.

The competition was organized by Travel Guard who invited contestants to submit their "unluckiest" travel story with the chance of winning a $10,000 cash prize. Travel Guard received over 900 applications over the course of the contest.

With the prize money –a decent size of chunk change –the "World's Unluckiest Traveler" would have a chance to "redo" his or her trip and hopefully, have better memories.

The "World's Unluckiest Traveler Award" winner, Gary Feldman, with Travel Guard CEO, Dean Sivley. Photo Courtesy of Travel Guard/ Photo by Michael Seto

The winner was Gary Feldman, a geneticist from Ventura, CA, who went to Vietnam while on a medical mission. While he was there, he stopped at the edge of a cliff to admire the view and to attend to Nature's call.

The cliff crumbled, taking Mr. Feldman with all its chunky debris, and he fell 30 feet. Luckily, he was still alive, and endured a broken leg. He had to get two surgeries, ten screws and a metal place, but he's thankful he's still alive.

Mr. Feldman is aimiable, and a larger than life figure with a great sense of humor. I managed to chat with him a little bit after he won his award:

Butterflydiary: You just won $10,000…how do you feel about this? Did you think you might win?

Dr. Feldman: Well, as a contestant you never really know if you're going to win, but yes, I thought I had a shot at it.

Butterflydiary: So, are you planning to use this money to "redo" your trip to Vietnam?

Dr. Feldman: Well, part of the money is definitely going to be used to attend my grandson's Bar Mitzvah in Israel later this year.

The awards ceremony was preceded by a fun round of improv sketches performed by an eager group of comics, much in the vein of Whose Line Is it Anyway.

Travel Guard spent a year collecting stories and votes for its contest.

- Charu Suri

Remember Laura and John, who were "checkmated" by the blizzard of Boxing Day?

Their canceled AA flight left them stranded in an airport hotel room for a full week, and they patiently rode the coattails of the tempest by drinking Black & Decker coffee and honing patience.

I'm not sure what I would have done. Much like every American who lives in this era of instant messages and instant gratification, I would probably have settled for a Faustian bargain in exchange for teleportation. As in, "Get me Out of Here!"

But that's the glass half-empty traveler. You see, Laura and John were really happy to get the extra time to spend with each other and to help less fortunate travelers out. As she told me over email, "I can think of worse places to be stuck in."

The poet Rilke wrote, "If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches." That quote has been stuck in my head for a while, like footprints on wet cement.

I remember my reactions when I've been stuck in airports because of canceled or delayed flights. Usually, they involved huge amounts of exasperation and shopping mindlessly for books I'd never finish in Hudson News stands.

Sometimes, when the airports are Buckingham-palace nice like the Dubai or Singapore Changi Airport, I would try to squeeze the living juice out of every minute. In Dubai, my husband and I used the airport gym (the G Force Health Club)during the two hours of transit time for just $13. At Changi, we sandwiched a movie and a city tour in between flights (we had a six hour layover).

But these were airports where there were really fun options.

Of late, I've been thinking about how importance ATTITUDE is when we travel. A good attitude is one of gratitude: we see the opportunities, the situation and no matter have pessimistic it may be, we have the power to turn the memory into a positive indelible.

Example: My Trip to the Caribbean, Circa 2000

A long time ago, I was living in London and working as a banker. The hours were long, and I felt quasi vampiric when I left the office building because it always seemed to be midnight.

European vacations being extremely generous by American standards, I managed to get two weeks off — continguously –each year. In 2000, I was scheduled to go to Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenada in my attempt at Caribbean domination, and to meet my then boyfriend (now husband) who was flying from New York City.

Well, the Gatwick Express train that I chose seemed to be jinxed and a man ended up throwing himself on the track, Anna Karenina style, and it delayed my entire airport journey. In short, I missed my plane.

I had to skip Barbados altogether, because the next flight to Barbados from Gatwick Airport on Virgin Atlantic meant I would give up four days of my vacation. Stick a fork in it, Virgin! I almost wanted to scream because after burning the proverbial midnight oil all year, I so badly wanted to end up on a nice, sandy stretch of beach in Barbados and all the galaxies had conspired to give me a negative reply.

I suppose I cried. Just a little. I mean, even in my worst case scenario analysis, I imagined that I would be stuck on the tarmac for 45 minutes or not have my morning coffee, but I didn't for a minute think I'd miss my flight because of a corpse.

Glass Half Empty situation, right?

Well, over the years, I've actually learned to look upon that incident quite fondly. Yes, fondly.

You see, I didn't know it at the time, but Matthew was burning a diamond ring in his pocket, and he was just about ready to pop the question in Barbados. But my favorite island in the world is St. Lucia, which is where I caught the next flight to.

And yes, I got engaged on Derek Walcott island, among the lush greens and sculpted Pitons. Of course, in the whole scheme of things, getting engaged in Barbados or St. Lucia seems like a very minor difference; but to someone who knows and loves her islands, it's a pretty big deal.

I ended up thanking the stars because obviously, they had a reason.

Glass Half Full Traveler.

I'm sure, in the mysterious fabric that is the world and life, we've had our ups and downs with travel (mostly ups, of course). But I'll take the positive side of life any day, because I guess I just want to have happy memories.

- Charu Suri

The economy has hit everyone hard, and although there are stories of it being on the rebound, the fact remains that so many Americans sleep with memories of their pink slip under their pillow at night.

There is, however, solace in the fact that some kindly institutions, like Cincinnati's Weller Haus Bed & Breakfast, are offering free packages and pampering two-night stays to those who have been unemployed for the past year. The idea is to energize, indulge and pamper them a little so they can continue their job search process without feeling too discouraged.

"Times are tough everywhere," says Leanne Saylor, owner of Weller Haus Bed and Breakfast. "Ohio has been one of the hardest hit areas, and I just wanted to do the right thing." 

The “Get Me Away From My Life” packages will be offered in the middle of the work week to a dozen unemployed couples for 2011 (one per month). Each package will offer different perks, but all will include a two-night stay at the B&B and a full breakfast each day. Local businesses will contribute to the package as well, so you can expect welcome indulgences like restaurant gift cards, massages and tickets to local attractions or discounts.

"I had read about another property that had done something similar in 2009," says Saylor. She is referring to Vermont's Rabbit Hill Inn, which offered a similar promotion when the recession's impact on unemployment was distinctly palpable. Rabbit Hill Inn is offering the same promotion in 2010.

Since Saylor put out the press release on January 2nd, she's received 15 letters but hopes the word will spread.

In order to be chosen, you should have been unemployed for the last 12 months and be willing to share how it happened and how it has affected you or your family. Entries should be sent via email or snail mail to:

Weller Haus Bed and Breakfast/ Get Me Away
319 Poplar Street
Bellevue, KY 41073
Or wellerhaus@insightbb.com

Please limit answers to one page and include previous employer information.

- Reported by Charu Suri

Countless families and travelers were affected by "Snowmaggedon 2010" and our dear friends, Laura and John, were no exception. Their tale was particularly hard to swallow for me because I knew it could have been prevented so easily with a little explanation and foresight from American Airlines, so I'm a bit puzzled as to how the sequence of events began to unravel.

But first, back to the beginning.

Laura and John are from San Diego. This couple has relatives on the East Coast, so they travel to New York City each Christmas with the punctuality and regularity of an atomic clock.

They arrived in New York on December 21st. We met them on the evening of the 22nd and had an enthralling evening watching Cirque du Soleil's "Wintuk" at Madison Square Garden.

Their flight out to San Diego was scheduled to depart on December 26th at 7:00am, and as everyone knows, the blizzard was also scheduled to hit the East Coast that same day, but not until noon.

The evening prior to their flight, the couple prudently drove to the Hampton Inn at the LaGuardia Airport, to ensure they quickly and conveniently depart the following morning without the harrowing Christmas traffic clutter.

But when they checked their flight status at 10:30pm on December 25th, they were told that their American Airlines flight had been canceled for the 7:00am departure. "Huh? Why?" Laura wondered. "The storm wasn't scheduled to hit until 2:00pm that afternoon."

The couple then received a call from American Airlines on the evening of December 25th saying that their flight had been canceled (they already knew this) for 7:00am but had been re-booked for a 4:00pm departure that same day (December 26th).

When the blizzard was scheduled to be in full force!

Does this make sense to you? Well, naturally, it made no sense to Laura and John. Well, the couple slept in on December 26th (there was nothing to be done about this — the flight was truly canceled, with no other departure option), and they knew full well that their 4:00pm would be canceled as well.

At 10am they received a call from AA saying that their 4:00pm had been canceled as well. The agent then tells them the earliest outbound option is at 12:35pm on December 31st, about a week away.

At this point, my blood certainly would have been boiling, but Laura and John couldn't really do much except sit back, order pizza, watch the Giants and Jets games and just hope that they could get a standby option in the next coming days.

Well, since the couple didn't really pack exercise clothes, they decided to wear whatever they could find in their suitcase to the hotel gym, since they were really and truly snowbound. They also were truly moved at how New Yorkers came "out of the woodwork" to help others out when the going got truly tough — hats off to you, New Yorkers!

But going to the gym and helping others still didn't solve the problem of — you guessed it — getting a standby seat to sunny San Diego. Hotel LaGuardia, as it became known, literally became home to over 1,400 people who were stranded. They tried to supply people with cots, blankets etc. Hampton Inn did their best.

Monday, December 27th was a foregone conclusion. There was no way any airline was flying out that day. So the couple tried to take the shuttle on Tuesday to go to the airport and literally beg for standby options from gate to gate.

"I could look out of the window and see the city," says Laura. "but I'm not in it. I'm stuck. It's killing me to be so close and yet so far!"

Naturally the stand-by list is rolled over to the next automatic flight. The cycle of looking at the next flight fill up continued. Naturally, pain and frustration were the couple's constant companions.

The couple went back to NYC for a change of scenery on Thursday ( by then, the passage and transportation options had increased). They enjoyed the vibrant city, Broadway show and the energy, and looked forward to their booked outbound flight on Friday evening (New Year's Eve), which they finally got on.

So, they ended up spending a lot more time and money in New York City. American Airlines did not give them any vouchers or refunds, this couple had a great attitude toward their staycation. "It's New York City…I can think of worse places to be stuck in," says Laura.

Spoken like a well-seasoned traveler.

I am a Methodist but for some reason, on New Year's Eve, I thought of Confucius to help me finish a race.

You see, my husband had signed us up for a 4 mile run in Central Park on New Year's Eve, much against my will. It's not that I detest running, it's just that being the warm-blooded, sane mammal that I am, usually associate running with post sunrise hours or the gym.

I had done this race once before, in 2007, and enjoyed the cherry-on-top experience. A midnight run is exhilarating. It rings in the New Year with a positive charge. It liberates and energizes. All these attributes were extremely compelling reasons. Oh, and you get some swag (tee shirt and bragging rights), courtesy of Emerald Nuts.

So you can wear the tee shirt outside and friends will look at it and think you're a hero for braving the cold to do a run reserved only for the very brave, the Army, or some Greek God. All very compelling points to do the race.

Fireworks in Central Park on New Year's Eve 2011

Oh, there's more….there's the firework display! Over 5,000 runners (and some in elaborate costumes) count down to midnight and watch in amazement as a Fourth of July-worthy fireworks display erupts like gunpowder chrysanthemum over the crowd. It's truly something.

Two Costume-Clad Eager Beavers at the Start of the Race

This year, we were lucky enough to run into some displaced tourists from Taiwan and Kansas, carrying expensive cameras and looking for something really "fun to do on New Year's Eve." Well, come to the race, we said. There's plenty to photograph: runners in cheesy but elaborate costumes, cheerleaders and fireworks. So, we ended up making a few friends. AWESOME.

By 11:00pm, I began to warm up. I loved the energy around me, and the band at the 72nd Street Shell was drumming up some serious music to get everyone into the party mood. Some marathon veterans had already begun to do laps around the Park….too ambitious for me.

Some Folks Light Sparklers as They Watch the Race

I pinned my race number to my non-aerodynamic down winter coat (yes, I ran with my coat on), knowing full well that I'd be as hot as lobster-colored coal during mile two. But it's a lot better having the coat on than coming into the city with full-sleeved tees and freezing to death.

The midnight countdown happened, the fireworks display was one better than I had thought it would be, and deafening shrieks enveloped my years. It was the New Year! Time for the race to start…

As I crossed the start line, I began to feel panicked. In one sense, I was extremely energized with the paparazzi-style euphoria and flash photography surrounding the runners; in another sense, this race represented my first ATTITUDE towards the New Year. It was a set of auspicious feelings and those could not really be negatively charged; otherwise, what kind of tone would I really set for 2011?

The Shell in Central Park hosts a Concert before the Run

Mile One was painless and effortless. It involved the same amount of effort you'd put into walking a few Manhattan blocks. Plus, the initial euphoria which resembled the half-sober, half-hysterical shrieking you'd find at a Z100 concert, fueled the passion.

Mile Two was also not terrible, plus the sparkling cider (cheekily labeled "Champagne") helped. But after Mile Two, and being passed by several women clad in tutus and one hefty reindeer with some serious bells attached to his waist and wrists, I began to question my ability to run the entire race.

"Come on, it's only four miles," my inner psyched urged. But Screwtape was at work here, and he kept saying, "Oh, fugghedaboutit…you did two miles…just ditch the rest and go drinking."

At this point, I was hot and sweaty and all this New Year's thrill had vaporized like thin, untraceable air into the fog of cheering bystanders. At this point, I remembered a quote by Confucius, quite randomly.

"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop."

Well, how apropos and quite direct. But that saying was just the motivation I needed to just keep going because I knew it was a much larger than life metaphor. How often do we give up doing ANYTHING because things don't quite work according to plan, because we become mentally and emotionally fatigued and because we quite don't see the forest from the trees? For me, to "keep going" signifies wheels turning, ideas and action becoming realized.

Well, Confucius had a few other gems in his quotations repository too, including one of my all-time favorites:

"To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage."

At Mile Two, I became like the lion in The Wizard of Oz who was finally given his heart. I took one sip of sparkling cider, inhaled, and ran past that reindeer with the heavy bells. Proud to say that I did the race in 40 minutes (10 minute mile pace), which is not fast by any long shot, but I bettered my own expectations.

Myself and Hubby at the Finish

So, in the end I was really happy with the tone I set for 2011. Whatever it is you want to do, I hope you end up accomplishing it in 2011 . Happy New Year!

- Charu Suri

During Christmas Day, we were warned about the storm watch in effect, and I knew that it had already affected over 500 Delta flights across the North East. Luckily, we had made our way to Lyme, CT (where our family would be celebrating Christmas) on December 24th, when all the roads were navigable and clear. Christmas Day was a very special day for us and for my five nieces, and although the preparation as long and extremely wrapping-paper involved, it was spent with family and for the most part — indoors.

Today, December 26th, has a completely different feel to it, however. There were snow flurries outside my window early in the morning, but snow started coming fast and thick –with no pauses — around 11:30AM EST. By the time we finished our church service at noon, the parking lot resembled a scene out of A Christmas Carol, and we hurried to the grocery store to stock up on necessary goodies to brave the next 48 hours.

I've definitely chalked up 2011 to be the "Year of the Photo" and am excited to learn more about how to use my Nikon D-90 camera as I travel, but I hope these pictures give you an idea of how much snow landed on homes in the Lyme/ Old Saybrook, CT area for the first three hours of the "Blizzard of Boxing Day."

I try to brave the blizzard in my new winter coat from Lands End Canvas.

 Yes, everything was indeed nicely dusted with a few inches of flurries.

All my nieces' bikes were coated….

The backyard looked like a scene out of Fargo…

Hubby tried to get the ATV/plougher to behave (or at least, to start)….

Butterscotch had a mind and agenda of her own….

But the scenery was perfect enough for a postcard!

Yes, especially the berries…

I do love how my nine year old niece digs the snow though….

Yes, someone was a very happy camper this afternoon!

- Charu Suri

Photos by Charu Suri & Matthew Minucci; extremely warm, down fluffy coat supplied by Lands End Canvas ($99, with detachable hood).