Last year we decided to reenter the world of premium credit cards, and we felt that the American Express Platinum offered the best benefits for our lifestyle. We didn’t take the decision to apply lightly because the annual fee is steep -- $695 for the primary user, plus $175 for each additional card. For us, that meant we had to at least exceed $870 in “value” to break even.

For the fourth straight February, we ventured to Casa Vieja Lodge in Guatemala to escape the cold, relax a little, and battle loads of sailfish. As has become the norm, we took a different path to and from Guatemala – part of that was flight economics, part of it was because we had to spend a few days on the way back in Nashville for the Safari Club International Convention. Here are some notes, in no particular order.