THANK YOU ALL so much for the tips and advice. I really do appreciate it. I'm going to PRINT this out and take it with me.
Here is my reason for asking:
My father, whom I've never met in person but we've kept in touch over a period of 15 years, is a skier and snowboarder. He, his wife and my half brothers take an annual snow trip to Colorado. Over the years, I've tried to visit him but something would always come up or time was an issue. Now it's just a $$ issue for me and he is paying for my trip out there
. (BTW, he is from Chicago and I'm in San Francisco.) It will be a small sort of, overdue, family reunion. I'm so happy to finally meet him in person. I'm beyond excited!