The worst places and events from the 2004 year of travel.(The Orange County Register)

Byline: Gary A. Warner

The once-mighty greenback has become the 90-pound weakling of the currency beach, with the euro, Japanese yen and British pound all kicking sand in its face.

The sticker shock of prices on my overseas trips was just one of the downsides of my journeys in 2004. I travel anonymously and accept no freebies, so my experiences will come as close to those of a "normal traveler" as possible.

Most of the time I get good service and value. But every year there are a few sagging mattresses, burnt entrees, surly flight attendants and other bits of bad news that are worthy of notice in my annual Christmastime "naught" list.

Dead dollar: The dollar tanked against other currencies the way a pug hits the mat in a fixed prizefight. I am sure there is some Ph.D. out there who can explain how a nose-diving greenback is good for our exporting stuff overseas, but as a traveler …