Not a Hop, Skip or a Jump

Now that we're officially confirmed for Puerto Vallarta in February, I'm trying to arrange my flights. But rather than go directly from Paris to PV, I'm trying to route through Houston to see my family. My original thought was, "It's on the way." I shouldn't have applied a thought process to the airline industry.

Currently, my flight from Paris to Houston connects either through Frankfurt or Chicago. Which now means a nine hour flight becomes a 16 hour affair. In addition, a flight from Houston to Puerto Vallarta costs almost $700! Flights from Chicago are less than $400. Again, you'd think since I was closer, it should cost less. And even worse, I'd have to fly Continental! No miles. No upgrades. Economy! And if I fly United, they route me through Chicago or Denver? That makes sense.

So I'm trying to determine my best course of action. Considering I hate to fly, the connections would be torture. And since I'm frugal, the rountrip airfare from Houston to Puerto Vallarta seems extreme. I mean, we're financially secure, but there's no need for silliness.