How to use Frequent Flyer Miles for Hawaii flights

April 4, 2014 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

How to use Frequent Flyer miles for Hawaii flights

I don’t believe in coincidences, so when 3 different friends recently asked me about getting to Hawaii using Miles & Points, I felt like the stars were aligned or the universe was trying to tell me something (or maybe Hawaii is just really popular). I needed to write a post about this. Hawaii is, so far, my favorite place on the planet (specifically Kauai, specifically-er the North Shore). While I am not an expert, I have planned 3 trips to Hawaii where all of the flights were free (so I guess that does make me an expert, right? Not really).

I will start by explaining how we have planned our Hawaii trips, and then will add some other options as well. For all 3 of these trips, we are originating from the East Coast, but wanted to break up the trip by flying to/from the West Coast and avoiding a super-long flight. We (and my in-laws) have family to visit on the West Coast and places we wanted to go before/after Hawaii, so this is how I chose to book our trips.

How we used miles for our next Hawaii vacation flights (#1)

1. Used British Airways Avios (their frequent flyer mile program) on Alaskan Airlines metal (this means the actual plane you will be flying on) to get from (OAK) Oakland, CA to (KOA) Kona Airport on the Big Island.

I knew we wanted a direct flight from the West Coast to the Big Island, so I looked here to see which airlines fly from which airports to get to KOA
British Airways uses a distance-based award chart, which makes it “cheaper” in miles to get from the West Coast to Hawaii than it would with any other Frequent Flyer program (it is 12,500 Avios per person instead of the more typical 20,000 miles in other programs)
Because BA is in the Oneworld alliance, you can “purchase” a flight on one of their partner airlines using Avios & use the Avios award chart (which is more generous for the short-haul flights)

TOTAL = 50,000 British Airways Avios for 4 people from Oakland-Kona

How can you get British Airways Avios?

By getting a Chase British Airways credit card (at the time of this writing, the bonus is 50,000 miles after spending $2000 within 3 months)
By transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards point 1:1 for Avios (you can get UR points by getting a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Bold or Ink Plus Business Card)
By transferring American Express Membership Rewards point to British Airways (you can get Amex points from various Amex cards). Many times there are transfer bonuses of 20%-50% when you transfer Membership Rewards point to British Airways Avios
By transferring SPG points to British Airways (you will get 25,000 miles for transferring 20,000 SPG points). You can get SPG points by staying in their hotels or you can get an SPG personal and/or business card with a 25,000 point bonus
Shopping at the British Airways shopping portal

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2. Used Southwest Rapid Rewards miles to get us from Philadelphia to Oakland

(We will stay a couple of days before our flight to Kona)

Southwest reward tickets are based on the cost of the actual ticket (70 points per dollar, just recently raised from 60 points per dollar), so the lower fares will have lower miles “cost”
Southwest offers Companion Passes (maybe my favorite thing ever) – if you earn 110,000 miles in a calendar year, you get a pass where you can bring a companion on your paid OR reward flights & just pay the taxes (like, $2.50). So if you get 2 credit card sign-up bonuses at 50K bonus miles each, you just have to get an extra 6K miles (after the minimum spend requirements) to get a Companion Pass

TOTAL = It was about 20,000 miles total for all 4 of us

How can you get Southwest Rapid Rewards points?

Chase has 4 different Southwest credit cards (2 personal, 2 business) and they often offer 50,000 bonus miles for signing up and meeting the minimum spend requirement
Transfer from Chase Ultimate Rewards (same as above)
Shop using the Southwest shopping portal
Transfer hotel points to Southwest
Earn Southwest points when renting cars
Rapid Rewards Dining (see here for more information about earning miles & points for dining out)

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3. Used United Airlines miles for inter-island flights on Hawaiian Airlines – from the Big Island to Kauai (via Honolulu)

Each flight cost 5,000 United Miles (flown on Hawaiian Airlines) and $5.00

TOTAL = 20,000 miles for the 4 of us

How can you get United miles?

Chase offers United Airlines credit cards. When we got them a while back, the bonus was much higher at 65,000 miles per card (and we each got one)
Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points (as above)
United’s Dining and Entertainment partners
United shopping portal

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4. Used British Airways Avios to fly from LIH (Kauai) to SEA (Seattle) on Alaskan Airlines

Same as above. 12,500 British Airways Avios each to get from Hawaii to the West Coast

TOTAL = 50,000 British Airways Avios for 4 people

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5. Used United miles to fly from Seattle to Philadelphia

We were able to get first class saver tickets for 25,000 miles per ticket, which was the best option for the flights and dates that we wanted and needed

TOTAL = 100,000 United miles for 4 first class one-way tickets

So the total for 4 people is 240,000 miles for this Hawaiian vacation! 5 different flights. And we only paid the taxes/fees!

This is how it breaks down for that trip in Credit Card sign-ups:

British Airways Chase card (we got it when the bonus was 100,000 miles), but if you have 2 people you could each get it with a 50,00 mile bonus
Southwest Chase card x 2 (we each got 2 Southwest cards – we booked tons of trips with these miles plus Companion Pass)
United Airlines card (we each got one when bonus was 65,000 miles)

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How my in-laws are getting to Hawaii (#2)

This is similar to what we did, with less credit card sign-ups and only 2 people. They are only going to one island, so did not need the interisland flight.

They got a British Airways Visa with the 50,000 mile sign up bonus. This is enough for the 2 of them to get roundtrip from the West Coast to Hawaii
They got a Southwest Visa with a 50,000 mile bonus. This was enough to book the 2 of them to and from the West Coast

So, for 2 credit card sign-ups, they were able to get 2 people from the East Coast to Hawaii only paying for the taxes and fees.

How we traveled to Hawaii in 2012 (#3)

We pretty much followed similar steps as in #1. We used British Airways Avios (that we had gotten from a 100,000 mile sign-up bonus) to book the 4 of us roundtrip to Hawaii from the West Coast on American Airlines (because of the partner alliance). We used American Airlines to get us to the West Coast so that we could spend some time at Disneyland before Hawaii and visiting family near Los Angeles after our Hawaii trip.

Using other Frequent Flyer programs to get to Hawaii

In addition to what I have written about our experiences, you can also fly airlines such as American, United, USAirways, Delta, Alaskan, and Hawiian airlines to Hawaii from the Mainland. Generally flights are 40,000 miles roundtrip. They can be harder to book, and you may have various connections and layovers. There are also some direct East Coast to Honolulu flights as well, but these have not been practical for our family and our travel plans.

Here are the things to consider:

It can take time to apply for the card (and wait for a good bonus), get it in the mail, meet the minimum spend, have the miles post to your account, and then book the flights.
You may have to be flexible with dates, flights, airports (both on the Mainland and in Hawaii)
I have booked our 2 trips exactly on the date that the flights became available (11 months out), and my in-laws’ trip about 8 months out (they weren’t able to get the exact dates that would have been ideal, but it worked out)

What do you do if you don’t have much time to wait?

If you are looking to book a Hawaii flight, but don’t have much time to wait for the above considerations, consider getting a credit card that offers cash back for travel. That way you can purchase your tickets and get a refund (statement credit) for your travel purchase. I recently got the Barclaycard Arrival World MasterCard. This would be a great option for any travel that you have to pay for, especially if 2 spouses could each get a card. With the current bonus, you would each get $440 worth of free travel. You could use this bonus to offset the cost of your flights. The 40,000 bonus points for this offer equal $440 worth of travel.

Here is the information for the Barclaycard:

Pennsylvania Dutch Country Family Vacation

March 30, 2014 by Kirsten 2 Comments

We have been fortunate enough to be able to make visits to Pennsylvania Dutch Country several times for family vacations (sometimes even several times each year!). Often known as Amish Country, Lancaster, or Lancaster County, the area really consists of many towns and villages. With names like Intercourse, Bird-in-Hand, and Paradise, PA you really can’t go wrong on any trip to this beautiful area. The town of Hershey is close by as well, and it is generally included under the PA Dutch Country umbrella. If you are making a family vacation out of it, you can visit any of these areas while staying in another. If you are doing an East Coast trip, you can add PA Dutch Country to a longer road trip to places like Philadelphia (about 1.5 hours away), the Delaware and Maryland beaches, Baltimore (about 1.5 hours), Washington DC (2 hours) or New York City (3 hours).

I have compiled some of our favorite things to do when we visit PA Dutch Country. It is an extremely family-friendly place to visit, and can also be great for couples as well (my parents went on their honeymoon here!). There are many more things to add to this list, but these 20 are a good start as you plan a family PA Dutch Country trip (and you should).

Pennsylvania Dutch Country Family Vacation

20 Family-Friendly Things to Do

1. Cherry Crest Adventure Farm

Cherry Crest Adventure Farm is a great place to spend a day when the weather is nice and you want some outdoor fun for the kids! We have been several times, and our kids just love it. There are tons of fun family-friendly activities, like a huge corn maze, animals to pet and feed, tractor rides, and so much more.

One of the many fun activities at Cherry Crest Farm in PA Dutch Country

2. Sight & Sound Theatre

Even for those of us who are not religious, the productions at the Sight & Sound Theatre are pretty amazing. They “bring Bible stories to life” with their various productions. We saw an amazing show there (Jonah). The sets for their shows are very elaborate & they even use live animals, which was pretty cool. When I asked my daughter what she learned from the story of Jonah and the Whale she said “don’t jump off a boat, even if God tells you to.” That’s my girl.

Sight & Sound Theatre in Lancaster County, PA – Jonah

3. Dutch Wonderland

Dutch Wonderland is a cute amusement park that is great for kids that are on the younger side. We brought the kids here a few times when they were younger, and they absolutely loved it. There are lots of rides and a water play area for little kids, but with older kids I would go to HersheyPark instead.

Dutch Wonderland is awesome for little kids!

4. Hershey Park

Hershey Park at Christmas!

I have so many great, funny, and gross Hershey Park stories to share, but I will save those for another time. We’ve been to Hershey many times, in different seasons, and it is always so much fun. There are rides that are suitable for the entire family, from little kids to those daring roller coaster lovers (and then there’s me, who gets to hold the bags for everyone because I’m too chicken to ride). Hershey Park is consistently rated as one of the best amusement parks in the country. There is a fun water park area within the park as well. It is a great addition to a PA Dutch Country trip.

Where else can you get your picture taken with a life-sided Hershey chocolate bar?

Where else can you get your picture taken with a life-sized Hershey chocolate bar?

5. Lancaster Science Factory

If you’ve explored my website much, you can tell that we are a family of science loving nerds. Or at the very least, science museum lovers. We visited the Lancaster Science Factory on one of our trips, and we really enjoyed it. We like the hands-on learning that these kinds of places deliver, and this one didn’t disappoint. It was small, which suited our purposes fine, as we didn’t have an entire day to devote to the visit.

Fun family times at the Lancaster Science Factory

6. Horse and Buggy Ride

There are so many horse & buggy ride providers that I cannot even remember the names of the ones that we have used. We have taken these rides through the Amish countryside a few times, and have always really enjoyed it. It’s not hard to find places to hop on a buggy when you are in PA Dutch Country, and I highly recommend giving it a try. The farm scenery is just gorgeous, and most of the guides are very knowledgeable and will answer my your dumb questions about Amish culture (ie Can Amish people drink alcohol? What is Rumspringa? Is there really an Amish mafia?).

7. Kitchen Kettle Village

There are lots of things to do in Kitchen Kettle Village, and you can spend a few hours walking around and taking it all in. There are shops where you can buy local items like canned foods, cafes, and one of the above-mentioned buggy rides. The kids can ride a pony & get their picture taken with a sign that says Intercourse (worth the trip).

8. Farm Stay

I am reluctant to even mention this because we love it sooooooooo much, and it is already really hard to get a reservation. There are a few places in the area where you can stay on a working farm in a B&B type of lodging and participate in some of the farm activities. Our favorite is Rocky Acre Farm (let us make our reservations first, and then you can try it). The farm house has a variety of different types of rooms that you can stay in, and a fabulous (communal style) breakfast is included. There are tons of cats and kittens, which is a dream come true for my daughter. The kids can collect the eggs that are used for breakfast, you can milk and feed the cows, take an ATV ride through the farm, a tractor ride & just completely decompress. This is a very family-oriented place (ie not romantic & I would never stay here without kids).

Feeding the baby cows

Collecting eggs from the hen house

Milking a cow

9. National Christmas Center

It’s Christmas all the time at the National Christmas Center! You can pretty much see every type of Christmas related item ever created on display here. There are lots of decorated trees, of course, as well as information on the history of Christmas customs. When we were there, Santa was there too (it was right around Christmastime) and the kids got to do the whole sitting on Santa’s lap thing. Plus they have old-school Santa themed cigarette displays.

Who knew that Santa smokes?

10. PA Dutch Food

There are a seemingly endless number of smorgasbord restaurants in Lancaster County. My husband has a deep-seated hatred of the word smorgasbord, possibly related to a traumatic childhood smorgasbord memory, so we call them buffets. Pennsylvania Dutch food is a thing, so there are tons of restaurants dedicated to it in the area. I admit, it’s not my favorite, but we always go to a buffet or two (when in Rome….) while we are visiting. There are things like buttered noodles, lots of meats, pickled things, scrapple, fried things, and lots of pies (shoofly and whoopie). Pretzels are popular too.

11. Mini Golf

Just like the multitude of horse & buggy rides, there are tons of mini golf places in the area. We have a mini-golf fan in the family, so we have tried a few of them here.

12. Pretzel Factory Tour

There are a couple of pretzel factories in the area, but the one that we visited was the Julius Sturgis pretzel factory. We were able to take a tour to see how the pretzels were made in the original ovens, and we were each given a piece of dough and were taught how to make a pretzel ourselves. It was lots of fun & the pretzels are great. There is also the Intercourse Pretzel Factory, which I remember enjoying on a visit with my parents many years ago. Plus you may prefer the name.

13. Hershey’s Chocolate World

Right next to Hershey Park, but separate from it, is Hershey’s Chocolate World. It is free to get in, and they have the best milkshakes ever! There is a store where you can purchase all of the candy. Yikes! There is a free ride where you learn how chocolate is made, and they pipe in some faux chocolate scents to make you want to eat all of the chocolate. It works. They also have things like a make your own candybar assembly line (fun) and a 4D movie (ok). Those extras cost money, but you don’t actually have to be visiting HersheyPark to visit Chocolate World.

Making our own candy bars at Hershey’s Chocolate World

14. Doll Outlet

If you have a family member (no gender-bias here) who is a fan of dolls, then he or she will love this doll outlet! The Doll Outlet has what appears to be millions of dolls and doll related items. The huge variety of outfits that fit American Girl Dolls was a big hit with my daughter. They even have Amish-style outfits for your AG doll.

15. Strasburg Railroad

This is a must-do for the train enthusiast in the family. The Strasburg Railroad runs right by Cherry Crest Farm (above). It is a steam train that takes you through the Amish Countryside for a 45 minute ride. If you have a Thomas the Tank Engine fan (ugh!), then it gets even better. They have special days out with Thomas that are very popular & the train is actually pulled by a Thomas train. I am so happy that we are past the Thomas phase. Good luck to those of you who are still in it. Is it better or worse that Barney and/or Teletubbies?

16. Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire

Medieval torture device at the PA Ren Faire

What can I say about the PA Ren Faire? If you want to see a bunch of grown men prancing around in period costumes, wearing tights, and talking in strange accents, all while getting really drunk on ale & eating huge (genetically modified?) turkey legs…this is the place for you! There are jousting tournaments and human chess. There are performers (and wannabe performers) everywhere you turn. Music, comedy, magic. Lots of food. Some of the best people watching ever. We go almost every year & have so.much.fun. I think we are weird.

God save the Queen? At the PA Ren Faire

The Renaissance Faire usually runs from August to October, and they have various theme weekends (family, Celtic, etc). There is a Hampton Inn directly across the street, and we have stayed there for the pure convenience of it. It is expensive (for what you get) around the Faire time, so this can be a good use of Hhonors points if you have them.

One of the old school rides for kids at the PA Ren Faire

17. Amish Tours

There are lots of different types of Amish tours throughout the area. I have visited the Amish Village many years ago, and I remember learning about various aspects of Amish life (one thing that sticks out in my mind is tobacco plants…weird). On most of our more recent visits, we have chosen to take the horse & buggy rides and visits to farms as a way to experience the beauty of the area and as a way to observe (from a distance) the Amish lifestyle.

We love the beauty of the Lancaster County countryside

18. Herr’s Snack Factory Tour

We haven’t visited the Herr’s Factory yet, but we have had it on our list of possible things to do during our visits. The times for the factory tours never seem to fit into our schedule, but it does look like a fun thing to do as a family.

19. Turkey Hill Experience

In all of our visits to PA Dutch Country, we have yet to try the Turkey Hill Experience, but it is on our list for next time. “The Turkey Hill Experience features interactive exhibits allowing you to learn about dairy culture, the story of Turkey Hill Dairy, and how the company’s ice cream and iced tea flavors are selected and created. You will truly experience what it’s like to be a Turkey Hill Dairy ice cream maker for a day, including the opportunity to create your own virtual ice cream flavor. In addition, you can sit in our vintage milk truck, milk our mechanical cows, star in your very own Turkey Hill commercial, and enjoy plenty of free samples of iced tea and ice cream!”

20. Lapp Valley Farm

Great ice cream and a beautiful farm setting…how can you go wrong? Lapp Valley Farm is consistently mentioned when the discussion turns to the best ice cream ever. It is homemade and really creamy. You can walk around a bit and see the farm animals and the peacocks. Just beautiful.

Bryce Canyon National Park with Kids

March 27, 2014 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

Bryce Canyon National Park with Kids

There are no words that can accurately describe Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. It is a place that needs to be visited, explored, and absorbed. Words and photos are not capable of doing justice to the unearthly hoodoos (the stone pillars) that make up this scenery. It is a place unlike any other, and one that changed the way I thought about the planet. I just kept thinking “I can’t believe a terrain like this exists” and was just in awe the entire time we were there. I think even the kids were taken aback by the sight of it. Bryce Canyon National Park is a perfect place to visit with kids.

Bryce Amphitheater from Inspiration Point

There are various points throughout the park that are accessible by car and that give great views looking down into the Bryce Amphitheater from up above. We explored some of these viewpoints, and took part in a Ranger-led discussion about the formation of the hoodoos (as a part of the Junior Ranger program).

In order to really get the best feel for Bryce Canyon, you have to hike down into it. It looks intimidating from the top, but it is totally do-able. Even with kids. It is a steep descent and ascent at certain points, but it is a great workout and so worth it! You do have to have some physical stamina, but even the kids were able to do it (not without some complaints about tired legs though).

Hiking down into the Amphitheater allows for the best views of the various hoodoo formations

The Queen’s Garden/Navajo Loop Trail is about 3 miles, and is steep in some points. It is probably best for elementary aged kids and older, as there are parts that are somewhat difficult. It gives you great views of the park up close and personal.

There are some places to stop and rest! Make sure to bring plenty of water.

Thor’s Hammer is one of the more well-known formations (it is the single one sticking up in the background) & can be viewed from the Navajo Loop Trail.

Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah was one of my favorite places we have ever visited, and I would recommend it to anyone with kids who are old enough to do some hiking. Even if the kids are younger, you can still get some wonderful views without hiking too much. We even saw some really fit people carrying a baby in a back carrier and hiking through the Amphitheater!

We stayed at the Best Western Plus Bryce Canyon hotel. It is directly across the street from the Best Western Ruby’s Inn, and we chose it because it was newer. Both are in an excellent location right near the park entrance. We had dinner at Ebenezer’s Barn & Grill, which is pretty much in the same parking lot as the hotel. It was a Cowboy Dinner Show with a buffet and entertainment. Yes, it was totally cheesy, but the kids LOVED it! My daughter even waited in line to get the performers’ autograph’s afterward & she still talks about the show. We were literally the only Americans there (they ask you what country you are from when you enter & then they incorporate that into the show) out of about 500 people. Kind of embarrassing, kind of amazing. It just goes to show that we enjoy being tourists in our own country. The rest of you (if you’re American) are missing out.

The BEST beaches in Kauai (IMHO)

March 26, 2014 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

The BEST beaches in Kauai

In the midst of planning my second trip to Kauai, Hawaii in 2 years, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at my favorite beaches on the island. This is not a comprehensive list of all of Kauai’s wonderful beaches, since we only had 9 days to spend there. However, it does remind me that I can’t wait to go back to explore these beaches and more! This is my humble opinion about the best beaches in Kauai.

1. Hanalei Beach Park

In the summer when we were there, Hanalei’s water was perfect for boogie boarding and swimming

It was not crowded at all, and the weather was gorgeous. The little town of Hanalei Bay is nearby.

There are lots of places to grab a snack in Hanalei Bay

2. Ke’e Beach

Ke’e Beach has great snorkeling right off of the beach, and the surroundings are just breathtaking

We loved seeing the monk seals sunbathing right on the beach!

3. Hideaways Beach

There is a really really really steep and difficult path to get down to Hideaways Beach in Princeville

It felt like an adventure getting to Hideaways, and it was empty! It didn’t feel safe for swimming, but it was beautiful to look at

4. Lydgate Park

Lydgate Park is great for families because there is a huge playground right off of the beach!

5. Tunnels Beach

This monk seal swam right past the kids when they were in the water and came up onto the beach

The snorkeling at Tunnels Beach is fantastic, and the backdrop is just stunning

6. Pali Ke Kua Beach

There was a path down to this beach right near the condo that we rented in Princeville (Pali Ke Kua)

Pali Ke Kua Beach was fun for exploring and looking for fish and other creatures among the rocks

Honorable Mention : Poipu Beach

Lots of people rave about Poipu Beach on the South Shore. We went there for a day, but didn’t have the camera with us…boo! It was very crowded the day that we were there, so I think we might have to try it again to see if we like it as much as other people do!

We can’t wait to go back to the island to visit our favorite beaches and to explore more of the best beaches in Kauai!

Valley of Fire, Nevada : 3 reasons you should visit

March 24, 2014 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada is a fantastic place to stop on the way to or from Las Vegas (or as a day trip). It’s a beautiful place to visit in and of itself, and we learned a lot on our visit there.

3 reasons you should visit Valley of Fire:

1. The red sandstone formations

These sandstone formations really do lend themselves to the “Valley of Fire” name. The colors are so rich and vibrant. And it was a million degrees when we were there, so we kind of felt like we really were on fire. There are different places to do some easy (kid-friendly) hikes and explore the park.

The various shapes and formations of the sandstone make for some great photographs, even from an iphone!

2. 3000 year old Indian petroglyphs

The Anasazi lived in this area from about 300 BC to 1150 AD, and it is believed that they made the petroglyphs (rock art) that exist here. There is something very surreal about standing there looking at art that was created thousands of years ago, and it’s just there, unprotected, for all to see and experience. It was quiet and almost empty when we were there (it was a million degrees Fahrenheit that day, so I understand why we were among the only crazy visitors), which added to the eerie feeling. I could almost imagine myself living there 3000 years ago. I tried to get my kids to sit there & close their eyes and imagine it also. They were probably thinking about video games though.

3. The Petrified Wood

I still can’t wrap my head around the whole petrified wood concept. I mean, who was walking by and just happened to see this thing (see photo), and figured out that it was a tree millions of years ago and then it turned to stone. Respect to the scientists. Pretty cool.

My daughter checking out the Petrified Log, Valley of Fire State Park

For sure there are more than these 3 reasons to visit Valley of Fire State Park, but they were my 3 favorites. Enjoy!

Las Vegas with Kids?

March 21, 2014 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

Las Vegas with Kids?

In the summer of 2013 we took a monster road trip vacation to visit tons of National Parks and some other places along the way. Las Vegas, Nevada was a logical stopping point along our route. I must admit though, I was not excited about it in the inital planning phase. I can understand the appeal of Las Vegas for adults, but we were taking a family vacation. I was skeptical. But it was the best place to stop and recharge for a couple of days along our journey, so I started my research. It turns out that there really are a surprising number of things to do for families in and around Las Vegas.

We didn’t actually do most of the things on this list, so I can’t give you a first-hand guide ( like I prefer to do), but I thought that this was a helpful list for planning a trip to Las Vegas with kids:

Las Vegas with Kids :

If you want to spend some bucks -

Indoor theme park with tons of rides - Adventuredome at the Circus Circus casino hotel
Nevada’s largest waterpark – Wet n Wild Las Vegas
Stratosphere Tower casino hotel has an observation tower and thrill rides (like free fall and a rollercoaster)
Big Apple Roller Coaster and Arcade at the New York New York casino hotel
Discovery Children’s Museum – a hands-on indoor museum for kids with lots of exhibits
Gondola rides at the Venetian Hotel
Red Rock Canyon – This is an easy drive away. We’ve done this before & I highly recommend it…beautiful
Score! Interactive Sports Exhibit at the Luxor
Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay
Madame Tussauds wax museum
Las Vegas Natural History Museum
Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage
Seeing the views from the top of the Eiffel Tower
The Farm – animals and market
Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion – at the Springs Preserve
Tournament of Kings dinner show at the Excalibur
There are many kid-friendly shows like the Blue Man Group
Las Vegas Mini Grand Prix
El Dorado Canyon Mine Tours

Free Things to do in Las Vegas with Kids :

Mermaid Show and Aquarium at the Silverton Hotel and Casino
M&Ms World Las Vegas - free unless you buy something! This one we actually did do
The fountains at Bellagio water show
Ethel M Chocolates Factory Tour
Town Square Children’s Park
Volcano ‘eruptions’ at the Mirage
Watch the magicians at Houdini’s Magic Shop
Visit the Flamingo Wildlife Habitat

What we did in Las Vegas with the kids:

Our plan was to find a family-friendly resort hotel with a great pool & just swim for 2 days straight. We had already been traveling for weeks, and doing lots of hiking and exploring. We wanted a place to rest and recharge, so we chose to stay at the Tahiti Village (using AAdvantage miles), which is off of the strip (this was a positive for us with the kids). It had a full kitchen, washer and dryer, and a separate bedroom and living room. There was also a huge pool AND a lazy river. The customer service at the hotel was awful, and I would never stay there again & would not recommend it, but it worked for our plans for relaxation and swimming.

Las Vegas with Kids!

We did visit the Las Vegas strip one evening & went to MGM. We ate at the Rainforest Cafe, which is always a favorite with our kids. We also walked over to the M&Ms store (and bought a bunch of candy, naturally). Our personal preference was that we didn’t want to expose our kids to too much of the Vegas strip at their ages. I know that this is a controversial topic, as I read a ton of back and forth about it on various Tripadvisor forum threads. Lots of people feel very strongly about this. We weren’t die-hard against it, but just felt it was the right decision for our family to avoid it. This is America, thankfully, and you have the right to choose what works best for your own family.

Las Vegas M&Ms Store!

Have fun in Las Vegas with your kids!

Universal Studios Orlando For Free!

March 19, 2014 by Kirsten 1 Comment

Universal Studios Orlando For Free!

Family Theme Park Vacation. For Free. During Holiday Break. Yes, we did it!

We generally like to travel around Christmas/New Years break because the schools are closed and it’s the perfect time for us to get away. The time leading up to Christmas is the busiest of the year for me at work, and I am so in need of a vacation once Christmas is over! Unfortunately, the rest of the world (at least those with kids or who work in schools) also seems to have the same idea! That leaves us with three chioces 1) plan ahead in order to use our miles & points for our vacation 2) be extremely flexible with where we are going to go or 3) pay top dollar. Number 3 is not an option for us.

We really wanted to visit Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. We have been to Disney World about a million times, but had never been to Universal. Or, as they say on the Disboards, the “dark side” (I’m not joking, that’s really what they call it). Because we have been traveling so much in the past couple of years, we like to avoid paying for anything travel related, if at all possible. So I sought out a way to get our flight home from Orlando (we had flown into Fort Myers to go to Marco Island), our Universal hotel for 4 nights, and Universal Studios tickets for the 4 of us.

This is what I did. It worked out perfectly for us, YMMV (your miles may vary), literally.

1. Loews Royal Pacific Hotel

This is one of the 3 onsite Universal Orlando hotels. There are major advantages to staying Onsite, especially if you happen to be a Harry Potter fan. The main advantages that were important to us:

Get in an hour early (before parks open) to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This perk enabled my HP-obsessed daughter to go on Harry Potter the Forbidden Journey seven times….yes 7 times in 2 days
“SKIP THE REGULAR LINES with Universal Express^SM Unlimited ride access in both theme parks – a FREE benefit worth up to $89 per person, per day^ (valid theme park admission required). It’s the fastest way to ride – enjoy unparalleled access all day long, as often as you’d like!”
Proximity to the parks – we didn’t use our rental car for the entire time we were there. We made the short walk or took the water taxi to the parks

How did we stay for free? We used our American Airlines AAdvantage miles to book hotels, which you can do here. Make sure that you sign in to your account, because they somehow show much higher point amounts when you are not signed in. We have also booked Disney hotels using this method & you can read about that here. For our 4 nights (during a holiday, high-season period) we “paid” 21,000 – 23,000 points per night. When I priced it out at the time, it would have been $1800. It was so worth it for us.

This is an example of a search that I did for the Loews Royal Pacific using AA miles

2. Universal Studios Theme Park Tickets

Another major expense of any theme park vacation is the park tickets, especially when you have a family to pay for! We were able to get our tickets for free using our American Express Membership Rewards points. The price (in points) of the tickets can fluctuate, and sometimes they do run out. When we got ours, we were able to get 2 adults passes and 2 children’s passes for 3 day park tickets. I think it was about 12,000 points for the kids and 15,000 for the adults. At the time, it was a buy 2 days get one free promotion at the parks. There have also been times when you could get these tickets for just 5,000 MR points.

The current offerings on the Amex site for Universal Studios tickets

3. Flights from Orlando to Philadelphia

We were able to use our Southwest points to get from Orlando to Philadelphia. My husband and I both have Southwest Companion Passes, which I will write about another time. The basic gist of it is, if you get 110,000 Southwest points in a calendar year, you get to bring a companion on any of your flights (paid or points) for free. It’s the best thing since sliced bread (which, apparently, is younger than Betty White, but I digress). We only had to use about 18,000 Southwest points total to get all 4 of us home.

So, that is how we went to Universal Studios for free at one of the busiest times of year! And we had an amazing time & may even be considering going over to the Dark Side for good.

Hogwarts…Forbidden Journey…best ride ever

Some cool props from comics that the kids have never heard of…this SHOULD be Spongebob World

Is it a bad parenting to have your daughter's pic taken with the Duff Beer Guy, Duffman?

Is it bad parenting to have your daughter’s pic taken with the Duff Beer Guy, Duffman?

Pretty much my life motto, for real. Thanks Dr. Seuss

Death Valley in July? (Spoiler : We made it out alive)

March 16, 2014 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

This was early in the day, the temperature rose to about 120 while we were there!

Death Valley in July

Death Valley National Park in July? Or…Are you insane? Yes and yes. When we were planning our National Parks Road Trip, adding Death Valley during the hottest time of year wasn’t in our original plan. But then it turned out that we were practically driving right by it, and how could we drive by a National Park and NOT visit (we couldn’t). So there we were. In Death Valley and it was about 120 degrees. I don’t even care if it was a “dry” heat. It was hot.

We read all of the warnings. Our tires might melt, so don’t stop moving. Bring plenty of water. Don’t take off your sandals and run through the sand dunes. Are you curious about this one? I was. Apparently some geniuses went to the sand dunes (amazing, by the way) early in the day before it was really hot and sunny. They took of their shoes and ran (creative license on this part, I’m not sure if they walked, ran, or cartwheeled) across the sand to the far side. Well, the sand heats up pretty quickly, and they were kind of trapped there with no shoes. They needed to cross the sand dunes (shoeless) to get back. Which caused 3rd degree burns on their feet, and they had to somehow be rescued. They lost their Mensa memberships. All this was told to scare us into keeping our shoes on while walking on the sand dunes. It worked. By the time we got to the dunes they were already about a million degrees. I think my flip flops melted. It was worth it.

In some strange way, Death Valley was my favorite. It was eerie and alien-ly beautiful. The colors. Oh, the colors. Green, black, pink, orange sand/rocks. I’m not a scientist so don’t hold me to the part about it being sand/rocks, but it was gorgeous. Probably minerals or something. We did the Junior Ranger program with the kids, and learned a lot, but I think my brain melted a little bit so all I remember is something about Borax.

We were able to get out of the car at the best scenic vantage points (like Dante’s View and Zabriskie Point) to take in the otherworldly views. Again, HOT, but so worth it. I feel like I also need to say that I like being hot way more than I like being cold. I’d rather be in Death Valley in July than go skiing at any point in time.

The advantages to going to Death Valley in July were:

No crowds
It was cheaper than a trip to Europe with the same demographic

We were among the only ~~crazy~~ people there, and of those of us who braved the heat, we were the only English speakers. It was very interesting to be in the USA and literally hear NO ONE speaking English (except for the Park Rangers, that is). It seemed like most people were speaking French. This was a bonus, as I miss Europe & it made me feel nostalgic. I appreciate that others appreciate our country. I (most likely, since I’m not 100% sure where most of these people were from ) appreciate their countries too, so its a win-win. And I’m pretty sure that they weren’t Americans for whom English is not a first language. I could always be wrong about that, but there was definitely a European vibe going on. This was true in every single National Park we visited on that trip, but Death Valley was the only one that was 100% in the non-English speaking category. Fascinating…

Some of the green sand/rocks in Death Valley National Park

So, would we visit Death Valley in July again? In a heartbeat. With lots of water, sturdy shoes and a French/English dictionary.

Baltimore with Kids : 17 Things to Do

March 11, 2014 by Kirsten 1 Comment

Baltimore with Kids

Baltimore, Maryland is a perfect family getaway. There is so much to do within an easy radius, and it is close to places like Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and the Maryland and Delaware beaches if you want to make a longer trip out of it. We visited again for the 3rd time (with the kids), and we have been a few times without them as well. You can read about where we stayed here. I compiled this list of 17 things to do with your kids in Baltimore, most of which we have done on one of our family Baltimore trips.

1. Maryland Science Center

This is one of our favorite science centers that we have visited as a family. It is hands-on learning at its finest, with lots of exhibits that kept the kids (and us) very interested an entertained. It is right in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore. Our favorite exhibits were the dinosaurs/paleontology, Newton’s Alley, and Your Body: The Inside Story (the kids particularly liked anything toilet-talk related). They also have an IMAX theater and a planetarium. Teachers can get in free (basic admission) with teacher ID.

Future Paleontologist?

Outside of the Maryland Science Center, Baltimore

2. Walking around the Inner Harbor

On a nice day, just walking around the Inner Harbor area is a fabulous activity. You can see some gorgeous views from different points around the harbor. Plus there are places for the kids to run around when it’s not too crowded.

Walking around the Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD

Inner Harbor view from Maryland Science Center – bring bread to feed the ducks!

3. Top of the World

The Top of the World is an observation area on the 27th floor of Baltimore’s World Trade Center. From their website “Top of the World has expansive windows that frame the Inner Harbor, the surrounding city and beyond to the Chesapeake Bay. Discover Baltimore’s history as guides reveal fascinating facts and personal reminiscences that make Baltimore come alive! ”

4. National Aquarium

One of the premier aquariums in the USA, Baltimore’s National Aquarium has lots to see and do for families. There are 2 rainforest areas (my favorite!), dolphins, jellyfish, and tons of other sealife to learn about. We saw the 4D Spongebob show, which was a huge hit (although the kids were sad that it was short).

Jellyfish at the National Aquarium

5. Ripley’s Believe it Or Not

If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, or so I’m told. We have visited a Ripley’s before, and the kids LOVED it! Yes it is cheesy and weird, but it is something fun for the family to do. This location is right in the Inner Harbor and very convenient to all of the other Inner Harbor attractions.

6. Port Discovery Children’s Museum

We visited this Children’s Museum when the kids were a bit younger, and it was awesome. They say that it is for kids under the age of 10, but I would say that it would probably be best for about ages 8 and under. There is a lot of hands-on pretend play and learning opportunities for the kids. The Museum is within walking distance of other attractions, such as the Aquarium.

7. Fort McHenry National Monument

This was one of our highlights of our last trip to Baltimore. We hadn’t known anything about it prior to our visit, but we learned a lot while we were there. This fort was known for its role in the War of 1812, when it was attacked by the British Navy. The attack was what inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem “The Star-Spangled Banner”.

A cannon at Fort McHenry

There are places to explore, like the old cells and dungeons

The grounds at Fort McHenry are beautiful for walking around and exploring

8. Water Taxi

“The coolest distance between two points.” The Water Taxi Stops at Baltimore’s Best Attractions: Aquarium, Harborplace, Science Center, Rusty Scupper, Pier Five, Harbor East, Maritime Park, Harborview, Locust Point, Fell’s Point, Captain James, Canton Park, Fort McHenry

9. Oriole Park at Camden Yards

My husband would be really proud of me for writing this. He loves visiting different ballparks, and this is a favorite. We were not in the right season to visit this time, but I am sure we will get here with the kids at some point. The stadium is in a convenient location within the city, which makes it very easy to get to. You can take a tour of the park too, which sounds like it would be a fun thing to do with the family.

10. Little Italy

We walked a few blocks from the Inner Harbor to Little Italy for dinner. The streets are well-kept and lined with Italian flags and too many Italian restaurants to choose from. We didn’t choose well, as our dinner was not very good & was quite disappointing (at Daleiso’s). The line for Amicci’s was much longer, which was probably a sign that we should have eaten there. We had dessert at Vaccaro’s Pastry Shop, which was very good (and had a long line)

Little Italy, Baltimore, MD

11. Buying Candy

When we are traveling, we can never resist the candy shops, even if they are overpriced and hyped up like It’s Sugar. Located right in the heart of the popular attractions, this place is hard to miss (and hard to drag the kids away from). It looks like there is a 15% off coupon, so you might want to print that out in case you end up spending 100 bucks on candy that you could have gotten from CVS for $10. It is kind of neat (and scary for a parent) to see ginormous versions of candy favorites though.

12. Eating

There are tons, and tons, and tons of chain kid-friendly restaurants to choose from in the Inner Harbor area. Realizing and being perfectly aware that these are not gourmet chowhound-worthy places, you can still get a decent meal in a family friendly atmosphere knowing that some place will have the kid trifecta of mac & cheese, chicken fingers, and/or burgers. My kids wanted to go to Noodles and Company, and we don’t have one around here. It was very good, and a very reasonable price.

13. Urban Pirates

We have not done this, but a friend of mine has & did recommend it. They have family adventure cruises that include pirate activities, games, songs, blasting water cannons, and a hunt for stolen treasure.

14. Paddle Boats

You can rent paddle boats & electric boats right in the harbor. All passengers must be at least 2 years old and weigh at least 35 lbs. All passengers are required to wear life vests while onboard the paddle and electric boats. Children aged 12 years and below must be accompanied by an adult. After dark, all passengers 17 years and under must be accompanied by an adult.

Baltimore Inner Harbor Paddle Boats

15. Historic Ships

You can take a tour of the various historic ships that are located right in the harbor. They have different types of programs and tours, such as audio tours. There are 4 ships (Sloop-of-War USS Constellation - Pier 1, Inner Harbor, Submarine USS Torsk - Pier 3, Inner Harbor, Lightship Chesapeake - Pier 3, Inner Harbor, USCG Cutter Taney - Pier 5, Inner Harbor) and you can pay to visit one, two, or all four ships.

One of the Historic Ships with a street performer entertaining nearby

16. Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse

You can tour this lighthouse, which is right in the Inner Harbor, for free. We climbed up inside of it and read the information inside to learn about the history of the lighthouse. Plus it makes for a pretty photo.

Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse, Baltimore, MD

17. The Maryland Zoo

For you zoo lovers out there, this is said to be a nice, small zoo. It sounds like a good place to spend a few hours, especially if your kids like to see animals. In addition to the regular zoo animals, you can pay some extra money to ride the carousel, fee a giraffe, ride a camel, or take a train ride.

OVERALL…..

We love visiting Baltimore with the kids. There is so much to do, and it only gave me flashbacks of The Wire* one time.

*one of the best shows ever made, go watch it right now!

Residence Inn Baltimore Downtown Inner Harbor : Hotel Review

March 11, 2014 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

Residence Inn Baltimore Inner Harbor, Studio with 2 Queen Beds

Residence Inn Baltimore Downtown Inner Harbor

Where: Downtown Baltimore, Maryland (about a 5 minute walk to the Inner Harbor)

When: March 2014

Who: 2 adults & 2 elementary school-aged kids

The Hotel:

We spent a Saturday night at the Residence Inn Baltimore as a mini family getaway. We wanted to find a fun place, within a reasonable driving distance, to go for the weekend. We also wanted to use our annual Category 1-5 free night that we get from our Marriott Credit Card (this link is what I found at the time of this writing, but when we applied it was 70,000 bonus points). This hotel was a good value because the annual fee is $85, and this hotel was going for around $185 + tax on the night that we stayed.

We were given a 2 Queen Bed Studio (no upgrade this time…boooo). Last time we stayed at this same hotel (about 7 years ago), we were given a huge 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom suite. No luck this time (I didn’t ask though). The room was large enough for the 4 of us to spread out. It had a kitchen area that we did not use at all. There was a pull-out sofabed for the American Girl dolls to sleep in too. We barely spent any time in the hotel, but it was clean, albeit basic.

Plenty of room for the AG dolls to sleep

The hotel (like all Residence Inns) came with a free breakfast. Although these types of breakfast spreads aren’t always the best, this one was decent & had a good amount of choices. For a family, it is nice to have a hotel that comes with breakfast because it is convenient, easy, generally quick, and can save some significant money. My kids love the kinds of things that this breakfast offered (cereal, waffles with whipped cream & chocolate chips, toast, yogurt, and juices). They also had eggs, sausage, and biscuits. The coffee was available in the lobby all day.

We didn’t use the kitchen, but I do like this feature for longer stays

The Location:

This is where the review is going to get mixed. The relative location of this hotel is good. It is within walking distance to the Inner Harbor area (a pretty short walk). However, the exact area of the hotel is a bit seedy, especially at night. Now, you might just say that is Baltimore (and I would guess that you’ve watched The Wire – if not, go watch it right now, it’s the best). However, there are other hotels that are in better exact locations.

The worst part of the whole review is coming now….the noise! I don’t know if it’s something about the insulation or just the noisiness of the general area, but it was LOUD at night. Like seriously LOUD. I remembered this from the first time we stayed here, but I thought (hoped!) it was a fluke. Wrong. It was a hard to sleep kind of loud. Sirens and people screaming in the streets. Bachelorette parties and car alarms. And I forgot the melatonin. Good thing the kids can sleep through anything (see this if you don’t believe me).

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How to use Frequent Flyer miles for Hawaii flights

How we used miles for our next Hawaii vacation flights (#1)

1. Used British Airways Avios (their frequent flyer mile program) on Alaskan Airlines metal (this means the actual plane you will be flying on) to get from (OAK) Oakland, CA to (KOA) Kona Airport on the Big Island.

How can you get British Airways Avios?

2. Used Southwest Rapid Rewards miles to get us from Philadelphia to Oakland

How can you get Southwest Rapid Rewards points?

3. Used United Airlines miles for inter-island flights on Hawaiian Airlines – from the Big Island to Kauai (via Honolulu)

How can you get United miles?

4. Used British Airways Avios to fly from LIH (Kauai) to SEA (Seattle) on Alaskan Airlines

5. Used United miles to fly from Seattle to Philadelphia

How my in-laws are getting to Hawaii (#2)

How we traveled to Hawaii in 2012 (#3)

Using other Frequent Flyer programs to get to Hawaii

Here are the things to consider:

What do you do if you don’t have much time to wait?

Pennsylvania Dutch Country Family Vacation

20 Family-Friendly Things to Do

1. Cherry Crest Adventure Farm

2. Sight & Sound Theatre

3. Dutch Wonderland

4. Hershey Park

5. Lancaster Science Factory

6. Horse and Buggy Ride

7. Kitchen Kettle Village

8. Farm Stay

9. National Christmas Center

10. PA Dutch Food

11. Mini Golf

12. Pretzel Factory Tour

13. Hershey’s Chocolate World

14. Doll Outlet

15. Strasburg Railroad

16. Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire

17. Amish Tours

18. Herr’s Snack Factory Tour

19. Turkey Hill Experience

20. Lapp Valley Farm

Bryce Canyon National Park with Kids

The BEST beaches in Kauai

1. Hanalei Beach Park

2. Ke’e Beach

3. Hideaways Beach

4. Lydgate Park

5. Tunnels Beach

6. Pali Ke Kua Beach

Honorable Mention : Poipu Beach

3 reasons you should visit Valley of Fire:

1. The red sandstone formations

2. 3000 year old Indian petroglyphs

3. The Petrified Wood

Las Vegas with Kids?

Las Vegas with Kids :

If you want to spend some bucks -

Free Things to do in Las Vegas with Kids :

What we did in Las Vegas with the kids:

Universal Studios Orlando For Free!

Death Valley in July

Baltimore with Kids

Residence Inn Baltimore Downtown Inner Harbor

The Hotel:

The Location:

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