We love O’ahu! We’ve decided that it is definitely our favorite Hawaiian island that we’ve been. It’s our second time here together (the first time was on our honeymoon), so we have been excited for some time to revisit our favorite spots on the island. We stayed for a whole week, which honestly seemed like it was going to be too long we first arrived. However, by the time that we left we wished that (more…)
During the middle of our Puerto Rico trip (the rest of which is in the blog post here), we hopped a cheap ferry for $2/each out to the small island of Vieques for 4 very restful nights. The island is really small – about 21 miles by 4 miles – and has a laid-back Caribbean vibe and some of the most stunning beaches we have seen in all our travels. We stayed in an apartment (more…)
We were fortunate enough to first Florida twice this winter, and it was a welcome change in climate from the cold and sometimes grey skies of middle TN. Even better, we have Nicole and Jose to hangout and stay with whenever we visit! What’s great too is that there are direct flights on SW from Nashville, so we got roundtrip direct flights for roughly 18k and 23k, saving us $600 and $750, respectively! Cindy, Terry (more…)
We just got back from a 10 day Thanksgiving holiday in Playa del Carmen and Merida. Since Southwest Airlines just opened up flights to Cancun earlier in the year, we were able to cash in around 20k points and fly into the area for free (the second ticket was free with the companion pass). Playa is just a short 1 hour bus ride away from Cancun. We stayed in another Airbnb locale, which was two (more…)
Our 2013 fall trip this year was new england, a place that Mayne’s never real spent time in (apart from NYC) and that Elisa has only spent a little time in. So we were both excited! The timing was with the intent to see as many of the famous fall foliage colors as possible, but we were a few weeks early apparently. Our itinerary started in Portland, ME, where we checked out the harbor/old city and then (more…)
It’s our one year wedding anniversary and so we settled on a relaxing beach trip! Mayne’s parents gave us timeshare points for a free hotel (Westin Lagunamar in Cancun), so the price was right too (thanks Mom & Jim!!). The Westin was incredible – perfect views, good location, amazing pool (biggest I have ever swam in) and a wade up tiki bar which was pricey but fun. They also had these semi-submerged recliners along the edge (more…)
We utilized our 4th of July vacation days this year to hit the pacific northwest, specifically Portland, Seattle, and the area in between. Based on google weather and all the people we talked to who lived in this area, July is absolutely the best month – weather wise – to visit. It did not disappoint. Our first stop was Seattle, where we stayed downtown in a Marriott Renaissance property. We used a free night certificate (more…)
We chose Hawaii for our honeymoon in mid-April (admittedly somewhat stereotypical choice of destination). It was a surprise for Elisa up until the week of wedding, at which point it made sense to tell her so she could pack accordingly (and since I filled a suitcase with hiking gear – more on that later). Since we only had about 9 days, we went to just two islands: Oahu for 4 days and Kauaii for 5. (more…)
Our first stop in Vietnam was Ho Chi Minh City, or HCMC for short. Don’t make a mistake of calling it Saigon! We used Marriott points for a free night at the Renaissance Riverside Hotel Siagon. The free breakfast (from my Marriott status) was amazing and was an international buffett of quality french, chinese, vietnamese and continental food. It was well worth the points. The city has some of the craziest traffic I have ever (more…)