This week we check in with Tamara about her family's spring break road trip to look at colleges. Find out how the trip went and why her visit to the Vista Verde Ranch in Colorado was the perfect spring break retreat.
Full Episode Transcript
We're back. Stay tuned to hear about our latest adventures.
Welcome to Vacation Mavens. A family travel podcast with ideas for your next vacation and tips to get you out the door. Here are your hosts, Kim from Stuffed Suitcase and Tamara from We3Travel.
Tamara, we have just had, you know, a couple of awesome road trips. So I'm sure our listeners are dying to hear all about it. Everything that we've done, everything we learned or discovered. So this is our episode to kind of dish and just tell them about our latest.
Yeah, I was thinking as I was driving, I'm like, hmm, this is what I want to say about Nebraska. This is what I want to say. Well, you know, just kind of and I was like, I really should make notes, but I was driving for half the time, so I didn't actually make notes.
But I'm excited to chat with you. It's been so long and I know we're going to go into more detail about your California road trip in a couple of episodes, because I know that that's a trip that probably a lot of people want to make.
But we should definitely talk about your epic one, because how many miles and how many states did you hit?
Oh, my God, 5000 miles. I didn't realize it was going to be quite that far. And I think I think because of the way we came back, we actually hit 16 states.
Yeah. My goodness. Yeah.
And I mean, a lot of those actually, for me, I had been to all of them before. But for Hannah, there were some new ones. For Glenn, there are some new ones. We saw, you know, a lot of ground, I will say, because we went in mid-March. I remember before we went, you were sending me pictures like it'll be pretty and you're sending me pictures of, like fields of wheat in the sun, sunset and like. Yeah, no, it is just brown.
It's brown, brown, brown. So it was not a scenic road trip at all. I think a lot of our listeners know that we were going to look at colleges. We did have a really beautiful part of Colorado, you know, where we were in Colorado and we stayed at a ranch. And, you know, I could talk about that a little bit, but it did convince me, too, that I really should consider moving to Colorado at some point. But it was most of the trip was, you know, a little bit boring when it came to the scenery.
But we did get to see quite a few colleges. And you know what? There's something about driving through huge parts of this country that it just stirs me. You know, like I just I it's so important to me to feel like connected. And I feel like I can visualize, like, what it is like to live in other parts of the country, you know, get a little bit more sense of like where people coming from, what their, you know, regular life is like, you know, because I'm just I've lived all my life in the Northeast and the Northeast we know is like, you know, it's crowded.
It's just, you know, like one city blurs into the other, you know, in our rural areas are, you know, like you can't drive for miles and miles without finding, you know, a place to get gas or, you know, like any of these things.
It's just very different. And so I really appreciate every time I'm able to, like, drive through a lot of this country. And I really I really hope that more people, you know, can do that kind of thing. You know, like even if it wasn't pretty, there was just something to it.
It's just something to like the vastness and the diversity and everything to it. Yeah, I think that it's good for the coastal people to realize and experience the breadbasket of America like they term it because it is so different. And, you know, I grew up in the Midwest, of course, and knew nothing really about toll roads and all that stuff. And so that's always something. When I go to the coast, I'm always like, oh, there's there's toll roads in these places.
So I just wrote a post about like road trip mistakes that people make because I feel like tolls is definitely one that people don't always pay attention to.
And nowadays there's not always a man toll booth like it's often like electronic billing. And if you're not from that area, you don't have that system. And so then you have to try to figure it out. I can't even tell you how many hours I spent trying to figure out where I was supposed to pay the Illinois tollway, you know, and I don't I'm not sure I'm expecting I mean, like eight tickets in the mail.
And I'm like, I registered for your site. I filled out everything. But I'm not seeing, like, where I actually I we took pictures of every single, like, gate kind of thing. Like the time and the number, you know, because Glenn's been there before and I'm like, I can't figure this out. So some of the systems are not so easy to figure out. Come to the northeast and they're like what do you mean it's fifteen dollars across the bridge. I'm like yeah.
Yeah. And it's you know, well we have on the West Coast like HOV lanes. Right. So we had where we couldn't even use the lane near San Francisco because we didn't have you there. And we have that in Seattle as well. Like you can use the HOV lane for a fee for a fee.
But if you want to use it as a high occupancy vehicle, you have to have the, you know, Washington tag that's in your windshield and is registered to your vehicle on your plate. And so, yeah, it was kind of frustrating. I was like, oh, because we got hit in a major traffic. And like, I was like, oh, I want to be in that carpool lane, but I couldn't. I didn't want to pay whatever the fee was because, you know, in Washington, if you don't have the past, you have to pay three dollars to pay it by mail. They charge you a three dollar surcharge. So anyways, it's crazy.
Well, I will say, I have a lot of overall observations of driving 5000 miles. Number one, our roads are crap. They are terrible.
Like I know they're trying to pass an infrastructure bill and I can't even say how much we need it. Like I always comment on that around, like where I live. But I feel like I live in such a busy area, like it's get so much traffic. Well, you know what, we're driving i 80, i 70, i 90 like.
And it's all trucks, there's so many trucks and it was you know, I don't know if it's more now or not, but like it was the point where it's not relaxing at all, even though it's just a straight highway. It's like because you're constantly passing trucks like we had had to drive. She just has a permit. Knock wood. By the time you hear that, she'll have her license. But she drove for like three hours in Nebraska and three hours in Kansas. And the speed limit is like seventy five. And she's like constantly like trucks are passing her, she's passing trucks. And it was she's like, I'm exhausted. I don't know if you see that on the West Coast, but it was terrible.
Yeah, well, we went through Oregon and I guess in Oregon, it's one of the few states that allows three semi links. And I think you probably passed some, but I we don't have it in California or Washington. Oh, but it's semi trucks allow three, you know, the back seat and it says long load.
I even said it like those trucks drive like they rule the world and like who cares about you. I had one literally drive me off the road like I'm so glad that I was driving and not Hannah because I managed to keep us like in the like in not a shoulder. I had to go into the grass but like straight without like like she probably would have with the car. It's like they I was next to it and not like far back, like next to its cab.
Yeah. And it started, you know, it put its turn signal on and it started coming and I'm like laying on the horn and it just kept coming. And so I had to go into the median and again, you know, you're like you're driving through grass and you're like seventy five miles an hour, you know?
And then I was able to like, you know, safely get us back up, you know, on the road. And that almost happened to me multiple times. So I will say, like, it's not you know, it was not always pleasant driving. I would have loved to have gotten off on just some of the smaller roads, like when we were in like Wisconsin and Colorado, we were in some smaller roads that were like much more pleasant. Although let me tell you the other thing that I observed about Wisconsin.
I felt like I was in another country. We have you ever seen this where the instead of, you know, how you have interstate, you know, we have Interstate 95, we have high U.S. Highway One, we have state route two. There are like state highways or, you know, it was like exit for Highway X, Y or an X.
It was the letter letters I've never seen. I know we're going to have listeners that are like, what's wrong with you? But like, I had never I never seen that either.
I didn't know that either. I are. We're just inspiring people to take road trips with all these. I'm just kidding.
Sorry. anyways, these are the things you learn, right?
Yeah, these are the things you learn. But I always think it's cool how the states have different highways. They have the little symbols. And I've never seen anything fun like in California or Oregon or Washington. But I know once we were in like I think Utah and they have like a beehive. Is there like have you seen.
Oh yeah. It's like different shape. So, yeah, different states have fun little shapes and stuff, but I don't think we have anything fun. So I was wondering if you saw any fun shaped state highways.
Not that I recognize, but I can kind of picture that. I'm pretty sure in New Hampshire there's looks like one of the mountain faces. I did learn that Nebraska. Oh, what's that? What was the town?
Kearney, Nebraska is the sandhill Crane, capital of the world. As we're driving, this is the time that Hannah was driving. So I was sitting in the back because I'm like, you know, I need a break. And if I'm in the front, like, somebody needs to, like, be paying attention to her. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I'm just going to sit in the back for a little bit. I can't do it long because I get carsick, but I'm like, I'm going to go back there.
So I'm just like looking out the window and I just see all these birds that I'm like they kind of look like Osprey, like they look like water birds, but they're all in these open fields, you know, because it's just like plowed fields now. And I'm like, this is so I. And I'm like, did you guys see that, did you guys see that and they're like, what? What's, you know, like I have nothing else to look at back here. You can't, like, look ahead of me, you know?
So anyway, then we would drive past the sign that says the sandhill crane capital of the world. I'm like, oh, that's fascinating. Yeah, that's cool.
I was going to mention with bathrooms when you're talking about stops and stuff is surprisingly I forgot about travel centers like for when you know about travel centers.
They normally have like a food place in them, but I find they're the restrooms at most of those travel centers, like the big ones, like the TravelCenters of America, like the big T and A..
Yeah. Although it's funny, like growing up in the Midwest, we always laughed about the T and the giant T&A. But anyways, you know, it's normally a pretty good one. And so we stopped at that a couple of times. And I think that the other thing we had done was because she was looking for like a cheesy California keychain for a friend. And I was like, oh, we need to find a travel center, because that's the kind of stuff they have there.
And yeah, like, that's that kind of thing is very common here in the East Coast. It's not like they're not always the labeled ones like like they're just like like if you're driving like I-95, it's like, you know, here's this rest area and it's there's gas and there's inside there's bathrooms, there's, you know, food court. And there's the little shop and the bathrooms there.
Like I actually they're usually pretty clean, like they weren't when I worked at one back on the New Jersey Turnpike when I was 16.
But it's pretty clean and you don't have to touch any doors, you know, like everything touchless, you know. So that is and it's very open like versus going into like a gas station that has like a one.
Yeah, yeah. Or they've got like the paddle key you have to get. Yeah. That people have touched in the last fifty.
But even and even if they have like one that has multiple stalls, it's like two or three styles and people might be waiting in a line and it's very close, whereas those are like so open, you know, that like the circulation is much better.
Exactly. And there's normally find parking and certainly easy to get on and off and back on the highway. Yeah. So I really like those. And then we used rest stops a lot actually. And I was really impressed.
I think rest stops are like the gift to road trips because for us, especially with teenagers and when they were little kids, we discovered this.
Inevitably somebody is waiting for a bathroom, are looking for and they end up wandering down the aisles and wanting to get this chip in this drink. And you spend another hundred and fifty dollars on snacks that day because of all the stops for bathrooms that you ended up buying junk food. And I noticed at least on the West Coast, I think it was practically 100 percent mask wearing on all the rest stops. And I even noticed one point because I kind of I think it was partially me, because I noticed this older couple was walking towards me like walking their dog and they didn't have my son.
And I, like, gave them a wide berth. Like I walked in the grass to go around them. And as soon as I passed, I heard the woman go, Oh, honey, we have our mask. Let's see, I'm going to go to the car and get our mask. Like she hadn't thought of it because she was thinking they were just going to walk our dog. But then she realized, you know, there's a lot of foot traffic.
Right. Right. I've had that experience, too. Yeah. So for you, like when you say, like, rest stop, So that's like the building off of the highway where like, yeah, people walk the dog and there's bathrooms and sometimes there's like a brochure's or something but that's like yeah ok. Yeah.
Great. Yeah. Yeah we have been, we have like the big ones kind of too.
So yeah these are, I'm talking about the ones that are just like literally on and off the highway, I-95 there almost every twenty five miles ish most of the time. So but yeah. And there's definitely different qualities in some of them are nice and have lots of stalls and others are not great.
But everyone we all went to always had toilet paper, had seat covers, running water, all that. So it was a good, good thing for us.
It shows you our priorities that we're spending like five minutes talking about bathroom. I'm so sorry, everyone.
They're like, OK, yeah, I'm bored. Yeah, we're like twenty minutes. And we haven't even started talking about your road trip. So let's jump to that.
Let's talk about your specific road trip. We've talked about the mileage and the states, but what were the highlights?
Let's see. I'll just run through an order because it's easiest for me to remember, like, in that way. But we our first stop was in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, which is known for its like Christmas things, because, as you can imagine. So we visited Lehigh University there and that was good. It was actually a very cute little downtown. It was good.
I liked the university was beautiful, but it was not Hannah's favorite just because she wants something a little more integrated, even though it was like a very cute town, she's like it's more like town adjacent than town, like into like, OK, so that was our first stop.
And then we headed off to Cleveland and we stayed in the university circle neighborhood of Cleveland. So we didn't see a lot of downtown, but I really explored that area. It's so it's case Western Reserve University is the school that we're visiting and it's right next to like all the hospitals and Cleveland Clinic, but it's also near there. Museum. So they have like this really nice green area, you know, with like parks and it's like the Wade oval and around it there's a botanical gardens, a museum of natural history, an art museum.
And then also just a few minutes away, kind of right next to campus, too, is a contemporary art museum. So there's a lot of museums around there to explore. There's like a Little Italy neighborhood, you know, and of course, we spent time, like walking around campus.
But then one of the things that we got to do was to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, because I'm like, if we're going to go to Cleveland, like, we have to do this, like we all love music.
You know, Glenn, you know, especially like is such a classic rock guy. But I was really surprised by, like, how up to date it was, you know, they had like outfits from Billy Eilish, you know, like it was it was very like all the like Harry Styles to like all the way up to date.
And here's going to be my plug in my learning for this. It's like I know that everyone's going to head to the outdoors in the national parks this summer. I know in a couple weeks we're going to be talking about one of those kind of road trips. But I will say, if you want to be counterintuitive, it's actually really cheap to be in cities right now.
And the indoor attractions are very quiet.
And it's so well managed that I we felt so much safer in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame than we did when we went to the Outdoor Garden of the Gods in a park in Colorado Springs because you had to get timed entry tickets.
Everybody has temperatures taken. It's one way traffic. It's all sanitized like everything. Like I really felt we were obviously were there on a Monday afternoon. So it wasn't like primetime.
But I was like, could there even have been 50 people in this entire building of like three or four floors? Like, it didn't it was not crowded at all. Some of the interactive types of things were closed. So I'm sure it would have been more fun if we could have done more of that, like listening kind of things.
But we still like, you know, we really enjoyed it. We got a lot out of it. So I feel like maybe it's not too bad to do some of these indoor things or things that are usually crowded when there's not the crowds. So I can throw that out there as an idea.
You know, I totally sorry. I was going to say I totally agree. I was just talking to Carolyn, our friend Carolyn, about that, because I went to the mop up museum in Seattle and it was the same thing. It was like a timed entry ticket that you bought online, got temperature checked. Everything's one way.
And there is it felt like nobody felt like we had the exhibits to ourselves. And of course, like you said, we went in the weekday. But I definitely think you're right that that's the place to, like, really take advantage of your, like, staycation local cities. If there's some museums you avoid or I think now's the time to.
Yeah, because and like I said, the the days I mean, for the most part, almost all of the hotels we were in, we it was not like they they are kind of concentrating people on certain floors, I think probably for housekeeping reasons.
So it's not like we're the only one on the floor, but only in I think one place did we sometimes encounter people like on the elevator and we'd have to wait for the next elevator. But for the most part, there was like no one around and it was cheap, you know, so that all worked out well.
So we moved from Cleveland and I actually really like that school, too. So so maybe we'll be back and explore more in Cleveland. We'll see. But from then, we drove like about two and a half hours to Ann Arbor, Michigan. And I will say, like, I know Michigan is a huge school, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and they have the largest stadium football stadium in the Western Hemisphere, the big house.
And so I thought the school is going to feel immense and like really just spread out and like not manageable and confusing. And it really didn't like first of all, Ann Arbor is the cutest town. You know, like there's great, like restaurants and like just little districts. And, you know, walking around was great. And the campus felt like there's like a north campus that you definitely have to drive to. But then the rest of it felt like pretty compact. And there's just so much school spirit there.
Like everyone that you walk by is wearing like Michigan or something, you know, like sweatpants, sweatshirt, you know, like it just you could tell, like, they're super into it. So and we had a couple we brought in.
Well, one time we eat outside at a deli. Zingerman's Deli is like really famous there. So we had to check that out. And then we brought in from like an Asian place called Slurping Turtle, which was delicious.
We stayed at the graduate there, which again, I love graduate hotels for college towns because they have so much personality. And there it was, you know, not crowded at all. And it was adjacent to campus, like adjacent to State Street, like everything was convenient. So if you go in to Ann Arbor, like, I would definitely look at a stay there. It was you know, it was a really nice property.
We I had booked a suite, so it wasn't quite as big of a separate little room as I thought, but it had like this little living room area, you know, I usually like the suite would be like the main room is like you walk into, like the living area and then the bedroom would be off here. You walked into the bedroom and then off the bedroom there was a. A little like I would call it a den, you know, like it had a little tiny couch and a little like a TV and a chair.
So we put Hannah in there and like you, you could extend the bed, but you couldn't then walk around it, like, crawl across.
So it's very small, but it was perfect because, you know, she had at least her own little space. And then the next morning before we left, we had this amazing brunch.
I have to, like, look up where it was. But we had this, you know, amazing brunch of this beautiful place. We actually had to knock on the door, like to have them open for us.
So we were the only people in there for a while. And I think that was one of the like, you know, eating inside still makes us nervous. So we're like, OK, it's like a two story place. We're the only people in here, so we're good. So if you go to Ann Arbor, the place is called Savas. And it was it was delicious. I'm sure it would be amazing for lunch or dinner, too.
But from there, we moved to Madison, Wisconsin, and I've been to Madison before, as you know, and I really liked it a lot when we got there.
It was pretty like rainy, but like an icy cold, you know, windy kind of rain. So it wasn't like ideal conditions for exploring. But luckily, like a friend of ours, their daughter goes to University of Wisconsin, Madison. So she was able to walk us around, I think, which definitely made an impression on Hannah because the other places we were just exploring on our own because tours weren't open right at the time. So, you know, so that was good.
And we that day was actually St. Patrick's Day. So I was like, I am not going out on St. Patrick's Day in a college town. Like, there's no way. Not a pandemic, no way. So we brought in some food there. And we also stated a graduate there and actually the graduate there, we stayed at we again booked a suite. It was called like the Camp Wanda Wenga Suite or something. But it's set up like very camp style.
And the separate little room had bunk beds and it had like an Atari and like, you know, a little gaming system and stuff. So it was really cute. And I was like, oh, my. Like, top bunk is going to be for this and I'm going to be in the bottom bunk. And I know she she had fun that she had bunk beds. That's cute. So that was good.
And then we drove. That's the day that we then drove and we stayed in Nebraska. So that was just like we had a driving day and then we had another driving day and we got to Boulder, Colorado, and we definitely loved our stay in Boulder.
It's such a cute it's a cute city. Has is like this Pearl Street district where it's just like an open pedestrian mall with tons of like restaurants and shops and stuff off of it.
And we stayed at an Embassy Suites. And I will say, like Glenn and I were, we used points for a lot of these. And so Glenn and I were kind of expecting, you know, a lot of embassy suites are kind of old, right?
You know, like, yeah, they have this in the nineties. Like this big center foyer. Pyramid or whatever.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. This was like a brand new Embassy Suites. It was the nicest Embassy Suites or looked brand new that I've ever seen.
And we had a nice we had an Embassy Suites in Seattle.
Really nice. Yeah. It's just. Yeah yeah I agree because you get that stuck in your head about certain brands. Right. You kind of have like what your expectations are. So I was like, well you know, we're using points like whatever, it's an embassy suites and I got there, I'm like, oh this is really nice. And again had a suite again. We were on the road a lot, very close together. So a few times I wanted to splurge and have a suite and have like a little more space, you know, to be in.
But it overlooked the you could see the campus, which is kind of up on a hill, then behind it, the Flatiron Mountains. And it was stunning. It's like, you know, to to open up the window and see, that was amazing.
And just the campus was beautiful. We love you know, she loved the campus. She loved Boulder. I just loved, you know, they had just gotten like two feet of snow a week before. So I thought it was going to be crazy. And, yeah, there was some snow on the ground, but it just doesn't stick. I think, like, you and I are both come from like wet climb, you know, colder like wet climates.
And so we'll get ice, you know, it sticks around. But there I think because it's dry, like the snow just melts and evaporates right away.
But yeah. So one day we drove down, we were going to go to Rocky Mountain National Park, but then I was reading about it and it looked like a lot of the trails, like I would need snow shoes. And then I'm like, well, you know, you can only drive so much of it because the main road is closed in the winter. You know, you can't go all the way across the park.
And so I was just debating, do we bother to go up there? We're going to have we're going to do snowshoeing and stuff when we go on our next stop. So I didn't really want to rent equipment to do that. So instead, we it was a beautiful day. It was like seventy degrees, which is crazy. So we drove down to Colorado Springs and we went to the Garden of the Gods, which I think everyone has seen pictures of.
And I just oh, it looks so beautiful. Like let's go down there.
First of all, we got stuck in all this traffic, which was crazy. And then, you know, so that was stressful. And then we got there and it was insane. It was it was a Saturday afternoon. It was seventy degrees, but it was insanely crowded. So I had and I got there. I had to use the bathroom speaking bathrooms. So I did wait in line like outside, because everyone that came in to the visitors center had to like sign in and provide your.
Contact information for contact tracing, which was a joke because it's interesting that they're still doing that. Yeah, like everyone else, like tons of people didn't even go inside. And so we're walking, you know, then into the park and like, no one had masks, hardly anybody had masks on.
And these are like jammed walkways, like you cannot avoid being within six feet of people. And it says, like, you know, mask is required even outside for when you can't be. It wasn't like it required all the time, but it's like when you can't be with, you know, more than six feet away. But it's like you clearly no one can be.
So we were wearing a mask and we're like trying to like, you know, get through it really quickly in a way. But it was it was definitely stressful.
It was like it was really like all of us were feeling it were a super stressful, you know, like trying to, like, look away when somebody, like, walked by you and like, you know, like just I don't know, like just protect yourself.
And I know what's outside. And you generally passing people like within seconds. And there's probably very little danger, but it's still kind of freaked us out, you know, like it's been a long time since we've been around a lot of people.
And it was not really fun. And I wanted it to be fun and I felt bad. So that's just my feeling is that granted, if I was in that situation and I had been vaccinated already, I wouldn't feel quite as worried. But I do really worry about being in crowded places like this summer and like what that's going to be like in some of the parks. And I know some people will feel like very comfortable because they're vaccinated. But like, if things are still circulating a lot, you know, like we still have to take certain precautions.
And, you know, I don't know. It does make me a little bit worried about being in, like I said, crowded places in the summer.
But was it pretty, though?
It was beautiful. It was. It was. But it probably was a little more crowded than I would have liked anyway. I just have to get used to that.
So after Boulder, we ended up going to a ranch for a couple of days, which was like definitely the highlight of our trip. And, you know, you know that when we went to the ranch in Montana a few years ago, it was still like one of our top trips. We just kind of love that experience. But I wasn't quite sure what it was going to be like in the winter, spring, you know, kind of season, like what activities there would be and what it would be like.
But it was exactly what we needed. You know, it was like time outside. We had, you know, time. It was just such a relaxed environment, I think. So we went to the Vista Verde Ranch, which is just a little bit north of Steamboat Springs, and it is a luxury ranch. So they definitely have more amenities and, you know, service than the ranch that we went to before. And I think both can be great.
But I felt like for this, especially for this season, it was nice to have the kind of that extra level of of amenities and activities and things. But there max capacity is something like 50 people, you know. So I think it's like a dozen cabins. They have cabins that go from one bedroom up to four bedroom. And you have you know, you have your own space because you have a cabin.
So it felt like a very covid friendly type of vacation. And I wasn't sure because everything that we did before was so like community oriented.
And I think that that does it is sad that you don't have some of that now, because that is like one of the really cool things about a ranch environment. Right. But it's still like they did it in such a way. That was it was just really nice. So I just can't like I don't know, I was so happy. Like, I wish we could have stayed longer. It's definitely pricey, but it is, you know, just a very unique experience.
I mean, we did activities they have like you can sign up for activities like the day before. They have a calendar out. There's morning activities and afternoon activities, and sometimes there's a night activity. And so we did snowshoeing one day, which was just fabulous. And the way that they do it, you know, they have all the equipment on site, they have guides. And what they're doing now is like if you're with a family or small group, they're sending you out with like a private guide.
So you're not even in a group of people, you know, it's just you and your family, which is kind of nice because I think I've told a story about like one other time when I went snowshoeing and I showed up and like all my ski gear, like thinking I was going to be freezing and I showed up and there were this there was like the guide in this other couple and they were in, I don't know, like a sweatshirt and like winter pants kind of thing.
And they were like, I hope we're going to really get our hearts going now. And I'm like, oh, crap. I did it myself into and the whole time I'm like huffing and puffing because there it was like climbing in, like trying to keep up with them and sweating and ripping off layers of clothes. And then I would catch up to them and then they'd be like and then they would keep going, you know what I'm like. I didn't get a chance to have a rest. And so I feel like to go by yourself. And the other time I did it was in Idaho and it was just me and a guide. But she was like twenty three. She was out there on the mountain every day, you know, and I was like my foot hurt from. For the last few days and, you know, it's just like you're at altitude and you're climbing up and I remember being like, I'm going to stop and take a picture.
I'm going to stop stopping and taking pictures because I needed a little break. But this one was like, you know, he kept stopping and he was just like, how are you guys doing? We're like, no, we're good. Like, let's keep going and let's let's climb up there. And, you know, we climbed up to this point. We had a beautiful view and know. So they really can match your peace. And like he says, like, you know, with a family, like your patient, with each other, you know, it's not like a group that, you know, someone's left behind or annoyed or, you know, all that.
So so that was, you know, really worked out well. And then I think that afternoon, Hannah and I did a trail ride. I forget what Glenn did. Maybe he just decided to skip it. But we did a trail ride. And so, you know, typical, like, you know, line up my horse.
My horse was a little nasty, though. Apparently, it was like the I don't know, what's the queen bee of horses, you know, like it has like seniority. So I kept trying to bite all the other horses. I would like to try to walk by. And so, yeah, like then the other horses were like, given it the side. I'm like, hold onto it like really tight. So stop trying to like bite the other horse. I have a little like a little bully over here.
I was talking to one of the ranch hands afterwards about it and she was like, oh yeah, he's got a little attitude, you know, but they're so used to some of it that I don't know, like I just I felt like like it was a personal reflection on me.
One of my horses tried to, you know, be nasty to another was like I wasn't controlling it well. But he was just like an hour, you know, ride like through a trail. But it's, you know, everything was still snow covered. So it was really it was just pretty. And I can't even tell you how much we enjoyed the weather because it was like sunny skies, blue skies, which I'm leaving looking at my window now in April.
And I'm just seeing gray, you know, and it's just it makes me feel like so much more alive when the sun is out.
And even though it was like twenty, thirty degrees when we were doing these things, like we went snowshoeing and I just had a base layer. And like a zip up fleece and that's it. And like my snow pants and I was totally fine and like that's kind of it felt like thirty degrees warmer than it actually the temperature was.
So we had a good time with that. And then afterwards they let you go into the paddock for this thing they call a spring shed. And so basically the horses are shedding their winter coat and so you can go and help like brush them and you can just like, you know, go up to any horse.
And so I was like, do we need to be careful around there? Like, no, just kind of like them. No, like, talk to them, let them know that you're coming.
And so we're brushing them and of course, like it was starting to be mud season. So it's like a little icky out there, like with the poop.
And and so I'm like, OK, I really wish I brought my rain boots that I could just, like, spray off. Yeah. So my tip would be to bring like a plastic bag or anything that is coming back from there. But it was, you know, it was just fun. Like Hannah loves horses.
So it was like, you know, fun for her to just be able to to do that for a while and then, oh, the food was crazy good, like so, so good and so much food like the first night we got there and it was barbecue night.
So you think it's going to be, I don't know, like family style. First of all, it's all like table service. And what they've done is they did used to have like community tables, but now because of covid, you can choose to have your own table. And so they've spread things out. So they have like them spread out in the dining room.
And ours was actually in the main lobby, which is like towering ceilings, like beautiful lodge. And we were by a window. So we had this amazing view. There was no table anywhere near us. So it was like so comfortable, you know, for like indoor dining. And they would know. So you had a printed menu every time, like beautiful place sitting. Everything was like a starter, an entree and a dessert. And the first night it was like brisket, ribs or Alaskan king crab legs.
And I'm like, I didn't even get Alaskan king crab legs when I went on an Alaskan cruise and I went to the seafood restaurant, you know, like so Glen was like, well, I can't decide, like, can I get everything? And the girl was like, sure. And he was like, what? Like, you don't expect people to do that, you know? And she's like, yeah, like if you want like whatever you want, like I can bring you a little bit of this, little bit of that. And in the next morning scene with like breakfast, I was like, OK, well can I have like a pancake and an egg and some bacon. She's like, sure. So they it was so much food and it was really. Yeah, it was delicious, you know. And the next night was a formal night. So the kids have an option of doing like grab and go. Dining where it's more like a kid's meal, you know, that they can just take and they can eat it in the cabin and or go do a kid activity, but it's a little bit more of a formal meal. But it wasn't like you had to get dressed up. But these chefs came out and like presented and then they had like a wine pairing to go with it. So that one was I think we had like a salmon over like a lemon truffle, cauliflower risotto and Brussels sprout leaves. And, you know, it was like really it was it was fine dining.
And every meal was great, like, you know, you had lunch. And I was like, OK, let's start with like a giant salad and then a burger and then dessert. And I'm like, I can't do this. Like, I can't keep eating.
It's like it's so much food. But it was all so good. So definitely like a food is food is like a major highlight there.
So you go at happy hour at like five thirty and they have a selection of wines and beer. I don't even know if they had cocktails. I think it's wine and beer and then like a little like aperitif, you know, you had at one night was like a prosciutto wrapped date.
And one night was like a deviled eggs, you know. So you had these little like snacks with your drinks. And that's the time where people can socialize if, you know, if they want to. So like there was oh, we just sat at our table because we were already in, like, that large area with our reserved table. So we would just sit there. But then there was this one group, like a big family group that would gather by the fireplace.
And sometimes they were a little forgetful when it came to like putting on their mask, when they stood up to walk to back to the bar or whatever. But luckily, like, we're like, OK, we're over here. You stay over there. Yeah, but it felt weird to, like, not be super friendly, you know, like it's the kind of thing where usually you'd have more interaction with people. But then what do we do? The next day we went and we did cross country skiing because Glenn really wanted to try that. And all I can say. Have you done cross-country before?
I have once. Paul is really into cross-country skiing and something they did in Edmonton a lot.
But yeah, I could see that because he's like the triathlon kind of guy. Yeah, yeah. It's not my thing. That's all I'll really say we were doing.
It was funny because we were gearing up and they said, like, it's not really great conditions for it because it's a little too icy, because that day it was like a little bit snowy, a little bit, it was still pretty cold in the morning there. It's like it's better in the afternoon. But we wanted to do something else in the afternoon and we're only there for a couple of days. So we didn't have like a ton of choice.
And so we're like, you know what, it's included. This is our chance to try it. Let's just go and do it. And they kept saying, like, oh, like when you fall, this is what you do.
And I'm like, fall. Like, isn't this just like walking? Like, when are we going to fall on cross country? And they do have like groomed trails, but they took us into like backcountry. And so then we were going like up a hill and then we had to go downhill. And I, I had no idea how different the skis are, you know. So, like, there's just I'm used to being able to, like, dig in or like control.
And it's just, you know, was your heel is free.
So, yeah, I'm like walking and the edges, there's just not like the edges that you have in downhill.
No, not at all. Yeah. So you stay, the whole idea is like, I mean I guess some people like plow but when I that time I went cross-country skiing. You're kind of in a rut of already done.
So you kind of I think it would have been cool if we did like the groomed trail but. But they're groomed trail was more like almost like a track, like an overall kind of thing. And then they it's more used to get people comfortable with it and then they go out to backcountry. Yeah. So like that part, I mean we made it fine. It was fine. Hannah actually really liked it and she liked like going ahead and laughing at us a bit.
But I just, I definitely love snowshoeing. So I'm like I don't think I would choose like cross country over snowshoeing. You know, I just I, you know, me and my control, like, I like to be in control and like, it's so easy to be in control.
Snowshoeing is better for that with than cross country. Yeah. I took out, yeah. I took out my father in law because I didn't know anything about it or how to stop and he had stopped to like look at something.I just kept going. I don't know what to do. So it's kind of funny. I mean it we were fine but yeah.
Yeah that was cool to get to try that, you know, and then the next thing we did didn't end up quite as well, but we went snow tubing and again, it's like a little bit icy. And so they have, you know, there this is just all on their property.
So they have a hill where they have kind of, you know, trails. But it's not like this. Quite the same grooming that you would have, you know, if you went to a ski resort type of of snow tubing. But they pull you up in a snowmobile, so they take you up there up to the hill on the snowmobile, you tube down, then they snowmobile you back up, you know, so that's kind of cool. And it was a lot of fun.
Like, we were definitely having a ton of fun, like Glenn and Hannah were going down, like in Hannah. And I did it, too, like together together, you know, and like, go down. But when you went down, you were going really fast.
They're like it's really slick, just so you know. So if you. Want to slow down like you use your foot to, like, kind of slow you down, like it's better if you went on your belly. We're usually like sit in the tube, you know, go on your belly and then you can, like, control it a little bit more.
And then at the bottom, they had some, like, barriers. And it's like you don't really want to go past the barrier because you're not going to go off a cliff. But it's it's not going to be great if you keep going, you know.
So I would always, you know, slow myself down, but it definitely was getting sicker and sicker. And then Glenn and Hannah, which we're almost it was almost going to be like the end anyway, like we're almost at the end of the day. But he went and then I saw, like, the two of them went like because there's two runs and I was waiting at the top. And then I went down. I kind of saw Glenn go like, oh, you know.
And then I was like, oh, what happens? I get down to the bottom and he can't stand because he he was using his foot to slow down and he felt something. And then when he went to stand up afterwards, the snow is like really deep, but it was just a little bit crusty on top. So then you kind of fall through and you might you know, you might be like a couple feet deep and snow and you have to, like, lift your foot out.
And so he kind of fell in to someone's like hole and then his foot, like he just felt something so like a few to three years, two years ago, he fractured his foot doing, you know, like he was doing a half marathon.
He was running a lot and he had like a stress fracture. So he says that this is what it felt like. So that was not the ideal end to our little trip. Yeah, it's a bummer because it sounds like you guys were having such a good time.
And then now it's a, you know, kind of like the end as calmly as you want it.
And then, yeah, it was especially great that while at least I was like, OK, let's like put ice on it and wrap it and like, put it up and just like, relax for a while and like see how you feel. But then he called a friend and the friend was like, you really should get x rays before you go, like all the way home, because we're leaving the next morning to start at 10, 12 hour drive to Kansas.
And so then I was like, I really think I have to go get x rays. And by this point it's like five o'clock. And I'm like, well, by the time I get you to Steamboat Springs, like we're missing dinner here. And then we're driving back here at night after dark, which not like great roads for driving after dark when you're not familiar with them.
And then we're just getting up and leaving the next morning and we're we'll have to drive back, pass through Steamboat Springs, you know, like we were north and we needed to go south. So I was like, OK, I think what we should do is just pack up and check out early and I should take it as Steamboat Springs and then like, let's just stay down there and then start our drive from there in the morning. It just, you know, it just wasn't worth it to come back, like just for breakfast and so sad, like we only really had to two nights there, but it worked out like we drove down.
I got us all packed up and checked out and we drove down to Steamboat Springs and dropped them off at the hospital for X-rays. I'm like, well, I can't come in anyway. So like, let me go take care of, like, getting gas in the car and finding where we can get some food to pick up and, you know, researching where to stay. And so, like, we could have stayed in Steamboat Springs, but we were kind of like, you know what, let's just drive down to 70, Interstate 70, so that in the morning, like, we definitely have less of a big drive tomorrow.
And so we we thought it was all going to be good. And we he was finally done at like eight o'clock. So it's like, you know, maybe before eight o'clock is like just turning dark and we start driving and we have to go up like over a mountain pass.
And I'm driving, of course, because he has like a boot and crutches and it starts snowing like swirling white out snow, like I can barely see. So I'm driving this mountain pass like I don't know how easy it is, you know what I mean? Like, is it is it really slick? Like, it was terrifying. I will tell you, like even like everyone in the car just like was quiet. So I could like, just very much focus on my drive.
And I was like gripping that wheel and going like twenty five miles an hour and just trying to be so careful because, you know, like it's a mountain pass in Colorado, like.
Yeah. And all I could think was if I pull over, are we going to end up one of those people that like died on the side of the road because they froze overnight. And, you know, like, what if it gets worse, you know, versus better?
And so I just, like, pushed through. And when we finally started coming back down, at least it stopped snowing. But then I was like, still so tense, like the rest of the drive. It was like a two hour drive to get like south to Interstate 70 because, you know, it's just dark and small mountain road. And then we had to look out for deer. There's all these signs for Deer Crossing. And they even I saw a couple bridges.
So I think it's where they've made those like wildlife. Yeah. Crossing thing. Crossing things. Yeah. Yeah. So and and the people at the hospital had warned Glen, like, if you're driving that way, like watch out for deer. So, you know, we finally made it to our hotel and it was good that we were plant we had booked ahead because when we got there the hotel parking lot was jammed. And so I dropped Glenn and he ran off up front, you know, because he has crutches and they went in to check in and like I.
To go park so far away and as I got out of the car, I realized a lot of people were actually sleeping in the car and their cars were running. And I'm like, what's going on? And then I realized that, like, they had closed Interstate 70 because of snow. And people were just, like, waiting it out there, I think.
So I'm like, oh, I'm really glad that I had booked the hotel room and I'm glad that we didn't plan to go any further. But I was so exhausted. We got there and I was like, I just need a minute. Like, I just I need to decompress. Like it was I was at the point that stressful. Yeah, I felt like breaking down in tears. I was just like, I need to like, let out all the stress, like I was so like I just really needed to breathe for a little bit.
I really, really enjoyed the ranch part and then from there we just, you know, we headed home and we, we stayed. I will give a lot of credit to Marriott because we booked a lot of our hotels with points and we ended up on the way back, like having to adjust.
Like, I just like to have our hotels booked on a road trip because I don't know, like I'm just worried. Like, what about the thing like with, you know, Interstate 70 and like the hotel gets sold out or, you know, something like that. So we're planning on stopping in. You will know. Is it Seleena or Salina? Salina, yeah.
So we were planning on stopping there, but because we had started from, you know, like an earlier like because we had already gone south and we were starting it was going to be not as long a drive. We're like, let's just push on and go a little further. And so we decided to push on. I don't even remember where we stopped, but it was like closer to Kansas City. I think it was still in Kansas, like, I seriously can't even remember. But we called, you know, on at least it brought us like another hour or two, you know, like, yeah, further east.
And so Glen called and he had you know, he's so big into his like, I got the email the day before, you know, because I'm like, whatever status does in already. So, yeah, we want to change it. But he's already checked in like .
And so I was like, well you need to call because like if y'all like maybe they'll say something, you know, they'll let you. So they were like, OK, we're canceling it. But, you know, you booked this with a certificate, so you're going to have to call like Marriott to get it, like reinstated. So then luckily I'm driving because Glenns. But, you know, so he's calling. He gets them to, like, give him back his points and then immediately, like, we rebooked somewhere else, like with the points.
So it was all like very seamless. Yeah, it was great.
So we did that and then. Oh I think it was Topeka. Oh I think that's where we stopped.There was a very good coffee shop across the street. That's all I know. Which I don't, you know, I don't even drink coffee but it was really cool.
I saw people become coffee drinkers just because like when the craze of the coffee shop aspect and then, like, working at home, I think people it's kind of funny to think that way, but I'm convinced.
Yeah, it was. And then. Yeah. So the next day we just had to drive to St. Louis and so we got there and you know, you and I had talked about on a previous episode like that, we were going to go to the arch and so I had bought tickets in advance. And it's another thing, just like the Rock Hall of Fame, where it was such a better experience because there were hardly any people, you know.
So I bought the tickets in advance, which is good. When we showed up, there was a big sign that was like we're sold out for the day, but we had something at the end of the day anyway. So we got there. We didn't have time to do the museum downstairs first because we were a little like five minutes late for our tram, you know, up to the top. You did that, which definitely it is.
If you've not done it is not good for claustrophobic people. So it's like these little pods. I don't know if you remember from when you went, but it's like this little round pod that, like, you get in. But they've done it.
It's kind of like a Disney ride now. So like you get a boarding pass and you stand on like Circle five and then you're going to be in pod five. And somehow in normal times, they could fit like five or six people in these pods. And I have no idea, like a gondola pod.
But then you're going up. I mean, it's kind of fascinating technology because first we're like, how do they do this? Like how do you go up on an angle.
So you have to like read about how they do it. But it's like because it's like a you know, like a round pod, they can like, rotate it like you don't feel it. But anyway, it's it's interesting, but it does have like a glass door. So then you can like, look down. So that's also not so great for some people. Even Hannah was like, I don't really like this, but it's like I think three minutes up or like maybe four minutes up, three minutes down or something like that.
But then when you get to the top, you have an assigned viewing window. So like we were window five and one on both sides.
So no one, you know, like you're not fighting with anyone for like a photo. No one's leaning into your. Like, you have your own little window again, and I didn't love it because you had to, she's getting like a little bit nervous with some heights you had to, like, lean just like you said, like you have to lean to look out the window.
Yeah, but and also it had been raining and so it was pretty foggy, but it was still is a pretty view. I'm glad we did it. We went downstairs. There was a really cool museum, which, you know, a lot of things.
She's like, oh, that's in our AP history class. And, you know, like all the, you know, things that she had learned recently. So it's a nice museum. Then they were closing. So we left and we had to leave the building. But it's pouring torrential rain when we walk out and we have to walk like ten minutes back to the hotel. And so we were like, well, like we just have to walk. Like, I hadn't brought an umbrella and I had a coat that's at least like water-Resistant, but hers was not really. And luckily it wasn't freezing, freezing cold, but it was so torrential, like we were laughing, like we were just so completely soaked, like to our skin that we were just laughing. And we got there.We walked in and Glen was like, oh, my God. Like, look at you guys. And like, the front of our pants were like a completely different color than, like the back of our pants.
Are you sure that I could feel the water like running down my leg inside my pants, like into my shoe. It was so bad but it was like funny. So we immediately were like, OK, we're like stripping out of this. I think we yeah.
We did like a room service, like drop off thing for dinner and we got into like the robes and stuff. Oh. And this was the place it's called Hotel St. Louis. It's an autograph collection of Marriott. And it is it was great. Like it was a beautiful, historic kind of property. And are we again got a suite like Glen did the upgrade thing with his points. And it was a huge, beautiful suite. And it had this big bathroom with like this nice shower stall and a tub. But it had something I've never seen before. And it had a heated toilet seat with like a built in bidet. But like when I pulled off those wet pants and I sat on that toilet seat and it kind of like, OK, I could stay here. So I don't know how I always get back to bathrooms.
There's a theme, but I would change our concept of our podcast. It's like the bathroom by the bathrooms. When you talk, when you travel, I don't know.
But it was definitely like if you go to St. Louis, I would stay there. It was in a nice location. It was, you know, really nice. I really liked it. I mean, I guess the highway is like right next to the arch, but I really liked it a lot. And I mean, the only downside was like, you know, there's no valet and so they don't have their own garage. So I had to drop them off and, like, go, you know, park like around the corner or whatever, so that it got a little tedious, the kind of. I drop you off and I have to go do all, you know, like it's nice when you can share some of those responsibilities.
But then the next morning Glen and Hannah went to have breakfast and I was like, I'm going to it's a nice day now. So I want to walk down and take some pictures of the arch when it's not, you know, like pouring rain. So we did that and then we drove and then our plan, you'll get a kick out of this. I don't know if I told you the story yet, but our plan was that we were driving to Columbus, Ohio, and the whole point of stopping in Columbus was that we have a nephew at Ohio State. And so we were going to see him and we were going to take him out to dinner and it was going to be so nice to see family.
And we had contacted him like a month ago and then like a week before. And he confirmed with us this was Friday night. He confirmed with us on Wednesday. And so we had actually reached out to his mom, Glen sister, to ask for recommendations and where to take them for dinner. And she sent that to us. And then Friday morning, Glen had made the reservation on Thursday for dinner. So Friday morning we're driving. And Glen texted him to say, hey, like, here's where we made the reservation will pick you up at this time, like where should we pick you up?
And he writes back, I'm in Florida. Right. And we're like, what? And so apparently a little bit after he confirmed with us on Wednesday, he decided his grandparents, Glenn's parents, offered to buy him a ticket to come home for Passover and he decided to go down to Florida and forgot to let you guys forgot to let us know. And along with everyone else in the family that knew we were supposed to visit him.
Oh, my goodness. College kids. Yeah, I just. Yeah, that's frustrating. Yeah.
So it was another time where we decided that we are going to change our plan because like we were going to have like and I don't know, like a six hour drive that day and then like a twelve hour drive the next day. So we're like, why stop in Columbus now?
Like that's the only reason we were stopping in Columbus. Let's just go further. So again, we called and we got it canceled. Luckily, he hadn't checked in yet. You know, we canceled it. We rebooked for this place just in, like Western. Pennsylvania, south of Pittsburgh, right off the highway, like, you know, just one of those times where you just like looking at the map and looking at the, like, Marriot up, like trying to figure out like where to you know, where to look.
You know, we're like, well, there's no need to go into downtown Pittsburgh. We don't have time to, like, really check it out. Like, let's just stay close to the highway and hurry on the next morning to finally get home. So we check in and it was a courtyard. And I will say it's the only time I've not been very happy with the courtyard, but we you know, the room was fine.
And it's like Glen has titanium level points and status or whatever, and I can't tell in these hotels were not full, but every single time we're like, is an upgrade available? Because I know that they have one bedroom King Suites because they're on their website, but they're not available to book with points. So when you get there, we're like, is an upgrade available? No, it's not available. Like, really, really, really.
Somebody booked it. Right, exactly. And then sometimes Glenn would be like, oh, he likes to play dumb because you know how Hilton gives you water like bottles of water if you're on. Yes. So like Marriott doesn't do that.
And so he'll be like, oh, do you guys give water? So, you know, like I'm titanium. And then I was just like, no, you can buy it at the marketplace. Like, whatever he's likely seriously. Like, I'm in a Courtyard Marriott. You're not upgrading me. I'm getting nothing.
There's no knock down right now, like, come on, you know, so they don't even give you an option now because you can like now I ask and they're just like, oh yeah, you'll be getting your two hundred and fifty bonus points or whatever, like that's your welcome gift or something like crazy.
Yeah. Sorry. No, it's just it's a little disappointing. So we go up and the room is like fine and we're just tired. There's really no place nearby to get anything but like fast food. And I'm like, maybe we should go down and see, like, you know, sometimes that marketplace has like frozen meals. You can heat up, you know, and stuff.
So they had, you know, a couple of things, but they have like, you know, how the courtyards have like the like a bar like bistro like sometimes I've never done it except for breakfast. Like we'll get it like a breakfast sandwich and a Starbucks coffee and go or something. Yeah.
So they were still open because it was like eight thirty at night, nine o'clock at night and they would do like a flatbread pizza or whatever. So Hannah and I went down and we got that and we brought it up to the room to eat in the room and we had gotten like a king bed and a pull out because I just sleep better if it's a king bed versus like two queens.
And so I went to pull out the couch for Hannah. Yeah. And there is you know, they they never give you sheets now because I understand, like, you don't want like you want fresh sheets, so you always have to ask for it now.
So when I was down getting the food, I asked, you know, can we have bedding for the pullout? Yes. And then she came back. She's like, we only have one pillow and I can't find another blanket and always gets cold. So I like to get her two blankets and we're like, OK. And then I pull out the bed and it just looks, yeah.
Dirty not that's why I do two queens because those sofa beds are. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, sorry. Go ahead.
So I went to make it up and I like lifted you know, you looked like the mattress to tuck it in and there is a condom like it's in the wrapper, it's unused. OK, but it was one of those things so I was like yeah no, no. And like I know it's a hotel. I'm sure there's been plenty, you know, of action happening on different beds, but like, I don't know about it.
And maybe you didn't have any I don't see any results from it. Exactly. And like, maybe it didn't happen. It didn't happen because it was unwrapped. Right.
Oh, but I was kind of like, yeah. And then Glen was like, what? And I like sort of he's like, fold it back up right now is really funny. He's like, I'm sleeping on the couch. So we're like, no, I just sleep on the couch. He's like, I'm fine. I could fall asleep in a chair. I'm going to sleep on the couch and like, put my foot up in you. And Hannah can be in the the king bed is was like, OK, this is so funny.
Sweet Dad. Yeah.
And then I we drove home and we finally got home and we were very happy.
So, you know, anyway, long I don't know if anybody still gets this and I know I'm so sorry. Like rambling, rambling. It's just like you can tell that I've missed talking to Kim too. Yeah.
But I hear your listeners hopefully love hearing it.
I'd fill you in on all those little stories because, you know, honestly, I feel like with family road trips, a lot of it is about those little it is stories, you know, that's how the memories are made, those little quirks that happen.
Exactly. I mean, Hannah and I will not forget, like being soaking wet, you know.
Yeah, exactly. Things. So I'm sure no one is going to do this exact trip, but maybe you've at least gotten some recommendations like, you know, I would definitely recommend the Vista Verde ranch.
Yeah, I like different places to go see like, well, an even opening up the idea of spring breaks like a winter ranch type thing, because you think of it so often is summer. So it's interesting to know that it would be a spring break option
And actually at this ranch for the last two weeks of March, it's only they do close for April, so it's only if you have, you know, a February or March kind of break because it's like then really their mud season. But for the last two weeks of March, they give, I think, a 15 percent discount. So it is actually a good time to go again.
Is there do they do they have a minimum stay?
It's a three night stay in the summer. They do the traditional Saturday to Saturday.
And I think, you know, even that long, a lot of people have that long President's Day weekend in February. So that might be a good, good destination for the year. That's sometimes like a whole week even.
Yeah, cool. Well, it's great to hear all those little I think it was fun. So even though we had a long episode, it was fun to hear everything and feel like we were along on the trip. And I think our listeners like that. So, yeah. Any any little final tips or anything you want to say before we wrap up?
No, but hopefully in a few weeks we'll hear a little bit more about your trip. I know a lot of people might want to actually do what you did, so so stay tuned for that.
But in two weeks, we're going to have an episode with a very popular road trip and the grand circle in the Southwest covering a lot of the national parks and state parks. So definitely stay tuned. Take care. Bye.
Tamara is hosting an all-women small group trip to Portugal this fall and she would love for you to join her! Find out all the details and sign up here.
In this episode, Tamara talks about her two-week German Christmas Markets road trip! If you have this magical holiday trip on your radar, make sure to give this episode a close listen and check out the following articles:
Before we say goodbye to summer and pull on our flannels and break out the pumpkin spice, Tamara and Kim are back with a recap of Tamara's European summer travels including a month spent exploring France by river and barge cruise!
Tamara first spent two weeks in the United Kingdom, on a road trip through both Scotland and Wales with two other travel writers. She then took the Eurostar down to France and spent one week cruising through the Canal Nivernais on the Hotel Barge Elisabeth. Next, she went to Bordeaux and her husband joined her for a weeklong river cruise with AmaWaterways. Tamara finished up her summer of cruising with another canal barge cruise with European Waterways on the Canal du Midi in Southern France.
The Mavens break down the differences between river and barge cruising and what to expect on each.
Mentioned on the Podcast:
Well it has been a minute since we had a chance to catch up and record a podcast but in this episode Tamara shares her insights and experience from her recent family trip to Japan.
Kim and Tamara also share their love for Scottsdale, Arizona and some of the things they did on a girls' trip together. Read more at:
Tamara also talked about her time in Paso Robles, California. You can read her Paso Robles itinerary to get inspired to visit this wine region.
Kim attended conferences in Walt Disney World (read her tips for using DVC points to save money on a Disney World vacation), Disney Land, and San Antonio. She also took a family cruise to Alaska aboard the Norwegian Bliss, which was different from her Alaska cruise on Holland America last summer.
Kim also took a quick press trip to Iceland, where she was able to explore Reykjavik and visit the Sky Lagoon.
We really dug into Tamara's 2-week trip to Japan which included:
If you are planning a trip, be sure to read Tamara's Japan travel tips!
When talking about how great Google Maps can be to figure out transportation in Japan, Kim also mentioned her post about using Google Maps to plan a trip.
Tamara was also just back from a short press trip to Waterton and Glacier National Parks.
We will be traveling a lot over the summer so expect to hear another episode in the late summer. Then you will hear about Tamara's trip to Scotland & Wales, her river and barge cruises in France, and Kim's amazing trip to Kenya.
[00:00:00.000] - Kim
Today, we're journeying to the land of the rising sun.
[00:00:14.520] - Tamara
Welcome to Vacation Mavens a family travel podcast with ideas for your next vacation and tips to get you out the door. Here are your hosts, Kim from Stuffed Suicase and Tamara from We Three Travel.
[00:00:29.740] - Tamara
Kim, I can't believe the last time I really talked to you was when we were together in Scottsdale in April.
[00:00:34.670] - Kim
I know. It's been a crazy travel season for us. Good. I love that travel's back and everything, but it's also crazy because I thought we would be talking more and we've seen each other so much at the beginning of the year. And then all of a sudden it's like, Oh, summer is almost over.
[00:00:47.920] - Tamara
Not quite. That was our intent was to have this monthly. We're struggling, guys. So if anyone is still listening and subscribe to us, which I hope that they are, we're going to do a quick little rundown of some of our recent travels. Now you'll see why we haven't been able to connect and record an episode.
[00:01:07.600] - Kim
Yeah, exactly. It's been insane. The last time you guys heard from us, we were headed to Scottsdale, which was middle of April, and we both, I think, had an amazing trip there. We both published our articles, so you can always head to Wee 3 Travel and Stuff Suitcase and see the stuff that we covered. But I loved Scottsdale. It was great.
[00:01:25.720] - Tamara
Yeah. I think Scottsdale just continues to be a place I want to go back to because there's so many beautiful resorts and hotels, so there's always some place new to check out. There's amazing spas. Then this time, we did a lot of really cool activities.
[00:01:41.370] - Kim
I loved how it was really I think Scottsdale is a great destination a combination for being able to do outdoorsy things. We did hot air balloons, horseback riding, a few different things. But we also did wine tasting and shopping and went to some museums. Then, like you said, went to an amazing spot, the Phoenixion. Scottsdale, if you are a spa person, that's where you want to go.
[00:02:03.230] - Tamara
I've been watching our friend, Colleen, that lives out in Scottsdale. She seems to be hopping around another spa every day. I'm like, Wow, I want to come be your friend right now.
[00:02:12.830] - Kim
I think everyone's been saying that, I want your job.
[00:02:15.790] - Tamara
I'm sure. I would definitely say romantic getaway, girlfriend get away. Scottsdale is amazing for that. There's plenty to do with the family as well because of all those outdoor activities. But definitely check out. I know I have an itinerary. You have some great suggestions on things to do in the summer and how to manage the heat out there. D efinitely check those out on our websites to see more.
[00:02:39.620] - Kim
So where did you head after Scottsdale?
[00:02:41.800] - Tamara
I went right from Scottsdale to T uson to see Hannah for a little bit. And then the following week, I went to Paso Robles, which I'd learned.
[00:02:51.090] - Kim
I always said it was Paso Robles. Oh, it's Robles.
[00:02:52.980] - Tamara
Yeah. And it's actually Robles. And I'm like, I feel silly saying Robles.
[00:02:57.270] - Kim
Yeah, it sounds like Marbles.
[00:02:58.630] - Tamara
But that is a wine region in central California near San Louis Biscoe. I just love it. I was there, I think it was nine or eight years ago with the family, and we were checking out some family friendly wineries there. But it has just exploded in terms of the number of wineries, but also really good food now. The downtown has expanded. I stayed in a new boutique hotel that was just I loved it, which was so cool. It has a rooftop bar. It had a wine, actually a champagne vending machine in the lobby. Oh, I saw that. I saw your story on that. Yeah. So I had a great time out there. And I definitely think anyone that's into wine, put that on your radar as a region to visit. You can easily spill a long weekend. I had a couple of really wonderful spots that I went for wine tasting, just those perfect, incredible views, great food, wonderful wine. I think where many, many years ago it was newer to the scene or it was well known for J. L oor, some of the bigger names. There's just so much going on out there.
[00:04:02.940] - Tamara
Where did you go next? Because I know you were really busy right after our.
[00:04:06.130] - Kim
Scottsdale trip, too. I had three trips back to back. I did go to Disney World for a conference and I got to ride the new Tron ride. I also checked out a new hotel, which was the Contemporary Hotel, which I had never been to. I loved that. I really do love the splurging on those Disney World hotels that have the monorail access and the ones we've been at Revere too with the Skyliner because, man, it's amazing how much easier it is just to get into and not have to deal with the bus system because then whenever I have to wait for a bus to one of the parks and it's like, inevitably I get there and I'm the last one, I've got to wait for 20.
[00:04:39.400] - Tamara
Minutes or something. I will say that's what I liked the most about Disneyland because I've never stayed on park at Disney World. I've only stayed at partner hotels and by hotels.
[00:04:50.150] - Kim
Yeah, it is a big splurge for sure. I have a great article about that, though, because we splurged and used... We rented DVC points to be able to stay, and it's still not cheap. It was for the graduation trip and stuff, and this one does a conference hotel rate. I'm definitely not saying it's cheap, affordable, but if you do want to splurge, renting DVC points, and I have a link, so if anyone wants it, or you can look up the how I saved $2,000 plus dollars at Disney World. I have how we did that in there. I actually just tried to do it for Disneyland, but they didn't have any availability because Disneyland only has one property, almost two. Anyways, I did that. But then right after that, I also went on another Alaskan cruise, which you and I have talked about a few times. I'll soon have a couple of articles updated, but this was more of just a family cruise, so I didn't actually treat it like a work trip, which was nice to.
[00:05:39.930] - Tamara
Just relax. Which cruise were you on this time, though? Because I feel like was it last summer that you did celebrity?
[00:05:44.310] - Kim
Holland last August, which I absolutely loved. I loved Holland. I haven't done celebrity in Alaska yet, but Holland America was awesome. This time we did Norwegian because my family has status with there, and so they like to book Norwegian. We did the bliss, which we have been on the bliss before for a little media sailing when they started it.
[00:06:02.560] - Tamara
That's the one that we took.
[00:06:03.920] - Kim
To Alaska. Yeah, exactly. Family trip. Yeah. Anyway, so that was that. Then I had one other conference, then back to Disneyland. I hit both the parks within about three weeks of each other, but that was a lot of fun and just...
[00:06:17.460] - Tamara
You should have really had a Disney.
[00:06:19.000] - Kim
Cruise in the middle. I should have. That would have been perfect. Yeah, exactly. But anyways, that was a wrap up for me. My final trip that I did was I went at the end of May and went to San Antonio for another conference. It feels like most of mine were conferences. I was just conference out. But San Antonio is a cool city. It's been a while since I've been there. I went there for one day when I went to school in Texas for a little while. It was fun checking out San Antonio. But I know you've done a lot of other travels that did not involve conferences.
[00:06:51.170] - Tamara
Yeah, I'm like, Have I? I guess. You forget by now. Yeah, that's for sure. Well, I went back to T uson a week and a half later to pick up Hannah and bring her back from school. Then we were home for a week. Then we did our two week trip to Japan. Then I was home for, I don't know, two weeks. Then I just did a real quicky trip to Glacier National Park area.
[00:07:14.290] - Kim
Right. I forgot you went to glacier and I went to Iceland. I forgot to mention that. Oh, yeah. I'm blanking on June. I forgot June even existed. Sorry, I was just focusing on up to May, but yeah, definitely. I didn't get to experience the Iceland you got to experience because we stuck around Reykjavik and just explored a couple of attractions that were around there. So it was a quick, quick trip. But Mia is quite the little outdoor lover and cultured lover, so I definitely want to go back to Iceland with her because I know she'll just love to do some of the exploration that you've done.
[00:07:48.850] - Tamara
I was going to say, I'll meet you there. Yeah, definitely. I'm always ready to go back there. Yeah, well, I'll definitely put all of these links to articles in our show notes so you guys can read more. But I think.
[00:08:00.800] - Kim
That's a good way to do it. But I think we should dive into Japan because it is a very hot destination. I'm still so sad because ours was canceled. We were supposed to be going in April 2020, so we switched off and now you got to finally live the vacation that I was dreaming about back then. I think we should give everyone just a really quick rundown because I know that you have done an amazing job of writing a whole bunch of articles that are really going to be useful for people who are planning a trip to Japan. Let's just start off and give you an idea of how many days were you there and how maybe did you break up your itinerary?
[00:08:36.480] - Tamara
Yeah, absolutely. We took two weeks because especially coming from the East Coast, it's just such a long trip. Honestly, it's been on the top of our bucket list for so long, but we just haven't had two weeks where we felt comfortable to go that far knowing we're going to deal with jet lag on the way back. And then the flights are just always so expensive. But at least I was able to use points for one of our flights. So we took two weeks. I flew out on a Saturday morning. Yes, I got there on a Sunday, and then we were supposed to come back on Saturday, but we came back on Sunday because of a weather delay. But anyway, so I did five days in Tokyo, five days in Kyoto, and then three nights in Osaka. When I first started planning the trip, a lot of people told me that I would only need two or three days in Tokyo. But as I was looking at everything that we wanted to do, I was like, I really feel like I could easily spend a week here. It's just a fascinating city. There's just the ultra modern, and then there's the more traditional and each neighborhood is so huge.
[00:09:42.570] - Tamara
I think what many people don't realize is just how large the cities are. It's funny, I was talking to my mom before I left, and I don't think she's kept up on modern times as much. There's no way she's listening to this podcast, so I can say it. But she was like, Oh, I showed a picture when we went. She's like, Sky scrapers? I wasn't expecting that. I'm like, What do you think? It's rural villages. But this is the biggest city in the world.
[00:10:09.310] - Kim
Yeah, for sure.
[00:10:11.080] - Tamara
So it's so huge. And I'm used to going to Europe where even though the cities can be really large, we always stay in that historic, more central area where you're mostly walking. You're taking the metro, but you're primarily walking around a lot. And you may pick a neighborhood, I think about Paris. You pick a neighborhood each day. But in Tokyo, to get to a certain neighborhood, it might be 45 minutes on the couple of connections with the subway and stuff. So I'm glad that we did five days. That's crazy. I could end that was within without doing the Disney stuff, which I know many people like to do when they go there.
[00:10:49.630] - Kim
I do know that as a Disney person, it would be hard for me to go to Tokyo and not do Disney, at least Disney Sea, because it's considered a really unique park.
[00:11:00.330] - Tamara
Yeah, that's what everyone says. It's unlike any of the others. I get it. But we're not as.
[00:11:06.430] - Kim
Into the.
[00:11:06.990] - Tamara
Theme parks. Glenn was like, I am not going around the world to go to theme parks.
[00:11:11.590] - Kim
Exactly. When you have limited, yes, it's totally valid. I mean, it's very hard to figure out. I agree. I get what he's saying, but I also have that side of me that's like, Oh, but how can you be this close and not do it? So it's very hard to balance that. So, yeah, it sounds good. So you were saying, I know you guys... So I'm picturing Tokyo for my own planning. So you guys were in the Northwestern side of where you look at the downtown to the...
[00:11:38.990] - Tamara
Right. The Shizuku neighborhood, which some people were like, oh, do you want to stay there? It's like Times Square. And the area right around the train station is lots of neon, lots of crazy, especially at night. But we were honestly within a 10 minute walk to that, but where we were was more like, business, like government buildings, things like that. So it was really quiet, peaceful. It was great. And we stayed at the Hilton, Tokyo, and it was basically on top of... You could go just down an escalator and connect to two different subway stations. Plus they had a free shuttle if you wanted to the Shinkoku train station. So it was really very accessible. It felt very convenient. And there was plenty of restaurants and things around, but it wasn't super expensive. I don't know how expensive, really, but the Ginza area is much more high end. And then the Shiboya would be nice. But it totally.
[00:12:43.620] - Kim
Worked for us. We were happy with it. Nice. That's perfect. Yeah. I had looked at staying in the ginza area because of a few... I was also liked that it was closer to the Disney side, so it was a little easier to get out there. For those of you planning Genza area is basically opposite, diagonal across from where tomorrow states. I've heard the same thing from my research. You really have to allow a lot of time to transfer if you're going to different sides of what you consider the downtown center, 45 minutes to get across sometimes. Kind of crazy. Great. Well, what were some of the highlights then that you guys did when you were in Tokyo?
[00:13:17.970] - Tamara
We did a sushi making workshop with True Japan, and we really enjoyed it. The ladies were just really friendly and funny and nice. And so it was fun to see what goes into making sushi. And you probably know that I'm not a sushi eater, really. And we can talk about food later because it worked out better than I expected, except for a couple of times. But it was just fun. It's such a huge part of the culture. So I enjoyed that. We didn't do a whole lot of tours and things. We did a lot of exploring on our own. But the one thing that everybody has to do, which was as amazing as you would think, was the team lab planets, which is that immersive art experience where there's water and flowers and reflections. It's just unlike anything else. And it's really cool. And we've done the traveling, like van go immersive experience. But this was turning that up times 10 or more. And Hannah really loved it. It was really cool. The thing about it is you definitely have to book your tickets well in advance because just one of those things you have a timed entry.
[00:14:30.970] - Tamara
It's super popular. And honestly, when it comes to planning Japan, you really need to plan really far in advance. I mean, if you want to get restaurant reservations, some of them book up a month in advance. I think because some of them are so small that if they could take reservations, it might be for eight seats. And so they just go really quickly. And we weren't even there during cherry blossom season or golden week in early May when it's extra busy. difficult to do that. It was amazing. But I would say those are definitely highlights. I just loved exploring different areas. We did go, surprisingly, I liked this, but we went to a sumo wrestling tournament. Yeah, I wonder if I saw that. Which sometimes when people are there, they can see a practice. But there was actually a tournament going on while we were there. So that was something that I had figured out ahead of time. And when the tickets went on sale, I was able to book those the day that they were released. And it was a very cool thing. You don't want to spend hours and hours there because you don't know who the guys are.
[00:15:33.160] - Tamara
But just like you could see how excited everyone was to cheer for their favorite, the local person or whatever. And it's just such a dramatic theatrical type of sport. It was interesting. Yeah, for sure. Those are some of my highlights.
[00:15:48.770] - Kim
That's awesome. Because I know I saw some of the restaurant experiences you had. It seemed like sometimes you guys went simple and basic, but other times you went really over the top. Anything in Tokyo that you think somebody should splurge on or any savings tips for food or eating in Tokyo other than the restaurants making the reservations?
[00:16:08.160] - Tamara
Yeah, we did mostly the casual places in Tokyo. What I was trying to do, because I'm not a sushi eater, is have a variety of foods. And in Japan, all the restaurants really specialize in one thing. They do ramen, they do tempura, they do soba noodles, different things like that. So there's so many different styles of food to try within Japanese cuisine that we just booked a different style of food each night. And honestly, in some of them, we had to line up for the first night that we got there, we went to a place where it opened up five, and we got there at 445, and there was already probably 40 people in line for a 10 seat little place. And you basically you would wait till there was enough space in line. There was people sitting at the counter eating and then people standing behind them waiting for the second that they got up to sit in.
[00:16:56.790] - Kim
Their seat. Oh, my goodness.
[00:16:57.810] - Tamara
Oh, wow. And you had a vending machine, which is typical. Yeah, a vending machine to order from. So it's typical in a lot of ramen shops. So there's pictures and you just hit the button of what you want. You put in the money, you get a ticket and you hand.
[00:17:11.650] - Kim
The person the ticket. That's like McDonald's.
[00:17:13.780] - Tamara
Yeah. I'm just kidding. Those.
[00:17:16.820] - Kim
Screams in the middle. They have one at Tim Horton's as well. So of.
[00:17:20.940] - Tamara
Course, I made a mistake the first time because I saw people with a broth, which I thought was a ramen, and then a bowl of noodles. And I'm like, oh, that's so I saw on the machine that they had dipping noodles and they had ramen. And then you could add extra things, but only if you could tell what the picture was because it was otherwise in Japanese. And so I ordered dipping noodles because it looked really good and ramen because I thought that that's what people had. And then when I handed the girl the ticket, she was like, for one person?
[00:17:51.710] - Kim
Oh, no. And she was like, you.
[00:17:53.890] - Tamara
Want small or large? Because I was like, oh, is that not what they have? And she was like, no, they have. Because the dipping noodles come with a broth, so I thought it was that they had two.
[00:18:02.980] - Kim
Different things in front of them. Oh, and bologna.
[00:18:04.650] - Tamara
Yeah. Okay, got you. But I'm really glad that I did it because both were delicious. So I'm happy to sample both. But then Glenn ordered on his ramen, Scallions, and it was covered. It was like a mountain of Scallions because I was like extra. But it was like, if you get extra cheese on a pizza, it's like extra.
[00:18:23.110] - Kim
Extra extra. Oh, my goodness. Crazy. I mean, I love Scallions, but I don't know if I could handle the mountain of them.
[00:18:27.560] - Tamara
It was crazy. So you make those little mistakes. But we did a lot of the more casual things. And the hard thing is that honestly, I kept saying this, but there's very little in between. So there are the places where you... First of all, Japanese people love to line up, which is really hard when you're visiting and you're tired and you want to be able to eat with a certain time. People wait for two hours to get into this little ramen place or whatever. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, because you're like, I'm tired. I've been running all day. We were running like 5 to 9 miles. We were doing a lot of walking every day. So I'm like, I just want to sit down. So that's why we tried to do some reservations. But there were the really casual, inexpensive, really inexpensive places. And then there's the crazy, crazy high end... Some of the Sushi places, I'm like, there's no way. Because some of them charge up to like $500.
[00:19:19.820] - Kim
A person. Oh, my goodness.
[00:19:21.930] - Tamara
Insane. That's crazy. So there's just not a lot of middle ground is what I found. Okay, good to know. But the low end, not low end, but the inexpensive stuff is really good.
[00:19:31.970] - Kim
Yeah, of course. You just have to go on to wait for it.
[00:19:35.440] - Tamara
Yeah, exactly. And honestly, one day... So we had a bit of a rough start because Glenn had a stomach bug the day before we left. So the whole flight over and everything, he basically didn't eat for a couple of days. And then I had a really bad cold the day before we left. And for two days, I was so nervous, I'm testing. I'm like, Please.
[00:19:57.490] - Kim
Don't let it be.
[00:19:58.350] - Tamara
And it was. And it was just a cold, but I was still super congested, so it was just hard. And in Japanese society, you can't blow.
[00:20:06.290] - Kim
Your nose.
[00:20:06.970] - Tamara
In public. So I'm trying to be so discreet, going outside and blowing my nose and sanitizing and tucking it into my pocket know, like very... Like trying to be really conscious of that and trying to be super sanitary. But Hannah did end up getting a cold also. One day she was just not feeling up to going out and doing a tour and stuff. So we're like, just stay here and sleep. It was going to be the day that we toured one neighborhood and then we went to the sumo wrestling, and she wasn't super into that anyway. So we're just sleep. And then she went out on her own and she found a 7 11 because just like everybody says, 7 11 has amazing convenience food. So you can buy these really good sandwiches and all that stuff. So there's definitely plenty of ways that you can eat cheap there.
[00:20:56.090] - Kim
That's good to know. So then from Tokyo, you went to Kyoto? Yes. Kyoto is such a different vibe. Yeah, the bullet train, right?
[00:21:05.570] - Tamara
Yeah. So a couple of things to know about the bullet train is that we had gotten the JR pass, which allows you to use all the JR trains. We got the national ones, so you could use bullet trains as well, except the super fast ones weren't included. And we had gotten one that allows us to make seat reservations. And you also, if you're bringing luggage on the train, you now need to make a reservation for the luggage. And this is for more of a checked bag size luggage, not the carry on size. But we were there for two weeks, so we had checked bags. So you can make a reservation for the last row of seats where the luggage can go behind you, or there's a couple of spots on a luggage rack, but they're really cutting down on luggage on trains. Or you can ship your bags ahead, which we ended up actually a couple of times just shipping our bags ahead. And it only costs $20 a bag. It's waiting for you in the hotel when you get there. It takes 24 hours. So you need to have a small bag with all your stuff for.
[00:22:06.140] - Kim
Then one day. Yeah.
[00:22:07.320] - Tamara
But we took the bullet train and that worked really well. We saw Mount Fuji because it was a nice day out. So and we ended up like, we got to Kyoto and we just put our bags in a locker and then we took a local train out to Nara, which is about a half hour away or so, maybe 45 minutes. And there's a really beautiful, huge temple out there. But also it's known for their deer park, which Glenn, years ago, because we both work for a Japanese company, so he's been to Japan many times, but 25 years ago. And so he would always tell us about the deer in Nara that bow to you to get fed. Oh, right. And the deer have changed a bit in the last few years.
[00:22:53.320] - Kim
Yes. I've heard about this stuff. They have this issue at the monkey place, too.
[00:22:57.310] - Tamara
They were so aggressive. That's too bad. They were grabbing my shirt and pulling on my shirt. They nipped my butt. I'm like, Whoa. I feel like all these videos of Glenn and I trying to run away from the deer and we're like, Oh, no. Let's just get away from where the food is so that the deer are calmer. But it's funny because later in the trip, we went to the island of Miyajima, and they have wild deer there also. And one of them followed me into the visitor center, went over to the desk, grabbed a brochure, and then ran out.
[00:23:29.250] - Kim
Because they like to get the paper.
[00:23:31.240] - Tamara
And so the person comes running out behind the desk, yelling at the deer. And then there's three people in the street trying to wrestle the paper away from the deer.
[00:23:39.390] - Kim
Oh, my goodness.
[00:23:40.590] - Tamara
And I'm like, You think of deer in the headlights, these gentle creatures.
[00:23:45.240] - Kim
Yeah, exactly. It's sad when humanity is like, Yeah, I won't get there.
[00:23:51.560] - Tamara
No, it's definitely because there's too many tourists now. They're being fed. Definitely not a great situation. But we did enjoy the day trip out there. Yeah, for sure. I love everything about Japan. It's just so clean and orderly and polite and easy to figure out. My type A personality just really appreciates the order of things. I would like that too. The fact that everybody stands in a line and waits and then you get on when you get on. I love that because in a society where everyone's pushing or whatever, I get.
[00:24:27.400] - Kim
Super stressed out. Oh, my gosh, I hated it. We were on a cruise, a European cruise, and that attracts a lot of Europeans. I thought, Oh, you wait in line for your turn to go get your food that you want served. But no, people just come up from other directions and just walk right up. There's no line concept. I'm like, Oh, I like lines. What am I supposed to do? So sorry.
[00:24:49.240] - Tamara
I get that. You would love Japan. I think it's such a wonderful place to visit. I think there must be challenges if you live there within the culture. I recognize that I used to work for a Japanese company. I'm aware of many of those issues, but as a visitor, it makes it so pleasant. But anyway, I was going to say that they have lockers where you can store things. Everything is just easy. The trains, everything is in Japanese and English.
[00:25:19.260] - Kim
I know they did a big push with that before the Olympics were going to be there. They were trying to...
[00:25:25.180] - Tamara
And all of the trains have signs that say what the next stop is. Because sometimes you're on a subway and you're trying to look and you're like, Oh, yeah. They might not answer, but you're like, What was that?
[00:25:36.320] - Kim
What did they say?
[00:25:37.460] - Tamara
That's Charlie Brown's.
[00:25:38.740] - Kim
Teacher talking to you. Exactly. I've had that happen so many times.
[00:25:43.040] - Tamara
So that part was great. And Kyoto is just very different. So it is more traditional in the architecture. They preserved a lot of the traditional architecture. There's tons of shrines and temple s o that's the thing is that you could get a little shrine and templed out, but the architecture is so beautiful. There is a downtown center city that's more city like, but it's nothing like Tokyo.
[00:26:09.310] - Kim
Or Nagasaki. I remember when we were looking to stay in Kyoto, I seem to recall because we were going to go during... We were hoping for cherry blossom season, but I seem to recall there it's still pretty spread out and there's little neighborhoods in Kyoto even. It's like, okay, this one has more of this vibe and this one I can't remember where we were staying, but I was looking at the different things and getting the bamboo forest, like, oh, well, I'd have to leave here and we want to be near a train station.
[00:26:32.970] - Tamara
All those plans. Yeah, you do want to be near a train station because the metro system is not as well developed there. So we took a mix of busses, GR trains, private trains that you paid for the same way you'd pay for a subway. But when we stayed at the Hyatt Regency, which was probably about a 10 minute walk to one of the train stations, but there was a bus that stopped right outside that then went to the main Kyoto station, which is where we would get on to go to the bamboo forest. And then, yeah, so it was conveniently located, but you definitely needed to plan your travel because some of those destinations, especially many of them were taking slower local trains, and they could still take 45 minutes to.
[00:27:26.150] - Kim
An hour. That was one of the things in my planning that was the hardest is recognizing that there are so many different train lines, like brands, and you might have a pass with one, but it doesn't necessarily mean you can go on every train that's coming in. So it's an interesting thing that I've never... I'm sure maybe it's in other places around the world, but it's not something we think about in the states at all.
[00:27:49.420] - Tamara
The nice thing, though, is that we had our JR pass, which, by the way, I don't even know if they're going to be that useful after this fall because the price is almost doubling. It's going up. It's having some. Unless ticket prices are going up a lot also, you might just want to buy individual tickets.
[00:28:04.190] - Kim
Individual.
[00:28:04.600] - Tamara
Ticket, yeah. But we bought, as soon as we got, we had ordered the JR passes ahead, so we had our voucher that we had to turn in to get the actual pass. Then we went to an ATM because you needed cash for a lot of things. We have to also use cash to get an IC card. So this is the rechargeable card that you would use to get on the metro or the bus or something like that. But the nice thing is that unlike, Oh, I'm going to New York, I need a metro card. I'm going to this place, I need that card for their.
[00:28:32.660] - Kim
Subway system. Yeah, like Long Island Railroad and Metro card.
[00:28:35.370] - Tamara
Yeah, exactly. This card worked for all of them. And it also works for a lot of vending machines.
[00:28:41.990] - Kim
Some convenient stores.
[00:28:42.850] - Tamara
Yeah, the vending machine.
[00:28:43.690] - Kim
I forgot. And you reload it always with cash, though? You always have to reload it only cash. You can't reload it with cash.
[00:28:48.300] - Tamara
Yeah, which is so bizarre. It's like this is a digital payment system and I'm loading it with cash.
[00:28:53.590] - Kim
I wonder if it's because they want to make sure that you're actually paying for it. They don't want you to just be able to dispute it and have gotten the ride for free or gotten the food for free. You know what I mean? I wonder if it's a culture thing.
[00:29:04.840] - Tamara
I do know that it used to be, before COVID, a very cash based society. Now more and more places will take a credit card. And if you have, there's a lot of... Not many places take Apple Pay, but a lot of them do take a tap payment system, but more one that they have in Asia. I don't know if it's really worth signing up and trying to figure that out. Got you. I just basically used my.
[00:29:28.420] - Kim
Chip credit card. The IC card and.
[00:29:30.030] - Tamara
The card anytime for that. And the IC card for the metro, the bus, some vending machines, some required cash still. But yeah, it's just super convenient. So even though there are different trains, so yeah, maybe you can't use your free pass, not for you because you.
[00:29:44.710] - Kim
Paid a lot for it.
[00:29:45.480] - Tamara
But it's still pretty easy to get around.
[00:29:49.930] - Kim
Yeah, it's good. That's great. And I do want to quickly, before we jump over to finishing up Kyoto and going to Asaka, I did want to mention something that you did that I think was brilliant because I even had looked into doing it when we were planning our trip. And that was you had someone meet you at the airport, right?
[00:30:05.450] - Tamara
Yeah, I did. And don't do it. At least not for the company that I did. Okay, here we go. You and I had talked about it. I think it was about $75 to $100. It was the company that I bought the JR Pass from. I also arranged to rent a mobile hotspot, so that was taken care of ahead of time to pick up at the airport. And I arranged to have a greeter meet us after customs. And then what I was told was that that greeter would then take me to do the things I need to do at the airport, which would be pick up my mobile hotspot, exchange my JR Pass, get my IC card, find where I need to go to get my transfer.
[00:30:45.390] - Kim
Get the train.
[00:30:46.220] - Tamara
I figured, hey, it's not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things.
[00:30:51.800] - Kim
And especially.
[00:30:52.310] - Tamara
After traveling.
[00:30:52.820] - Kim
For 20 hours.
[00:30:53.250] - Tamara
And I want to be jet lived. Yeah, exactly. This will be useful. It was such a waste of money because first I'm trying to talk to the guy, I'm like, okay, we need to go to an ATM, and he's not even understanding what I'm saying. I'm like, You're a greeter. I'm not coming in there with like, everyone should speak English, but his job is.
[00:31:11.680] - Kim
To meet people. When you pay people. Yeah, exactly. I know a lot of times they'll have if you want to in English or if you want to in... You can specify a language, but.
[00:31:20.330] - Tamara
It seems like it's... Yeah. So one person had my name up and then she called this guy over. So it's like a service they do for multiple people. They had multiple greeters there. I don't know if I just got an inexperienced person, but I went to the counter of the mobile WiFi hotspot place and that person spoke perfect English, no trouble communicating at all.
[00:31:40.320] - Kim
And it was easy to find. And you were able to easily find everything.
[00:31:42.690] - Tamara
Yeah. I mean, he led me there, but I could have found it on my own, no problem. And then I was trying to explain that I wanted to go to the JR ticket office to get our pass, but also see if he could help us make reservations. Yeah, exactly. Because I wanted to make the reservations as soon as I had my pass because I wanted to try to get the luggage reservations. And he was just like, Oh, no, they don't do reservations here. And I'm like, Oh, well, that's part of why I wanted to pay for this service because I wanted somebody to help me translate what my need was. And meanwhile, we were back and forth, just not understanding each other. So then I get in line at the JR ticket office. I get up there, perfect English from the person that's behind the desk, completely easy to talk to. They didn't make the reservations there. They told me where to go in the Tokyo station or Shinchu station, whatever, which I did the next day. That person also spoke really good English, was able to communicate no problem. And then I was trying to explain that I want to get an IC card.
[00:32:38.620] - Tamara
And he was like, Well, you can get the one that requires a deposit or not a deposit. I'm like, I don't care? Can you just tell me where? And he didn't know where to go. Finally, the guy that was behind me in line at the JR ticket office was like, Oh, you want this line right here. And I'm like, Thank you. Then I'm like, What? Then I had arranged for an airport limo bus to take us from the airport directly to our hotel. I just thought first day, and it's really, it's inexpensive. Taxis there are very expensive, but this is inexpensive. And instead of having to drag some bags on multiple trains and subways, I thought it's easy. And so I was like, I thought all that would take us an hour and a half, maybe, from the time we arrived. So I had booked a later bus, but it was really quick to do all of it. So I was like, Oh, maybe we can get an earlier bus. So I was trying to get him to help us with that. No. So I ended up just doing it on my phone. But then he had to come down and he was like, No, I have to wait.
[00:33:42.890] - Tamara
Because I was like, Okay, we're all set. Thank you. Bye. And he's like, No, I have to wait till you get on the bus. I'm like, All right, well, can you just stand over there? Because I'm like, I'm done.
[00:33:52.120] - Kim
Yeah, exactly. You did not help me. Wow. Okay, well, that's good tip. Good to know.
[00:33:56.970] - Tamara
What not to.
[00:33:58.150] - Kim
Do, I guess. What not, yeah. No, I mean, it's good because I had considered that too because I was thinking the same thing like, Oh, my gosh, how am I going to get my pass? I was thinking all that same stuff.
[00:34:07.930] - Tamara
Cool. I think a lot of things with travel, it feels so overwhelming. But once you're there, you're like, Oh, this is not as bad as I.
[00:34:13.260] - Kim
Thought it was going to be. Well, especially in a country that you can't even get around with. It's like, Oh, I speak a little Spanish. I speak a little French. It's just like, None of that's going to help you. You don't want to go in being a ignorant traveler who's just like, Oh, why don't you speak my language in your country? Exactly. I can't stand people like that. But anyways, okay, good to know. Anything else about Kyoto you wanted to mention? I did think it was awesome, your little tip about the bamboo forest. It wasn't really a tip, but I was so happy that you had that experience because I heard the same thing.
[00:34:44.990] - Tamara
When I was there, even, I saw some people on Instagram that seem to be there at the same time, but a couple of days before me. And they showed just this mass of people walking through. Because the word is out that for many of these things, you need to get there early. And so even if you show up at 7 AM, there's still this massive crowd of people funneling through this little area. And I don't want to do that. It was an hour away. No one's getting up at 5 AM to get to a place by 7 or whatever just to take a photo. My family doesn't roll like that. They're like, I don't really care about your photo. We just want to see it. And so we decided to sleep in a little bit. We went, we had lunch, then we went to the monkey forest. And I will say the whole Arashima area is, for a touristy area, so much nicer than I expected. It was really lovely. And there's a really pretty river that runs along that on some days you can run boats. It was really nice. Anyway, so we went to the monkey park first because Glenn loves monkeys, although it's such a steep climb up there, he was like, This better be worth it.
[00:35:53.700] - Tamara
Actually, there was a fan of it that was like, This better be worth it for your monkeys. But it was cool. We saw a lot of baby monkeys. The monkeys were not aggressive at all. They just hung out as long as you followed the rules. You weren't staring at them in the eyes to challenge them or something. Then we went to a temple, then we went to the forest. So we got to the Grove, not really a forest. It's much smaller than you think it's going to be. We got there maybe like 2.30, 3 o'clock, and it was fine. There was people there, but no crush of crowd and plenty of space to have a photo. Yeah, there's people in the background, but that's fine. Honestly, we just wanted a couple of family photos. I'm not going to win an Instagram competition over it, but it was nice. And it's really beautiful. It's really pretty. But sometimes I think doing the opposite of what everyone says.
[00:36:47.700] - Kim
You should do and work out. Especially when it's been around for so long, people are saying do that because it's very much like, oh, the gates open at seven. And so everyone who's built up, it's just like Disneyland. People say, oh, rope drop, rope drop. And you get there. And if you get there late, there's such a long line to get in. And then people come 30 minutes after opening and they walked right up to the turnstiles. There's something about that.
[00:37:10.900] - Tamara
Yeah. And I looked at Google Maps is wonderful. It was so helpful for the travel, figuring out the trains because it would say what platform, but also what car to get on if you were transferring. And then when you were leaving the station, what exit to take because those train stations are huge. So you're like, you don't know where you are when you come out. So it was really, really helpful. And it would tell you like eight minutes, 3 stops, here's the name of your stop. This is how much it's going to cost. It was really very helpful. But you can also look for attractions, and it'll show you the busiest times, like a little graph.
[00:37:47.100] - Kim
Yes, for sure.
[00:37:47.990] - Tamara
I was like, Okay, it looks like 10 to 2 is super busy. Who knows how accurate it is, but let's go.
[00:37:53.690] - Kim
After it. I have a good article about how I use Google Maps and you can make a custom and saver on map to help you with your planning to help see stuff for not just road trips, but also when you're planning a city vacation. But that's a good thing. I always forget about how they have that busy season section. I should add that to my post because.
[00:38:11.540] - Tamara
That's a.
[00:38:12.160] - Kim
Useful thing.
[00:38:13.300] - Tamara
When you're trying to figure out, especially for public transportation, many times the night before, I would look like, Oh, how long is it going to take? Because we need to know what time should we be done breakfast? What time do we need to leave? I like that there's a little drop down where you can say when you're departing or when you want to arrive because it changes. Especially public transportation may not have as many trains when you're looking late at night versus when you're going in the morning.
[00:38:42.000] - Kim
Totally. That's awesome. I always worry about the train, the car thing, because even in New York, sometimes I've been like... Because I'm not used to using trains often. When I first started going to New York and doing that, the Long Island Rail Railroad and stuff, they have certain cars they don't open the doors to all the time. During different hours of the day. I'm always like, Oh, how do I know what car I'm in? It's definitely one of those Charlie Brown teacher's voices. Sometimes I'm like, I have no idea where I'm at.
[00:39:10.980] - Tamara
That's the other great thing. In Japan, it's like, on the avement on the platform, it has numbers. So it's like, you know exactly what car that's going to be. Oh, man. And then everyone lines up single file behind those on either side of the.
[00:39:26.830] - Kim
Door for.
[00:39:27.350] - Tamara
Everyone to come out and then they go on.
[00:39:29.780] - Kim
It's lovely. Lovely. Nice. Okay, so then your last little stop was OSAKA. So why don't you tell us a little bit about that? Because I had planned that we were going to fly into Tokyo and out of OSAKA, but you ended up going back to Tokyo to go home. But what did you do in Osaka?
[00:39:45.130] - Tamara
Yeah, flying out of OSAKA would be ideal, but for us, Delta doesn't do that. So we had to go back to Tokyo. So OSAKA is known as the Japan's Kitchen, so it's known for its street food. So I knew I wanted to take a food tour when we were there because it's just that's really one of the things it's well known for. So I ended up... We actually got there, we explored a little bit. We did the... You made a sky building, which actually Glenn did not do. No surprise that when we went up high, especially there's these glass enclosed elevators that go between two towers on the 39th floor. And he was like, Are you kidding me? No way am I doing that. So Hannah and I did that. And then that night we actually went to a baseball game, which was really fun because Japanese culture is really into baseball. And it was like being at a college game in a way because they were playing Hiroshima, so that's not far away. Half the stadium were Buffalo fans and half the stadium were carp fans and they all sat on the right side.
[00:40:49.140] - Tamara
So it's like one half was red, one half was white. And they each had a cheering section in a band. And so you felt like you were a little bit at a college game with the marching band thing. It was a lot of fun. But then the next day we took a food tour with Arrogato Travel, and they have food tours in multiple cities. If you want to do a food tour in any of the cities, I would definitely recommend them. The guide was amazing.
[00:41:13.870] - Kim
It seemed like you had a really good time.
[00:41:15.920] - Tamara
Yeah, she was really wonderful. She had lived in the US for a little bit. I think she went to the University of Wisconsin. She lived somewhere else in the Midwest, too, but it's just such a funky, fun city. We toured this area called Shenzakai. It was built after World War II to attract Westerners and has more of a Coney Island vibe is what they were going for. It has carnival games and all these street food things. It's just so funky and retro. I think anywhere else I would have been like, Oh, this is cheesy. But it was actually really cool. And all throughout that area and the Dontambury area of Osaka, all of the food places, it's like Vegas for food places because they all have these three-dimensional facades with a giant octopus or a giant crab, and they're moving and lit up, and it's just so funky. There was one place where you could fish for your own fish, and then they cook it for you. It's almost hard to describe, but it is just bright lights, really funky, interesting, but lots of street food, lots of fried food on a stick, or like.
[00:42:30.660] - Kim
A fair.
[00:42:31.420] - Tamara
No, I'm just kidding. And the takeyaki octopus balls is like, that's where that's from. So that's like really huge. Afterwards, we went to the Don Donburi and we had Okonomiyaki. My family always laughs at me because for some reason I could never get this out. And Hannah and Glenn are like, Why can you not say this word? But Okonomiyaki, so it's like the Pancake type of thing with egg and cabbage and other things thrown in that they make on a griddle in front of you. So they have it in Kyoto and other places, but it's really known there. And in Hiroshima also, they have slightly different versions. That was just fun. So to do all the street food stuff, to have the good food tour, we really loved that. And then on our last, what was supposed to be our last day, we went to Hiroshima and we did a tour. I have a whole itinerary where it has a link to the tour company that I booked. Our guide was really sweet. He was wonderful. I highly recommend that. So we did the whole atomic bomb dome and museum, which was really heavy, obviously.
[00:43:36.130] - Tamara
And you have very confused feelings.
[00:43:39.080] - Kim
About it. Yeah, being.
[00:43:40.620] - Tamara
A member. Our role in that. But then we went to Miyajima Island, which is just a short, like, ferry ride. And it is just beautiful. We were there, it was raining. So there was all these mist and clouds on the mountains. And it just had this magical feel to it. But it was such a... I would love to spend a night there. It wasn't overcrowded, but when the people left, have.
[00:44:07.840] - Kim
It more to.
[00:44:08.650] - Tamara
Yourself type of thing. But there's a really famous Tori Gate that's in the water that looks high tide like it's floating, or when we were there during low tide, so you can walk out to it. And just a shrine. It's just a really pretty lush... That's one thing that really, I don't know why it surprised me, but Japan, outside the cities, it's so lush. You're like, Oh, right. These are islands.
[00:44:34.300] - Kim
Yeah.
[00:44:35.380] - Tamara
And that's why I liked about Kyoto too, because it's like a city that's nestled in a valley surrounded by these lush mountains. Not like towering.
[00:44:43.150] - Kim
Mountains, but these really lush. And it has a nice little river or stream or something through it too.
[00:44:47.450] - Tamara
So that was how we finished. I loved that. And then unfortunately, then we got stuck in a delay on a train coming back because there was a lot of rain. And then we found out our train for the next day to get back to Tokyo in time for our plane was canceled and we were hoping it was going to be all fixed by the morning. But Glenn woke up at five and he said it wasn't. And so then we were up for a couple of hours trying to figure out, what are we going to do? Because we were like, oh, we'll fly up to Tokyo. And by then, all the planes were booked until 3 PM. But we had a 625 flight and we would have had to get our luggage, get to another terminal, recheck it. We're like, that's never going to work. If we get there at 415 or I don't know, it was 435 o'clock or something is when we would have arrived. Never would have worked. So we're like, all right, let's see if we can stay an extra night here and let's book stuff for tomorrow. And let's call Delta and see if they can switch us.
[00:45:40.700] - Tamara
So then we had such a long travel day home because we flew from Osaka to Tokyo. And then we had to do Tokyo to LAX instead of Tokyo. We were booked on a Tokyo to Atlanta. So then at least the last little leg is short. Then we're in LAX for four hours.
[00:46:00.110] - Kim
Then you had a six hour flight.
[00:46:02.380] - Tamara
Well, and then it ended up being delayed. So we came out, we were luckily at the lounge and we actually went on the patio. The Delta Lounge in LAX has a patio, so it's loud but it was really good. It was just nice to get fresh air.
[00:46:16.400] - Kim
After all.
[00:46:16.980] - Tamara
That time. I actually went and I took a shower. I didn't even have any clothes. We had even checked everything, so I didn't even have any clothes to change into. But I'm like, I'm just taking a shower anyway. Yeah, for sure. And so then we came out of the lounge. We're like, Go to the gate. They're like, Oh, we're waiting on a crew member still. We're going to wait to board you. And then they started boarding us. We're like, Okay, I guess everything's all set. And then we're sitting on the plane and an hour later, they're like, Okay, the pilot's now in the parking lot.
[00:46:42.550] - Kim
And we're like.
[00:46:43.320] - Tamara
Oh, my gosh. Seriously? It was the pilot. They weren't even on premises when you boarded us. So we were delayed a couple hours. So we ended up... We got home at 315 in the morning. We'd been going for 30 hours, I think, or more, like 33 hours maybe.
[00:47:02.380] - Kim
That one did you have? Did you have any of the upgraded seating for any of those legs?
[00:47:06.890] - Tamara
Luckily, because we had booked our tickets in premium select, which if you know Delta, there's like Delta 1, which is like the nice pod lay flat thing. Then there's premium select, which has like a footrest that comes out and it reclines, but not like all the way, but it reclines some. Then there's comfort plus, which is basically like a regular seat with a little.
[00:47:26.290] - Kim
More leg room. Like me coming.
[00:47:28.590] - Tamara
So the reason we went through LAX is that's what we could get for premium economy. Oh, good. Okay. I mean, premium select on that, the longest leg from Tokyo to LAX. Then LAX to Boston doesn't have that. So I think we were in, I think, we were in Comfort Plus. I don't even know at that point. I was uncomfortable, that's for sure. But yeah. And then we flew into Boston, which we had flown out of Providence. So my car is still in Providence. So I had to get a car service to pick us up, bring us back. T he next day I'm like, Hannah, can you drive me down to get my car? Whatever. That's a.
[00:48:03.840] - Kim
Whole long story. It worked out. It sounds like you guys had an amazing trip and it was awesome. I know, like I said already and mentioned, Tamara has quite a few blog posts and she'll link them in the show notes, but you can also just go to Wee 3 Travel. I'm sure it's pretty easy to find them, but I know she has all of her itineraries that are if you guys know Tamara, they're very in-depth with a lot of detail. So super helpful if you're thinking of planning a trip. I think it was great. I'm glad you guys had a good time and glad I got to hear about it a little more.
[00:48:31.780] - Tamara
Yeah, it was definitely a bucket list trip. I think being there and being together as a family was wonderful. I think we all acknowledged, we don't know when we're going to have that opportunity again. Just know Hannah is going to be very busy the next few years. S he's going to be more than happy to take a trip with us when she can. We might just know when that will be.
[00:48:52.240] - Kim
Exactly.
[00:48:52.840] - Tamara
I'm glad.
[00:48:53.360] - Kim
We got to do it. Yeah, that's awesome. Perfect.
[00:48:56.710] - Tamara
What's next?
[00:48:58.290] - Kim
I don't even know. You're like, What day is it? What month is it? Exactly. The big thing on my agenda, I'm trying to take the summer off a little bit. We do have a trip up to Canada to visit family coming right up for Canada Day. Happy Canada Day to those of you Canadians that might be listening. Then happy fourth of July to the US Americans that are listening. We are doing that. Then I have a fun trip. You'll be moving Hannah back to school, but I am going to be flying to Kenya and doing a Simara J. W. Marriott stay, which I just got a steal on points for. I'm using points to fly some nice flights as well. That's what's coming up for me. My fall is going to be crazy and booked again, but at least I have. It looks like I'm trying to keep my summer a little more calm. Although that Africa trip, I cannot wait. It's during the Wilder Beast migration. That's a pretty big trip to be. I'm really excited. It's going to be during the Wilder Beast migration, too. So hopefully we'll get some amazing pictures. I got to rent a lens, it reminds me.
[00:50:04.360] - Tamara
I was telling somebody about the points deal that you got on that. Everyone just can't even believe it. What a lucky straw.
[00:50:11.400] - Kim
That was. Oh, my gosh, it was amazing. I don't know if this would work always, but I'm just a little tip for you guys, if you guys are points people. If you know of any future opening hotels that haven't opened yet, that are opening in the future, just maybe keep an eye on their points rates because that's what happened. This hotel hadn't opened yet. It was opening in April, and in February or something, I saw someone mentioned, Oh, my goodness, they've got nights for 20,000, 20 ish thousand points a night. With Marriott, if you book five nights with points, you only pay for four nights. So it's like book five nights, get one free thing. I don't know how to.
[00:50:49.500] - Tamara
Explain it, but you get it. And it's an all inclusive property.
[00:50:51.920] - Kim
It's all inclusive property. So all the game drives are included, all the meals are included, everything. I'm paying 93,000 points total for five nights for two people.
[00:51:00.640] - Tamara
That's like one night at a nice city hotel.
[00:51:04.320] - Kim
Yeah, I know. I was looking at a Fairfield Inn in New York in January, and there were like 65,000 points. So it gives you a little idea there. But anyways, so that's what's up for me. But what about you?
[00:51:14.810] - Tamara
As you hear this, I will probably either be in Scotland or Wales, depends on how quickly I get this out. So I leave shortly for a week with a couple of other travel writers, a week in Scotland, a week in Wales, and then I'm going to be home for a couple of weeks. And then I'm actually going to have two weeks in France, which I don't think I've even had a chance to tell you about. But I'm going to do... Glenn and I are going to go to France. We're doing the Taste of Bordeaux River cruise on Amman Waterways. Oh, nice. And then something else that came up. I was invited to do a press trip on European Waterways, which does hotel barge cruises. And I was trying to look at dates in the fall, but they didn't have any availability. But they're like, Well, how about this one on August sixth, which would have been the day I was flying back from France. I was like, Well, I will already be in France. It's to an area that I've been to before. So I was hoping to see something new, but I think it just works out for me to do this back to back, a more traditional river cruise versus a hotel barge cruise just to have these new experiences because I'm not a big ship person, but I'm definitely been wanting to try some of these other types of things.
[00:52:28.570] - Tamara
And my friend Michelle is going to come join me for that one because Glenn can't stay for the two weeks.
[00:52:33.830] - Kim
Take off that whole time.
[00:52:34.800] - Tamara
That's awesome. And then as soon as I get back, Hannah will come back and we have one day at home and then we fly her to Arizona.
[00:52:43.570] - Kim
Okie dokey. Well, thank you guys for tuning in again. If you're still with us and still listening, as you can see, we have a few trips on the agenda, so we're not quite sure when we'll make another episode. But as always, we always appreciate you guys tuning in and we'll try to share again soon.
[00:52:58.280] - Tamara
Yeah, hopefully, maybe the end of the summer.
[00:53:00.250] - Kim
Talk to you later.
[00:53:01.640] - Tamara
All right, bye bye.
Kim took a last minute spring break trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland with her younger daughter and this week on the podcast, she tells us all about it!
She flew into Dublin and then stay at a country estate hotel in Northern Ireland before visiting Belfast, the Causeway Coast, Derry/Londonderry, and Galway before looping back to Dublin.
See Kim's articles on:
Spring break is almost here and on this episode Kim and Tamara share their experience on a girls' trip in Oceanside, California and then their mother-daughter trip to Disneyland with their girls.
If you want some inspiration for a SoCal getaway, be sure to listen in!
Happy New Year! We are back and apologize for taking so long to release a new episode. Moving forward, we will strive to have one episode a month to share our travels and tips, as we continue to each put more time into our respective websites.
But first, Tamara has a big announcement and that is that she is hosting a women-only small group trip to Iceland in September 2023! You can get all the information on YourTimetoFly.com and she really hopes that some listeners will be able to join! Note that there is a discount of 15,000 ISK if you register by January 15, 2023.
Next Tamara tells us all about her two-week trip to Northern Italy! Some highlights include:
This episode is sponsored by Glacier Country Tourism. All opinions are our own.
This week, Tamara shares what it is like to visit Glacier Country, Montana on a girls' trip and Kim shares her thoughts on this scenic part of Northwestern Montana. From Missoula to Whitefish, Kalispell to Glacier National Park -- if Montana is on your bucket list, give this episode a listen!
Read more:
Adventurous Weekend Getaways to Western Montana- We3Travel
Best Things to do in Glacier National Park - Stuffed Suitcase
Things to do in Glacier Country, Montana
We are back from our summer travel and packed a whole lot into a one episode recap! We apologize in advance for some audio difficulties on this one, especially after taking so long to get it live. Thanks for hanging in there with us!
On this episode we cover Tamara's summer trips to:
And Kim shares about her adventures:
We are still catching up about our spring break trips and this time Kim shares the ups and downs from a Norwegian Cruise Lines voyage from New York City to the Bahamas with stops in "Orlando" and Norwegian's private island. Listen in and see if you are ready to set sail.
After a long hiatus, we are back with an update! Unfortunately Tamara and Kim both came down with COVID after returning from their respective spring break trips, which has delayed getting a new episode out. But this week Tamara fills us in on her adventures (and misadventures) on spring break and shares some of the highlights and tips from her week in Paris.
This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission. All opinions are our own.
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