Adventure Awaits in Austria

Austria Posts

Adventure Awaits in Austria

What I Learned Traveling Solo

Overnight Layover in Chicago

Wien

Introduction to Hallstatt

Hallstatt

Mauthausen Memorial

Melk Abbey

On a Saturday back in May, we were in route to Crater Lake when the Twitter notifications started coming. Now this is an everyday occurrence, but 99.9% of the time, the deals are not out of our home hub, so we either pass them over or along to friends or family who might be able to take advantage of them. But on this particular morning, round-trip flights from Chicago to Austria were coming up on American at $344 per person, a deal almost too good to pass up because of the low fare price and the amount of miles earned by flying it are almost enough for a free domestic one-way ticket.

In these situations, our motto is book now, ask questions later because there is nothing to lose. It seems a little crazy to live this way, but there is almost always an out. There is a DOT law that requires US airlines to allow 24 hours to exit out of an airline booking. Most airlines like United and Delta allow a cancel/refund of money if done within 24 hours, but American Airlines in particular allows their consumers to hold international flights at the locked-in revenue rate for 24 hours! This is convenient because it gives us some time to think through the logistics a little without being charged anything.

So there we were; pulled over in beautiful and mountainous southern Oregon, trying to get service to connect hotspot to the laptop and frantically putting flights on hold for ourselves and others on multiple fall dates.

The page timed out multiple times because service was intermittent, but we were able to get flights on hold before the dates and fare disappeared.

Over the next 24 hours we had a chance to think and talk about it more, it was decided that I would cross the pond with our three friends, but Matt would stay home this time around. At this point, most of his PTO had already been allocated for the year, and he didn't want to risk only having 1-2 days of PTO left in case of sickness. I'll miss him dearly on this trip, but I trust it will be a growing experience for both of us.  

"There are only two things I like to do alone: reading and traveling, and for the same reason. When you travel, and when you read, you are not actually alone, but rather surrounded by other worlds entirely, the footsteps and phrases of whole other lives keeping you company as you go." -Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines

I can taste the strudel and sauerkraut already. 

Chicago Seminars

The Chicago Seminars were held again in mid-October, so we gathered with other fellow points and miles travelers in the Windy City (flying to and from on points and the Companion Pass of course). Believe it or not, we are not the only ones with this hobby.

Last year, Nick and Matt attended the actual conference, but this year a few more of us joined in on the fun craziness. There were about 500 attendees, plus many other travel speakers and bloggers.

The whole experience was fun, intense, and interesting all at the same time. These travelers are VERY passionate about this hobby and most of the conference circled around points, miles or other strategies. Although we have done our share of crazy (example being the 6 month stopover/layover that we are currently on), hearing some of these stories make us seem pretty normal. And yes, as you might imagine, one of my favorite sessions was the 1.75 hour Hyatt roundtable discussion. 

We went with the divide and conquer approach to hit almost every session between the five of us including:

Computer Tips and Tricks

Credit Cards

Managing Family Accounts

Alaska Airlines

Mileage Runs

Priceline and Hotwire

Southwest and the Companion Pass 

Award Bookings Asia

Award Bookings Europe

Special Award Bookings (one-ways, stopovers, open jaws)

ITA Software and Expertflyer

VRBO and AirBnBs

So basically the entire weekend was a learning and networking conference for travel enthusiasts. It is similar to the quarterly budget meetings these guys do on whatever financial topic(s), but this is like those meetings on steroids and involving purely travel. 

The weekend long conference is $85 which includes the sessions, lunch both days, beverages and snacks. It is a great event for networking and well worth the cost. There were many travelers from our local area there, so Matt may just be starting Flyertalk meet-ups back home now. Yes, the quarterly meetings might expand!

Personally, I enjoyed the Special Award Bookings session by Mile Value. It was extremely insightful when it comes to maximizing one-ways, stopovers, and open jaws. We are totally eyeing up New Zealand and the South Pacific in the near future, so it was good training to think outside of the box when booking award redemptions to high demand places with low award availability.

Overall though, my favorite session had to be the Spouse Session, a time for us +1s to get together and converse about travel over food, beverages and gift card giveaways while our points and miles crazy significant others were in session. It was relaxing and not so much focused on strategy, but rather on normal conversation with others like ourselves and the travel bloggers.

There was a Hilton DoubleTree a couple of minutes from the host hotel, so we stayed there for 10,000 points per night. The cookies were the highlight for the guys.

By Sunday afternoon, I was done talking miles and points and needed a break! We skipped out of the airline breakout sessions and round table discussions to experience a little of Open House Chicago with some of Kristina's friends. It is a free weekend event where 150 buildings are opened up to the public. There are some pretty sweet places and companies on the list, and I wouldn't mind spending an entire weekend next year to explore some of these buildings. 

First stop was Goose Island Beer Company for a self-guided tour and complimentary craft brews.

Then, we went downtown for a little while to check out a few other sights.

Nick capturing some of our points and miles favorite things: swag bags and Chase branches. 

The Board of Trade was at capacity already, so we ventured across the street into the Chicago Fed.

We tried to hit a few others sights like the Chicago Temple and MDA City Apartments (which looked sweet and had rooftop access!), but they were turning away visitors by that point.

M and I left the rest of the group to catch our evening flight (the others were flying out in the morning), but could not resist a stop at Magnolia Bakery on our walk back to the car.

Husband approved of a treat since I had behaved well this weekend. The pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese frosting was calling my name.

Until next time Chicago.

This October

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." -L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

October. Probably one of our favorite months of the year. These crisp weeks and months are embraced in our house and come with high anticipation of the first snowfall and winter to come.

So this month according to Instagram:

>> Coming off a 12 day work stretch, with only 7 days off in the last 8 weeks. Incredibly grateful for an actual weekend away from work. // Spirit of the Living God come fall afresh on me, come wake me from my sleep. Blow through the caverns of my soul, pour in me to overflow.

>> Golden hues of autumn and October mornings.

>> "Life with God at its core is about giving your life up to something bigger and more powerful. It's about saying at every turn that God knows better than we know, and that His spirit will lead us in ways that we couldn't have predicted." << -Shauna Niequest, Cold Tangerines

>> Sundays spent resting, budgeting, and reading Smart Money, Smart Kids together. 

>> "Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves, we have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!" -Humbert Wolfe // evening bike rides

This October we are enjoying:

>> Warm days and abundant sunshine.

>> Crisp evenings. Lovely for after dinner walks.

>> All things pumpkin. 

>> Flannel. 

>> The smell of homemade chicken broth simmering for hours upon hours.

>> Harvest produce and freezing it for winter.

>> Football.

>> Homemade soups.

>> Boots, sweaters and layers.

>> Kombucha and the moments, when I find M drinking it voluntarily, without being asked.

>> Other probiotic-rich foods, like homemade sauerkraut and pickles.

>> Cool mornings with sunshine and fog rising from the water. 

>> Lunar eclipse on the early morning commute together.

>> Fresh pressed apple cider, cold or warm.

>> Warm water, apple cider vinegar, + raw honey. Trying to keep healthy, while M gets over a cold.

>> Reading in the evenings.

>> Gilmore Girls. Working our way through the series (again), starting with Season 1.

>> Chai Tea Lattes for A. Coffee for M.

>> The leaves. They have been extra colorful and incredible this year.

Happy fall friends. We hope it brings you much joy.

Kaua'i // South + West

Hawai'i Posts
Oah'u // #theonewhereweallgotoHawaii
Kaua'i // Coconut Coast + North
Kaua'i // Favorite Memory + Hike
Kaua'i // The Na Pali Coast
Kaua'i // Hiking Highs
Kaua'i // South + West

Overall as a group, we had ~7,000 photos, so it has taken a while to sort through everything. This is the final post documenting some of our Kaua'i memories south and west of Kapa'a.

☼ Farmer's Market and Fruit Stands

Fruit everywhere! From road-side stands to the markets, it is definitely different than what we are accustomed to at our local markets and farms. Everything here is brightly colored and tropical, from exotic fruits like liliko'i and lychee to large avocados and fresh coconuts and pineapple.

☼ Tunnel of Trees

We drove this way several times on the way to Po'ipu. It reminded me a lot of the drives in the northwest. These pictures were taken especially for you mom! ;)

☼ Po'ipu Beach Park

There is a protected area here for snorkeling and another area for surfing. We did not snorkel here, but from shore, we could spot many sea turtles and a Hawaiian monk seal (which was my favorite). On our last afternoon, we sat under some palm trees and read, while the boys played Ticket to Ride. It was very relaxing.

I love this photo Skyler captured of the monk seal hauled out.

☼ Kaua'i Coffee

While Jared/Skyler/Nick waited for us to finish the Na Pali Coast boat tour, they took a walking tour, learned about how coffee is grown and harvest and sampled some coffee. 

☼ Shipwrecks Beach

This beach is right in front of the Hyatt in Po'ipu, so of course we wanted to see it! ;) There is strong shore break here, so we stood at the edge of the water to cool down and spent some time watching others surf and cliff-jump. 

☼ Puka Dog in Po'ipu

I never thought a hot dog could taste this good or that it would be something I would crave. No joke, last week, I texted Skyler saying I could go for a puka dog. They were THAT good.

A puka dog is basically polish sausage completely encased in Hawaiian sweet bread with flavors of garlic lemon sauce, tropical relish, and mustard. M ordered the hot chili pepper garlic sauce with pineapple relish, while I selected the spicy jalapeño garlic sauce with mango relish and mustard. I'm hungry right now just thinking about this deliciousness that is called a puka dog.

☼ Waimea Canyon

The diverse terrain on this island is incredible. In just a couple of miles, you can go from beaches to rainforest to mountains to desert and this canyon. It is ~10 miles long, a mile wide, ~3,500 feet deep. With greens, reds, and browns, it was a sight to behold from the viewpoints dotting the road.

"The really wonderful moments of joy in this world are not the moments of self-satisfaction, but self-forgetfulness. Standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon and contemplating your own greatness is pathological. At such moments we are made for a magnificent joy that comes from outside of ourselves." -John Piper

Aloha Kaua'i and mahalo for the memories of #theonewhereweallgotoHawaii.