Trip Report #6 - Family fun in Chicago

This trip took place in June of 2016.  I had a work conference to attend in Chicago and the family flew in to meet me towards the end of the conference.  There is a ton of fun things to do in Chicago with kids!  This post will touch on a few of them. 

Flights:

As always we flew Southwest to Chicago.  I flew into Chicago (Midway) on Sunday for the Conference.  Kim and the kids flew in on Tuesday afternoon.  Since my departure flight was at a different time I couldn't have Kim fly free to Chicago using my companion pass.  I used points to purchase their 3 departure flights for 6,000 points each.  Now on the return flight on Thursday, Kim did fly free since I was on the same flight.  The two kids flights cost 6,750 points each.

Now in June of 2016 Kim was about 5 months pregnant.  I thought her and the kids could easily get from the airport to the hotel using public transportation.  It looked pretty easy, there was an "L" stop only a couple blocks from the hotel.  What I didn't realize was that some of the older stations do not have elevators.  The one Kim had to get off did have one but it was out of order!  I am just glad there are some nice people in Chicago that helped her get the stroller down the steps!  Imagine trying to get a sit and stand stroller, two kids, and luggage down these steps by yourself 5 months pregnant.

Stairs, stairs, stairs - credit to railroadcollection

Hotel:

I chose a partner hotel of the conference - the Fairmont Chicago at Millennium Park.  This is a beautiful hotel with great views of the park and Chicago. The room (double beds) was a nice size. We had a great view of the lake and park. The fact that there wasn't a pool for the kids was a downside. However, the location was awesome. We were able to walk to many parks and activities.  Since at the time of this trip I had a Chase Fairmont credit card(no longer available) we had some nice perks during this stay.  Each card member received $50 to spend at hotel restaurants or spas and I also received Fairmont Fit perks.  The Fit benefits included a pair of running shoes, shorts, and shirts available for your use during your stay.  I simply requested the perk before check in and the shoes and clothes were waiting for me on my bed!  What a great perk!.  We used our $50 credit for lunch at the at the onsite restaurant, Columbus Tap.  It was very good. The kids loved the mac and cheese.  

Activities:

Day 1:

After dropping the kids' bags at the hotel we headed out to find some good Chicago deep dish pizza.  We settled on Giordano's.  One thing we learned is that it takes a long time for the pizzas to cook.  Bring activities for the kids.  We ended up running around with the kids in a open green space just outside the restaurant.  The pizza was definitely yummy!

Following dinner we walked down to the Riverwalk.  At the time Chicago was not a very stroller friendly city. It seemed like the Riverwalk was adding elevators when we were there but it was tough to get around with a stroller.  We had to walk a few blocks away to find a ramp down to the river and then backtrack to where we wanted to go.  The Riverwalk is a very nice area though.  The kids loved getting ice cream and watching the boats go by.  We did not try any of the restaurants right on the water but they always looked busy and lively.  

Boat Tour:

We boarded the boat on the river walk near Trump Tower (again we had to take the stroller down a ton of stairs).  The boat went on the river towards the lake.  At the lake we waited to enter the lock and then proceeded out on the lake. It was mostly an Architectural tour but the kids still had a fun time and the boat had a full bar!!    Lincoln fell asleep on the boat which was a plus.  

Macie not so happy to take a picture on the boat.  

Day 2:

Shedd Aquarium - After eating Dunkin Donuts for breakfast we took a Lyft ride from the hotel over to the Aquarium.  We were one of the first ones in the door.  This is a fun interactive Aquarium.  The Beluga Whale trainers in the Oceanarium even asked Macie if she wanted to be a guest trainer but she was too scared to help out 😕.  

Beluga Whales

Awesome view from the Aquarium

Penguin exhibit fun

There is also a Polar Play Ground where the kids can slide around like penguins.  We spent a good amount of time in this area.  I believe overall we spent about 3 hours in the Aquarium.  It was definitely a worthwhile activity.

We took a Lyft back to the hotel for naps and lunch.  After lunch we started on a long walk to the Navy Pier.  

We wanted to go to the pier to ride the Ferris Wheel.  However, once we got there we found out it was really expensive - like $15 per adult!  I decided on a happy hour drink at the Margaritaville to-go bar instead.  We also thought there would be a bunch of fun kids stuff to do at the pier but it was mostly a tourist trap.  The kids were exhausted by this time so we decided to stop at the AMC movie theatre on the way back to the hotel to catch Finding Dory.  This was a nice break in the Air Condition.  

Day 3:

We had an early flight so we woke up and had breakfast at the nearby Wildberry pancakes.  It was awesome!  We definitely recommend it.   

Chicago was a fun, short trip.  We plan to go back again to explore more.  Have you been to Chicago with kids?  What did you do?

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Booking Report #1 Ft. Lauderdale, FL December 2017

We like getting out of Ohio and going south each December.  The last couple of years we have gone to Orlando.  This winter we are switching it up since we are doing Orlando for spring break in March.

This December we are going to Fort Lauderdale to meet our friends' new baby.  With Macie in school we decided on a short 3 day weekend trip.

Flights:

No surprise here.  We chose Southwest for our round trip flights to Fort Lauderdale, FL.  Back in September when I booked these flights the round trip flight cost 19,500 points each.  This is pretty expensive in my opinion.  Both ways were non stop so I figured it was worth it and purchased 3 round trip flights for a total of 58,500.  I only needed three tickets because Kim flies free with me because of the companion pass.  Here is our post about our plan to regain the 2018/19 companion pass. Since Emmy is under two she flies free as well on a lap.

As I tell everyone to do, I recheck the cost of my flights almost every time I see that Southwest is having a sale.  During the first week of October I checked and the cost for the flight was reduced to 16,315 per flight.  I simply went in and changed my flight to the same exact flight.  Doing this credits back the difference in points.  I quickly saved 9,600 points.

Again in mid October another Southwest Sale was advertised which sparked me to check the flight price.  The price was reduced to 14,900 points this time.   From experience 15,000 points to fly round trip from Ohio to Florida is reasonable.  Simply checking Southwest sales saved us almost 14,000 points.  That is almost another flight!  Check your flights during sales peeps!

Finding a hotel:

Since it will be a short trip we are not going to stay on the beach and we don't plan on packing any beach items other than bathing suits.  I only had a couple requirements when searching for a hotel. The hotel had to be part of one of our points programs and it had to have a pool for the kids.

Hyatt Place Pool 

We have points with a few hotel programs - Marriott, IHG, and Hyatt.  I focused my search on these 3 brands.  I simply went to each brands website and searched Fort Lauderdale hotels.   Each time I selected the option to book with points.  Most programs require you to sign into your account before the points options will populate.  It if free to sign up for all the loyalty programs.

To save searching each website you can also use Awardmapper.com.  This is an awesome website which let's you search for hotels that have the option to book with points.  You simply scroll over the pins and the required points and hotel description appears.  Try this website out sometime you won't be disappointed.

When you search for bookings with points not every hotel in the brands portfolio comes up.  Many times the nicer, more in demand hotels will be sold out of rewards nights.  Since we weren't looking to stay on the beach this didn't hinder any of our options.

After some searching I figured out Hyatt had the best redemption option.  I found a Hyatt Place that only required 8,000 points per night

There was also a points and cash option of 4,000 and $55 per night.

The cash rate was $240 per night before tax so this was a great value.

Before booking I called the hotel to check if they had connecting rooms.  After finding out they do offer connecting rooms I ended up booking 2 rooms for each night.

I ended up booking 2 nights at 8,000 points per night and 2 nights at 4,000 points and $55 per night. Overall I used 24,000 points and $122(after taxes).  If I didn't have points it would have cost me $1072.  That means these Hyatt points were worth 4 cents each.  Also remember that you do not pay any taxes when you book with only points.  Hyatt Place's also have a good, free breakfast each morning.  This booking was a great value!

Hyatt Place Breakfast Bar

Rental car.

I searched kayak.com to get an idea what the cash rate was for a 3 day rental.  The cash rate was about $80 for the 3 day rental.  After searching all of our credit card travel portals I found a minivan for a total of $73 for a 3 day rental.  I found this rental on the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.  This was only a $7 savings but hey every dollar counts.

In the future we plan to post a booking post for each trip we plan to take.  Hopefully they are helpful.  Points can save a ton of money.

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We wont go to Disney trip #3!

Our cute little travelers

We decided to head back down to Florida again December of 2015. Macie was 4 and Lincoln 2. Keith loves to travel for his birthday so off we went. This trip we were just doing 3 full days and planned to do Sea World, Animal Kingdom and Universal Studios. 

Night 1 we decided to change it up from Rainforest Cafe and went to T-Rex at Disney Springs. It was a very similar atmosphere and menu to rain forest cafe. The kids seemed to enjoy it as much as toddlers can. 

Day 1 Universal studios, trying something new. We chose studios over islands of adventure. There was tons for the kids to do. They loved the Curious George water play area. They had fun squirt sprinklers and a big ball room where you could shoot them all over the place. They had the majority of the kids rides in one area so we were able to run straight there and get them all done. This was also where they rode and loved their first roller coaster, Woody Wood Pecker.  Since we ran straight to the kids stuff we were basically alone and they rode over and over. We did the Barney show, E.T. ride (scared the kids), Shrek 4d (scared the kids) and a few other things.

I was surprised how much a 2 and 4 year old could do here. Of course if was hard for Keith and I to see some of the big rides knowing the kids were definitely not tall enough, but we decided to see about the rider swap option anyway. Now I don’t know how it’s normally done but I can say for the first time ever having kids worked out in our favor big time! We went to Rockin roller coaster first and asked the lady at the gate if there was anyway we could ride even though we had little kids. She was like sure and got a guy to take us up the back entrance elevator to the top of the coaster. They had a nice air conditioned room for Keith and the kids and the guy walked me right across the bridge and into the front seat. I was like what is happening everyone was looking at me like how the hell did she just get the front car from some special back room while we’ve been waiting hours. I was in shock... and away we went! As soon as I was done I switched and Keith rode while I sat in what seemed like my VIP room with the kids. We were both so stunned we decided to try it one more time with the Mummy Returns. Sure enough same thing! We rode the two biggest rides in maybe 30 minutes it was amazing. I don’t know if the rider swap process hadn’t been figured out yet but hey I wasn’t complaining. After that we caught a big Christmas parade that was done to mimic the Macy’s day parade in New York. It was such a great day exploring this park and having it all done up for Christmas.

 spray park you never know what's hiding behind each door

ball play area

macys day parade

santa!

Day 2 sea world. We love this park as stated before in previous blog posts. We did every show except the Christmas dolphin show because the line was sooo long. All the shows were Christmas themed and so fun. They even had decorations around some of the rides as well. Luckily for me to go along with our themed outfits I was able to squeeze the kids into their cute Etsy outfits I had bought the year before. We ended this day with smiles and ice cream. 

selfies

Christmas is in the air

Day 3 dead! This day was supposed to be animal kingdom but we were exhausted and we could barely get out of bed. All the walking and pushing two kids in a stroller had caught up to us. The 2 days with no naps and late bed times did not go well come day 3. This day was Keith’s birthday so we still wanted to do something fun, we were on vacation after all. So we decided to do a little swimming at the hotel and take the kids to their first mini golf experience.  This went ok I mean come on they are 2 and 4 it was kind of a free for all. We ended the day with dinner on a patio and watched the Steelers before bed. Thankfully the Disney gift cards we had bought from Giant Eagle (gas points) had no expiration date, so we were able to save them for our next adventure.

mini golf

Some big things I learned on this trip.

1. Don’t say it oks when they offer you a handicapped room. This usually means the dead bolt locks are down low aka in kids reach. This is a huge pain because they can then let themselves in and out of the room.

2. A normal size hotel room is impossible to try and get everyone to bed and stay asleep the whole night. The kids end up later the parents end up getting up earlier. I swear by suites!

3. Also with a hotel room you don’t have a kitchen. 3 meals a day out to eat with little kids is hell! They don’t want to sit still and you don’t want to deal with their crap! Suites are great for doing breakfast in the rooms and keeping supplies on hand for packing lunches. 

4. Make sure you plan rest days in between too many parks. Kids and parents get exhausted!

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Trip Report #5 - Two oldest kids and Dad trip to Dayton and Indianapolis

Air Force One

I just returned from a fun, rainy trip with my oldest two kids ages 6 and 4.  It was originally going to be only a father son trip but when I told Linc about the trip he immediately asked, is Macie coming?  He so badly wanted her to come so I said of course we can ask her.  When asked, Macie said she definitely wanted to come.  I mean who wouldn't want to go on a trip with Dad.

Lincoln loves airplanes so I figured the trip should revolve around them.  I spent some time searching the internet for fun airplane trips.  At first I thought going to an air show would be the best option and I found some cheap flights out to California where the Blue Angels would be participating.  However, after looking at the logistics of the trip I thought flying across the country for a quick weekend might be too much for a 4 year old.

During my search for air shows I also found out that the Red Bull Air Race was being held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  This is only about a 3 hour drive from Columbus.  If you have never heard of this race you should look it up.  These one seat planes race around a track at speeds up to 250MPH.  It's pretty crazy.

Ready to see some planes

The General Admission tickets for adults are only $35 and kids under 15 get in free with an adult GA ticket.  If you have not been to a race track for an event it is way different than a MLB, NBA, or NFL venue.  You are allowed to bring food and drink into the track.  I'm talking coolers full of beer and as much food as you want.  People that have been to NASCAR races will know what I'm talking about.  Since I was with the kids and driving, I did not bring in any beer but we did bring plenty of snacks and juice boxes.  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and we actually did not see any planes race.  We got to the track at 10 a.m. and the racing was planned to begin at 11 a.m.  The rain started early in the morning and lasted most of the day.  Finally at 1:30 p.m., after many delays in the start time, we left the track and headed to our van.  3.5 hours waiting in the rain was just too much for the kids.  We ended up finding out the planes were allowed to fly at 2:30 p.m. 😟  The race will most likely be back in 2018 and we will try again.

How we spent most of our day!

The Race Course

When I originally searched for Air Show dates I came across an ad for different Air Museums. There are some awesome museums around the Country and one of them, The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, is only about an hour away from Columbus.  I decided to stop there on the way to Indianapolis.  This is another inexpensive activity.  It is free to get into the museum and parking is also free!  If you like planes this is a must see museum.  Fun for kids and adults but also very humbling.  The exhibits can lead to some interesting questions from kids - Daddy why did they need this huge plane to drop those big bombs?   Or why do a lot of these planes have naked women painted on them?

Fun, interactive exhibits

This place is HUGE!  If you read all the signs and watched the videos it would take days to get through.  As we entered the museum the woman at the information desk saw me with the kids and stopped me.  She was very nice and suggested we start in hanger 4 which house the Air Force One exhibits.  These are the most interactive exhibits because you can actually walk through the planes.  It was a great suggestion.  We loved walking through the planes and looking at the kitchens and bathrooms.  Many of the older visitors got a kick out of hearing the kids say wow this plane is so old and boring.

"Daddy what does that say?"

Space shuttle

Observation deck near the cafe

landing gear

Fighter pilot

General Notes on the museum:

There is a big Gift Shop so bring some money to support the Museum.
If you need a meal there is a nice little cafe on site.
I wouldn't plan a visit longer than 2 or 3 hours.  It's a lot of walking for kids.

Air traffic controller

Fun Astronaut pics

Hotel in Indy- I had some Marriott Rewards Points ~ 15,000.  I did a quick search on the Marriott app and found a few options.  I ended up choosing the Fairfield Inn Indianapolis South because it was 15,000 points and had free breakfast and parking.  It is also walking distance to some good restaurants.  It also only took us 20 minutes to get to Indianapolis Motor Speedway from the hotel.  We ended up eating dinner at the Stacked Pickle.  It was a fun little sports bar with great kids options.

Good healthy meal at the Stacked Pickle

Free Breakfast!

Note - these points were accumulated very easily.  10,000 points came from notifying Marriott that I did not get my 500 points per night for passing on housekeeping during a recent stay.  Marriott has a program that rewards you for not utilizing full housekeeping services every night of your stay.  I simply emailed Marriott after the points did not show up in my account.  They apologized for the inconvenience and credited my account with 10,000 points!  Now I'm sure this doesn't happen every time but it's worth reaching out to customer service if you have any issues.  The remaining 5,000 points came from Marriott's Social Media rewards campaign.  You can read more about it in this post.

Overall this trip was hindered by bad weather but it was still a success.  I'm not going to lie, there were still a few kid and dad melt downs but mostly it was laughs.  I plan to do this trip again next year and visit some other kids' attractions like the Indianapolis Children's Museum.  Anyone every been to Indianapolis with kids?  Any advice or tips?

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