United States Archives – Page 5 of 5

A winter weekend getaway: top activities in Murphys, California

October 17, 2023February 22, 2022 by

Last Christmas break, we had planned a short getaway to the winter wonderland (as Sophia says). We had booked three nights at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa And Casino and were very excited about our trip.

The weather in the Sierras is very unpredictable in winter, it can be dry and sunny, or it can snow for days and wreak havoc on the traffic. December 2021 turned out to be the snowiest December on record for the Sierra Nevada, breaking all the previous records. Central Sierra Snow Lab recorded 214 inches (544 cm) of snow that month!

Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel And Spa On Del Monte Golf Course, the Hotel Review

January 23, 2023February 5, 2022 by

Recently we spent a weekend at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel And Spa On Del Monte Golf Course in Monterey. So far, this was our fourth stay at this property, and we always enjoy it.

The hotel is a 22-acre property with two large outdoor pools, hot tubs, dining, a little outdoor area where you can play ping pong or a giant jenga, a gazebo with a fire pit for roasting marshmallows, and obviously a golf course.

A summer trip to Houston, Texas, June 2021

August 25, 2023January 26, 2022 by

Last summer we took a short trip to Houston, Texas to take care of some family business.

We booked this trip with Southwest Airlines and paid with cash which of course went towards the minimum spend requirement for a credit card signup bonus (at that time we were working on the Hilton Honors Aspire card, to learn how we spent the signup bonus, read about our Hawaiian vacation here). We had the A-List status with Southwest Airlines so we got our seats in the front of the plane.

Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, the Hotel Review

October 17, 2023December 15, 2021 by

In April 2021, exhausted with covid fatigue, we decided to look for a vacation spot for our Thanksgiving break. We didn’t want to deal with the ambiguity of international travel during the pandemic and decided to go to Hawaii instead.

This was our first time in Honolulu (and Oahu) and our 4th in Hawaii (we’ve been to Maui twice and once to Kauai). Although we love nature, hiking, and sightseeing dearly, for this vacation, we only planned to spend time mostly on the beach and to enjoy good food. So, this post is more of a resort review rather than a story about a Hawaiian experience.

The Ultimate 10-day Alaska Itinerary with Kids

May 13, 2024November 26, 2021 by

This is the part 2 of our Alaska journey. You can read about how we planned our trip (how we booked and paid for it) in the first part here.

We landed in Anchorage at around 11 pm, and by the time we collected our luggage, picked up our rental car, drove to the hotel, and set things up, it was already 1 am. We had read some horror stories about people not being able to pick up their rental cars due to covid-related availability issues. However, everything went smoother than we thought; there were no problems with the rental car or luggage whatsoever.

Alaska With Kids, July 2021, Part 1 — Getting There

August 25, 2023October 25, 2021 by

We dreamed about going to Alaska for a very long time. The Last Frontier has so much to offer for the great outdoors, breathtaking sky tall mountain ranges, glaciers, pristine fjords, wildlife sightseeings, you name it. However, with the pandemic and the new baby it was hard to plan this trip since there were so many unknowns in the equation.

A weekend at the Carmel Valley Ranch

August 25, 2023October 24, 2021 by

A couple of weeks ago, we spent a weekend at the luxurious ranch in the Carmel Valley, California — Carmel Valley Ranch.

We love Carmel-by-the-sea and usually go there to spend some time on the beach and walk around downtown, but we had never been to the Carmel Valley, which was only 20 minutes further inland.

Visiting San Luis Obispo with kids

August 25, 2023October 10, 2021 by

We love road trips! You don’t have to stress out about plane tickets or packing too much, and you can stop whenever you feel like it.

However, having a new baby and the pandemic made things more difficult for traveling. When baby Zoe was seven months and Sophia was 6.5 years old, we decided to give it a try and planned our first little getaway. This was the first time we traveled as a family of four, and we agreed upon a little town on the Central Coast of California — San Luis Obispo. It was only a 2.5-hour drive from us and wasn’t that busy, given the time of the year (March) and all the restrictions.