the bargeron explorers // spring break at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar.

My family of four recently returned from a four-night stay at the incredibly beautiful Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in Nassau, Bahamas. Oh, what fun! This trip felt equal parts luxury resort and island adventure, and it was the perfect place for a memorable spring break for us this year. Our plan for all four days was simple:
beach, pool, water park, repeat!

I always try to share our trips in real-time over on Instagram, and I got more questions about this particular stay than any before. I thought it would be helpful to share few main takeaways from our 4-night getaway in paradise:

First, this resort is HUGE! We walked a lot, and had lots of options on what to do and where to go. We could lounge by the beach or pool, visit animals at various locations on-property, eat at a food truck or a sit-down restaurant, get ice cream, enjoy the water park, and more at any given time. We didn't have to leave the resort once, which was honestly amazing. It has a huge casino just beyond the check-in area, as well, but the closest we got to it was when we walked through to go outside.

Second, you can spend a lot of money here without realizing it. Having been here once before, I was not surprised by the prices and was able to prepare our vacation budget accordingly. We didn't purchase any souvenirs (typical for us) and we only ate one "fancy" (again, for us) dinner, and that helped a lot. I earned and applied a Guest of Honor award to our stay which was a huge blessing; we received a free (and delicious) buffet breakfast every morning and 2 drink coupons per day to use at certain bars (we used ours while at the pool). If you are not used to resort prices, this could be a big shock! But if you know your limits and what to expect, you can spend less than what you read about on travel blogs. 

Third, this really is a kids' paradise! There are pools everywhere that even include a swim-up aquarium (!!) and cliff-jumping (!!), and a massive waterpark that is 100% fun for ALL ages. Baha Mar has a kids' club for an extra cost with rave reviews, but we didn't experience it for ourselves because kids clubs aren't typically our style. The flamingos and tortoises, however, *were* our style and we visited them often!
 

And finally, the water and beach here is just *chef's kiss.* I’m so glad I know the Bahamas as more than just a cruise port now. I underestimated this beautiful island until a few years ago, probably because it was so familiar to me living on the east coast. But this was my second extended stay (at this resort, specifically) in two years, and I hope it’s not my last. We are suckers for blue water, and this resort delivers magically.

Our four nights here were easy-going, memory-filled, and a good mix of fun and rest. We instantly fell into a rhythm of playing, relaxing, and eating, which was all we could have hoped for. When reflecting on our time in paradise, I had to stop and think about when the last trip we took that didn’t require me to make a day-by-day itinerary before this one was. I love every adventure we get to take, of course, but this one really felt like a true vacation, and I am so grateful for that element, too!

Our kids were never bored, and TJ and I had plenty of time to recharge, too. That's a win-win in our book!

For inquiring minds — our consistent points and miles strategy made this $8k trip possible for only $1,500 out of pocket. We transferred points from this card to my World of Hyatt account to book our hotel stay, and we used American Airlines miles we earned for our roundtrip flights. Our only spending was for flight taxes and food/activities at the resort. I’m in awe of the possibilities once again!

Yes to more memories like this please!

new york city // a Christmas surprise!

 For Christmas last year, we surprised our kiddos with tickets to a first Broadway performance for all us:
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in New York City, featuring Tom Felton!

I purchased these tickets while walking the streets of Paris, France last summer after joining the presale months before. Our hotels and flights were already booked by this point with hopes that we would secure tickets, and it just made it extra romantic that I got to purchase it in such a memorable place. The elevated experiences that points and miles have given us almost sound too good to be true, don't they? If I pinched myself every time we booked a trip we cannot afford, I would live bruised. (For inquiring minds, here is more on how we do what we do.)

I penned a Hogwarts-inspired letter for the kids to open as their final gift under the tree, and then we fly north one week later. Although the play was the main event, we made so many more memories during our five days in the city. This was our second visit to the Big Apple as a family, and it was so much fun to experience this vibrant city together again. We have been blessed to travel to many bucket list places in recent years, but not all of them call us back.

New York City does. Especially at Christmas.

*insert happy cry emoji here*

Getting There
We flew direct on American Airlines from Greenville-Spartanburg to LaGuardia and took an Uber from the airport to the city center.

Where We Stayed
For this trip, we did a split stay: two nights at Thompson Central Park and two nights at Park Hyatt New York. Both hotels were absolutely stunning and reminiscent of city luxury. I never dreamed we would stay in such magnificent hotels prior to becoming fluent in points and miles, and I'll, also, never stop being grateful for such a multi-layered privilege.

What We Did
Although Tom Felton was our main event for this trip, we did so much more than just that one (incredibly memorable) show. Everyday was full of walking until we dropped, and we had so much fun covering as much ground as possible. We took the subway over to New Jersey to check off our 28th state visit as a family, too! Here is a play-by-play of what each day looked like for us:

I think a main reason I love NYC so much is because there are a million ways to do it "right." There is truly something for everyone, and that's just not the case everywhere. The city gives you opportunities to spend as much or as little money as you want, do as much or as little as you want, and to be as much or as little as you want.

These five days in the city gave us an outlet for our wanderlust, and all of us agree that we hope to return soon. We've experienced NYC's fall and winter, and maybe we'll make it back for summer trip in the next few years. I would personally love to see her in full bloom, and I think my family feels the same.

We love you, New York City!

NYC // 2019

NYC // 2022

the bargeron explorers | a long weekend in New England.

 My family and I were able to take a bucket list trip for fall break this year:

AN ADVENTURE THROUGH NEW ENGLAND!

This has been on my personal hope-to-visit list since I first saw how beautiful the leaves change in the Northern USA, which was in late high school. I can still remember how my breath caught when I saw the picture of Vermont in that magazine all those years ago, and it was surreal to experience it in person. Spoiler alert: it was even more beautiful in person. The color everywhere was just *squeeeee!* And everywhere (yes, everywhere) was just soaked in both charm and character, too. Even the gas stations looked like cottages. 

After looking forward to this trip for a whole year, we packed our bags for an early Southwest flight on Friday and spent the next three days squeezing everything we could out of our long weekend before flying home on Monday. Our home base for this weekend was Boston, Massachusetts and it was the perfect spot. We were instantly in awe of the charm, beauty, and cool atmosphere all throughout the city. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Boston for three nights, and we loved the central location and ease of walking to hot spots that it offered. We are already hoping to return here one day and spend more time walking these fun, gorgeous streets!

Our trip began in my head long before it arrived, because I spent a while combing through an itinerary that would help us maximize our time in New England and reach our goal of visiting 4 states over the 3 days we would be there. We aren't big "rule followers" when it comes to traveling, meaning that we like to hold all plans loosely. I was extra grateful for this mindset on this particular trip, because it didn't go exactly as planned in more ways than we expected. Lots of time in the car driving from state to state opened up a lot of opportunity for traffic to slow us down, and that's exactly what happened on our first full day of driving. We had braced ourselves for some traffic, but we didn't think it would be as much as it actually was, which meant that we had to pivot some of our original plans. It all worked out in the end, as it often does, and although none of us loved the extra unexpected hours in the car, we were all grateful we still got to do all that we set out to do.

Our itinerary included the following places for exploring over a long weekend, in this order:

Boston, MA
York, ME
North Conway, NH
Kancamagus Highway, NH
Salem, MA
Woodstock, VT

New England, Day One

Explore Boston

-Check into Hotel at 2 PM

-Lunch & afternoon coffee at Tatte Bakery & Cafe

-Visit Boston Public Garden

-Visit Beacon Hill & Acorn Street

-Visit Boston Common

-Stop at playgrounds throughout the city

-Dinner at Union Oyster House

New England, Day Two

Boston to Maine & New Hampshire

-Drive from Boston to York, Maine

-Visit Nubble Lighthouse

-Enjoy coffee & donuts at Beach Bliss Cafe

-Drive from York, ME to North Conway, NH

-Stroll around the charming town and explore local shops

-Have pizza for lunch in North Conway at Flatbread Co.

-Drive the Kancamagus Highway

(And get stuck in nearly six hours of traffic. Yikes!)

-Drive from Lincoln, NH to Boston

New England, Day Three

Boston to Salem, MA & Woodstock, VT

-Drive from Boston to Salem

-Explore downtown Salem

-Visit Hocus Pocus sites

-Drive from Salem to Woodstock, Vermont

-Explore Woodstock

(Stroll around downtown and visit the Middle Covered Bridge, Woodstock Inn, and more)

-Ice cream at Woodstock Scoops before driving back to Boston

-Dinner at Regina Pizza (yum!)

-Cannolis from Mike’s Pastry (double yum!)

-One more sleep in Boston

And on our final morning in this iconic city, we got up, ate breakfast at the hotel, and stopped to see Fenway Park from the outside before heading to the airport. Next time we visit Boston, we will definitely come when baseball is in season!

Every time we visit another bucket list destination I have so many emotions, and this adventure was no exception. I now want to spend an October weekend in New England every year, thank you very much. The leaves were unlike anything I’ve ever seen before — and we live in a place where we get some incredible color, too. We didn’t visit a single place that didn’t make me feel big feels, and I wouldn’t change a single thing about our trip if I could — nope, not even the massive traffic jam we got caught in.

Everything served a purpose, and I am thankful.

I am so happy we got to have this weekend and these experiences together. It was everything I hoped it would be for nearly two decades...and more.

Making these memories with my family is my favorite thing in the whole world.