farbster

Trip Planning, Outbound Flights and hotel arrival

We wanted to take our daughters to California in the period between the end of school and the beginning of their sleepover camp. Our travel crew would be my family of four and my in-laws. The girls were most excited about going to Los Angeles and they really hoped to see some movie or tv stars. As such, we made LA the last stop on our trip. I suppose we ended up with a somewhat classic California trip. We started in San Francisco, made our way down to Carmel and then finished in LA.

We were fairly low on SPG points and with plenty of Chase UR points, we decided (when I say we, I really mean I) to make this a Hyatt road trip. The reservations were all using points and we stayed at the Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf, Carmel Highland and West Hollywood (Andaz). We were 3 nights in SF, 1 night in Carmel and 4 nights in LA. All of the hotels were terrific and I would recommend to anyone.

As to the flights, we looked at various solutions from BWI-SFO and LAX-BWI. I had to drive to Philadelphia on Sunday morning to get my daughter from a camp Bat Mitzvah and then hot foot it back to Baltimore for our afternoon flight. Due to various reasons, we ended up on Southwest, connecting in Phoenix.

We mostly used Southwest gift cards purchased at Staples to buy the tickets. Almost a week before the trip was to begin, my in-laws decided they were going to visit friends in MN, so we canceled their Southwest flights (and got credit to their Rapid Rewards Account) and I booked them on Delta from BWI-MSP-SFO//LAX-BWI. The last flight had a connection in SLC, but the others were non-stop. This cost 80,000 in total (both pax) plus a minimal amount in taxes. Most of these points were courtesy of our Suntrust Debit card and paying taxes and money orders There will be no problem using the Southwest credit, as we often travel on Southwest.

I am not going to include any pictures of the planes, airports, cars etc. as the flights were nothing special. Just imagine a typical Southwest flight. Filled to the gill and they give you some soda and chips/crackers. There are no movies, caviar or turn down service. However, our flights were on time, convenient and reasonably priced.

So early that Sunday morning, I popped into my car and headed up I-95 towards Philadelphia. I was extremely worried as there was some bridge closure on I-495 around Wilmington, but the traffic was ok on I-95. I arrived at my daughter’s friend’s house and picked my daughter up at 9am. We turned around and drove back to Baltimore, making one stop at DD to get a bagel for her to eat.

Arriving home safely, we ran into the house to finish packing and then we loaded up the car. Everything fit nicely and we made it to the terminal in 20 minutes or so. I dropped off the family and the luggage and then drove to the Offsite parking. Their convenient bus dropped me back to the terminal and I caught up with my family just before they went through security.

The airport was fairly busy at mid-afternoon and we ended up eating McD at the food court prior to our flight. I think it was a late lunch. My wife and older daughter boarded first as they paid for the “Early Boarding”. I think that they were on a different ticket and that way only 2 of 4 had to pay for the Early Boarding. Luckily, they were able to hold some seats toward the rear of the plane. My aisle was waiting for me and across they had the entire row. The flight to Phoenix was fine and I slept through the pushback and take off. Yes, I’m that lucky guy

In Phoenix we stopped at some restaurant and ordered some sliders, quesadillas, and other food for our dinner. The flight to SFO was fine, with the only exception being my luggage never made it. Filing the claim was easy. I just slept in my underwear and wore the same clothes the next day. My bag made it to the hotel the next day, having a nice detour to LAS. I’m guessing it never left Baltimore. We took a shuttle to the hotel and met my in-laws in the lobby.

My in-laws had arrived the day before (we added one more award night to their room) and had secured a very nice set of connecting rooms at the Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf. One was a suite and the other was fairly large. Breakfast and cots were also included.

We all tried to get a good night sleep as we had a full day of touring the next day. A guide was found by my MIL and she would drive us around SF showing us the sights and making the day as efficient as possible.

The next post will be about our touring in SF and our visit to Muir Woods, walking across the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, etc. Other posts will be of Carmel, Hearst Castle, 17 Mile Drive and of course LA.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to comment or send me a PM.