Last year, we had a not so typical Thanksgiving. Kim and I started out early by running in a 5 mile “Turkey Trot” in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. For dinner rather than stick to traditional holiday food we had Turkish food for turkey day!
This year we’ll be taking a little trip for Thanksgiving. We’re not heading anywhere glamorous or too exciting but we’ll be squeezing in an extra trip this year regardless.
My parents have been spending part of the year in Florida for the past couple of years so it’s time for us to finally visit their place. We’ll be heading to the Fort Lauderdale area for a long weekend.
Kim and I haven’t been to Florida in years. Our last visit was in 2009. The main purpose of our visit was to visit Crystal River, the only place in the world where you can legally swim and snorkel with manatees. Check out a short post about our experience here.
This time we’ll be checking out some things in the Fort Lauderdale area and also plan to head to Miami for a day.
Trip Planning:
The Flights: Paying for a flight over Thanksgiving wasn’t an option for a couple of reasons.
- Flights are ridiculously high this time of year
- Why pay when I could just use some miles
I looked over our options with all of the airline programs and figured my best bet was to use my Southwest points. With the Companion Pass, Kim could be added just for the cost of tax, $2.50 per segment.
Here is what we booked:
- New York (LGA) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL)- 14,880 points (cost of flight: $270)
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to New York (LGA)- 15,480 points (cost of flight: $280)
Taxes and fees are $10 per person round trip ($2.50 per segment).
The total cost for our itinerary is 30,360 Southwest Rapid Reward points + $20 total.
Flying with a lap baby is free when it comes to domestic flights. At 22 months old, Lucas’ days of flying as a lap baby will soon be coming to an end. This might be his last free flight as a lap baby if we don’t go away around New Years.
Lodging: We’ll be staying at my parents place so the cost of our stay will be FREE which is always the best price!
What are your plans for Thanksgiving? Do you usually travel or stay home over the holidays?
