Tags
Arizona, Chicago, Hawaii, Kauai, New York, Seattle, Sedona, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Vancouver
Baby Selfish is now 5 months old and is starting to transition out of the “will-sleep-anywhere” phase to the “wants-to-look-grab-and-yell-at-everything” phase.
Don’t believe the hype. She’s actually been around for several months.
While I am a huge fan of cheap third world countries, Baby Selfish seems to be thriving under a steady routine, and I’m not sure what third world countries she could visit at this point. Probably none.
So instead, we decided to explore more of good ol’ North America. Check out our 2015 – 2016 travel schedule.
USA! USA! USA! Also… Canada.
To Seattle! And our other international trip… Vancouver
First up, we’re meeting some friends in Seattle then driving to Vancouver. In fact we leave… today! Probably as you’re reading this!
The forecast is an excruciatingly hot 90+ degrees and our place doesn’t have A/C, so there’s a good chance we’ll have to blow some points on a hotel room. Thanks, AirBnb!
Next, we’re driving up to Vancouver for our other international trip of the year. In keeping up with our grand tradition of getting out of the States when stuff starts exploding, we’ll be celebrating the 4th of July here and also my birthday, which happens to be around the same time.
Hawaii in the Fall
Next, we’re heading to Kauai in the fall on a direct flight from Oakland. I took advantage of the British Airways award program and booked us for 3 seats on Alaska Airlines, so 75,000 UR points total + taxes. Not too shabby for a 6 hour flight.
Here’s hoping Baby Selfish doesn’t suffer a major meltdown…
We’re spending our first 3 nights at the Grand Hyatt Kauai in a suite, which I booked with points & cash + a diamond suite upgrade certificate. Since this is a Category 6 property the cost came to 12,500 Hyatt points + $150 a night, which I lowered to $130 a night by purchasing Hyatt gift cards through raise.com for a sweet discount.
The remaining 4 nights are in an Airbnb on the northern side of the island, so we’re hoping to get some hikes in near Princeville.
Sedona & Flagstaff For Thanksgiving
Our last trip for the year is to Flagstaff, Arizona to meet my folks for Thanksgiving. We purchased tickets on US Airways using a companion pass, so tickets were roughly $200 pp (since we sprung for a ticket for Baby Selfish). It’s a surprisingly expensive flight for such a short trip.
We’re staying at an AirBnb since our party size is 6+, so no hotel reviews here. Since Baby Selfish will be older, I’m hoping to bring my big camera to take some sweet pics, and will be blogging in the event this happens.
Burning Club Carlson Points in Chicago and New York in 2016
Since Club Carlson massively devalued their rewards program in May 2015, I ended up blowing the rest of our points at top American properties in 2016 at two of our favorite cities: Chicago and New York.
First up is Chicago in the spring at the Radisson Blu Chicago. We booked 4 nights for a total of 100,000 Club Carlson points.
I’m especially looking forward to Chicago’s cheap eats, which are second to none, including my favorite popcorn: Garrett’s! I eat it basically every time I go to Hong Kong and Tokyo, so am looking forward to eating it at the mother ship.
Next up it’s New York City at the Radisson Martinque off of Broadway for 4 nights in Fall 2016. The hotel has that whole old New York feel to it, but the location is supposed to be pretty great. Right near the Empire State Building and K-town.
At 100,000 Club Carlson points for 4 nights, the price was right. Plus I can always visit New York in the Fall.
So that’s our current travel plans. A far cry from 13 countries back when we first moved to SF, but perhaps a bit aggressive for people with a baby.
Does anyone have any recommendations for any of the above places? We’re especially interested in Kauai recommendations since this will be our first time in Hawaii.
The Selfish Years 
I live on Oahu, but visited Kauai a few years ago:
Waimea Canyon is beautiful if the weather isn’t too bad. Easier to access from the Hyatt.
The small town of Hanalei near Princeville is fairly scenic. Need to pass a small 1-lane bridge to get there. You could also explore the stores in Kapaa on the east side on the way from the Hyatt to Princeville. I also remember a lighthouse on the drive up to Princeville.
There are a couple of waterfalls near Lihue that are very accessible, just drive up to view them from a lookout.
Bring a jacket or windbreaker as rain is always a possibility.
There’s a supermarket in Princeville and in Kapaa, and a Walmart in Lihue if you need to restock on essentials for Baby Selfish.
Thanks for the tips Jeremy! Hopefully the weather cooperates enough to allow us to enjoy the beautiful views. For some reason I didn’t even check the weather that time of year – blame it on the lack of sleep.
Mrs. Selfish was planning on writing one more on some of the new parks we visited in Tokyo. This series ended up being a lot shorter since we only did the greatest hits in Tokyo and Kyoto and hardly did anything new.
Have I missed some of your posts on your latest Japan trip? Are there more to come or not so many posted this time as the little one is taking up too much time? (If the latter, I know how you feel). Either way, looking forward to hearing about your trips around the US.