April 2021 – Where to go?

The boys have their annual school vacation in April and we usually plan to go somewhere during that time. In previous years we’ve focused on international destinations such as Los Cabos or London but this year we would focus on a domestic location due to COVID uncertainty.

Not Florida

We had been to Florida 3 trips in a row. We had gone to Fort Myers at the beginning of the pandemic. Over Christmas 2020 we returned to Fort Myers and also included Orlando and Disney world. In February we visited Miami. Florida is nice, but we were looking to go someplace else. We had had our fill of the sunshine state.

We wanted to go someplace new where there would be lots for the boys to do. As a Hyatt loyalist, I’m always on the lookout for blog posts about family destinations to their properties. That is how I had originally found the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point in Fort Myers and it’s amazing water park and activities.

The Hyatt Regency Lost Pines outside Austin is another resort that also gets high marks as a family destination. While not on the ocean, it does have some excellent looking pools and lots of land-based activities that the boys may like. We had also never been to Austin so we’d be able to explore a new city as well.

It was decided! Or so we thought. I booked the hotel for 5 nights using points and bought airfare to and from Austin using points and knowing I could cancel the flights if necessary. I used JetBlue points for the outbound leg and the balance of my American Airlines points I’ve been waiting years to find a use for to book the return flight. The times worked out well since this was in the middle of soccer season and the boys would have games on both weekends they didn’t want to miss. The flights would allow us to attend all the games on both weekends which was a win.

With a car rental booked we were excited for the trip… until I got emails from both JetBlue and American that the flight times for both legs of the flight had been changed drastically. The JetBlue outbound flight time no longer worked and the AA return flight no longer had a nonstop option. The new itineraries just weren’t going to work and I couldn’t find reasonable options that would.

While the tickets were refundable anyways, in normal times, we would have been able to cancel the itineraries anyways due to the significance of the changes. I quickly canceled and started looking for a new destination.

Not Florida – Part 2

I was really hoping we could find someplace warm with lots for the boys to do that we could get to nonstop and relatively cheaply within the US. That seems like it shouldn’t be too hard, but we weren’t finding much for inspiration. The Phoenix/Scottsdale area looked interesting, but would require a red-eye flight back which my wife was not keen on. New Orleans could be interesting, but didn’t inspire. It was also tough to find direct flights. Atlanta sounded interesting, but for a Delta hub it was shockingly expensive to get there.

In fact, most places were more expensive than we had hoped. The change to the Austin itineraries happened about a month before travel and everyone else in Massachusetts seemed ready to start traveling again, meaning increased demand and flight prices, especially out of Boston.

Florida!

It looked like it was going to be Florida again. It was convenient and cheaper than most other destinations (though still expensive). We’d at least try a new destination in Tampa. My wife had been once for work to Clearwater and really enjoyed the area. It would be warm with a beach and things to do so it checked all the boxes. We’d be going to Florida for the 4th trip in a row!