Hopping On A Plane + Airbnb Tips from Kat

When we were in Florida visiting my family for Christmas, the plan was that our next visit would be towards the end of February. I knew that January was going to be busy with work travel and work in general so I didn’t think we’d be able to swing a trip in January.

Well, last week I just couldn’t get a quick weekend trip off of my mind. Finn’s at an age when he’s changing SO rapidly and I feel like he’s doing so much more/different than he was even a month ago. He’s also been walking around holding a picture me with my parents and grandmother and saying everyone’s name (so sweet). And I was just feeling run down last week, fighting off a cold, needing some R&R and missing my fam.

I spent the latter half of the week on American’s website and app looking for a flight for the least amount of miles possible that fit mine and Finn’s schedule. I thought it was going to be a no go when it seemed I was getting sick but my immune system kicked into high gear and I was feeling almost 100% by Thursday night.

I finally pulled the trigger and booked a flight Friday morning at 8a and we were at the airport by 4p the same day! A quick deeper dive on the miles thing…I have the American Airlines Advantage credit card and use it to pay for everything possible and then I pay it off at the end of every month. This allows me to accumulate a lot of miles. The best part about all of this is that American considers the route from Charlotte to Destin/FWB to be a regional one and it’s operated by their American Eagle subsidiary. Because of this, I am almost always able to find roundtrip tickets for 15,000 miles + and $11 processing fee. It also gives me tons of flexibility because I can book at the last minute. Had I bought this flight outright it would have been over $800 (which means we would have been sitting at home in Charlotte, for sure).

Just wanted to throw that tip out there for anyone who might be in a similar situation! It’s been amazing and has let me see my family so much more frequently than if I were buying all of my tickets. (I probably fly 60% regular ticket, 40% miles).

What was not amazing was super heavy rain in Charlotte that slowed the whole airport down. We sat at the gate and on the runway for over an hour before taking off. The American Eagle regional planes are small and containing Finn to my lap meant that I was a human jungle gym, haha. I only have a few more months where he qualifies as a lap child so that was also a motivator for booking this trip. Honestly, even if he had his own seat…this would 100% be the reality of my situation. He is so mobile right now.

It had been rainy all day in Charlotte so it’s always beautiful to rise above the clouds on days like that and see the sun. We got to take in a lovely sunset from the plane. Funny story, Finn is super duper into airplanes right now. When we were on the ascent, he looked out the window and said, “Airplane! Weeeeeee!” It was so cute.

Kidding aside, Finn was great on the plane and I had at least five people stop me as we were deplaning and comment on how well he did. My little frequent flyer. 🙂 I let him walk through the terminal rather than pushing him in the stroller or wearing him for the first time. It’s a small airport and wasn’t crowded, I would not do that at CLT at this point. Anyway, I told him we were going to see Meme (pronounced May-May) and he ran at full speed yelling “Meme” the whole way down the terminal. He did the same thing once we pulled into the condo development. He knew where we were and said “Mimi” over and over again until he saw my grandmother. It’s super fun and heartwarming  to see him excited to see everyone these days. <3

We enjoyed a corned beef, cabbage and potato dinner with my parents and then hung out with Mema until it was time to go to bed.

It’s been a gorgeous and low-key Saturday. The weather is insane. High 50s, sunny and no humidity. We’ve just been hanging out. I went for a run and Finn went for a beach walk with my mom. Looking forward to a couple more days of this before we head back to Charlotte. Such a blessing to be here.

ASHEVILLE AIRBNB WINNER + AIRBNB TIPS FROM KAT

Congratulations to the winner of my Asheville Airbnb giveaway, Mollie!

I also wanted to share some tips that Kat texted me about choosing an Airbnb. If you’ve never used Airbnb you can use the previous link to save $55 off your first trip!

I was sad to hear from you and several of your readers that y’all had had bad Airbnb experiences and had almost given up the platform altogether. I wanted to share a few tips, because Airbnb is a great platform with lots of great hosts out there who want to make the experience amazing for our guests.

1. Book as far out as possible, the best places always go first. (This makes sense…and I’m a chronic last-minute booker. Must do better.) 
2. Limit your search to super hosts only. You can do this in the search filters. Super hosts always guarantee a great experience.
3. Some areas (including Asheville) offer Airbnb Plus listings… these are listings that have been certified extra special by Airbnb. Our listing is amongst them in Asheville. You may pay slightly more, but it will still be cheaper than any hotel around and a far better experience.

If you’ve never used Airbnb you can use this link to save $55 off your first trip!

I think that wraps it up for this Saturday! Have a great weekend friends!

QUESTIONS

How often do you see your family? 

Tell me about the BEST Airbnb you’ve ever stayed in! Bonus points for links! 🙂