Long Weekend in New Orleans

I have an unusual relationship with one of my best friends: for the past 10 years, I haven’t talked to her for 360 days out of the year.  Instead, we’ve left each other 20-30 full-length voicemail messages each week.  (Yikes!  I just did the math on this!  I’ve left her over 10,000 messages!  Does that count as stalking?)

Where do we find the time?  You’d be surprised.  A few minutes before picking the kids up from school, a minute or two while waiting in line at the market, even a short walk through a parking lot all provide opportunities for listening to and leaving juicy voice mail messages.  In fact, it’s sort of the same way I find time to research Points and Miles tidbits.  Because it’s important to me, I make the time to do it.

Once a year, Ginger and I meet up in New Orleans for a long weekend.  One of the things I love most about amassing a stash of points and miles is that I can use them to easily visit faraway friends and family.  Because this is a special weekend and I am flying solo, I decided to go First Class.  Normally this ticket (SFO-MSY First Class, round trip) would price out at $2,400.  However, I found a United Saver award (25,000 miles each way), and transferred enough Chase Ultimate Rewards points into my United account to cover the total of 50,000 points.  I love Ultimate Rewards Points for many reasons, and one of the top reasons is their versatility.

We decided to stay at the Hotel Le Marais.  Because this is an independent hotel, I can’t dip into my stash of Points to pay for it, but because most of my vacations throughout the year are free, I’m cool with paying for the Marais in cash.  (I did scour the web to find an amazing deal, though!)

While we’re in New Orleans, we love to spend time all over the city (not just in the French Quarter).  We bike, walk, and kayak our way through as many interesting neighborhoods as we can.  Stay tuned for trip reports!  And if you’re headed to New Orleans, check out our “greatest hits” list for inspiration.