Fort Myers Beach - Thanksgiving 2014

I’m in Fort Myers Beach, Florida for a week of beach, sun, and fun. My family is spending this year’s Thanksgiving relaxing. This trip was made affordable thanks to the Southwest Companion Pass. My wife and I both have the pass. For this trip, I paid for three flights with points, and the other two were companions. The fee for the five tickets was about $50.

The beach right outside the back door of our vacation rental.

Playing in the sand in the sunset.

For lodging, I found my vacation rental on VRBO.com. The condo is beachfront in Fort Myers beach. I am staring out the back porch as I write this and looking at the beautiful beach and the Gulf waters. This rental is about $1000 for the week. Since I am here as a family of five, this ends up being less expensive than two hotel rooms, which I would need with five people. And since it’s a vacation home rental, we have a full kitchen and appliances. We have already cooked a couple of our own meals and do some quick laundry to keep up with our outdoor activities.

Before I found out about credit cards and airline benefits, this would have been the one big trip for my family for the year. As it stands, I have another two big trips lined up for spring break and next summer. I don’t mention this to brag about where I am going, but more to the point that once I became serious about this hobby I started being able to realize some of my travel dreams.

I hope that some of the tips, hints, and ideas that I have shared so far with you have been helpful. In the spirit of this week, I am thankful that I can share the world with my family, and that I can share my knowledge with you.