2nd Year: In Review

You may remember my post last year telling you where we went during Jason's 1st year at Southwest Airlines. Now, it's officially been 2 years since Jason started and we've definitely continued to take advantage of the perks. In addition to the US travel, we did a LOT of international travel during the past 12 months. We are pretty much pros at flying standby on other airlines. Also, we've mastered the art of packing in carry-ons (even for a 17 day SE Asia trip).

By the numbers:

10 countries visited

57,468 miles logged

130 hours in the air

2,886 pictures taken

20 bags of honey-roasted peanuts eaten

I've added a new tab ("Where We've Traveled") to the top of the blog so you can see everywhere where we've been, so I won't be repetitive here. We've gotten pretty used to being on flights and even better at traveling together in general. We've had some great flying experiences and a few not so great ones, but the trips have always been amazing and more than make up for any annoyances. We always fly standby and didn't encounter a full flight or anything that prevented us from making it back home. We've had some serious close calls, but we've been pretty lucky so far! I feel like I could write a whole book on surviving the non-rev system...

Plans are still up in the air (yes, pun intended), for Jason's 3rd year at SWA, but we have thrown around the idea of going somewhere in Central America or Mexico with the Gold Passes or AA points. We're also planning to make a trip to England and Scotland. There will be plenty of US travel mixed in there too (including 3 traveling weddings). In addition to the confirmed trips we are taking, you can also see our wish list for all of the trips we eventually plan on taking on the "Upcoming Travels" tab.

Whale's Tail - Belize

Isle of Skye - Scotland

Big Ben - London

My next trip is to Orlando, FL here in a few days for a work conference. I'm so excited about checking something off my bucket list - visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I'll let you know how butterbeer tastes! I'll also be swinging by Magic Kingdom for a night. After that trip, it's mainly traveling to weddings to round out 2013.

Well, I'm off to plan our trips for year 3. I'm sure it will be just as amazing as this past year. Here are some of our favorite moments from Jason's second year at Southwest Airlines:

Sound of Music bike tour in Salzburg, Austria

Aggies at Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany

 Picnic at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France

Walking the Lavaux terraces in Montreaux, Switzerland

 Dinner along the Danube in Budapest, Hungary

In a tuk-tuk exploring Angkor in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Cruising through the karsts in Halong Bay, Vietnam

Tasting the sour mash at the Willett Bourbon Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky

Boulevard Brewing Company behind the scenes tour in Kansas City, MO

Feet in the sand in Key West, FL

Visiting the Temple of the Reclining Buddha in Bangkok, Thailand

On top of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Sante Fe, NM

 Hiking in Deep Cove in Vancouver, Canada

Cheers to Southwest Airlines in Koh Samui, Thailand

Geneva and Montreux, Switzerland

Day 7: We left Beaune very early and took at train to Geneva.

Geneva wins the award for: Most Expensive Hotels, Most Boring (ouch)

We got in, checked into our hotel and then wandered around the city center for a while. We ate lunch at a little pizza place on the lake. John and Mallory had a ridiculous room, so we ended up drinking some wine on their balcony prior to going to a "traditional" Swiss fondue place. We filled up on bread, french fries, cheese, and beef and listened to the live band - complete with accordion! It was totally kitschy, but still cute.

Geneva's famous water fountain

The band had an accordion and even yodeled!

Stinky cheese, mmm!

 

Day 8: Our original plan to go canyoning failed - we were too late in the season and a little too far away. We decided to make the best of the day and go hike the Lavaux vineyards (A UNESCO world heritage site). I cannot describe how amazing it was to hike along vineyards that have been there since the Benedictine monks developed them in the 11th century.

 

We started our journey in Chexbres Village and made our way to Vevey. Around 20 kms of up and down hill paths later, Jason and I were EXHAUSTED!

 

 

Map of the Lavaux vineyards

 

STUNNING Lake Geneva as the backdrop

Me and the vineyards

 

 

Jason stole some grapes :) They were delicious!

 

After this, we hopped on a quick train to check out Chateau de Chillon - an old medieval castle. It was important because it was at the crossroads of a major trade route from England and France to Rome. It was always been occupied, therefore, it is beautifully preserved.

 

Chateau de Chillon

The prison - literally built on the rocks of the island.

Right above the lake!

Dancing in the ballroom

I was the perfect size for the castle - these people were SHORT!

Walkway connecting sections

 

Overall, while we cannot claim to be the biggest Geneva fans (just not a ton to do there), we are definitely huge Switzerland fans! We're planning a trip back to do the more adventurous stuff in the summertime. Innsbruck and Interlaken - here we come!

 

Up Next: Budapest, Hungary!

 



In the NEXT year...

Exciting news in the non-rev world. Jason is a rockstar and won Internal Audit employee of the quarter. Along with the title comes...2 GOLD TICKETS! (I'm feeling a little like Charlie.) Gold tickets mean that it's a guaranteed spot! What do you mean Christy? You don't have to get to the airport at 4am to catch the earliest flight? Or sit in the middle seat because you're boarding last? You get a boarding pass the NIGHT BEFORE? Madness! With our impending Euro trip and my new job, I don't have any remaining vacation this year, but we will definitely put that to good use.

So, you guys have read where we've BEEN in my last post, now look where we're (tentatively) going! As always in the world of standby, these things can change. On our list for Jason's 2nd year at SWA (mid 2012 - mid 2013):

Euro Trip with John and Mal: Tickets have been purchased and it's insane how cheap they were. Thanks to airline partnerships, they were only $240/person roundtrip! We ARE paying for some airfare around Europe, but the prices were really good (Like $40 a person good)!

France (Paris, Normandy, and Burgundy)

Switzerland (Geneva)

Hungary (Budapest)

Germany (Munich...for Oktoberfest!)

Austria (Salzburg)

Czech Republic (Prague)

Weekend Trips - still up in the air:

New Orleans, LA

Boston, MA

Portland, OR

Boise, ID

Reno/Tahoe, NV

And the part I'm jumping for joy at...2 weeks of backpacking through Southeast Asia! I convinced Jason to go with me on the condition that I plan everything. What's new? Ha. 

Places we'd like to go:

Thailand (Koh Samui, Bangkok, Chiang Mai)

Laos (Luang Prabang)

Cambodia (Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat)

Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)

Singapore

We also have a 3 year plan that includes Australia/New Zealand/Bora Bora, going back to Hawaii (Big Island, Molokai), and another couple of trips back to Europe (England, Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands, Turkey, Croatia, Greece). Gotta get while the getting's good, right? Cheap flights can't be beat (except by free ones), and the only responsibilities we have involve our pup.

OH! And a big thanks to Southwest Airlines for providing Jason and I with over $5,500 (!!) worth of free travel so far. After our Europe and SE Asia trips, that number is sure to skyrocket.

Stay tuned for more travel adventures :)