We think of time as more of a commodity and describe this as “Vacation Value Time,” (or VVT, for short). VVT is the point at which you’d spend additional money to get more daytime vacation time! Read on to find out more about our philosophy.
Our Guide to Washington, D.C., Part I
There’s so much to see in Washington, D.C.! We’re going to do a quick two-sentence and two-part guide to each of the National Park Service units in the Washington D.C. jurisdiction area, which does also includes a few sites in Virginia and Maryland. Here in part one, we’ll be exploring NPS units that you can visit without a car, either by walking, using public transportation or a quick hop using a cab or car share service. Click here to read the full guide!
A Coastal Gem: Channel Islands National Park
Read our guide to secluded Channel Islands National Park. Five islands, Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, and Santa Barbara (the island, not the town), comprise the national park
Important Changes to Hotel Cancellation Policies
Three major hotel chains have changed their cancellation policies over the summer. The changes were rolled out rather suddenly and with very little to no notice. We've certainly had plans change at the last minute or flights cancelled, and it's good to know one's options in these situations. The changes only affect new reservations, though they are worth remembering when booking hotels either with cash or points in the future.
IHG -Changed from 6:00 p.m. day of cancellation (local time to hotel) to current language that shows 24 hours cancellation; currently it's very vague from IHG as to when the 24 hour mark is measured. Some regions like China will still continue to have same-day cancellations.
Hilton- Changed from 24 hours to 48 - 72 hours. Check your exact time at booking, the Hilton website will display the cutoff time for free cancellation. Most properties are going to 48 hours, a few will have the (more draconian) 72 hour policy.
Marriott- Changed from one day to two days. You used to be able to cancel up until midnight (hotel local time) the day before your arrival. Now, you'll need to do so at least two days by midnight in advance.
H/T to Travelweekly
One Way Car Rentals are Back!
Like the swallows returning to San Juan Capistrano Mission, the rental cars must return to Florida for the winter. To help out this yearly migration, Hertz is once again offering one of the greatest travel deals in the USA, the $5 a day one way car rental.
A one way car rentals usually runs around $80-$150 a day, so this is a great deal if you're interested in road-tripping from one of select cities on the east coast down to select cities in Florida, for a fraction of what this journey usually costs. This is a phenomenal opportunity to drive the 469 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway and to see Shenandoah National Park during peak fall foliage season, without doubling back to your starting point, as the Parkway ends less than a 7 hour drive from both the Jacksonville and Tallahassee airports.
Florida airports in which you will have to drop off the car:
Miami International Airport (MIA) - Miami, FL
Tallahassee International Airport (TLH) - Tallahassee, FL
Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) - Jacksonville, FL
Lauderdale International Airport (FLL) – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Ft. Myers Southwest International Airport (RSW) – Ft. Myers, FL
Orlando International Airport (MCO) – Orlando, FL
Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) – West Palm Beach, FL
Sarasota Bradenton Airport (SRQ) – Sarasota, FL
Tampa International Airport (TPA) – Tampa, FL
Dates for Pick Up and Pickup Locations:
09/04/2017 – 12/10/2017
Albany International Airport (ALB) – Albany, NY
Syracuse Hancock Airport (SYR) – Syracuse, NY
Yeager Airport (CRW) – Charleston, WV
Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) – Buffalo, NY
Greater Rochester International Airport (ROC) – Rochester, NY
10/10/2017 – 12/10/2017
Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) - Washington DC
Islip MacArthur Airport (ISP) – Islip, NY
Portland International Jetport(PWM) - Portland, ME
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) – Philadelphia, PA
T F Green Airport (PVD) – Providence, RI
Norfolk Airport Counter (ORF) – Norfolk, VA
Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) – Baltimore, MD
Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) – Boston, MA
Bradley International Airport (BDL) – Hartford, CT
Burlington Airport (BTV) – Burlington, VT
Dulles International Airport (IAD) – Dulles, VA
New York City JFK Airport (JFK) – New York City, NY
New York City LaGuardia Airport (LGA) – New York City, NY
Newark International Airport (EWR) – Newark, NJ
Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) – Pittsburgh, PA
Richmond International Airport (RIC) – Richmond, VA
Westchester County Airport (HPN) – White Plains, NY
Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA) - Roanoke, VA
10/23/2017 – 12/10/2017
Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) – Raleigh, NC
Douglas International Airport - (CLT) Charlotte, NC
Official Hertz page is here
"Back to School" Shopping Portal Bonuses
Four of the major airline shopping portals are running what has become a yearly “back to school” promotion. It’s a great time to get some easy bonus miles, by shopping now for items that you’ve planned to purchase for fall. Use these four portals for your everyday online shopping. If you’re interested in learning more about shopping portals, take a look at our quick guide here. We use them as a way to get extra miles buying things we’d otherwise purchase.
Here’s a quick run what’s available on the portals, with most of the deals good until August 18th, except for Delta's bonus which ends on August 3. See below for the details on each airline's offering.
Southwest
American
United
Delta
You could end up with 8,000 bonus miles if you maxed out the promos, these are on top of the miles you are already earning through the portal and also on top of the miles from your credit card. It's a triple dip!
Banner image, Weir Farm National Historic Site, by Derek Wright.
A Bittersweet End to April and National Poetry Month
Today we woke up and realized that we weren't publishing a poem, which left a bit of a hole after such an enriching month of reading and sharing poetry daily. Our April poetry series inspired us to consider anew the significance of public lands and moving landscapes from coast to canyon, and deepened our appreciation of public, natural space in a varied, surprising way each day.
Do scroll through the series, inspired by National Poetry Month, and read the poems you may have missed — the whole collection is available by clicking here and the poems will remain on Parks & Points, within the Writing Contests and Submissions portion of our website. We will be thinking more so about ways to include poetry on Parks & Points before next April - a year is too long to wait!
Please note that our fall nonfiction contest will open in June, and we will be accepting submissions until October 1! Write about those spring and summer adventures! We cannot wait to read, and this year our contest judge is Melissa Faliveno, senior editor of Poets & Writers magazine. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates on the contest and for more insights into parks and points of interest!
Parks & Points Celebrates Its First Anniversary
Today we are marking the first anniversary of Parks & Points. The website grew from our love of national parks, smart travel strategies, and a desire to share our passions with others. Over the course of the last year, we’ve made many new friends (especially with our Twitter pals each Wednesday night during #ParkChat) and had many opportunities to meet new friends in person. In our first year we have traveled to National Parks Service sites in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Washington.
Along the way, we have met fellow travelers and shared our passion for exploring natural and historical wonders. We have found folks who share this passion at hotels, campgrounds, visitor centers, trails and of course, waterfalls! We’ve added National Wildlife Refuges to our itineraries, and hope to feature these with even more frequency as we progress, along with city and state parks. We’re also proud to present and develop an annual fall essay contest and a spring poetry series, which is ongoing right now, during National Poetry Month. Both projects have introduced us to some amazing guest writers and their creative work about public lands.
We look forward to continuing this adventure with all of you. We are excited to grow the site along with your readership, and we look forward to presenting our thoughts and strategies for visiting our amazing shared public lands with an eye to saving money.
Parks & Points wouldn’t be the same without our friends and families. We are grateful for their solidarity as we carry it forward into year two!
A Primer for Planning Your Adventure to Glacier National Park
As we head into National Parks Week, we're pleased to present our primer on Glacier National Park. There's plenty to say about Glacier National Park, one of the most popular and scenic national parks — it is defined by glacial lakes, alpine valleys, vast green meadows and striking mountain tableaus. Based on our experiences with Glacier National Park thus far, we’ve synthesized our ideas, thoughts and suggestions to get you started in planning a Glacier adventure. Consider it a primer, as there is an abundance of information out there.
Our Tour of National Parks Service Sites in Northern Arizona
Now is a great time to start planning a trip to northern Arizona. The snow will be melting soon, and the weather will be temperate. Our tour covers one thousand miles of desert landscape in one week — though it can be modified based on your timing! The 1.25 million acre Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Canyon de Chelly National Monument — a network of canyons shared by the NPS and the Navajo Nation — Petrified Forest National Park, and of course Grand Canyon National Park, are all spectacular highlights. The region is best toured in the summer, now is the time to start planning!
Spotlight on Yosemite Writing Retreat
We were excited to learn of a unique writing retreat that dovetails our two passions — parks and writing. We invited Jennifer Moss, founder of the Yosemite Writers Retreat, to write a guest post telling our readers more about how her retreat series originated, and what attendees can expect to focus upon as writers. Click here to read.
