Kid-Free Weekend Getaways!

We love traveling with the kids and sharing our passion for new places with them. However, sometimes we a little break (and so do they). We are fortunate to have family nearby and available to watch our kids, and they love spending time with other family members. These weekend trips are the perfect way to reconnect with your spouse!

Nashville

Nashville was a destination we’d talked about going to for years, and we ended up going there two years in a row!

Where we stayed

You definitely want to be walking distance from Broadway – it’s much easier to get around than using a rideshare. During our first trip, we stayed at Hotel Indigo, a nice boutique hotel near Printers Alley. It was a cool area and the accommodations were comfortable!

Our second trip, we stayed at 1 Hotel (we also stayed at a 1 Hotel in Miami) which had only opened a week or two before our stay. It was a really neat place to stay, but be warned: there are no walls in the room – only glass casing around the shower and toilet! Make sure you are really comfortable with the person you are staying with before booking! The hotel was even closer than Hotel Indigo to Broadway, and though it wasn’t complete when we were there, the hotel will eventually have a rooftop bar and lounge.

When we went

We went around the same time each visit – late summer. Our stays were mid-week, which we liked because it wasn’t as rowdy or busy as a weekend. Both trips, we arrived on a Tuesday evening and left Thursday night. It was plenty of time to hear lots of live music!

What we did

We heard SO. MUCH. LIVE. MUSIC! Most of the time, we just walked into bars along the downtown strip and caught whatever was playing at the time.

All of the bars have some kind of live music almost all hours of the day! Twice, we ended up being the only ones in the bar (at 11 a.m….) so we got personal shows. Check out our playlist with some of the talented performers we watched on our trip.

Pro Tip: When we arrive at a bar, we split our first drink. The one time we didn’t do this, the band finished their song and announced they were done playing. We were stuck at the bar with no live music and two full drinks to finish. If you split your first one, then you’re not as committed to stay if the band stops (or if it’s not your vibe). Make sure to tip your bartenders!

We also stopped at a couple breweries during our visits to get our souvenir pint glasses. We found a Groupon for TailGate Brewery and it was good! It took us roughly 20-30 minutes to walk there from downtown. They have a few locations, and we went to the Music Row location on Demonbreun Street, just past The Gulch area. They also had a bar at the airport, which we stopped at for a drink before boarding.

Our second time, we went to Yee-Haw Brewing. The place was also connected to Ole Smokey Moonshine Whiskey and White Duck Taco Shop and had a really cool patio with games (Blaine couldn’t stop throwing free throws at the basketball hoops). The beer was great, and the veggie tacos at Blue Duck made for a good pairing.

Where we ate

We made a few stops at Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa on our trip because it was convenient and had good options for vegetarians. The restaurant was on the second level, and they had live music in the bars downstairs and rooftop.

We really liked Assembly Food Hall, a collection of restaurants that had live music. We ate at Thai Esane, but since they have tons of options, it would be a great place to go with a group.

Other places we ate included:

We also stopped at Legendairy Milkshake Bar. We spent 1.5 hours waiting in line and waiting for our milkshake! We split one and it was tasty, but make sure you bring a game or something to occupy your time while you wait.

How much we spent

  • Flights: “Free” (we used credit card points! Tickets were valued around $250/ticket)
  • Transportation: $40 (rideshares to/from the airport)
  • Lodging: $350
  • Food + Drinks: $450
  • Souvenir: $10
  • Total: $850 ($1,070 if you add the ticket value)

Santa Monica

We wanted to head to our house in Indio, California, one last time before we signed on a 1+ year rental lease. There were no (reasonable) direct flights to Palm Springs, so we decided to fly into LAX and spend two nights at the beach before heading east to the desert.

Where we stayed

We stayed at Shore Hotel which was right across the street from the Santa Monica pier on Ocean Avenue (for those of you who also graduated around 2008, sorry if that Yellowcard song is stuck in your head). It was an awesome place – especially the welcome bottle of champagne!

What we did

We only had one full day here, and we spent most of it at the beach. We went on a long walk down the coast (where we had brunch) and also camped out near the pier for reading and relaxing. Because we didn’t have towels for the beach, we bought Paw Patrol and Jojo Siwa towels at Target that we used on the beach then brought home for souvenirs for the kids.

We walked the Santa Monica pier, as well, stopping for a beer at Rusty’s Surf Ranch.

When we were ready to head to the desert, we walked to the pick-up spot in Venice Beach for our Turo rental car (a convertible!). This was our second time trying Turo (we had a credit from our first debacle in San Diego) and it was real slick – we picked up the car at an apartment parking lot and met with the owner who showed us how to take the top down before we drove off.

Note about the walk: On Google Maps, the walk seemed nice and easy, however, I will warn you that the beach between Santa Monica and Venice is crowded with people experiencing homelessness. It was very eye opening; homelessness is one of the biggest issues facing Los Angeles County. The LA Homeless Services Authority has resources on their site for people experiencing homelessness or those who wish to help.

Where we ate

We arrived on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, right after California restaurants reopened during the pandemic, so it was busy. We realized too late that reservations were needed for most restaurants, but we ended up at Casa Martin for dinner the first night.

Our favorite meal was brunch at Back at the Beach Cafe. We loved eating right on the sand and it was this location that Blaine’s obsession with huevos rancheros was born – I ordered this and he stole a few bites. He also enjoyed his huge pancakes. A stop at this place is a must!

How much we spent

  • Flight: $230 each
  • Lodging: $380
  • Transportation: $50 (rideshares to/from airport) + $120 rental car
  • Food/drinks: $150
  • Souvenirs: $20 (beach towels)
  • Total: $1,330

Wonder Valley (near Joshua Tree National Park)

Blaine LOVES the story of how we came to stay in this pleasant, one-room home in (essentially) the middle of nowhere, called “Wonder Valley.”

We were on a babymoon trip (I was 4 months pregnant with our third baby) staying at the Coachella Valley Oasis in Indio when we got a last-minute booking for our home the last night of our trip. We looked into staying at a hotel in town, but ended up finding this gem of a place.

The sunset and sunrise were unlike anything we’d seen before, and it was close to Joshua Tree, which we went to the next day. It had charm – even a record player and vinyl records to listen to! It’s a great spot if you’re planning on spending a day or two at the national park (don’t forget your America the Beautiful pass!)

We had dinner at The Palms Restaurant. They have live events, and it was open mic night when we visited.

How much we spent

Because this was part of another trip, and the last minute booking for our property, this short trip was essentially free for us (which is why Blaine loved this trip). The stay at Wonder Valley was around $115 and dinner was less than $30.

Las Vegas (for the non-gamblers)

We found out our favorite artist was going to be performing in Las Vegas, and we decided to make a little trip out of it. Neither of us are big gamblers, so we didn’t want to spend much time in casinos.

When we went

We arrived on a Friday in the late afternoon and left on Sunday around midnight. We booked a room through VRBO at The Signature at MGM Grand, which was connected to the MGM Grand through a skyway system. We went in December, so no pool lounging for us, but it was a nice, clean place to stay.

What we did

Our first night, we knew we wanted to see some kind of Vegas show. We opted for a Cirque du Soleil show (no longer performed). If you go to Vegas, be sure to do at least one show, and always look for a deal!

We spent Saturday strolling the strip. We did a little gambling and caught a cover band performing. Our concert was at the Cosmopolitan Resort.

We had both had enough of the strip, so on Sunday morning we rented a convertible through SilverCar by Audi to get out of town. We drove to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area for a hike. The views were wonderful, and we got to enjoy them as we drove around the area as well.

We had time to kill, so we decided to drive to Hoover Dam. If you visit the dam, do not go at night like we did! In my mind, I imagined the monument being lit up at night, but that was not the case. We ended up stopping by again on a future trip with the kids so we could actually see the thing!

Our flight on Sunday wasn’t until midnight, and we decided to check out Downtown Las Vegas. We grabbed a beer at Banger Brewing and walked around before grabbing wings at Mickie Finnz right on Fremont Street.

What we ate

Learn from our mistake and decide where you want to eat BEFORE you start walking the strip. After we arrived at the hotel, we were both hungry and just started walking around looking for a place to eat. We ended up walking a long time before finally settling on Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen and Bar – we probably wandered around for a good 45 minutes, which is easy to do in Vegas if you don’t have any goal! We of course had the Trash Can Nachos (this was a pre-vegetarian trip), and the delivery was pretty entertaining!

We found a Groupon for Cabo Wabo for Saturday night, which was almost right across the street from our concert. Food and atmosphere was great, and the fact that it was a deal made it even better. We love our Mexican food, and this was a great spot for a margarita!

On our way to Red Rock Canyon, we stopped for brunch at Honey Salt. I loved the Honey Salt Benedict. If we make our way to Vegas again, I would love to stop by again and check out their vegetarian/vegan offerings!

How much we spent

  • Flight: $120 each
  • Transportation: $125
  • Hotel: $250
  • Entertainment: $350
  • Food/drinks: $300
  • Total: $1,215

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