Recently, I took a gamble on the Frontier Airlines Go Wild pass. For $399, you get access to ‘penny’ flights. For the most part, it’s last-minute deals for flights that aren’t booked out. In addition to the pass, you do have to pay taxes, and the ‘penny’ isn’t always a guarantee. So there are quite a few caveats. Yet, I took a chance on it anyway.
So far, I’ve taken 2 day trips with the pass, both in North Carolina. Why those cities? They both ended up being the penny fare, the cheapest you can get it for, which ends up being about $31 round-trip. First up were Raleigh and, most recently, Charlotte. I wanted to try a day trip because I thought it would be more cost-effective, and to be honest, I don’t know if that’s true. Even with a penny fare. Both flights were just under two hours, which gave me about half a day to dilly-dally in both cities.
Basically, I picked a coffee or matcha spot, a place to have a meal, and as many activities as I could find that seemed interesting. Aka just a regular day, but in a new city/state. It definitely kept me occupied, but I do think I’ve learned from these two trips that I need to do or find more unique experiences versus the same thing I do on the regular degular.
Full Itinerary
Raleigh:
- @blackbirdbooksandcoffee – Enjoyed the blueberry ginger espresso tonic, and I picked out a great little book of travel poetry.
- Lunch at @bidamanda – I ordered a cozy, comforting crispy pork belly soup. Absolutely delicious! And then I was stuffed.
- Checked out some cute shops downtown – @munjomunjo + @shopcurateraleigh
- Visited @raleighrosegarden – Such a beautiful spot that kind of felt like a secret garden.
- @ncartmuseum has both a great gallery and a park. Plus, it’s a free museum!
- Ended at @tworoosters for a cup of ice cream.
Charlotte:
- Brunch at @haberdish
- Stopped into local shops at @campnorthend like @grow.clt @hardyboysrecordsclt @thatsnovelbooks and grabbed a matcha at @jyuuni.clt
- Took a tour of the city with @southerncharmrides
- Capped it off with a drink at @aurarooftop
Don’t get me wrong, I thought both cities were nice. Very solo-trippable. Maybe it was because they were so last minute, but I didn’t feel like I found anything super unique that would make me say it’s worth planning a trip around. On the other hand, I did find them both to be very liveable. Both were very welcoming, with good areas to hang out. In Raleigh, the downtown area was cute. I loved Blackbird Books and Coffee and Curate. Both spots I’d frequent if I lived in the city. And I walked through a food festival/farmer’s market with live music while I was there, a great weekend activity. And in Charlotte, I really liked Camp North End. My favorites were Grow and Hardy Boys Records. Lots of great street art and charming homes. Both had that Southern belle feel.
I had seen that there are lovely nature activities to do in both cities. I, however, am not the most in shape or comfortable doing such activities solo. Seeing the Rose Garden in Raleigh was probably my favorite part of both trips, even though it was maybe a half-hour activity at most.
The good thing about all this is that when I left, I didn’t feel like I had missed out on anything. What I love about traveling is discovering new things that I never knew existed or were possible. Finding more about myself, learning more about who I could be. Lately, I feel like I’m choosing safe places… because it feels safe. And so… There are no sparks. I’m more so checking things off a list, like running everyday errands, versus falling in love with the people, the culture, the history. The real world.
It’s fun to go take a day trip, and I’ll probably do a few more of these short, cute trips in the next year to make use of this pass… But I want to be more intentional about where I go and what I’d like to experience while I’m there.
The next big trip that I’m super enthused for is Mexico City!
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