Angela and I recently returned from a trip to Austin for the fifth of my semi-annual credit card and travel enthusiast meetups. This was an extension of our trip to the Turks and Caicos Islands as we stopped on our way home rather than doubling back.

Like always, it was excellent to see the people who I’ve shared so much of the last few years with. We had a great few hours of discussion, a couple of fine dinners, and one exciting night of board gaming that I’ll never forget.

Bookings

For information on how we got to Austin, please see my previous post about TCI. As with most of these meetup weekends, there isn’t much exciting to be seen here.

Flights

• Angela and Nicholas
  • 153.98USD per person
    • AUS-LAS on WN Y

Hotels

• One room for three nights at the Tommie Austin for 10,000 World of Hyatt points per night

March 1, 2025

We arrived in Austin extremely early in the morning after a combination of flight delays and an aborted landing caused us to arrive more than an hour later than scheduled. By the time we collected our luggage, it was already 0125 and we were quite tired. At least the baggage carousels had some interesting art pieces adjacent to them.

Arriving at the hotel at 0200 via Uber, we checked in, headed to our room, showered off the travel, and quickly fell asleep. I was quite surprised by how nice the Tommie was given the small number of points required.

I woke up around 0700 to have breakfast, which was included with our stay, at the attached Fifth Street Diner. We had a few friends staying at the same hotel, so I grabbed a table for six and waited for them to arrive.

Eventually, Angela, David, and Paul made their way down to breakfast and joined me. We were also lucky enough to have Bill and his girlfriend, Nina, drop by and join us. I had been looking forward to meeting Bill for quite some time! We’ve known each other for almost five years at this point and this is the first time we’ve met away-from-keyboard, so to speak.

Breakfast was absolutely delicious and the dishes on offer were quite good for what seemed like a fairly casual diner. The first day, I ordered the duck and waffles while Angela opted for the smoked brisket hash. I love crispy duck, and the restaurant definitely delivered.

After a long and leisurely breakfast, we rested for a little bit before walking to the meetup venue, Fareground Austin, at 1045. We caught up with Andrew, Jami, and Paul on the way. I wasn’t particularly impressed by the venue in Austin. My flat white from the bar was quite milky and the vendors weren’t all that impressive or varied. I did enjoy a gyro from Shawarma Point, though. Angela had gotten a taco tip from a friend on Instagram and ordered us a selection from Veracruz All Natural, but we were both left a little disappointed.

This meetup, just like all the other ones, was a casual get-together of friends who share a common interest. The most exceptional part is that everyone flies in, including many people that live halfway across the country from the chosen city. I continue to be impressed by the bond we all share. Turnout was quite good; much better than I expected, in fact.

After the meetup, Angela and I headed to the gym to get a quick workout in. The gym was surprisingly well-appointed, with a full squat rack, Olympic weights, and a ton of dumbbells and cardio equipment. There was also separate training rooms and a golf simulator.

When we finished our workout, I received a message that a few people were meeting for dinner at Hula Hut. We hopped in an Uber and met a small group there for a nice casual meal. I ordered a burger and Angela opted for grilled chicken. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was impressed by my sandwich.

After dinner, six of us hopped into an Uber XL (even though it was a bit of a tight squeeze) and headed back to The Tommie for a night of board gaming. Our participants were Andrew, Angela, Brandon, David, Jami, Josh, Paul, and me. We started out with Exploding Kittens, which I surprisingly won after Andrew brought me down to the wire.

Following that was one of the most fun experiences I’ve had recently – a game of Cranium with a bunch of smart and funny people. After Angela and I were forbidden from being on the same team, Angela paired up with Jami while I partnered with Brandon. The other teams consisted of Andrew and Paul and, the eventual champions, David and Josh.

I have rarely laughed as hard as I did as we all watched Josh try to get David to guess “Walk the Plank” as a hotel staff member walked by.

While Angela headed to bed, I stayed down with my buddies for another half-an-hour while we played an abbreviated version of “What Do You Meme?” Afterwards, I went to bed, exhausted but happy.

March 2

After another delicious breakfast with some of our friends (ordering steak and eggs this time around), Angela and I walked to the riverfront where I went for a jog. The area was beautiful and full of people. Everyone seemed to be loving the beautiful weather, the two of us included.

We returned to the hotel and freshened up before meeting Andrew and Jami to head to Mesa Rim Climbing Center. Angela had been told by our climbing friends that the place was awesome, so we decided to check it out. Andrew and Jami are also rock climbers, so we all went together.

The gym was exceptional, with tons of interesting (and tall) routes, a good bouldering area, and extremely friendly staff. I spent the afternoon being extremely impressed by all my climbing partners.

We returned to our hotel after climbing and, later that evening, headed to dinner with the couple we went climbing with. Jami chose an excellent gluten free restaurant, ATX Cocina, where we enjoyed a fantastic dinner together. It was awesome to get to know another couple a lot like us on a bit of a deeper level. I don’t have any pictures of the food, unfortunately, because it was all so delicious that I didn’t want to stop to photograph it.

If you’re interested in learning more about great gluten free dining around the world, I recommend following Jami on Instagram or visiting her website, Celiac Travel Pack.

We all had a nice chat on the way back to our respective hotels before parting ways for the night.

March 3

I returned to duck and waffles for my last breakfast of the trip. Afterwards, we packed up and headed to the airport for our flight home, an uneventful journey on Southwest airlines. Once we arrived in Las Vegas, we secured our car and then picked up Fitz from boarding.

Our short trip to Austin was wonderful. We got to spend time with some of the best people I know and had a heck of a lot of fun doing so. I’m already looking forward to the next meetup!