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Earlier this year, we canceled our existing summer travel plans in favor of road trips to remote places. Back in May, my family enjoyed a few days at a cabin in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. This past weekend, we took our second pandemic road trip, this time to a ranch in Texas.
Originally, I wanted to book a house rental in Galveston to enjoy the beach. But, I feared the crowds would be too high over July 4th weekend. And thankfully we didn’t pick Galveston, as the beaches were closed due to high virus cases.
VRBO for the Win (Again)
My family has really had some great experiences with vrbo and airbnb vacation rentals. We enjoyed a fabulous farmhouse in New Zealand and a beachfront condo in Daytona Beach Shores. The great thing about vrbo is that we can pick places that are big enough for my family of five. My kids hate sharing beds, so having their own sleeping quarters really cuts down on the arguing.
For this getaway, we only had to drive about an hour and 20 minutes from our home. But, it felt like we were much farther away. This place was so remote that it wasn’t even on Google Maps. The final stretch to get there was a gravel road.
But once we arrived, we had a 50-acre ranch all to ourselves!
The grounds of the ranch were beautiful, with fun and quirky decorations throughout.
The property had a large pond with tons of frogs and snapping turtles.
On our walks, we saw a snake and a lizard with a blue tail. We also heard many coyotes in the nearby trees.
The House
The ranch house itself was much nicer than I envisioned. It had a gorgeous wood countertop in the kitchen and beautiful light fixtures throughout.
The main bedroom had a very comfortable bed as well as a walk-in 3-head shower in the bathroom. I felt like I was at a spa.
My sons each had their own bedrooms, and my daughter slept on a day bed in the sun room.
But really the best feature of the house was the pool:
My daughter spent the entire 4th of July in this pool. We had to argue with her to come out to take eating and drinking breaks. We could watch her from this expansive back porch:
My son rescued a few frogs from the pool:
We continued swimming into the night:
Unfortunately, I can’t share the link to this special place because the owners have recently taken it off of vrbo. I learned they are about to move into the ranch themselves!
Overall Thoughts
This ranch getaway was a perfect fit for a socially distanced pandemic vacation. We brought our own food and didn’t run into anyone! We basically did a whole lot of nothing.
That said, it wasn’t perfect. Our kids still found things to argue about. And quite honestly, I’m ready for a little more action and adventure on our future trips when we don’t have to worry about the virus.
But nonetheless, I’m grateful my family had this experience. It’s always good to get a change of scenery.
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
That tiny cycle on the tree caught my eye. It is all so beautiful. Apart, everything on the ranch looks amazing. I would carry loads on picnic throws and summer dresses too.
https://www.raajsiboho.com/
Btw, the JW SA is decades newer than either Hyatt property.
At first glance the sign looks like it says medieval ranch, which is great for the mental images. Nice place. Do you find any practical differences between VRBO and Airbnb? I’m no fan of Airbnb and was specifically wondering if VRBO is more ethical, tends to not brush off major customer problems, and/or has limitations that benefit the customer or area.
@Christian Whenever I find a property, I always compare the prices on airbnb vs. vrbo and even other sites. Our rental a few months ago was through airbnb, this was vrbo, and our next one is on Evolve. I’ve never had an issue with any property we’ve visited, so I can’t really answer how each handles customer problems. I have noticed that the cost and cancellation policies can be drastically different for the same property, though. I was looking on airbnb for a place for spring break, and most of the listings had terrible cancelation policies. But, the same properties had much more lenient cancellations on vrbo but for a higher rate.
You might wanna drive to the JW Marriott Hill Country resort just outside San Antonio. Good use of any Marriott 50k FNAs you might have.
The on-site waterpark would be outstanding for your kids, & they only allow a set number in it at a time (as well as keeping total hotel occupancy down). Social distancing, hygiene, & mask-wearing is a top priority for the property & its guests for when you’re ready to be around others & more activity.
@Pam I’ve heard great things about that resort! We’ve been to the two Hyatt resorts in the area, but not the JW Marriott. I’m not comfortable going to a resort right now even with the safety measures in place, but it would be great to relax there when this whole thing is over (or at least lower numbers in Texas).
These properties are much smaller and maybe a good next step for you and your family: WorldMark Marble Falls (overlooks Lake LBJ, town of Marble Falls 5 minutes away offers plenty); WorldMark New Braunfels (really closer to Gruene and all the charm and services it offers); WorldMark StableWood Springs in Hunt (15 miles from Kerrville).
Each are beautiful natural getaways away from cities. They each have a pool but limit usage to 2 hours/pp to cut down on crowding. Each also offer 3 bedroom units with full kitchens and w/d, not attached to public areas. You would literally check-in for your family (only 1 person allowed at check-in at a time in a mask) then never be in a public area again (unless your kids opt for the pool). They also are booking at limited capacity so a good time to go with no crowds.
You can book any of these either through the Wyndham Rewards website using cash or WRs OR Wyndham Extra Holidays using cash. The cash rates are more than reasonable now and about what you paid/night at Broken Bow and Wills Point but also important have activities & services nearby. Even if just picking up food for the family can sometimes beat buying, storing, and transporting days worth of groceries. And nearby horseback riding, river rafting, & meandering through parks can also help with keeping kids non-fussy.
I understand your reticence with resorts, esp with children. If you plan it out right, though, you rarely need to be around groups of people for any length of time. Marriott is fastidious about mask wearing & social distancing throughout their properties. What they don’t enforce, others around you will! There is certainly a “we are all in this together” attitude with familes finally venturing out and properties opening in the last couple of weeks.
Check-in is 6 ft apart and masks required. Signs by elevators encourage 4 per elevator or 1 family. If you book a ground floor with a patio door, you can access your car or outdoor hiking without passing anybody. You could check-in by yourself then bring everyone to the room and they enter/exit from the patio door, again without involving public areas.
Nothing will ever be as safe as staying home and ordering in. Not sure many families can handle another 4 months cooped up, either, however! And may as well get away for free with points/free nights than cash out-of-pocket.