November 14, 2025 • 21 mins
A teen concert turned into a full-on adventure when Jo Brown, co-host of Wonderland on Points, who used her points-and-miles playbook to design a Bentonville escape. Jo walks through the meals that set a new bar—Table on Sixth’s craveable BLT, Witching Hour’s shockingly great burger, and the pure joy of Buttered Biscuit sauces—plus why this small city’s culinary scene rivals bigger markets. Then it’s bikes and art: e-bikes open the trails to casual riders, Crystal Bridges blends world-class curation with outdoor magic, and the Time Loop light-and-sound experience turns a forest into a meditative experience that even teens called peaceful.
We also dig into how to turn everyday spending into award flights and hotel nights. Jo shares the ins and outs and practical takeaways with traveling on a budget using credit card points.
A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Beth Bobbitt (00:10):
This is a new American Town.
I'm your host, Beth Bobbitt,and today we have a very special
episode talking with Jo Brown,who has her own podcast,
Wonderland on Points, andrecently hosted a teen trip to
Bentonville.
Welcome, Jo.
So glad you're here.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for having me.
I love your bravery.
(00:32):
As a mom, I'm saying this.
You found Bentonville via teentrip that you all decided to
take.
And I want to get into this andhear the background.
But first, introduce yourlisteners to your own podcast
and talk a little bit about yourstory and travel hacking.
(00:52):
Take us through it.
Sure.
Joanna Brown (00:56):
Well, uh, depends on how much time you have.
I'll try to give the bird's eyeview on this because I can
definitely get in the weeds,which is why I have a podcast.
I'm a talker by nature.
Um, but this podcast was bornout of a desire to figure out
how to use the limited budget Ihave as a household manager and
(01:17):
limited PTO and get to see theworld.
My when my daughter wasyounger, I had this idea that we
would travel.
And I realized as the economyshifted and, you know, salaries
didn't seem to keep up with therapidly increasing prices of
everything.
I was like, well, I guess we'lltravel someday when I'm
(01:39):
retired.
And I had no idea that thisworld of points and miles
existed out there.
I knew I had a few credit cardsthat earned rewards and I would
maybe have enough to cash infor a single flight every couple
of years.
I did not realize there was anentire community out there
learning how to leverage theirdaily expenses through really
(02:00):
strategic credit card use to goon thousands and thousands and
thousands of dollars of freetrips every year.
And I say that, um, I say free.
I always want to put thiscaveat out there because you're
always going to be paying forfood, you're always going to be
paying for excursions andadventures.
A lot of times when you'rebooking flights on points,
(02:21):
you're paying for the taxes andfees.
But there are large chunks ofyour trip, your flights and your
hotels that can be deeply,deeply discounted if not
entirely free on points.
And when I learned about it, Iwent full ADHD rabbit hole,
hyper focus.
I learned absolutely everythingthere was to know about it.
(02:43):
I um became a self-proclaimedexpert very quickly, and I
annoyed the absolute heck out ofmy friends and family.
They're like, stop talkingabout this, please.
Like, we got we get it.
This is very cool.
We don't want to know anymore.
It's, you know, people have toreally be willing to put in the
time and the effort.
And so I pivoted at that pointand I was like, well, great,
(03:05):
I'll just take this to theinternet.
And I joined a travel creatorgroup and I put out a blast to
the world.
And I said, Does anybody inthis group do points and miles
specifically?
Is that kind of your focus?
And would you want to host apodcast?
And I got a ridiculous amountof feedback on that.
(03:25):
A lot of people said theywanted to do it.
And my co-host, the wonderfulMary Ellen, like just stood out,
floated to the top of thisgroup.
I don't know what it was abouther, but she was the perfect
person.
And she lives in Maryland, andI live in St.
Louis, Missouri.
And we, from that largedistance, just started it.
(03:47):
I learned all the tech side.
She covers the guest side andthe scheduling and the
organization.
And together we somehow createdthis thing that two years later
is so much bigger than we couldhave ever dreamed of.
And we are helping familieslearn how to travel on really
limited budgets.
And it's, I mean, there'sliterally nothing more exciting
(04:08):
to me.
Beth Bobbitt (04:09):
And I have to say, you have to be having fun
because it's so much fun tolisten to you all.
And um, it's really inspiring.
I mean, I'm sure all thosefriends and family that were
annoyed in the beginning are nowon board fully because it's
brilliant.
Um, how do you choose yourdestination and talk about your
(04:31):
approach to planning?
Joanna Brown (04:33):
Sure, sure.
Um, when I first started, I wasvery much like trying to line
up the points with things that Ialready knew I needed to do.
Like I need to go visit mygrandma in Atlanta.
How can we make that happen?
And I would be strategic andflexible with my dates if I
could.
And that's how I would planbecause the name of the game is
(04:57):
really flexibility when it comesto getting the best deal
possible.
Now I like to chase the dealand not the destination, which
is a lot of fun.
Um, it has ended me some reallyincredible places and some
unusual trips that I didn'tthink I would ever take because
(05:18):
I leave myself open to thislike, well, I can go anywhere.
Where in the world would I liketo go?
Where in the country would Ilike to go?
And then when a great pointsteal walks itself across my
computer, I'm just like, that'sit.
That's where we'll go.
It lines up, let's do it.
Love it.
Um, so that's been a lot offun.
Beth Bobbitt (05:37):
So switching gears a little bit, um Sure.
I want to hear more about allof the amazing places you've
been to, but first let's talkabout Bentonville.
You are a self-proclaimedBentonville ambassador now.
Tell us about your time here.
What surprised you?
How did it all come about?
Joanna Brown (05:58):
I first of all, I have to say that we heard about
Bentonville first because it wassubmitted during our summer
road trip series.
So um we did a whole seriesover the summer with our little
mini episodes where we wantedpeople to give us unique ideas
that were not so mainstream ofplaces that we could get to by
car, depending on where you livein the country, obviously.
(06:20):
Um, and so after thatsubmission, I was already super
intrigued.
And then I started gettingtargeted on Instagram with lots
of Bentonville content.
Like the algorithm just knew.
And I was like, okay, it'sworking.
Whatever you guys are doingover there, yes, it is working.
And I was like, this placelooks amazing.
(06:41):
When my daughter wanted to gosee the Alex Warren concert, and
I realized that he was playingthere instead of um, you know,
going downtown in St.
Louis, I decided to build anentire trip out of this concert,
out of a points hotel, and turnit into a road trip.
(07:02):
And what I loved so much aboutBentonville was that it's got
all of these museums and thesemodern offerings, but it holds
on to this quaint small townhistoric feel.
And so it's like the best ofboth worlds.
It's got like this incredibleculinary adventure that you can
(07:24):
go on.
You can literally eat your waythrough this town, and it's like
the best food I've ever had.
But then you're walking aroundto the town square and you feel
like you've been transportedback in time.
So it's it's like a pairing ofall of my favorite things, and
it blew me away.
Like Instagram did it zerojustice.
Beth Bobbitt (07:41):
Really?
Yeah.
Well, you have lived up to yourum self-proclaimed ambassadors.
Um thank you.
Joanna Brown (07:50):
I hope you will accept that title that I've
bestowed upon myself.
Beth Bobbitt (07:54):
Yes, for sure.
What I guess having somefoundation, some understanding,
um, being sort of proximate toBitonville, what what was the
biggest surprise?
What did you not know cominginto it?
Joanna Brown (08:13):
That's a great question.
I I had done a fair amount ofresearch when it came to like I
knew it was a big bike town, butwhen I was coming, I let you
guys lead the way with tellingus where we should eat, really.
Um I think I threw out one ortwo places that I might want to
(08:33):
try.
And other than that, I didn'tknow where we were going or what
we were doing.
You guys built the fooditinerary and the um activities
that we did.
So I walked into the momentary,let's say, having no idea what
the momentary was.
I was like, well, I guess it'llbe a surprise.
I would say that that JR'sprinting press exhibit was the
(08:55):
single coolest thing that I orthe teens have ever done.
Yeah.
I mean, that was just unreal.
Um, and I I was also surprisedby the level and the quality of
food in just in general.
Like, I think that I hadgrasped visually that the food
was very beautiful inBentonville because I'd seen it
(09:16):
online.
Um, but I don't think Irealized really going into it
what kind of quality we weregetting, some of this farm to
table vibe and very uniquefoods.
Like I it's something youexpect from like New York City.
It's not something younecessarily expect from a small
town in Arkansas.
And I was just absolutely blownaway.
Beth Bobbitt (09:38):
Wow.
Um, let's start with the food.
Tell us a little bit about theplaces and your experience.
Joanna Brown (09:46):
Well, we went all over.
Um, so I'll try not to get toocarried away, but I I will
highlight a few.
I have to say, table on sixthwas just an absolute delight.
Um, the Uptown BLT is the bestthing I've ever put in my mouth.
I dream about that sandwich.
In fact, the saddest part aboutthat is that I accidentally
left the other half of mysandwich that I was saving in
(10:09):
the mini fridge in the hotel.
Oh.
And we had gotten part of theway home before I was like,
should we go back for it?
Like, not good.
That's how good.
Yes, that's how good it was.
Um, and then the other thingthat absolutely shocked me was
the Witching Hours burger is thebest burger I've ever had in my
life.
And I would have to say that II thought we were going there
(10:32):
more for the experience of thetheming, but they totally like
the food blows away the theming,which is, you know, that
doesn't always happen with athemed offering.
Right.
Um, I've also noticed that alot of the places in Bentonville
like to do sauces.
And I'm a sauce girl.
So when we're at the butteredbiscuit and they have like an
(10:57):
offering of five or six sauces,I have to get them all and I
have to try them, and I'm thehappiest person alive.
Beth Bobbitt (11:03):
I heard you all talking about the sauce flight,
and I thought that was great.
Like, I think we should all askfor sauce flights everywhere we
go.
You got to get the right pair.
Joanna Brown (11:13):
I agree.
I agree.
Because if something doesn'tcome with a sauce, you might
have to try a few to make thatcombination happen yourself.
And oh man, I love a sauce.
We did talk about that in ourepisode.
Beth Bobbitt (11:26):
Where else did you go?
Joanna Brown (11:32):
I want to make sure that I am doing we went all
over.
So I we had at Homegrown, thatwas probably um our favorite
breakfast of the trip.
Although it's so hard tocompare all of these things to
each other.
Everything was good.
Um, I don't think we ateanything that was not tasty.
Um I know the kids really likedthe homegrown breakfast.
(11:55):
Uh the pancakes were largerthan their heads.
Beth Bobbitt (11:59):
Let's switch gears and talk about some of
your experiences.
You did some biking.
Oh my gosh.
What else did you see?
Joanna Brown (12:08):
The biking was so cool.
Um, I've never been on ane-bike before.
So this this was new for me.
Um, and I wouldn't considermyself a super strong biker
either.
It's not something that we do alot of here.
There's not a lot of places forit.
Um, so it was nice to know thatjust about any level of biker,
as long as you can ride a bike,um, can have a great experience
(12:30):
in Bentonville.
That was very empowering andvery fun.
Um the the uh at CrystalBridges, they were hosting a pet
adoption day.
And I think this just happenedto line up with our trip, and it
was such a delight.
It was cuddling puppies andseeing dogs get to go home.
Oh my goodness.
(12:50):
Highlight, absolute highlight.
Um, but I would say the mostunique thing that we did besides
the printing press, which Ialready mentioned, was the time
loop, which is another CrystalBridges thing.
In fact, in the exact same spotas the adoption uh event was
happening, we returned laterthat night to go through the
time loop exhibit.
(13:11):
I could have sat there for fivehours watching these lights
projected into this forest.
I was listening to the teensover my shoulder saying things
like, I've never felt sopeaceful, which is not something
you hear teenage boys say ever.
So I that was such a cooloffering.
(13:33):
Um, it just highlights the realcreativity, I think, behind
some of the things inBentonville.
Like that's just not anythingthat I could have predicted
getting to experience.
So it was super fun to justwalk into that and be like, who
came up with this?
What brilliant minds are behindthis level of genius?
Beth Bobbitt (13:53):
Yeah, and for listeners that may not be
familiar, it's a a light andsound experience in the North
Forest at Crystal Bridges, andit's happening, you know,
throughout the winter and earlyspring months, and it you're
right, it's absolutelydelightful and peaceful and
meditative, um, but also a lotof fun.
(14:14):
You can grab some hot chocolateand sort of have a fun family
holiday experience too.
Joanna Brown (14:22):
Yes, yes.
I don't know if anything shiftsat Christmas time, but I I
picture that being a really coolChristmas thing to do with
everybody all cozy and bundledup, and yes, with a hot
chocolate sounds very nice.
It was still warm while we werethere.
Right.
So that wasn't quite to comeback in a new season.
Oh, I will.
I already have plans to bringmy husband.
Beth Bobbitt (14:45):
I love it.
So, what are your big takeawaysuh from your time in
Bentonville?
Joanna Brown (14:53):
Yeah, so I think that I could go on and on about
all of the things that we got toexperience and the things we
got to do, but I think mytakeaways are actually things
that I would tell people maybeto do differently or to keep in
mind if they were repeating atrip.
So the first thing would be ifyou can stay downtown.
(15:13):
It's very cool to be able to dothat.
We were not, we were about 10minutes away at a great Hyatt
that we booked on points.
Um, but if I were to repeatthis, if I were to bring my
husband, I would probably stayat the motto that's downtown.
Um, and I know there's lots ofAirbnbs and options down there.
(15:36):
So I think there is somethingreally, really cool about
immersing yourself in thedowntown of the city.
So that would be one of mytakeaways.
Um, however, you're gonna do itthough, is is fine.
Like if you're if you don't letit keep you away if you can't
maybe afford to stay in thedowntown, you will still have a
fantastic trip.
Um, the next thing I would sayis that this was a fantastic
(15:58):
road trip destination.
But if I could do it againrather than one full day and two
half days, I would stretch itout a little bit.
I would span like a longerweekend.
I would love three full days orfour full days because I
honestly feel like we didn'teven scratch the surface.
Beth Bobbitt (16:17):
Right.
Joanna Brown (16:17):
I feel like we had an awesome jam-packed
itinerary.
We did so much, we ate so much,we saw so much, and I still
have so much more that I want tosee and do.
So I would stretch it out alittle bit if it's an option.
If it's not, just come backmultiple times, no big deal.
Um, and number three is comehungry because you cannot, you
(16:39):
will want to try everything, andit's it's difficult.
It's I've never been so full inmy life.
I think I'm normally like atwo-meal a day person, and I was
like, we have to try all thethings.
And you are going to want to,uh-huh.
Absolutely.
So I would be allocating yourtravel budget towards the
experiences and the food inBentonville specifically,
(17:02):
because they are so unique andamazing, and you really are
going to want to splurge inthese areas.
Beth Bobbitt (17:10):
Yeah, and I will say um these are great tips.
By the time this airs, theCompton, which is a new hotel
that's opening up with lots ofrestaurants and coffee bars and
unique spaces, uh, will beaccepting reservations.
So check that out too.
Another great downtown option.
So wrapping up, tell us aboutsome of your favorite road trips
(17:36):
that maybe our listeners don'tknow about from St.
Louis or elsewhere.
Joanna Brown (17:42):
Well, I went ahead and I picked a few that people
can access from different areasof the country.
So from St.
Louis, a really good one, andone that I'm in fact doing in
about a month here is Caramel,Indiana.
And that is a great one forChristmas markets specifically.
If you're wanting to go atChristmas time, they have a
(18:04):
Christmas market there that haswon awards for being the best
Christmas market in the US.
Um, so that's maybe four and ahalf hours from St.
Louis, a nice, easy drive and areally fun place to experience.
Um, the other ones that I'mgoing to mention were ones that
are submitted on our podcast.
So you could go back and listento the episodes in full with
(18:25):
all the details.
But for my Northwesterners, Iwas so intrigued by Cleellum,
Washington.
It is a tiny little town.
It has a big Hyatt resortnearby, lots to see and do.
And of course, it's absolutelygorgeous out that way.
And for my Easterners, Newport,Rhode Island keeps coming up
(18:47):
again and again as a fantasticroad trip destination.
And last but not least, for mySoutherners, there's so many
places in the South that I couldpick.
Um, but I personally, even fromthe Midwest road trip again and
again to Rosemary Beach,Florida.
It again is one of those smalltown vibe places, just this cute
little beach town where youbike everywhere.
(19:09):
It is heaven on earth.
So those are those are threeroad trip options that people
may or may not have heard ofthat I would definitely use to
get your wheels turning for yournext road trip.
Beth Bobbitt (19:19):
That's fantastic.
Well, thank you.
And um, if listeners haven'ttuned in, Wonderland on Points,
great podcast.
How can we follow along?
Joanna Brown (19:30):
So the podcast can be found on all podcast
platforms.
You can find us in all the bigones, um, Amazon, Spotify,
Apple, all the places.
Just search Wonderland onpoints and we will come up.
We do also have a Facebookgroup, which you can find links
in the show notes for ourpodcast, or you can also search
traveling on points, Wonderlandon points.
(19:50):
It's quite a long name, butyou'll find it.
That's a great place to getinvolved and ask questions about
points and miles.
We also have a website and anemail list where we occasionally
send out newsletters.
So if you go towonderlandonpoints.com and you
scroll down to the bottom,you'll find a place to input
your email to jump on ournewsletter.
(20:11):
And that is also the placewhere we um you can find a lot
of our blog posts and a lot ofour favorite travel essentials
and all of our podcast episodes.
So the website is a great placeto start as well.
And then you can also follow onmy personal Instagram, which is
in an inversion of our podcastname.
So our podcast is Wonderland onPoints.
(20:32):
My Instagram is points toWonderland.
I would not call myself anInstagram content creator
because I am not diligent.
I'm a very diligent podcaster,but I like to throw stuff up
there.
It's a great place to look inmy stories for flight deals that
are happening or pointsofferings that are happening.
I'm pretty good about postingin there.
(20:54):
So there's lots of places.
Beth Bobbitt (20:56):
Awesome.
Well, thank you so much forsharing your experience and
making time for this, Joe.
It was a pleasure.
Joanna Brown (21:04):
Thank you so much for having me.
It was a joy to be here, and itwas a joy to visit Bentonville.
Beth Bobbitt (21:08):
Yes.
Come back and come back soon.
Oh, I sure will.
I have plans.
Thank you.
Don't forget, Visit Bentonvilleis here to help you navigate
things to do, where to eat andstay, and what's going on in
our New American town.
Check out the show notes tofollow us on social, sign up for
the newsletter, and visit ourwebsite at visitbittenville.com.
(21:30):
Thanks for listening.
This is a new American Town.
I'm your host, Beth Bobbitt,and today we have a very special
episode talking with Jo Brown,who has her own podcast,
Wonderland on Points, andrecently hosted a teen trip to
Bentonville.
Welcome, Jo.
So glad you're here.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for having me.
I love your bravery.
(00:32):
As a mom, I'm saying this.
You found Bentonville via teentrip that you all decided to
take.
And I want to get into this andhear the background.
But first, introduce yourlisteners to your own podcast
and talk a little bit about yourstory and travel hacking.
(00:52):
Take us through it.
Sure.
Joanna Brown (00:56):
Well, uh, depends on how much time you have.
I'll try to give the bird's eyeview on this because I can
definitely get in the weeds,which is why I have a podcast.
I'm a talker by nature.
Um, but this podcast was bornout of a desire to figure out
how to use the limited budget Ihave as a household manager and
(01:17):
limited PTO and get to see theworld.
My when my daughter wasyounger, I had this idea that we
would travel.
And I realized as the economyshifted and, you know, salaries
didn't seem to keep up with therapidly increasing prices of
everything.
I was like, well, I guess we'lltravel someday when I'm
(01:39):
retired.
And I had no idea that thisworld of points and miles
existed out there.
I knew I had a few credit cardsthat earned rewards and I would
maybe have enough to cash infor a single flight every couple
of years.
I did not realize there was anentire community out there
learning how to leverage theirdaily expenses through really
(02:00):
strategic credit card use to goon thousands and thousands and
thousands of dollars of freetrips every year.
And I say that, um, I say free.
I always want to put thiscaveat out there because you're
always going to be paying forfood, you're always going to be
paying for excursions andadventures.
A lot of times when you'rebooking flights on points,
(02:21):
you're paying for the taxes andfees.
But there are large chunks ofyour trip, your flights and your
hotels that can be deeply,deeply discounted if not
entirely free on points.
And when I learned about it, Iwent full ADHD rabbit hole,
hyper focus.
I learned absolutely everythingthere was to know about it.
(02:43):
I um became a self-proclaimedexpert very quickly, and I
annoyed the absolute heck out ofmy friends and family.
They're like, stop talkingabout this, please.
Like, we got we get it.
This is very cool.
We don't want to know anymore.
It's, you know, people have toreally be willing to put in the
time and the effort.
And so I pivoted at that pointand I was like, well, great,
(03:05):
I'll just take this to theinternet.
And I joined a travel creatorgroup and I put out a blast to
the world.
And I said, Does anybody inthis group do points and miles
specifically?
Is that kind of your focus?
And would you want to host apodcast?
And I got a ridiculous amountof feedback on that.
(03:25):
A lot of people said theywanted to do it.
And my co-host, the wonderfulMary Ellen, like just stood out,
floated to the top of thisgroup.
I don't know what it was abouther, but she was the perfect
person.
And she lives in Maryland, andI live in St.
Louis, Missouri.
And we, from that largedistance, just started it.
(03:47):
I learned all the tech side.
She covers the guest side andthe scheduling and the
organization.
And together we somehow createdthis thing that two years later
is so much bigger than we couldhave ever dreamed of.
And we are helping familieslearn how to travel on really
limited budgets.
And it's, I mean, there'sliterally nothing more exciting
(04:08):
to me.
Beth Bobbitt (04:09):
And I have to say, you have to be having fun
because it's so much fun tolisten to you all.
And um, it's really inspiring.
I mean, I'm sure all thosefriends and family that were
annoyed in the beginning are nowon board fully because it's
brilliant.
Um, how do you choose yourdestination and talk about your
(04:31):
approach to planning?
Joanna Brown (04:33):
Sure, sure.
Um, when I first started, I wasvery much like trying to line
up the points with things that Ialready knew I needed to do.
Like I need to go visit mygrandma in Atlanta.
How can we make that happen?
And I would be strategic andflexible with my dates if I
could.
And that's how I would planbecause the name of the game is
(04:57):
really flexibility when it comesto getting the best deal
possible.
Now I like to chase the dealand not the destination, which
is a lot of fun.
Um, it has ended me some reallyincredible places and some
unusual trips that I didn'tthink I would ever take because
(05:18):
I leave myself open to thislike, well, I can go anywhere.
Where in the world would I liketo go?
Where in the country would Ilike to go?
And then when a great pointsteal walks itself across my
computer, I'm just like, that'sit.
That's where we'll go.
It lines up, let's do it.
Love it.
Um, so that's been a lot offun.
Beth Bobbitt (05:37):
So switching gears a little bit, um Sure.
I want to hear more about allof the amazing places you've
been to, but first let's talkabout Bentonville.
You are a self-proclaimedBentonville ambassador now.
Tell us about your time here.
What surprised you?
How did it all come about?
Joanna Brown (05:58):
I first of all, I have to say that we heard about
Bentonville first because it wassubmitted during our summer
road trip series.
So um we did a whole seriesover the summer with our little
mini episodes where we wantedpeople to give us unique ideas
that were not so mainstream ofplaces that we could get to by
car, depending on where you livein the country, obviously.
(06:20):
Um, and so after thatsubmission, I was already super
intrigued.
And then I started gettingtargeted on Instagram with lots
of Bentonville content.
Like the algorithm just knew.
And I was like, okay, it'sworking.
Whatever you guys are doingover there, yes, it is working.
And I was like, this placelooks amazing.
(06:41):
When my daughter wanted to gosee the Alex Warren concert, and
I realized that he was playingthere instead of um, you know,
going downtown in St.
Louis, I decided to build anentire trip out of this concert,
out of a points hotel, and turnit into a road trip.
(07:02):
And what I loved so much aboutBentonville was that it's got
all of these museums and thesemodern offerings, but it holds
on to this quaint small townhistoric feel.
And so it's like the best ofboth worlds.
It's got like this incredibleculinary adventure that you can
(07:24):
go on.
You can literally eat your waythrough this town, and it's like
the best food I've ever had.
But then you're walking aroundto the town square and you feel
like you've been transportedback in time.
So it's it's like a pairing ofall of my favorite things, and
it blew me away.
Like Instagram did it zerojustice.
Beth Bobbitt (07:41):
Really?
Yeah.
Well, you have lived up to yourum self-proclaimed ambassadors.
Um thank you.
Joanna Brown (07:50):
I hope you will accept that title that I've
bestowed upon myself.
Beth Bobbitt (07:54):
Yes, for sure.
What I guess having somefoundation, some understanding,
um, being sort of proximate toBitonville, what what was the
biggest surprise?
What did you not know cominginto it?
Joanna Brown (08:13):
That's a great question.
I I had done a fair amount ofresearch when it came to like I
knew it was a big bike town, butwhen I was coming, I let you
guys lead the way with tellingus where we should eat, really.
Um I think I threw out one ortwo places that I might want to
(08:33):
try.
And other than that, I didn'tknow where we were going or what
we were doing.
You guys built the fooditinerary and the um activities
that we did.
So I walked into the momentary,let's say, having no idea what
the momentary was.
I was like, well, I guess it'llbe a surprise.
I would say that that JR'sprinting press exhibit was the
(08:55):
single coolest thing that I orthe teens have ever done.
Yeah.
I mean, that was just unreal.
Um, and I I was also surprisedby the level and the quality of
food in just in general.
Like, I think that I hadgrasped visually that the food
was very beautiful inBentonville because I'd seen it
(09:16):
online.
Um, but I don't think Irealized really going into it
what kind of quality we weregetting, some of this farm to
table vibe and very uniquefoods.
Like I it's something youexpect from like New York City.
It's not something younecessarily expect from a small
town in Arkansas.
And I was just absolutely blownaway.
Beth Bobbitt (09:38):
Wow.
Um, let's start with the food.
Tell us a little bit about theplaces and your experience.
Joanna Brown (09:46):
Well, we went all over.
Um, so I'll try not to get toocarried away, but I I will
highlight a few.
I have to say, table on sixthwas just an absolute delight.
Um, the Uptown BLT is the bestthing I've ever put in my mouth.
I dream about that sandwich.
In fact, the saddest part aboutthat is that I accidentally
left the other half of mysandwich that I was saving in
(10:09):
the mini fridge in the hotel.
Oh.
And we had gotten part of theway home before I was like,
should we go back for it?
Like, not good.
That's how good.
Yes, that's how good it was.
Um, and then the other thingthat absolutely shocked me was
the Witching Hours burger is thebest burger I've ever had in my
life.
And I would have to say that II thought we were going there
(10:32):
more for the experience of thetheming, but they totally like
the food blows away the theming,which is, you know, that
doesn't always happen with athemed offering.
Right.
Um, I've also noticed that alot of the places in Bentonville
like to do sauces.
And I'm a sauce girl.
So when we're at the butteredbiscuit and they have like an
(10:57):
offering of five or six sauces,I have to get them all and I
have to try them, and I'm thehappiest person alive.
Beth Bobbitt (11:03):
I heard you all talking about the sauce flight,
and I thought that was great.
Like, I think we should all askfor sauce flights everywhere we
go.
You got to get the right pair.
Joanna Brown (11:13):
I agree.
I agree.
Because if something doesn'tcome with a sauce, you might
have to try a few to make thatcombination happen yourself.
And oh man, I love a sauce.
We did talk about that in ourepisode.
Beth Bobbitt (11:26):
Where else did you go?
Joanna Brown (11:32):
I want to make sure that I am doing we went all
over.
So I we had at Homegrown, thatwas probably um our favorite
breakfast of the trip.
Although it's so hard tocompare all of these things to
each other.
Everything was good.
Um, I don't think we ateanything that was not tasty.
Um I know the kids really likedthe homegrown breakfast.
(11:55):
Uh the pancakes were largerthan their heads.
Beth Bobbitt (11:59):
Let's switch gears and talk about some of
your experiences.
You did some biking.
Oh my gosh.
What else did you see?
Joanna Brown (12:08):
The biking was so cool.
Um, I've never been on ane-bike before.
So this this was new for me.
Um, and I wouldn't considermyself a super strong biker
either.
It's not something that we do alot of here.
There's not a lot of places forit.
Um, so it was nice to know thatjust about any level of biker,
as long as you can ride a bike,um, can have a great experience
(12:30):
in Bentonville.
That was very empowering andvery fun.
Um the the uh at CrystalBridges, they were hosting a pet
adoption day.
And I think this just happenedto line up with our trip, and it
was such a delight.
It was cuddling puppies andseeing dogs get to go home.
Oh my goodness.
(12:50):
Highlight, absolute highlight.
Um, but I would say the mostunique thing that we did besides
the printing press, which Ialready mentioned, was the time
loop, which is another CrystalBridges thing.
In fact, in the exact same spotas the adoption uh event was
happening, we returned laterthat night to go through the
time loop exhibit.
(13:11):
I could have sat there for fivehours watching these lights
projected into this forest.
I was listening to the teensover my shoulder saying things
like, I've never felt sopeaceful, which is not something
you hear teenage boys say ever.
So I that was such a cooloffering.
(13:33):
Um, it just highlights the realcreativity, I think, behind
some of the things inBentonville.
Like that's just not anythingthat I could have predicted
getting to experience.
So it was super fun to justwalk into that and be like, who
came up with this?
What brilliant minds are behindthis level of genius?
Beth Bobbitt (13:53):
Yeah, and for listeners that may not be
familiar, it's a a light andsound experience in the North
Forest at Crystal Bridges, andit's happening, you know,
throughout the winter and earlyspring months, and it you're
right, it's absolutelydelightful and peaceful and
meditative, um, but also a lotof fun.
(14:14):
You can grab some hot chocolateand sort of have a fun family
holiday experience too.
Joanna Brown (14:22):
Yes, yes.
I don't know if anything shiftsat Christmas time, but I I
picture that being a really coolChristmas thing to do with
everybody all cozy and bundledup, and yes, with a hot
chocolate sounds very nice.
It was still warm while we werethere.
Right.
So that wasn't quite to comeback in a new season.
Oh, I will.
I already have plans to bringmy husband.
Beth Bobbitt (14:45):
I love it.
So, what are your big takeawaysuh from your time in
Bentonville?
Joanna Brown (14:53):
Yeah, so I think that I could go on and on about
all of the things that we got toexperience and the things we
got to do, but I think mytakeaways are actually things
that I would tell people maybeto do differently or to keep in
mind if they were repeating atrip.
So the first thing would be ifyou can stay downtown.
(15:13):
It's very cool to be able to dothat.
We were not, we were about 10minutes away at a great Hyatt
that we booked on points.
Um, but if I were to repeatthis, if I were to bring my
husband, I would probably stayat the motto that's downtown.
Um, and I know there's lots ofAirbnbs and options down there.
(15:36):
So I think there is somethingreally, really cool about
immersing yourself in thedowntown of the city.
So that would be one of mytakeaways.
Um, however, you're gonna do itthough, is is fine.
Like if you're if you don't letit keep you away if you can't
maybe afford to stay in thedowntown, you will still have a
fantastic trip.
Um, the next thing I would sayis that this was a fantastic
(15:58):
road trip destination.
But if I could do it againrather than one full day and two
half days, I would stretch itout a little bit.
I would span like a longerweekend.
I would love three full days orfour full days because I
honestly feel like we didn'teven scratch the surface.
Beth Bobbitt (16:17):
Right.
Joanna Brown (16:17):
I feel like we had an awesome jam-packed
itinerary.
We did so much, we ate so much,we saw so much, and I still
have so much more that I want tosee and do.
So I would stretch it out alittle bit if it's an option.
If it's not, just come backmultiple times, no big deal.
Um, and number three is comehungry because you cannot, you
(16:39):
will want to try everything, andit's it's difficult.
It's I've never been so full inmy life.
I think I'm normally like atwo-meal a day person, and I was
like, we have to try all thethings.
And you are going to want to,uh-huh.
Absolutely.
So I would be allocating yourtravel budget towards the
experiences and the food inBentonville specifically,
(17:02):
because they are so unique andamazing, and you really are
going to want to splurge inthese areas.
Beth Bobbitt (17:10):
Yeah, and I will say um these are great tips.
By the time this airs, theCompton, which is a new hotel
that's opening up with lots ofrestaurants and coffee bars and
unique spaces, uh, will beaccepting reservations.
So check that out too.
Another great downtown option.
So wrapping up, tell us aboutsome of your favorite road trips
(17:36):
that maybe our listeners don'tknow about from St.
Louis or elsewhere.
Joanna Brown (17:42):
Well, I went ahead and I picked a few that people
can access from different areasof the country.
So from St.
Louis, a really good one, andone that I'm in fact doing in
about a month here is Caramel,Indiana.
And that is a great one forChristmas markets specifically.
If you're wanting to go atChristmas time, they have a
(18:04):
Christmas market there that haswon awards for being the best
Christmas market in the US.
Um, so that's maybe four and ahalf hours from St.
Louis, a nice, easy drive and areally fun place to experience.
Um, the other ones that I'mgoing to mention were ones that
are submitted on our podcast.
So you could go back and listento the episodes in full with
(18:25):
all the details.
But for my Northwesterners, Iwas so intrigued by Cleellum,
Washington.
It is a tiny little town.
It has a big Hyatt resortnearby, lots to see and do.
And of course, it's absolutelygorgeous out that way.
And for my Easterners, Newport,Rhode Island keeps coming up
(18:47):
again and again as a fantasticroad trip destination.
And last but not least, for mySoutherners, there's so many
places in the South that I couldpick.
Um, but I personally, even fromthe Midwest road trip again and
again to Rosemary Beach,Florida.
It again is one of those smalltown vibe places, just this cute
little beach town where youbike everywhere.
(19:09):
It is heaven on earth.
So those are those are threeroad trip options that people
may or may not have heard ofthat I would definitely use to
get your wheels turning for yournext road trip.
Beth Bobbitt (19:19):
That's fantastic.
Well, thank you.
And um, if listeners haven'ttuned in, Wonderland on Points,
great podcast.
How can we follow along?
Joanna Brown (19:30):
So the podcast can be found on all podcast
platforms.
You can find us in all the bigones, um, Amazon, Spotify,
Apple, all the places.
Just search Wonderland onpoints and we will come up.
We do also have a Facebookgroup, which you can find links
in the show notes for ourpodcast, or you can also search
traveling on points, Wonderlandon points.
(19:50):
It's quite a long name, butyou'll find it.
That's a great place to getinvolved and ask questions about
points and miles.
We also have a website and anemail list where we occasionally
send out newsletters.
So if you go towonderlandonpoints.com and you
scroll down to the bottom,you'll find a place to input
your email to jump on ournewsletter.
(20:11):
And that is also the placewhere we um you can find a lot
of our blog posts and a lot ofour favorite travel essentials
and all of our podcast episodes.
So the website is a great placeto start as well.
And then you can also follow onmy personal Instagram, which is
in an inversion of our podcastname.
So our podcast is Wonderland onPoints.
(20:32):
My Instagram is points toWonderland.
I would not call myself anInstagram content creator
because I am not diligent.
I'm a very diligent podcaster,but I like to throw stuff up
there.
It's a great place to look inmy stories for flight deals that
are happening or pointsofferings that are happening.
I'm pretty good about postingin there.
(20:54):
So there's lots of places.
Beth Bobbitt (20:56):
Awesome.
Well, thank you so much forsharing your experience and
making time for this, Joe.
It was a pleasure.
Joanna Brown (21:04):
Thank you so much for having me.
It was a joy to be here, and itwas a joy to visit Bentonville.
Beth Bobbitt (21:08):
Yes.
Come back and come back soon.
Oh, I sure will.
I have plans.
Thank you.
Don't forget, Visit Bentonvilleis here to help you navigate
things to do, where to eat andstay, and what's going on in
our New American town.
Check out the show notes tofollow us on social, sign up for
the newsletter, and visit ourwebsite at visitbittenville.com.
(21:30):
Thanks for listening.
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