A New American Town - Bentonville, Arkansas

Road Trip to Bentonville with Wonderland on Points

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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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Beth Bobbitt :

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, and recently 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. As a mom, I'm saying this. You found Bentonville via teen trip that you all decided to take. And I want to get into this and hear the background. But first, introduce your listeners to your own podcast and talk a little bit about your story and travel hacking. Take us through it. Sure.

Joanna Brown:

Well, uh, depends on how much time you have. I'll try to give the bird's eye view 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 born out of a desire to figure out how to use the limited budget I have as a household manager and limited PTO and get to see the world. My when my daughter was younger, I had this idea that we would travel. And I realized as the economy shifted and, you know, salaries didn't seem to keep up with the rapidly increasing prices of everything. I was like, well, I guess we'll travel someday when I'm retired. And I had no idea that this world of points and miles existed out there. I knew I had a few credit cards that earned rewards and I would maybe have enough to cash in for a single flight every couple of years. I did not realize there was an entire community out there learning how to leverage their daily expenses through really strategic credit card use to go on thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars of free trips every year. And I say that, um, I say free. I always want to put this caveat out there because you're always going to be paying for food, you're always going to be paying for excursions and adventures. A lot of times when you're booking flights on points, you're paying for the taxes and fees. But there are large chunks of your trip, your flights and your hotels that can be deeply, deeply discounted if not entirely free on points. And when I learned about it, I went full ADHD rabbit hole, hyper focus. I learned absolutely everything there was to know about it. I um became a self-proclaimed expert very quickly, and I annoyed the absolute heck out of my friends and family. They're like, stop talking about 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 to really be willing to put in the time and the effort. And so I pivoted at that point and I was like, well, great, I'll just take this to the internet. And I joined a travel creator group and I put out a blast to the world. And I said, Does anybody in this group do points and miles specifically? Is that kind of your focus? And would you want to host a podcast? And I got a ridiculous amount of feedback on that. A lot of people said they wanted to do it. And my co-host, the wonderful Mary Ellen, like just stood out, floated to the top of this group. I don't know what it was about her, but she was the perfect person. And she lives in Maryland, and I live in St. Louis, Missouri. And we, from that large distance, just started it. I learned all the tech side. She covers the guest side and the scheduling and the organization. And together we somehow created this thing that two years later is so much bigger than we could have ever dreamed of. And we are helping families learn how to travel on really limited budgets. And it's, I mean, there's literally nothing more exciting to me.

Beth Bobbitt :

And I have to say, you have to be having fun because it's so much fun to listen to you all. And um, it's really inspiring. I mean, I'm sure all those friends and family that were annoyed in the beginning are now on board fully because it's brilliant. Um, how do you choose your destination and talk about your approach to planning?

Joanna Brown:

Sure, sure. Um, when I first started, I was very much like trying to line up the points with things that I already knew I needed to do. Like I need to go visit my grandma in Atlanta. How can we make that happen? And I would be strategic and flexible with my dates if I could. And that's how I would plan because the name of the game is really flexibility when it comes to getting the best deal possible. Now I like to chase the deal and not the destination, which is a lot of fun. Um, it has ended me some really incredible places and some unusual trips that I didn't think I would ever take because I leave myself open to this like, well, I can go anywhere. Where in the world would I like to go? Where in the country would I like to go? And then when a great point steal walks itself across my computer, I'm just like, that's it. That's where we'll go. It lines up, let's do it. Love it. Um, so that's been a lot of fun.

Beth Bobbitt :

So switching gears a little bit, um Sure. I want to hear more about all of the amazing places you've been to, but first let's talk about Bentonville. You are a self-proclaimed Bentonville ambassador now. Tell us about your time here. What surprised you? How did it all come about?

Joanna Brown:

I first of all, I have to say that we heard about Bentonville first because it was submitted during our summer road trip series. So um we did a whole series over the summer with our little mini episodes where we wanted people to give us unique ideas that were not so mainstream of places that we could get to by car, depending on where you live in the country, obviously. Um, and so after that submission, I was already super intrigued. And then I started getting targeted on Instagram with lots of Bentonville content. Like the algorithm just knew. And I was like, okay, it's working. Whatever you guys are doing over there, yes, it is working. And I was like, this place looks amazing. When my daughter wanted to go see the Alex Warren concert, and I realized that he was playing there instead of um, you know, going downtown in St. Louis, I decided to build an entire trip out of this concert, out of a points hotel, and turn it into a road trip. And what I loved so much about Bentonville was that it's got all of these museums and these modern offerings, but it holds on to this quaint small town historic feel. And so it's like the best of both worlds. It's got like this incredible culinary adventure that you can go on. You can literally eat your way through this town, and it's like the best food I've ever had. But then you're walking around to the town square and you feel like you've been transported back in time. So it's it's like a pairing of all of my favorite things, and it blew me away. Like Instagram did it zero justice.

Beth Bobbitt :

Really? Yeah. Well, you have lived up to your um self-proclaimed ambassadors. Um thank you.

Joanna Brown:

I hope you will accept that title that I've bestowed upon myself.

Beth Bobbitt :

Yes, for sure. What I guess having some foundation, some understanding, um, being sort of proximate to Bitonville, what what was the biggest surprise? What did you not know coming into it?

Joanna Brown:

That's a great question. I I had done a fair amount of research when it came to like I knew it was a big bike town, but when I was coming, I let you guys lead the way with telling us where we should eat, really. Um I think I threw out one or two places that I might want to try. And other than that, I didn't know where we were going or what we were doing. You guys built the food itinerary 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'll be a surprise. I would say that that JR's printing press exhibit was the single coolest thing that I or the teens have ever done. Yeah. I mean, that was just unreal. Um, and I I was also surprised by the level and the quality of food in just in general. Like, I think that I had grasped visually that the food was very beautiful in Bentonville because I'd seen it online. Um, but I don't think I realized really going into it what kind of quality we were getting, some of this farm to table vibe and very unique foods. Like I it's something you expect from like New York City. It's not something you necessarily expect from a small town in Arkansas. And I was just absolutely blown away.

Beth Bobbitt :

Wow. Um, let's start with the food. Tell us a little bit about the places and your experience.

Joanna Brown:

Well, we went all over. Um, so I'll try not to get too carried away, but I I will highlight a few. I have to say, table on sixth was just an absolute delight. Um, the Uptown BLT is the best thing I've ever put in my mouth. I dream about that sandwich. In fact, the saddest part about that is that I accidentally left the other half of my sandwich that I was saving in the mini fridge in the hotel. Oh. And we had gotten part of the way 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 thing that absolutely shocked me was the Witching Hours burger is the best burger I've ever had in my life. And I would have to say that I I thought we were going there more for the experience of the theming, but they totally like the food blows away the theming, which is, you know, that doesn't always happen with a themed offering. Right. Um, I've also noticed that a lot of the places in Bentonville like to do sauces. And I'm a sauce girl. So when we're at the buttered biscuit and they have like an offering of five or six sauces, I have to get them all and I have to try them, and I'm the happiest person alive.

Beth Bobbitt :

I heard you all talking about the sauce flight, and I thought that was great. Like, I think we should all ask for sauce flights everywhere we go. You got to get the right pair.

Joanna Brown:

I agree. I agree. Because if something doesn't come with a sauce, you might have to try a few to make that combination happen yourself. And oh man, I love a sauce. We did talk about that in our episode.

Beth Bobbitt :

Where else did you go?

Joanna Brown:

I want to make sure that I am doing we went all over. So I we had at Homegrown, that was probably um our favorite breakfast of the trip. Although it's so hard to compare all of these things to each other. Everything was good. Um, I don't think we ate anything that was not tasty. Um I know the kids really liked the homegrown breakfast. Uh the pancakes were larger than their heads.

Beth Bobbitt :

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:

The biking was so cool. Um, I've never been on an e-bike before. So this this was new for me. Um, and I wouldn't consider myself a super strong biker either. It's not something that we do a lot of here. There's not a lot of places for it. Um, so it was nice to know that just about any level of biker, as long as you can ride a bike, um, can have a great experience in Bentonville. That was very empowering and very fun. Um the the uh at Crystal Bridges, they were hosting a pet adoption day. And I think this just happened to line up with our trip, and it was such a delight. It was cuddling puppies and seeing dogs get to go home. Oh my goodness. Highlight, absolute highlight. Um, but I would say the most unique thing that we did besides the printing press, which I already mentioned, was the time loop, which is another Crystal Bridges thing. In fact, in the exact same spot as the adoption uh event was happening, we returned later that night to go through the time loop exhibit. I could have sat there for five hours watching these lights projected into this forest. I was listening to the teens over my shoulder saying things like, I've never felt so peaceful, which is not something you hear teenage boys say ever. So I that was such a cool offering. Um, it just highlights the real creativity, I think, behind some of the things in Bentonville. Like that's just not anything that I could have predicted getting to experience. So it was super fun to just walk into that and be like, who came up with this? What brilliant minds are behind this level of genius?

Beth Bobbitt :

Yeah, and for listeners that may not be familiar, it's a a light and sound experience in the North Forest at Crystal Bridges, and it's happening, you know, throughout the winter and early spring months, and it you're right, it's absolutely delightful and peaceful and meditative, um, but also a lot of fun. You can grab some hot chocolate and sort of have a fun family holiday experience too.

Joanna Brown:

Yes, yes. I don't know if anything shifts at Christmas time, but I I picture that being a really cool Christmas thing to do with everybody all cozy and bundled up, and yes, with a hot chocolate sounds very nice. It was still warm while we were there. Right. So that wasn't quite to come back in a new season. Oh, I will. I already have plans to bring my husband.

Beth Bobbitt :

I love it. So, what are your big takeaways uh from your time in Bentonville?

Joanna Brown:

Yeah, so I think that I could go on and on about all of the things that we got to experience and the things we got to do, but I think my takeaways are actually things that I would tell people maybe to do differently or to keep in mind if they were repeating a trip. So the first thing would be if you can stay downtown. It's very cool to be able to do that. We were not, we were about 10 minutes away at a great Hyatt that we booked on points. Um, but if I were to repeat this, if I were to bring my husband, I would probably stay at the motto that's downtown. Um, and I know there's lots of Airbnbs and options down there. So I think there is something really, really cool about immersing yourself in the downtown of the city. So that would be one of my takeaways. Um, however, you're gonna do it though, is is fine. Like if you're if you don't let it keep you away if you can't maybe afford to stay in the downtown, you will still have a fantastic trip. Um, the next thing I would say is that this was a fantastic road trip destination. But if I could do it again rather than one full day and two half days, I would stretch it out a little bit. I would span like a longer weekend. I would love three full days or four full days because I honestly feel like we didn't even scratch the surface.

Beth Bobbitt :

Right.

Joanna Brown:

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 to see and do. So I would stretch it out a little bit if it's an option. If it's not, just come back multiple times, no big deal. Um, and number three is come hungry because you cannot, you will want to try everything, and it's it's difficult. It's I've never been so full in my life. I think I'm normally like a two-meal a day person, and I was like, we have to try all the things. And you are going to want to, uh-huh. Absolutely. So I would be allocating your travel budget towards the experiences and the food in Bentonville specifically, because they are so unique and amazing, and you really are going to want to splurge in these areas.

Beth Bobbitt :

Yeah, and I will say um these are great tips. By the time this airs, the Compton, which is a new hotel that's opening up with lots of restaurants and coffee bars and unique spaces, uh, will be accepting reservations. So check that out too. Another great downtown option. So wrapping up, tell us about some of your favorite road trips that maybe our listeners don't know about from St. Louis or elsewhere.

Joanna Brown:

Well, I went ahead and I picked a few that people can access from different areas of the country. So from St. Louis, a really good one, and one that I'm in fact doing in about a month here is Caramel, Indiana. And that is a great one for Christmas markets specifically. If you're wanting to go at Christmas time, they have a Christmas market there that has won awards for being the best Christmas market in the US. Um, so that's maybe four and a half hours from St. Louis, a nice, easy drive and a really fun place to experience. Um, the other ones that I'm going to mention were ones that are submitted on our podcast. So you could go back and listen to the episodes in full with all the details. But for my Northwesterners, I was so intrigued by Cleellum, Washington. It is a tiny little town. It has a big Hyatt resort nearby, lots to see and do. And of course, it's absolutely gorgeous out that way. And for my Easterners, Newport, Rhode Island keeps coming up again and again as a fantastic road trip destination. And last but not least, for my Southerners, there's so many places in the South that I could pick. Um, but I personally, even from the Midwest road trip again and again to Rosemary Beach, Florida. It again is one of those small town vibe places, just this cute little beach town where you bike everywhere. It is heaven on earth. So those are those are three road trip options that people may or may not have heard of that I would definitely use to get your wheels turning for your next road trip.

Beth Bobbitt :

That's fantastic. Well, thank you. And um, if listeners haven't tuned in, Wonderland on Points, great podcast. How can we follow along?

Joanna Brown:

So the podcast can be found on all podcast platforms. You can find us in all the big ones, um, Amazon, Spotify, Apple, all the places. Just search Wonderland on points and we will come up. We do also have a Facebook group, which you can find links in the show notes for our podcast, or you can also search traveling on points, Wonderland on points. It's quite a long name, but you'll find it. That's a great place to get involved and ask questions about points and miles. We also have a website and an email list where we occasionally send out newsletters. So if you go to wonderlandonpoints.com and you scroll down to the bottom, you'll find a place to input your email to jump on our newsletter. And that is also the place where we um you can find a lot of our blog posts and a lot of our favorite travel essentials and all of our podcast episodes. So the website is a great place to start as well. And then you can also follow on my personal Instagram, which is in an inversion of our podcast name. So our podcast is Wonderland on Points. My Instagram is points to Wonderland. I would not call myself an Instagram 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 in my stories for flight deals that are happening or points offerings that are happening. I'm pretty good about posting in there. So there's lots of places.

Beth Bobbitt :

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for sharing your experience and making time for this, Joe. It was a pleasure.

Joanna Brown:

Thank you so much for having me. It was a joy to be here, and it was a joy to visit Bentonville.

Beth Bobbitt :

Yes. Come back and come back soon. Oh, I sure will. I have plans. Thank you. Don't forget, Visit Bentonville is here to help you navigate things to do, where to eat and stay, and what's going on in our New American town. Check out the show notes to follow us on social, sign up for the newsletter, and visit our website at visitbittenville.com. Thanks for listening.