Tennessee is a trip that has been in the back of my mind for a long time. The Great Smoky Mountains was on our wish list as we are trying to visit as many National Parks as we can. It’s relative proximity makes it a perfect road trip destination. As music fans, there was no way we could travel to Tennessee and NOT see Memphis, Graceland, and Nashville. Planning this trip was a lot of fun because the options for travelers are abundant! Our route!: Rather than working our way south, we decided to drive the long-haul to Memphis, and then work our way back North. Road Trip Itinerary: Day 1: Louisv ..read more

In the past few years, our three children have reached the stage where they are a little more independent. We have said goodbye to diaper bags, strollers, car seats, and the cheerios that lined the interior of our cars. As much as we are going to miss the joys of the baby and toddler stages, we are enjoying the flexibility that our children’s independence has given us. We especially love the relative ease with which we can finally travel! Vacations no longer need to be trips to the the beach or a long weekend in a cabin. We can now hit the road! Our family, 2020 To me, road trips have always h ..read more

I am very behind on posts, and have a lot of travel adventures to share! Due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, we had to cancel a trip to Disney World and a hiking trip in Peru. Brian and I discussed what we should do and if we felt it was safe to travel. We knew we weren’t catching a plane or going anywhere crowded, so we opted for a road trip instead. Our oldest, Seth, had been asking for a trip to the Great Lakes, and so a Great Lakes road trip it was! Google Map Road Trip Itinerary: First night:leave and stay at a hotel on the way to Glen Arbor Day 2-3: Glen Arbor, MI (Sleeping Bears Dune ..read more

Quick Trip Itinerary:  4 Nights at Adventures on the Gorge, Lansing, WV Whitewater rafting with Adventures on the Gorge Kayaking at Summersville Lake Hiking: Endless Wall Trail There are a handful of things that I am terrified to try. Whitewater rafting has always been one of them. We go kayaking all the time, so people are sometimes confused by this. I can’t quite explain it, but I think it’s the lack of control that I don’t like. Brian went whitewater rafting a few years ago with some work friends at the New River Gorge in WV and has been talking about it ever since. I wanted to do so ..read more

Quick Trip Itinerary: 2 nights at the Drury Plaza Hotel in Cleveland, OH Rock & Roll Hall of Fame A Christmas Story House & Museum We live about 2 1/2 hours from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Before my dad passed away, he and I went at least every other year for a day trip to Cleveland. He was a big influence on why I am a music history nerd. As my kids became of late-elementary/middle school age, and their interest in music increased, we picked up this tradition and started making our own trips. How we ended up making this trip a weekend stay was a culmination of a few factors ..read more

Quick Trip Itinerary Columbia, S.C.: one quick night on the road at Red Roof Inn Columbia East Port Charlotte, FL: 5 nights at a home lent to us by a work contact of my husband Savannah, GA: 2 nights at the Thunderbird Inn There are quite a few people that think we are crazy for doing long road trips with 3 children in the same car for extended periods of time. Those same people thought I had lost my mind when I said we were now taking along our Great Dane! Some people travel with small dogs, when we go, we like to go big. Traveling with kids AND dogs requires quite a bit of discipline and t ..read more

Quick Trip Itinerary: New York: One night at Travel Inn Hotel, NY, NY Boothbay Harbor, ME: Three nights at The Spruce Point Inn Mystic Seaport, CT: One night at the Howard Johnson, Mystic Seaport This trip was planned on a whim after I found a Groupon for The Spruce Point Inn. When I mapped out the route, I realized that New York City was exactly half-way, and Mystic Seaport was a good stopping place on our trip back… and so began my planning of road trips! New York: I knew we only had less than 24 hours in New York, which clearly is not enough. I decided to streamline our stay to focus ..read more