 Are you ready to celebrate? In August, 2016, the National Park Service turns 100, with special events and programs all year long. There has never been a better time to visit our wonderful National Parks, and if you need more convincing, here are 5 amazing reasons to visit your favorite park.
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 Is a houseboat vacation rental on your family travel bucket list? Houseboating was always something that caught my attention, with dreams of relaxing on the water and watching the sunset from the boat deck. In Virginia, there’s no better place for houseboating than beautiful Smith Mountain Lake. Often called the “Jewel of the Blue Ridge,” Smith Mountain Lake has over 500 miles of shoreline, and combines the best of lake life with the scenic backdrop of the Blue Ridge mountains. It’s the ultimate family bonding experience when you are all together on a 39’ boat for a few days! Here’s what I discovered during our 3-day houseboating adventure on Smith Mountain Lake, including 6 helpful tips for first-time houseboaters.
*This post was updated April, 2023  Taking a short mother/daughter road trip right after school gets out might be my new summer tradition! Last week I posted about our Urban Adventure Tour in Philadelphia, but I wanted to follow that with a more detailed post about the rest of our mini road trip. I thought the trip would be a good idea after the last few months of dealing with college application craziness and then graduation. Since my two older kids already had travel plans, I wanted to spend a few days doing something special with my youngest teenage daughter. The trip was a combination of farm fun (my daughter loves animals), local foods, history, a haunted prison tour and a day shopping in NYC. Other than the really hot weather, it was awesome!
*This post was updated June, 2020  I recently took my teenage daughter on a short mother/daughter road trip, stopping in Philadelphia and New York City. Since I hadn’t been a tourist in Philadelphia for many years, I thought it would be fun to take a group tour of this historic city. I was searching for something that would give us an up close look at all the wonderful sites Philadelphia has offer, while keeping a teenager engaged. After doing some quick research on the internet, I was able to book a “History in HD” tour with Urban Adventures. Here are 5 reasons you should consider an Urban Adventure tour on your next trip to Philly.
 For the first summer in a long time, my family will probably just be taking some mini-vacations, and we are looking forward to exploring our beautiful home state of Virginia. Although I have lived in this state for over 20+ years, there are many places and activities that I have yet to try. So, with the help of the “Virginia is for Lovers” website, I have put together 10 fun things to do in Virginia this summer. I’m excited to have a go-to list so that when my teenagers have a few days free here and there, we can take off and try something new.
One of our first big family road trips was a drive from Boston, Massachusetts to Bar Harbor, Maine. Along the way, we stopped at the giant L.L. Bean flagship store in Freeport, ate lobster rolls in Wiscasset, and stayed overnight to explore scenic Boothbay Harbor. We were excited to arrive in Bar Harbor and explore the small town, along with nearby Acadia National Park. It was the first of many national park road trips that we took as a family. Upon arrival in Bar Harbor, we had an unexpected glitch with our accommodations. The good news was it led to an upgrade to the Harborside Hotel, centrally located in downtown Bar Harbor. This certainly made our stay even better as we now had walking access to local restaurants and the harbor. Here’s our list of cool things to do when visiting Bar Harbor. *This post was updated April, 2022  Everyone knows that DC is a popular tourist town, filled with history and wonderful free museums. When the weather is nice, there are more options for outdoor enthusiasts or tourists looking for something a bit more adventurous. Next time you visit DC, consider adding one of these fun, outdoor activities for a different perspective of our nation’s capital.
*This post was updated April, 2021  Camping is truly a great family bonding experience, and each season offers a different opportunity to experience nature. Some people prefer the fall season, with cooler weather, no bugs, and the changing of the leaves. Others like summer, especially when camping near a river or lake. Whatever the season, here are 5 popular campgrounds in Virginia and West Virginia, each with something unique to offer. Some also offer cabins as an option to tent camping. I also share some tips and resources to help find your ideal campsite in locations throughout the US.
This post was updated April, 2021.  Who would have guessed that the highlight of my summer was zip lining almost half a mile across a valley about 275 feet above the ground with nothing but air and mountain views around me. This is probably one of the most fun family outings we have taken on vacation, and I would highly recommend adding this to a family bucket list. We were at Wears Valley Zipline Adventures in the mountains of Tennessee not too far from Pigeon Forge and the Great Smoky Mountains. The original course has 4 lines that run over 3100 feet, and for many people, that is plenty. But it is the last 3 lines they recently added that are the most amazing, with some of the longest and highest in the region. Also, the guides were super friendly and helpful, and always there with encouraging words, especially for those of us who had never zip lined before. You can purchase a combo ticket which also included whitewater rafting, which we also did the day prior to zip lining. Tickets are a bit pricey but it was definitely worth it for creating some wonderful family memories.
 Now is a great time to get the kids outside exploring and back to nature. I found a great website, Kids in Parks Track Trail, which offers tips and suggestions to help your young kids fall in love with nature through hiking! The website itself currently has over 50 Track Trails in the states of California, Iowa, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland, plus the District of Columbia, with more updates coming. The TRACK Trails guide you on established trails in a given park, accompanied by a kid-friendly brochure you can download. For example, at Wolf Trap National Park, the brochures have themes such as “Flower-Power, Hide N’ Seek, and Animal Athletes.” It’s a great way to introduce your kids to hiking, or to interest them in going to a place that you want to visit. If you want, you can even track your adventures in an on-line nature journal and earn prizes. If you decide to try one, let us know how it goes!
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