Have you ever planned a road trip just for food? I just did and it was so much fun! After reading stories about the legendary white clam pizza at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven, Connecticut, I knew I wanted to try it for myself. So when an opportunity to take a short road trip presented itself, I decided it was time to see what the buzz was all about! Plus I had been daydreaming about spending a summer day eating fried clams and lobster rolls at a waterfront New England clam shack. Since food was the primary focus of the trip, I convinced my adult son to join me for this last-minute mother/son adventure. We made the most of our short visit, even with torrential rains and delays due to a tropical storm that barreled through the area. In the end, we discovered 5 stops you won’t want to miss as you eat your way through coastal Connecticut.
0 Comments
Have you ever heard of the New River Gorge National River in West Virginia? Don’t let the name fool you, the New River is considered to be the second oldest river in the world. The area was recently redesignated, and New River Gorge National Park and Preserve became America’s 63rd national park. We recently spent a few days exploring this expansive, outdoor area and came away impressed by the scenic views and variety of activities. Like most of our national park visits, there was much to see and do, and not enough hours in the day. Besides the scenic mountains, the area offers multiple levels of hiking and mountain biking trails, white water rafting, rock climbing, fishing, and a thrilling opportunity on the New River Gorge Bridge Walk. As a bonus, the park has no entrance fees! Keep reading to find things to do at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, plus a few tips to know before you go.
Spring is officially here, and this year more than ever most of us are ready to jump in the car for a short road trip or weekend adventure a few hours from home. Those of us with four-legged family members have another question to consider—should I take my dog on a road trip? While photos of smiling dogs in a car might be popular on Instagram, the reality can be quite different. So whether you are traveling cross country with a dog, or taking a pet-friendly day trip, here are some things we learned about how to road trip with dogs. Most importantly, preparation ahead of time is essential to make things less stressful when traveling with a dog. Plus we share some useful items that we have found helpful while traveling by car with our 70-pound rescue dog over the years. Since this post was originally published, our sweet dog Hallie (pictured throughout this blog and who always had an adventurous spirit) has crossed the rainbow bridge. But stay tuned as we start traveling more with our newest 55 pound rescue dog, also shown here, who isn't quite as comfortable in the car. It's going to be an adventure!
*This post was updated January, 2024. 
Are you ready to take a family road trip but not sure where to go or how to plan? This post was originally published in honor of the 100th birthday of the National Park Service, as a way to share several of the big National Park family trips that we have taken over the years. With a renewed interest in road trips for the summer of 2020, I’m spotlighting these 6 road trip suggestions, running in length from 4 days to 3 weeks. Some include urban activities, visiting cities like Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. Use the links to find more detailed information, including suggested routes and activities, with itineraries for the longer trips that include multiple national parks. You can also visit the familyTravelsUSA Pinterest boards, filled with thousands of ideas and suggestions, organized by topics including road trips, national parks, road food and many state-specific travel and food boards.
If the first thought that comes to mind when road trip planning is where to begin, then you are not alone. Over the years, we have taken several longer family road trips, along with many shorter ones, and initially the planning was overwhelming. With so many cool places to visit in the USA, it’s hard to even know where to begin. Now with many miles under our belts, I can say that we definitely learned a few tricks along the way. Here’s 5 tips to use for planning your next family road trip.
*This post was originally published in 2015 and updated in 2024 
When is the last time you took a road trip? Over the summer I decided that it was finally time to take a road trip to Niagara Falls, a 7 ½ hour drive primarily through Pennsylvania and into western New York. The trip was somewhat of a last minute idea with my youngest daughter, and I knew that it would also be a great opportunity to explore some new places along the way. With the help of the Roadtrippers trip planning tool, I was able to easily find several cool attractions including two state parks to explore and help break up our drive on both legs of the trip. We didn’t have time to check out everything that was on my list, but we did enjoy these 4 interesting places to stop on the way from the Northern Virginia area to Niagara Falls. And if you are looking for road trip itineraries and tips, check out other posts, including 5 Delicious Stops on the Road in Coastal Connecticut.
*This post was updated September, 2024 
Are you ready to plan a road trip but don’t know where to begin? Taking a road trip vacation is something that most people will do at least once in their lifetime, but in today’s world, seems a bit more complicated. It wasn’t that long ago that you could just pile the kids into a car, pack some food, grab a few maps and go. While we all have visions of well-behaved kids singing family friendly songs in the back of the car while Mom & Dad cheerfully drive for hours, there are always the moments when you take the wrong turn, get stuck in a storm, or just want to jump out of the car for 5 minutes of alone time! A few years have passed since I first wrote 5 Tips for Planning Your Next Road Trip Adventure, and technology has certainly impacted the way we travel. So here’s 7 more tips that I hope you find helpful for your next road trip.
*This post was updated January, 2024 
As this post is published, it’s National Park Week, a time to celebrate the spectacular places around the U.S. that belong to all of us. Over the last 10 years, our family has taken several road trips to visit many national parks, including iconic parks like the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But one of my favorite road trips was the one we took to the Four Corners region and beyond of the Southwest. We spent 13 days exploring, making a loop from Albuquerque, New Mexico, through Colorado, Utah and Arizona and back to New Mexico. The places we visited on that trip had some of the most unusual landscapes in the U.S., particularly 3 Utah National Parks - Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park. Here are some things to know and tips to help you plan a visit to see these unique national parks in Utah. *This post was updated January, 2024  If you live in the US, you probably know that Florida is one of the more popular states for tourism. Whether you travel by car on Interstate 95, or fly into one of the larger cities, most families will visit Florida at one point or another. While the majority of tourists head to the popular Orlando area, there are so many other amazing places to visit on both sides of the state. Here are 3 special places we loved during a road trip to the Gulf Coast, each unique in its own way. You can easily combine them into a week long vacation, creating some amazing vacation memories along the way.
*This post was updated June, 2020  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 |
RSS Feed
