 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
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 Summer is in full swing and as the days get hotter, it’s a wonderful time to visit what I consider to be some of DC’s most interesting attractions. As a bonus, they are all inside, so its perfect for those dog days of summer. Although the city is filled with the fabulous and free Smithsonian complex of museums, I think these three gems are worth the price of admission.
 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.
This post was updated May, 2017
Now that summer is almost here, most families are ready to forget about school and homework and head off on vacation. But wouldn’t it be cool to not only learn about George Washington in school, but to visit Mount Vernon where he lived and walk through his garden? Or step back to colonial times in historic Williamsburg and experience life as it was back in the 1700’s? Here are 5 fun ways to make history come alive on your next family vacation. Depending on where you live, these places would be fun for a long weekend or a 3 or 4 day mini vacation. 
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  Photo: FamilyTravelsUSA As I was writing this article, I was feeling pretty good thinking about the number and types of museums that our family has visited over the years. These include places like the small town Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum in Winchester, Virginia, (a family favorite which recently expanded), to the amazing free Smithsonian Museums in DC. In recent years, we have branched out to visit the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville (home of the Grand Ole Opry for over 30 years), the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, and the EMP in Seattle (see photo).
 The official start of winter is just around the corner, and there is no telling what Mother Nature has in store. But if you love winter activities like skiing and snowboarding and live in the Mid-Atlantic region of the country, there are a surprising number of family-friendly ski resorts within a 3-4.5 hour drive of the DC area. The mountains may not be as tall as the Rocky Mountains, and most operate with some combination of natural and man-made snow, but know that many of these places also offer other activities such as snow-tubing, ice skating, snowshoeing, and indoor swimming. When winter is in full force and the snow starts to fall, check out these five family-friendly places to ski within driving distance from DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
*This post was updated for the 24-25 ski season |
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