airbnb Prior to 2020, we stayed almost exclusively in hotels and at resorts. With social distancing we began using AirBNB. This weekend, severe storms thwarted our trip to OBX, so we decided to look elsewhere. Phenix, Virginia, in the Blue Ridge foothills, would never have been on our travel list if it weren’t for AirBNB.… Continue reading Appalachian Foothills, Virginia- March, 2021
We have come to know and love the Casco Bay area of Maine over the last eight years. Alex's family lives in Harpswell, an hour's drive (or ferry ride) from Portland. Over a series of Maine posts, I'll put together an itinerary that starts in Portland and takes you up the coast to Acadia National… Continue reading Portland to Harpswell, Maine
The year was 2000. The internet had just progressed from dial-up to broadband. Cell phones weren’t widespread. My rural Ohio alma mater, Muskingum College, still had a card catalogue in the library. So, it was at the beginning of the digital age that twenty Muskies booked a spring break trip to Cancun with estudenttravel.com. We… Continue reading Cancun, Mexico, Spring Break 2000
Quebec City, Canada marked our first (and only to date) full family trip outside of the US. Quebec city was built beginning in the early 17th century by the French, so it is the closest an American can get to feeling like a trip to Europe without a long flight. Old Quebec The Hotel Port… Continue reading Quebec City, Canada, 2018
The Outer Banks of North Carolina have been our primary escape for the last year. It is an easy (albeit boring) hour and a half drive from our house to Kitty Hawk. Mild winter weekends and affordable hotel and AirBNB rates make it hard not to run away any chance we get. 100 Miles of… Continue reading OBX, Winter 2021
Star Wars Galaxy's Edge, Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, 2023 Instead of lining up for character meet and greets, Cast Members act out the story; Rey and Chewie work on their spacecrafts and the Stormtroopers try to keep law and order. Shopping Galaxy's Edge, Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World 2022 Galaxy's Edge… Continue reading Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Hollywood Studios
Salt Lake City was never on our short list of travel destinations. Originally we were flying into San Francisco for a Yosemite National Park vacation. Unfortunately the park closed due to wildfires, so on the day of our departure we switched our National Park trip to visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Salt Lake City was… Continue reading Utah, 2013
Remember the movie Crocodile Dundee? My 2001 four-month “Working Holiday” in Australia was in some ways the same story, in reverse. The lead as a small-town girl from Ohio who had only experienced large cities on a tour group’s detailed itinerary. I had only flown twice, once to Florida, and once to Cancun, Mexico, back… Continue reading SYDNEY TO PERTH, Australia 2001
Coronado Resort holds a special place in our hearts as the very first Disney property we ever visited. We've stayed at the resort on five of our trips, most recently in the new Gran Destino tower. Coronado Resort at Walt Disney World From Coronado it is a short bus ride to Animal Kingdom, Epcot and… Continue reading Coronado Resort at Walt Disney World
We have somehow passed Occoquan countless times on our way to Washington, D.C. without knowing it existed. Alex was scheduled to travel to D.C. for a meeting (the first trip in almost a year of what was a regular occurrence prior to COVID). We used the short trip as an opportunity for Alice and I… Continue reading Occoquan, Virginia February 2021
Savannah We’ve visited Savannah over a dozen times and it never disappoints; it’s an easy city to see without much of an itinerary outside of parking your car and going for a walk. On our first trip, we started at Savannah History Museum, and it provided a good overview of the city. It also houses… Continue reading Georgia Coast, USA
In May of 2019, we met a fellow Muggle Family from Ohio at Universal Orlando Resort for a three-day trip. Alice played hooky, and we visited on weekdays in May when the park was less crowded. We also stayed a a Premier Resort, the Lowe's Royal Pacific, located within easy walking distance to the parks.… Continue reading THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER, Universal Orlando Resort, 2019
Muskies in Spain We capped off our Spain trip with Barcelona, which included a reunion with two of my fellow Muskingum University Alumnus/XAN Sorority Sisters, Mandy and Kiersten. Mandy joined us from Ohio and Kiersten from London, where she was living at the time. It was their first time meeting Alex, and he humored our… Continue reading Barcelona, Spain, 2011
In 2012 we took our last overseas vacation as a family of two. Compared to the Bahamas and Jamaica, Aruba felt much more accessible without staying at an all-inclusive resort, and relying on tours to venture outside the resort. We used public buses, taxis, and drove rental cars. The island is small enough for us… Continue reading Aruba, 2012
Our family has visited Acadia National Park (almost) every summer since 2014. Acadia National Park is on Mount Desert Island, which consists mostly of the Park and the town of Bar Harbor. It was originally home to the Wabanaki people before the large-scale arrival of Europeans in the 1600s. Sand Beach You haven't tested your resilience… Continue reading Acadia National Park, Maine, USA
November & December, 2020 & 2021 Ocracoke Island is at the southern tip of the Outer Banks of North Carolina and can only accessed by ferry. A Beach (Mostly) to Yourself In 2020, I set the lofty goal of walking 20.20 miles in one day by the end of the year. I accomplished my goal… Continue reading Okracoke Island for the Holidays
International Festival of the Arts International Festival of the Arts is held in the late winter months. They brought Broadway stars to the stage to perform songs from the stage productions.We spent a large portion of our time searching for Figment, cleverly hidden in famous works of art in each country. (There is a photo… Continue reading Epcot at Walt Disney World- Festivals
The French Quarter Don't let Bourbon Street's reputation (while well-earned after sunset) deter you from thinking the French Quarter can't be a destination when you are traveling with kids.Family-friendly options abound. Because many of the tourists are awake until the late hours, getting up early gave us a nearly empty French Quarter. Alice loved shopping… Continue reading New Orleans, Louisiana USA
I'm a transplant from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic; I grew up in the cornfield sector of Ohio and then moved to the coastal plains of southern Virginia when I was 22. I'm now raising a small 8-year old version of myself, named Alice, with my husband of 11 years, named Alex. In 2005, I… Continue reading Introduction
