This is a delayed post from July 2015. As you know, my child is now 13 and sees the world a bit differently. It is always fun to look back on our adventures.
Do you want to explore a big hole in the ground? It’s 450 miles long, and counting. It is a lot of fun!
Living now in the midwest, Kentucky is a lot closer than it was when I was growing up in New England. My daughter and I recently decided to take advantage of our proximity to this national treasure and head out for a week of fun. We met my parents who live in North Carolina and headed out for adventure while my hubby was off studying hard.
Now, my parents and I have been to Mammoth Cave before. I was, perhaps, still living in their house the last time we visited. Even though it was far away, they still managed to pack their 3 kiddos in the car and get us out into the world to enjoy something new as often as possible.
Though most of our group had been to this giant hole in the ground before, kiddo had not, so off we went. We camped in an RV park nearby (my parents have a travel trailer) and drove into the National Park each day. There were shenanigans all the way in and out of the park I might add. My parents, my child, and I are goofy people, especially when we are together. We behave in public but in private cars, not so much.
We took 3 cave tours over the course of 3 days. The first was called the Gothic Avenue tour and we entered through the Historic Entrance. It is a very interesting place. We saw historic graffiti and had a pleasant, well lit walk.
The second, called Frozen Niagara, went well. Kiddo loved it, we saw cool stuff and we were in the cave for about 20 minutes. This tour does not start at the Historic Entrance but at a little door in the woods. Fun, and a pretty drive on the bus to get there. Kiddo was a pro by now and knew not to touch anything and even asked the guide good questions.
The third tour was, well, different. The Star Chamber tour is actually really cool. You tour only with lanterns like people did in the 1800s. They also, for about 2 minutes, plunge you into complete darkness, as in can’t see your hand in front of your face darkness. You get to see sections of the cave that you won’t on other tours and I highly recommend it. Actually, I recommend it IF you have older teenagers or if your group is all adults. You see, 10 year olds might freak out about the dark and the creepy. Kiddo DID NOT care for this one. To make things more complicated, while we were in the cave that night a HUGE storm came up. Now, during a terrible storm like that in Kentucky, the safest place to be is in the cave. It is the ultimate basement, good tornado safety and all. In fact, we were so far in, we couldn’t hear the weather at all; we only knew because our guide was notified. Once we got back to the Historic Entrance we could hear it through the door though. Yes, they were right, it was a BIG storm.
Do you know what the park rangers do if you are on an evening cave tour (the last and only tour currently underway) during a storm like that? Well, they are very careful with you, that’s what. They take your safety very seriously. You get to stay in the cave until the gigantic storm passes…with your lanterns…still on a tour your daughter doesn’t want to be on for one second longer…fun!
No manner of convincing my child that we were safe, that the rangers were trained for this and had everything under control, that we couldn’t be left completely in the dark even if the power went out in the entrance area because we had our own lanterns (and flashlights, and smartphones for that matter) worked. She was, thankfully, old enough to keep herself from throwing an actual fit but she was furious with her mother!!
So the next day we decided to stay above ground and see how Corvettes were made. Both my child and my father thought it was the coolest thing ever. My husband was so jealous when we told him about it. My daughter now can pick out a Corvette from way down the road. In truth she is still looking for the grey one that was delivered to someone who lives in our county while we were there. The county isn’t that big and the license plate is easy to remember so I’ll let you know if we find it.
Weird things happen on vacation folks! That ought to be my tagline.
Also, visit your National Parks. You won’t regret it. You might get funny stories but you will be glad you went.
This is the first in the New Adventures series. In this series, I will be outlining plans for future trips. I expect this series will cover most of 2019 and perhaps spill into 2020.
These posts will contain a variety of information based on location, modes of transportation, budgets, etc. I plan to have a Stats section at the top of each post to provide a snapshot of what’s to come. Each trip will come in a set of posts. There will typically be an itinerary post like this one, followed by one or more posts about what to do in each location, and, when needed, a packing post.
I’m starting with the Upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest for two reasons: 1. It is close by, relatively speaking. 2. There seem to be a few states that I haven’t seen, as in nearly all of them.
Let’s head out, shall we?
Stats
Mode of transportation: Personal vehicle, road trip! Miles: roughly 5,100 + 500 for extra excursions further off of the highway. Hours in the car: roughly 83 Days: 22 States: 11 (I am not counting our home state.) Travelers: 2 adults, 1 teenager, 1 tiny dog Visas/paperwork: None. All of the humans are US citizens and our dog is not a restricted breed anywhere. Overnights: 21 Airbnbs: 6 Hotels: 6 Campgrounds (tent camping): 2 Estimated Cost of Transportation: $560 (5,600 miles at 35 mpg and $3.50 per gallon. We drive a hybrid sedan and usually get 37-40 mpg so this is a conservative estimate,) Estimated Cost of Lodging: $2,700 (I pad the costs a bit to help with budgeting but it comes out to about $130 per night for private, pet-friendly spaces with kitchens, real beds for everyone, wi-fi, usually a washing machine, and parking included.) Estimated food costs: $1,000 (This assumes that we will mostly buy prepared food. With included breakfast and cooking for ourselves, we can bring this way down.) Running Total Cost: $4,260 Major Points of Interest for Our Family: Chicago, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Minneapolis, Glacier National Park, Seattle, Portland, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore
The Route:
We live near Indianapolis so we will start there. 1. Chicago, IL – 3-hour drive – we’ll leave home early and the time change will work in our favor – overnight – Airbnb ($200). BTW, options include a Harry Potter themed apartment!
2. Madison, WI – 2-hour drive – stop for lunch and wander around Univ. of Wisconsin campus to stretch our legs. This is a point of interest for us since a dear friend attended this school. Since it is on the way, we want to stop.
3. Minneapolis, MN – 4-hour drive – 2 overnights – Airbnb ($300) We have friends who live here now so we’d love to visit with them. Besides, it’s a pretty cool city.
4. Bismarck, ND – 6-hour drive – overnight – Hotel ($100) Country Inn & Suites
5. Minot, ND – 2-hour drive – overnight – Hotel ($80) Microtel by Wyndham
6. Havre, MT – 6.5-hour drive – overnight – Hotel ($120) AmericInn by Wyndham * Time Zone Change to Mountain Time Zone
7. Glacier National Park – 4.5-hour drive – 2 overnights – camp in the park ($46 – $23/night at Many Glacier Campground. We can make reservations ahead of time and though there are no showers at the campground, it is a short walk to a motel that has coin-operated showers. Not luxury travel by any means but adventures come in many forms!)
8. Spokane, WA – 5-hour drive – overnight – Airbnb ($100) *Time Zone Change to Pacific Time Zone
12. Yellowstone National Park – 5.5-hour drive – 2 overnights – camp in the park ($47 – $23.50 per night. Reservations required for Bridge Bay Campground.) *Time Zone Change to Mountain Time Zone
14. Mount Rushmore – 2.5-hour drive – overnight – Hotel ($250). This is a bit high for us for one night. We might actually keep going after our stop at the monument. This is a gamble though, South Dakota has wide stretches between population centers.
15. Jackson, MN – 6.5-hour drive – overnight – Hotel ($160) AmericInn by Wyndham *Time Zone Change to Central Time Zone
16. Davenport, IA – 5.5-hour drive – overnight – Hotel ($130) My Place. This is a chain I haven’t heard of and this is a newly built facility but it comes highly rated.
17. Indianapolis – 4.5-hour drive – home (We already pay the mortgage so it costs us nothing extra.) *Time Zone Change to Eastern Time Zone
This is, admittedly, an ambitious trip. Driving 5,100 miles in 21 days is quite a bit. This breaks down to about 4 hours of driving per day. Since we will not be changing location every day, some days will require more driving than just 4 hours. Luckily, my husband likes to drive, my daughter and I are excellent passengers, and my dog settles down within 30 minutes.
Why Airbnb vs. Hotels? (Please note that I did not list individual homes for Airbnbs above. I did extensive research and that is what we would pay but since they are people’s private homes and that seems wrong.) We like Airbnb for several reasons. -We get to live like locals so we have a more authentic experience of what life is like there. We do like points of interest now and then but we really just want to get a feel for the place. -We’ve always had good luck though we do expect that our luck will eventually run out. -If we have a whole place there are fewer people to annoy if our dog barks for a few minutes when we need to leave him for a few hours if we are headed somewhere we can’t take him. He is crated though so we don’t worry that he destroy anything.** – We can cook for ourselves to keep costs down. -We can get a washing machine pretty regularly. **It is very important that when you initially contact hosts you tell them you have a dog with you. I usually describe ours as a “house-trained, crate-trained, 14-pound cutie pie who is in his crate at night and whenever we can’t be with him.” It is best to be upfront with people, so much trouble can ensue if you are not. Lest you think we are big meanies, we’ve tried for years to get him to sleep out of his crate or to be able to wander around the house while we are not home but he REALLY likes his crate. Therefore, we respect his den animal ways.
Airbnb filters used for this trip: -Entire Place -3 adults (Our teenager is over the age of 12 and counts as an adult.) -Pet-Friendly -2 actual beds (This is a long trip and our child is taller than me so we do not ask her to sleep on a pull-out, futon, or air mattress unless it is absolutely necessary.) -WiFi -Washing machine at least every 3 or 4 days though most places I found did have one. (We bring 5-7 days of clothes and wash as we go.) -Superhost I also scour the reviews looking for the words clean, kind, and awesome as well as dirty, not what I expected, and difficult.We have excellent guest ratings because we work hard to leave homes in great shape. We are usually able to give excellent ratings to the hosts as well but we have to be honest. It is best to be prepared for what you may encounter rather than ding someone for something you could/should have known before you booked.
So why are you staying in hotels instead of Airbnb sometimes? This is usually for one of two reasons. 1. There are no viable Airbnbs available in that location. This is almost always the reason on this trip. 2. We will be a bit unpredictable in our arrival making it hard to meet a host. When booking hotels, I like to Booking.com because I can filter much the same way as on Airbnb. A word of warning though, I had to click “pet-friendly” for each new search in each new city.
Why do you sometimes camp? In some of the National Parks, we have little choice but to do so if we want to stay in the park. Also, our daughter enjoys camping and all family members have a say on what we do and where we go when we plan trips. My husband and I have done lots of camping and don’t mind doing so now and then. Besides, you can get some AMAZING views from campsites in National Parks. The fresh air makes for great sleeping too just be smart about where you book. For tent camping, you will want shade and a generator free zone. No one sleeps well in a hot tent surrounded by exhaust and noise.
Should you rent an RV instead? Well, let’s see. I checked that out at a few places around Indianapolis. I found that the cost of renting an RV would be: $3200 for the smallest vehicle (there are only 3 of us plus a small dog) $2,000 for the mileage. I eastimate 5,600 miles and they usually charge 35 to 40 cents per mile. $1,650 for the gas (5,600 miles at 12 mpg and $3.50 per gallon – here’s hoping the gas mileage would be that good) $735 for campground fees averaging around $35/night (The actual average range for campsites fees is $30 to $50 but there are some ways around that including being able to park at a Cabela’s or a Wal-Mart for free overnight. You have to run climate control/fridge/etc. off your battery though and you have no water or sewer hook ups. If you plan to stay at either of these stores overnight, you need to ask the manager’s permission. There are a few that do not allow it for one reason or another.) $500 for food (we’d be able to cook a lot more) Comparable RV total: $8,085*
*This does not include transportation into the cities and/or wasted time looking for city parking that would accommodate even a small RV.
Things here have been super crazy these last several years hence the break-neck speed of my posts coming at you about once a year!
This year I plan to, well, plan. We have quite a number of trips on our bucket lists here at my house. We don’t have exact timelines for these trips yet and a lot of the timing will depend on the time and money required to take each trip. I know, this is quite a startling revelation as we are obviously the only people with those parameters.
Anyway, I will be planning trips that I want to take. I will be researching flight costs, lodging options, car rentals, travel insurance, visas, attractions, etc. The goal is to have a set of trips ready to go whenever we can fit them into our schedule. My dear readers, I hope that you enjoy reading through these plans and I welcome information that you would like to share. Honestly though, whether anyone but me and my family ever reads these plans makes no difference to me. Our child is getting older and we have a limited number of years left to take her on adventures with us before she is off on her own adventures. We want to be sure to share as many trips and experiences as possible in the next few years. Time marches on.
Yes, I have issues with animals. Yes, I now have a dog. Yes, I’m a sucker for a cute face. I mean come on…
The Most Popular Pup In Boston
Our little guy is small on purpose, we knew we wanted a dog that was small enough to travel because we have no intention of slowing down! He’s even small enough to fly in the cabin of the plane if needed, though we’ve not done so yet.
Now, we’ve traveled with our child every year of her life, and some years it was every month. We are, therefore, aware that babies travel with a ridiculous amount of gear and it appears puppies aren’t much different. On our 16 day trip to the northeast each human had a carry-on size bag of clothes (laundry is our friend), a pillow, a book or 2, and an electronic device of some kind. We shared a toiletry bag. However, the dog had a crate, a backpack in which he could ride both in the car and out in the world, a sleeping pad, 2 towels, 2 blankets, a lifejacket (you can rent lifejackets for humans but not for puppies), a bag of food and treats, and a bag of toys. He is so lucky he’s cute. His stuff outweighed his cute, 12 pound self at least 2 times over!
The most important thing we had for the dog was paperwork. Humans need passports to cross the Canadian border and dogs need rabies vaccination records.* They are not kidding and there is no substitute. Even if you have the tag on the dog’s collar, you need the paperwork or your entire family can be turned around at the border. I was taking no chances. I Googled, I quizzed my friends, and I quizzed the vet who then consulted some magic vet portal to be sure we had what we needed. NOTE paperwork for driving to Canada is different than flying to Canada, ask your vet.
Border stop one, from Vermont into Quebec. An un-amused guard did not appreciate us butchering her native French (high school Spanish for me and Russian for hubby, but at least we tried) and checked all the paperwork and faces extremely carefully, including the dog’s. It was a good thing I got that updated rabies vaccination record, the original one said he was dark brown, which he was at the time of the shot, but his is now mostly cream colored. I’m positive we would not have passed had the paperwork not been updated. She did NOT like us but I’m pretty sure she didn’t like anyone. We forgave her though, that must not be an easy job.
Border stop two, out of Ontario and into Michigan. The guard briefly checked passports, waved off the the paperwork for the dog that we had out and ready for him and asked us why we were in Canada so long, “You couldn’t get out any faster?!” Funny guy, the first we’ve encountered actually.
The moral of the story, have ALL the paperwork for anything that breathes when crossing borders. Have it out and ready and be serious when approaching the border guards. Some will make you feel almost like a criminal and some will welcome you in with a smile and a joke.
The last bit of advice, pack very well. Keep like items together and be extremely organized. If ever your car is searched, it will be so much easier and quicker if you look like you have your sh.., err stuff together. Even if your trunk is usually a wreck, make sure it is pristine before you hit a border, this goes for all bags and compartments inside the car too. It will be easy to search and easy to put back together so you can get on your way. Yup, we’ve had the car searched too. Trust me, this is the way to go.
There yet are we?
*Also note that PIT BULLS, dogs with pit bull lineage, and any dog that may be mistaken for one, are NOT allowed into Ontario and many other places in Canada. They will turn you around at the border no matter your paperwork. Please read up on this before you go! I’m refraining from adding links to this post as this is an ongoing discussion and I want you to research it for yourself instead of relying on what might be an outdated link that I have posted here.
Have you ever been to Rocky Mountain National Park? If not, go there soon and bring your sense of adventure! Fourth of July is fantastic as are the hiking options. I’m headed back at some point but a little wiser this time.
So, you know how you go camping in a national park and have large animals walking through your campsite whenever they please? Of course you do. They even join in you the town park for fireworks. After several days of this you notice that you have seen more elk than you knew existed but you haven’t seen a moose. They live in the park too and you’ve never seen one. Naturally you insist one morning that you and your husband drive around the park to find a moose, like people do. Your husband is a nice guy and agrees. After about 30 minutes of driving slowly and looking around, you pull into a picnic area. In the distance, through the trees, you see elk by the hundreds, as usual. Out of the corner of your eye you catch a glimpse of something moving in the trees near you. A large, brown animal emerges, it is a moose! Yay, mission accomplished!
You raise your camera and as you look through the viewfinder (because it it 2003 and you still use film) you notice the moose looks closer and it appears there are two. You also notice that your very even-keeled husband has thrown your new car into reverse and is kicking up gravel as he hits the gas. Your camera leaves your face and you see a mother and a calf moving towards you, QUICKLY! You have visions of hoof marks on the hood of your car, through your windshield, and probably on the humans inside. You are ever so grateful that your husband is a steady and confident driver. He peels out of the picnic area and you both breathe a sigh of relief.
Then you see it.
In the passenger side mirror, mama is not happy and both she and the calf are now chasing your car down the road …and gaining on you! Mama leaves the road and runs along side your car until she is even with the front of the car and proceeds keep up! Before she decides to dart into the road and your car, your husband gives it a bit more gas and you finally leave the moose in your mirror for good. You are grateful that you do not yet have a child because there might be some interesting language escaping your mouth.
You decide not to look for any more large game. Lesson learned folks, when the animals in the park come near you on their own, they know you are there and they don’t care. When you happen upon them and startle them, you better have skills and luck on your side. It certainly does not help that moose are the least social members of the deer family and prefer to be without the company of other moose never mind humans. (Thank you internet, I learned something today.)
Did I mention I have issues with animals? My issues precede this event by a couple of decades but this encounter didn’t help.
It’s like this folks, on road trips my husband loves to drive and hates to be a passenger. I, on the other hand, prefer not to drive and rather enjoy being a passenger. A match made in heaven I tell you. In our more than 18 years together and 70,000+ miles of road trips I have driven for exactly 3 hours. Yes, a scant 200 miles or so. Wanna know why I drove those? For 2 hours my husband was still recovering from food poisoning and if it weren’t for the lake-effect snow we were trying to stay ahead of, we would have camped out at the hotel for another day. The other hour was because he was so tired he couldn’t keep his eyes open. Kansas is kind of boring to drive through folks, even if the reward at the end is Colorado. I swear I-70 is basically just 450 miles of grain. Many thanks for feeding the country though, we genuinely appreciate your hard work!
Therefore I am the best darn road trip passenger you have ever seen. It works out for us. I essentially wait on him hand and foot which he loves because I never do so at home, unless he is just this side of hospital sick. In return he drives me all over the place to visit friends and family and go on adventures.
I don’t like traffic, particularly in cities. However, places like Chicago are between me and my vacation sometimes. Thanks for driving hubby!
While he drives I navigate, reroute us around traffic jams, get snacks, open water and soda, manage the music, manage our munchkin (though she is pretty self sufficient now and almost as tall as me at 11 years old), answer the phone, text responses for him, call for reservations or with travel updates to our family members or Airbnb hosts. I’ve even listened to audiobooks (reading in the car makes me ill) and worked on craft projects to occupy myself in city traffic so he can concentrate and I can keep from looking for the brake on my side of the car every 30 seconds. (I never said I didn’t have control issues, people, just that I am better at being a passenger than my partner in crime.) At least once during each trip I sing loudly and purposefully off-key which he doesn’t like to admit he finds funny. Lately our munchkin does too. It’s hysterical. (In case you are wondering, we sing “On the Road Again.”)
Sock knitting in Chicago traffic. Sanity for all of us!
Mainly we talk, a lot. We plan for the trip, for life after the trip and we catch up on all of the funny little things that have happened over the last few months that our over-scheduled lives have kept us from mentioning to each other. My goal is to keep him well-fed, entertained and awake. Such people are better and safer drivers. That’s good for me, him, our daughter and anyone who happens to be on the road with us.
As you know, I have a very scientific way of choosing vacation spots. 😉 Even so, we happened upon a perfect spot for our family to unwind and enjoy time together, Door County, WI.
It took a little longer to get there than we planned as we hit some VERY strong storms on our way up but we made it in one piece. Our cottage was just south of the town of Sturgeon Bay and was on Green Bay itself. The views were gorgeous.
We happened to visit the first week of June when the weather was perfect by my standards – sunny and mild. Also, everything was open but there were very few other vacationers as most schools in the state were still in session.
We had a wonderful time meeting new people in the area. Some places not to be missed:
Cave Point County Park
Peninsula State Park
At Peninsula State Park, the only time in my life I’ve ever taken a picture timed this well. I caught the boat!
Patawatomi State Park
View from the top of the Patatowami State Park Observation over the water. Great view was worth climbing the open wooden tower!
Downtown Sturgeon Bay
Hands On Art
Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant
Yup, those are goats on the roof at Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant!
Sunset Grill
Sunsets over Green Bay in general – chase them people!
Our first sunset in Wisconsin. This is the view from our cottage for the week!
When I go on vacation, I am kind of like Superman. I just need to get into a car or a plane and quick as a blink Everyday Mom turns into Fun Mom like Clark Kent turns into Superman in a phone booth. (Where does Superman change these days?) Everyday Mom is concerned about homework, deadlines, schedules and clean dishes, you know the sexy stuff. Fun Mom says “I wonder what’s over there”, “Let’s try that out” and “Let’s go adventuring” far more often than “Where are your shoes?”
This transformation is clearly one of the reasons that my child LOVES vacations. She gets to see lots of things and have lots of new adventures even if it means walking 11 miles in a day on her 9 year old legs. Nary a complaint on vacation! Everyday kiddo would be quite upset with that mileage. We as a family are far more open to new experiences while we are on a trip. Do you want to meet a penguin? Yes! Do you want to ride a horse? Sure! How about a hike up that mountain? Why not! Do you want to climb to the top of the tallest thing in this city and look all the way down? Absolutely! Do you want to order that thing that all the locals are eating but you can’t quite identify? Yup! Do you want to go to a country where you don’t speak the language at all? Oui! Do you want to go into the monkey infested jungle and explore ancient ruins? You bet! Do you want to drive a tiny car, on the wrong side of the road, down narrow lanes? Of course!
My ride, Martha. The saddle was higher than my head!
Everyday Family contains a person who has issues with animals (ME! Seriously, I’m terrified.), someone who doesn’t care for heights (hubby) and a very picky eater (kiddo). Vacation Fun Family will try just about anything we come across. If we, among the most straight laced, rule following, over-scheduled families you will ever meet can get out of our shell on a trip, you can too! Try it, you’ll like it. After all, you got time off from work, saved your money, got on a plane (or in a car) and came all this way. I’m sure your hotel room, cabin, tent or camper is lovely but you need to GET OUTSIDE and DO STUFF!
Do you want to know the secret of Fun Mom? She gets off the couch and out of her comfort zone, embraces her sense of adventure and dreams big! When deciding if I should try something I always think about what 80 year old me will say. Usually I hear her saying, “Do it now because you may never have the chance again and I don’t want to miss out!” Eighty year old me likes to tell her stories of her adventures, it is my job to collect them.
Well that’s a tall order for a vacation, isn’t it?
Hear me out. Travel is one of the best ways to figure out what you’re made of. It is life, concentrated. Lots of activity, locations, emotions all in a short period of time. No matter how much planning goes into your trip, something will go wrong. When things go wrong you figure out how to make the best of it and just how resilient you are. When things go right, you find great joy in unexpected places.
Your missed flight turns into a 7 hour layover, so you learn to find fun in the airport. You play silly games with your kids or treat yourself to that bestseller everyone has been talking about and enjoy the peace and solitude you never get at home.
Your hotel overbooks or loses your reservation. You learn how to find another quickly and how to get a refund.
You get stuck in a cab in a monster traffic jam. You learn to use the subway system.
You’re super hungry and can’t find an English menu, you learn to guess at the local language and enjoy the pulse of life in a new place.
The attraction you have traveled so far to see is closed. You learn to laugh at your misfortune and go looking for other adventures. At the very least, you learn not to swear in public.
Next comes the things that go right.
You visit museums and realize there are a few artists or schools of thought you just adore! Yay, a new hobby.
You score tickets to a play, concert or ballet and find a new passion.
You climb to the top of the tallest thing in the city and you are grateful for your health. Maybe you find out you aren’t so scared of heights after all.
You happen upon a warm local restaurant on a cold night and find a brand new cuisine that you didn’t know you enjoyed.
You sit next to a stranger on a plane and meet your soulmate
You go camping for the first time and learn that you sleep deeply and fully outside. You find that you love to hike and that everything tastes better when cooked over a fire. You realize just how MANY stars there are and stare at the heavens for hours each night.
You keep up with a packed itinerary and you find that your legs are much stronger than you thought.
You test out your new camera and find out that you have a knack for photography.
You say yes to new experiences and learn that you are still young and fun after all.
No matter what happens you will come back changed. You will be stronger, wiser, and more self-reliant. You’ll have victories to remember for the rest of your life. Share them if you can, you will change other lives too!
Well that is in an interesting name for a blog, why’d you pick that?
I’m glad you asked. First of all, I had help, and lots of it! I racked my brain for weeks trying to find the right name and couldn’t come up with it. I decided to turn to some of my craftiest friends and ask for help, sometimes others see us more clearly than we do ourselves. In 2 hours I had more than 50 suggestions and Dream. Depart. Explore. was born!
This feels like the perfect name as it encompasses the way I see travel and what I plan to share with you.
Dream is the largest part of it. It is the planning; deciding on a place to visit, finding a good place to stay, learning some of the language, reading some guidebooks and travel stories, oh and Pinterest, lots and LOTS of Pinterest! I am a planner by nature and planning a trip is so much fun for me! I really savor this time since it gives me a taste of the trip before I ever leave my house.
Depart is the travel part itself on the way to your destination. I have lots of tips and tricks because this may as well be fun too! We have so many ways to travel and so many things to see and do along the way that the vacation starts as soon as you leave the house with your bags packed.
Explore is the new sights and experiences when you reach your well researched destination, where you spend some hard-earned money and where you learn who you are and what you love! Take lots of pictures, talk to lots of people, find little hole in the wall restaurants and shops and try to become a local for a bit. Your travel will be much richer and you will be better for it.
“Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life.” – Michael Palin
Dream. Depart. Explore. 