Five Years of Blogging & Ten Years of Road Trips!

This week marks 5 years since we started this family travel blog. We started road tripping in summer 2012, so it’s a double celebration of 10 years of road tripping and 5 years of sharing our adventures on our little corner of the ‘web.

We’re proud to share that we’ve gained a LOT of followers and readers over the past two years (since we last did a Google analytics deep drive) and we thought this week would be a perfect time to share a blog recap. Note: At the start of 2022 we transferred our blog to a WordPress host and some of the photo displays are off- we’ve been working diligently to fix the layouts, but it takes time.

Our most popular National Parks posts:

See our full list of National Park Service sites posts here.

Our most popular City Guide posts:

See our full list of 35+ City Guides here.

Our most popular attraction posts:

Would you like to save this?

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later.

Our most popular resort posts:

See our full list of 15+ resort features here.

Some of the most popular searches on the blog:

Search our posts by state:

We hope you’ll keep following along on our adventures- we’d love to share our tips and recommendations. Please follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter for the full scoop!

New England based, part high school English teacher, part non profit founder, part road tripper who LOVES hopping in the family SUV to explore America. Our bucket list includes National Parks, MLB stadiums, presidential libraries, and eating wherever the locals eat!

Similar Posts

  • | | | |

    My Top Disney World Dining Recommendations

    This past weekend, I was at a party chatting with a friend about her upcoming trip to Disney World. She asked for my dining recommendations. Before she knew it, I had pen and paper out, my My Disney Experience app on my phone open, and it was about thirty minutes before she could get a word in the “conversation”. I had a LOT of recommendations.

    We’ve been to Disney twice already with our children, and have five days booked for this summer, as part of our larger road trip. While I wouldn’t consider myself a Disney expert, I did speak to a lot of people for personal recommendations and read a lot of blogs before each of our trips. I was very interested in where to eat to have the best family experience.

    You can make dining reservations 180 days from the start of your stay. I cannot stress enough how important it is to make dining reservations ahead of time, and as soon as you can. When you make a reservation, they will ask for credit card information to hold the reservation. There are various cancellation policies based on the venue; some restaurants give you up to five days, and some are within 24 hours of a reservation. There are also a few dining options that will require you to prepay for your meal. Disney has various dining plan packages at various price points, and include snacks, quick service meals (you order at a counter, pick up your food, and find a place to sit), full service (buffet and menu options), and formal dining. Note: Disney Dining Plans are only available if you are staying on a Disney owned property.

  • | | | |

    15 Ways to Explore Windmill Island Gardens in Holland, Michigan

    On a recent visit to Holland, Michigan, located on the Lower Peninsula of Lake Michigan, we had the opportunity to learn all about the mid 19th century Dutch settlers who came to Western Michigan to build a new community. One of the highlights of our visit was our time at Windmill Island Gardens.

  • | | | | | |

    The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss, Springfield, MA

    Springfield, Massachusetts, located about 90 minutes west of Boston, is known as the birthplace of basketball and is home to the Basketball Hall of Fame; a post on the Hall of Fame is coming soon. However, there are plenty of other places to visit if you’re in town; especially if you’re visiting with young children.   

    Since 2002, the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden has been a popular spot for children to enjoy climbing and exploring 14 Seuss-themed sculptures.  Featured in a grassy “quad”, the sculptures are surrounded by five museums: the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, the Springfield Science Museum, the Michele & Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, the Lyman & Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History, and the brand new Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum.  Purchasing one ticket (or a membership) will allow you to explore all five museums and there is lots of free parking in nearby parking lots. 

  • | | | |

    Whydah Pirate Museum In West Yarmouth MA

    Opened in June of 2016, the Whydah Pirate Museum showcases the ruins of the Whydah ship and the only full pirate treasure ever discovered in the world. The Whydah, a slave ship eventually overtaken by pirates, was built in 1715 in London and sailed to West Africa before heading to America. Captured by Sam Bellamy and fellow pirates, a Nor’Easter sank the ship off the shores of Cape Cod during the early morning hours of April 27, 1717. Only 2 of the 146 men (130 pirates and 16 prisoners) on the ship survived. 

    In 1984, Barry Clifford discovered the wreckage off the coast of Wellsfleet, Massachusetts. Archaeologists and divers search through the wreckage between June and October each year searching for more treasures and bring artifacts back to the lab for cleaning, preservation, and display at the museum. 

  • | | | | | | | |

    City Guide: 10 Kid Friendly Activities in Frankenmuth, Michigan

    Known as “Michigan’s Little Bavaria”, Frankenmuth was officially founded in 1845 when a group of German immigrants traveled to Michigan seeking religious freedom. They traveled to the east central part of the state and began building a community. The name Frankenmuth translates to “Courage of the Franconians” and the founders quickly established several industries in the area: logging, farming, and wool production. Tourists began stopping in the area for more than just a car fill up of gasoline and a meal when places like Zehnder’s and the Bavarian Inn (originally the Union House) opened. The town continued to expand, adding dozens of dining, shopping, and lodging options and creating popular traditions throughout the 20th century.

  • | | | |

    25 Things to Do at Battleship Cove in Fall River, MA

    The world’s largest naval ship exhibit, Battleship Cove opened in 1965 and is home to battleships, submarines, PT boats, and a maritime museum, all accessible to visitors. There are memorials to honors sailors who served in conflicts including World War II, the Korean War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Visitors are welcome to explore the USS Massachusetts, USS Kennedy, USS Lionfish, and Hiddensee, docked under the Braga Bridge in the waterfront area of Mount Hope Bay, and can also peek inside two PT boats.

    The nearby Maritime Museum was founded in 1968 to showcase nautical memorabilia such as the Fall River Line and RMW Titanic. There is a special children’s section with nautical themed books, arts and crafts, and artifacts. Battleship Cove is located in Fall River, Massachusetts, one hour south of Boston and less than a half hour southeast of Providence, Rhode Island.

11 Comments

  1. Two great milestones, congrats! You’ve definitely visited some amazing places, excited to check out more of your guides!

    Reply

  2. Looks like you’ve had lots of great travels as a family! This is a great way to round up all of those adventures and it seems you all have been quite busy the last few years. Congratulations on your 5 year Blogiversary.

    Reply

  3. Congratulations on 5 years of blogging! It’s been so fun following your adventures, and I can’t wait to see where you’re headed next!

    Reply

  4. It really looks like you had a lot of fun with you family.
    I wish you another 100 years of traveling discovering the world with them.

    Reply

  6. Congratulations! I’m sure the last 10 years of road trips have been so rewarding to your family and especially your kids. There is no better educator than travel. Looking forward to following you for another 10 years of road trips and 5 more years of blogging.

    Reply

  8. Congratulations on these impressive milestones! I love this fun post to celebrate the occasion! I can’t wait to see what the next 5 years has in store!

    Reply

  9. What an amazing milestone! I loved seeing how your children grew over the years 🙂 Wishing you 10 more years of road trips, fun, and new memories.

    Reply

  11. Professional, inspiring, comprehensive, and most enjoyable. Congrats on a job well done! You have been a huge help to SO many others and I trust your contributions over the next five years will grow exponentially….

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *