Category : Road Trips
At the end of this week, I will be loading my daughter into my car and making the trek from Pensacola to Asheville, North Carolina for the Type A Mom Conference. A few months ago, I dreamed about heading to Asheville for the Type A Mom Conference. I am excited to meet some of my imaginary friends (as my husband puts it!), get the answers to some of the questions that I have about blogging, but most importantly today I am dreaming of visiting a town that is almost as important to me as my family.
About eight years ago, my husband and I decided that we were ready to start a family. We had a few years of marriage, lots of travels and two great jobs under our belt. One year later, we found ourselves stressed out, making doctor’s appointments, and just generally unhappy.
Friends of ours were heading up to Asheville to relax in a cabin and invited us along. We didn’t hesitate for a second imagining that this would be the perfect medicine to our sadness and stress. We spent four marvelous days hiking to waterfalls, wine tasting at the Biltmore, reading books and just reconnecting.
Every place we have been is a colored-in state or country on our map and holds amazing memories of delicious food, gorgeous sites, and family bonding. Asheville is not just one of the many destinations we have colored in on a map. Six weeks later, our infertility appointment turned into a pregnancy confirmation.
To me, Asheville is a symbol of hope, love, and family.
A little under seven years later, I am excited to return to Asheville with my youngest child but sad that my husband and son won’t be making this trip with me. I am excited to return to that same winery at the Biltmore to stock up on our favorite Pinot Grigio and let my daughter run around the grounds. I am looking forward to exploring downtown Asheville. I want to walk hand in hand with my daughter, celebrate the love our family has for each other, and make new memories in Asheville.
If you are going to the Type A Mom conference, drop me a note so I can be on the lookout for you!
Even though the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel is exactly that, a bridge and tunnel system to get you where you want to go, it can certainly qualify as a great attraction. According to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel website, shortly after the opening of the bridge-tunnel system, it was selected as “one of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World.” The Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel system is just one of many in this area but it is considered the world’s largest bridge and tunnel system. It just seems to go on and on and on!
Two bridges, two tunnels, causeways, roads leading up to the bridge and four manmade islands all make up the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel system. From one shore to the other, the system measures 17.6 miles. The water depth ranges from 25 feet to 100 feet! It is not only a convenient way to get to the Eastern Shore from Norfolk/Virginia Beach area, but it will also fascinate the kids. Just when you think you have reached the end, you come up on another man made island. When you stand on one of the islands in the middle of the bay, we could not see the ends of the bridge.
This picture was taken with my 75-300 lens from one man made island. I zoomed in as close as possible to snap the picture of the next island.
The turn offs to park on the islands and walk around come up quickly (right before the tunnel begins if I am remembering correctly) so if you are planning on stopping, be sure to pay attention and slow down. On one of the islands, there is a restaurant that was being renovated when we were there and also a fishing pier that was packed to the brim with fishermen!
There are signs that describe a little bit of the history of the bridge and the Naval history from that area.
There are lookout binoculars and it is worth the 25 cents.
They also support a birding program and the website lists many of the different birds that you might see. You will see ships galore.
The toll to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel System is 12.00 per car and goes up from there.
Be sure to stop by Delicious Baby to see where other travelers are going this week!
When we were on our big road trip this summer, we were surprised at all of the beautiful flowers we saw all over the interstates in North Carolina. The flowers are everywhere and are an amazing array of colors against your typical green surroundings. Every corner we turned, my daughter would shout out which color flower she could see! I noticed a sign at one of the rest stops with some information about the wildflowers so I did a little bit more research at home and found that there is an actual Wildflower Program through the North Carolina Department of Transportation that began in 1985. The flowerbeds are installed and maintained by Roadside Environmental personnel and make for a beautiful drive through the state. At the NCDOT, you can download a booklet that helps you identify the flowers you will see.
These pictures were taken on the side of the road at a rest area.
And of course, Little S ha to have a picture in front of the flowers!
Stop by Delicious Baby to see other great Photo Friday submissions!
On our 3,000 miles of road trip this summer we saw lots of cool stuff. We also saw lots of strange stuff. Like this…
Do you have any idea what this is?
Stop by Delicious Baby photos from around the world.
We just got back from the first road trip of the summer that took us 2400 miles through seven states twice! This is just road trip number one of 5. My friends think we are crazy but with a little planning our road trips usually have minimal issues.
Have you stopped laughing yet? Minimal issues…yeah right.
Ok…I might have lied. On this road trip I actually turned the wrong way down a street. After we remedied the situation, I turned to my husband and said “I always wondered how those idiots ended up going the wrong way on a major highway and now I know.” Once our heartbeats returned back to normal, we were able to laugh about it. We can’t control every thing that happens on our road trips, but with a little bit of planning the screaming moments in the back seat might not happen as often.
This year instead of buying a bunch of coloring books and maze books, I made the kids their own travel journals. For about a week I collected pages and pages of stuff to do in my Favorites folder on my computer. When I had some time (and bought new printer ink), I printed out all of the pages, took them to an office supply store and had them bound. It was probably more expensive than buying a couple of coloring books at the dollar store, but the look on their faces as they read through a travel journal made with each of them in mind was worth the money and time spent!
What did I include in the book?
Most importantly, I included blank journal pages for them to write their own stories and color their own pictures showing what they did on the trip.
Then I headed to Mom’s MiniVan and printed out a bunch of road trip scavenger hunts, the license plate game, and car bingo. The license plat game was a hit. We ended up finding 44 states, three Canada plates, and 2 plates from Mexico!
At their cartoon sites, I printed out coloring pages with their favorite cartoon characters.
At the Crayola page, I printed out state coloring pages for each state that we were going to be driving through. These coloring pages have the state flower, state bird, etc. Everytime we passed through a new state, I would have Big S find it in his book and color something (if he was awake of course!).
The kids spent hours looking through these books, coloring and writing things that were important to them. I even brought the books into a high school graduation with us to keep the kids occupied.
Today I am dreaming that the next four road trips go just as smoothly. If you will excuse me, I need to go print some more coloring sheets for the next book!
For more Monday Dreaming, stop by Mara’s at Mother of All Trips. Be sure to come back and visit us this week. I am going to share our adventures from the road trip. The kids mined for gems in Sweetwater, Tennessee, Big S went surfing in Sevierville, Tennessee, and we spent two great days exploring the Eastern Shore of Virginia…bridges and tunnels, Mister Whippy, and wild ponies…oh my!
We just got home a few weeks ago from a massive road trip in which we logged about 50 hours in the car, drove through 8 states, and visited several dear friends. This road trip had a mission though…to move my little sister and her two children to Suffolk, Virginia where she began her life as a Navy wife with her new, wonderful husband. My two children played with her two children the whole way. We saw some very cool stuff like the Mayfield Dairy, Suffolk Peanuts, Boyd’s Bear Country, Mt. Trashmore, loggerhead turtles and lots of corn (blog posts to come in the near future on all this great stuff!).
We got the huge Uhaul truck unloaded and we got my sister unpacked. The trip was bittersweet. It sounds like everything went smoothly right? Why is the trip bittersweet then? Well, for the most part it did go smoothly. We only had a few mishaps (like the morning we left we realized my sister had ordered a truck that was too small and she couldn’t fit all of her household goods…yikes!), but the saddest, most bittersweet part about the trip? Waving goodbye to my sister, my new brother-in-law, and my niece and nephew.
For now, I have pictures to go through, a road trip video to make, emails to send her and her Facebook status to check. Luckily, we are all equipped with video phone on the computer, we are all linked up through Facebook, and we can text unlimited! It doesn’t feel like she is all that far away until I want to call her up and see if she wants to meet for a Girl’s Night Out or when my son asks when we are going back to “Birginia” to see Big D. It is times like these that I start planning the next family road trip in my head. I know we will be going back to Virginia next summer and who knows what might happen in between. We have a tentative trip planned for October and they have a tentative trip planned back to the Gulf Coast.
Maybe we will just throw a bag and the kids in the car and drive the fourteen hours for a short visit just because we can.
I love you and miss you lots Marissa, Declan, Keira, and Dan!
Drop by Mother of All Trips to read about her Empire State Dreams and see what other travelers are dreaming about.
Do you remember that movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell? The one where he keeps waking up each morning just to repeat the same day over and over again? I make the drive from Pensacola to Jacksonville, Florida two or three times a year and every time I make the drive I feel like I am in my own personal Groundhog Day movie.
For awhile you are driving on a two lane Interstate 10 and you can see the cars driving the opposite direction.
Then your two lanes separate from the other two lanes. These trees are especially important to pay attention to because you will almost always see a highway patrol car behind them!
Then the road opens back up again so that you are driving next to the lanes. Again. And then it splits. Again.
Then you might see a bridge.
The road splits. Again.
You do drive over the Historic Suwanee River. I especially like the music notes on the sign!
Even the exits look the same.
Exit 142
Exit 192
Exit 241
If it is summertime, be prepared for weather that could probably be classified as a hurricane.
But if you wait it out, you will get a beautiful sky.
Travel around the world this week with other posts for Photo Friday, hosted at DeliciousBaby.
Next week I will be heading out with the two kids sans husband for a road trip to Jacksonville, Florida. I am dreaming of a smooth trip and two happy kiddies. I am dreaming of a car with no flat tires, check oil lights, or funny noises! We are going to visit dear friends so most of the trip will be spent catching up on time missed (and visiting one very cute brand newborn baby!), but if we have time here are a few things that I might be checking out:
1. Visit the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens
2. Maybe take a drive to St. Augustine while we are there and see Florida’s Oldest House and Castillo de San Marcos.
3. Museum of Science and History
4. Friendship Fountain – I can’t tell if this is still under renovation. If it isn’t, we will definitely check it out…the kids love fountains!
Have you been to Jacksonville, Florida? If you have places that I should add to my itinerary, please comment!
Be sure to stop by Mother of all Trips and see what Mara is dreaming about…
When people find out I live in Pensacola, Florida, they usually call me right before their Disneyworld trip and ask if we want to meet for dinner. They don’t realize that it is a 6 hour drive and most of the time, they are not interested in adding the Panhandle to their itinerary. It seems as if the Florida Panhandle is like that special toy shoved in the back of your child’s room. Easily forgotten, but when found it is a gem to be treasured!
The approximate 90 mile stretch of Highway 98 from Pensacola to Panama City Beach is my Route 66. I love to put the kids in the car and cruise down Highway 98, stopping wherever and whenever the mood strikes me. Here are our favorite kid-friendly stops:
Gulf Islands National Seashore – Let the kids do some exploring while you relax on the beach.
John Duncan Memorial Park and Panhandle Butterfly House – The Butterfly Garden is open throughout the summertime as well as the splash pad at the John Duncan Memorial Park. Let the kids cool off in the water and enjoy the beautiful view of Navarre Beach.
Indian Temple Mound and Museum – See artifacts, a temple mound and learn about the history of Ft. Walton Beach.
Gulfarium – Get close to the local sealife at the Gulfarium. Check out the dolphin show, the touch pool, pelicans and gators.
Destin Commons – This is a fairly new shopping center that is a great stop for the kids. They can run around the Pop Fountains Splash Pad, make a buddy at the Build-a-Bear, check out the huge fish at Bass Pro, or play at the small playground.
Mellow Mushroom – Fantastic pizza, quick service so you are back on the road again and it is loud so the kids can blow off some steam while waiting for their dinner…need I say more?!
Seaside – This beautiful town might look familiar to some of you. It was the set of the Truman Show. Grab an ice cream cone and take a walk through town.
Eden State Gardens – Eden Gardens is one of the Florida State Parks. It is absolutely beautiful with its moss covered tree canopy and if you get there at the right time you can tour the Wesley House, which looks like it came right out of Gone with the Wind.
Pier Park – This is another great shopping center with lots of kid-friendly activities. Ride the carousel or the train, visit some shops and stop in at the Candymaker to buy some fresh saltwater taffy.
Shipwreck Island – You will want to reserve some time for a visit to Shipwreck. This water park will keep every busy all day long.
I spent Sunday with my mother, my sister, and the four fantastic children in this family! When it came time to exchange gifts, I was so excited when I opened up my Mother’s Day gift and saw that she had bought me a vinyl tablecloth. There were several other great items that went with the gift (a very cool insulated tote, sandwich Tupperware, ice packs, etc) but the tablecloth made all three of us laugh out loud. You see, when we went camping recently my husband gently made fun of my sister-in-law for bringing a tablecloth for the picnic table. I chided him and told him that some of my fondest memories of roadtripping and camping included a brightly colored vinyl tablecloth. When we got home, I told my mom the story.
I can’t remember a single roadside picnic without a beautiful swirly or flowered patterned table cloth. The roadside picnics often included a tuna kit and chips (in baggies of course!). Even though I have already taken several roadtrips with my kids, I can now continue the tradition of the multi-colored tablecloths.
