Raising Travelers, not Tourists

 Wild Blueberry Land was closed

The carful of kids drove over 7,000 miles this past summer to get to the eastern edge of North America. Along the way we lost a SUV and nearly all of our electronic devices but we didn't lose our sense of adventure or our will to continue.

Years ago, I vowed to drive my kids through the lower 48 to experience the vastness of our country in a way you can't experience by popping into places. So far the carful of kids have driven to 43 states and four Canadian provinces.

I am a traveler and I have been a traveler for years; I have a packed bag sitting in the corner of our room just waiting for the next trip. Because I value the time I spend with my kids on the road exploring and seeing new things, I spend weeks planning and organizing our trips.

We spend the summer passively learning without any pressure and that is fun--Really. The carful of kids spend less time bickering and complaining when we are on the road and that is music to a mother's ears.

The traveling we do has been great for all my kids but especially for my struggling student. Reading and writing is a constant battle with him but now he's coming into his own with social studies and science because I can relate those subjects to our travels.

This trip was our most ambitious to date and was full of great moments. I especially liked stopping at the Maid of the Mist in Niagara, the Bay of Fundy, Acadia National Park and the Statue of Liberty--those were epic moments for me.

If I had the trip to do over again, I would spend one less day in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, and  visit Halifax, Nova Scotia, instead. I would have entered the Cape Breton Highlands National Park from the south entrance and explored that area and not driven the whole park.

Due to the hurricane, our whale watching trip on the tall ship was cancelled, which was disappointing. I wanted to see some puffins in the wild and we really tried to get to Newfoundland Island and Labrador--maybe another trip.

I would have skipped Montreal and visited Quebec City instead, the obvious reason is they stole my car. Besides that, Quebec City has more to offer in the way of history and it's the North American city that feels most like a European city.

So as I wrap up my recap of the carful of kids' travels, I'm looking forward to our next trip. It is in the final stages of planning and I getting that giddy feeling from excitement.

If you are looking for ideas for your own road trips, reach out, I love researching and exploring new places. I encourage all families to travel to places that excite them.

Note on replacing our stolen stuff. Thanks to our insurance and more importantly our replacement insurance, we have replaced all of the stolen items. We have even upgraded the merchandise too. Of course, I think we might have a flag on our policy now.

Until next time, safe travels.