No turning back: summer is in full swing - here's how we're knocking out 5 trips before August
That's right, we're really strategic with our summer breaks and have some great adventures on the book. And it's Pride month right now too! Also, we're growing our travel discounts page for YOU!
So we’ve been out of school now for two weeks and have our first trip of the summer done: the Florida Keys. I know that we go there a lot, but since it’s driving distance for us and feels like a different world, it’s an easy adventure that’s different every time. Today I wanted to share some of the details of this most recent trip, including what made Key West Pride so special, as well as a little encouragement to get through the summer. It’s hot out, the political scene is still horrifying, and if you’ve got kids home for the summer but are a working parent/guardian, you' probably feel the weight of life a little extra.
Thank you for tuning in to read about our travels and the things we recommend. I have always loved my job and getting to share the fun side of it with everyone is a treat that I don’t take for granted. With that, let’s dig in (and you can skip down to what you’re most interested in).
Summer Trips: 5 before August
This last year we switched our kids into public school and it was a big change for us. We can’t just up and go on a trip like we used to. It’s now much more difficult to plan either family fun trips or work trips that everyone gets to come along on, so we had to be strategic in choosing places and activities that are fun for everyone and also align with work projects, so we’re not heading anywhere international. That’s okay, it’s fun to explore more of the USA.
NOW - OARS Multi-day Rafting in Utah
This week I get to have a brand new adventure with Elliott (our youngest). We’re heading to Vernal, Utah to check out Dinosaur National Monument and then do a four day rafting adventure with OARS on the Green River. Our trip goes through the Gates of Lodore and northeastern Utah. We’ll be camping each night, roughing it on the river, hiking, swimming and it’s going to be amazing. I’m a little nervous about it, but we’re only rafting up to Class III rapids, and the guides help with camp stuff, so it’s going to be a blast.
Next - Whittier, Valdez and McCarthy, Alaska
I’ve been looking forward to this trip since September of 2024 and it’s finally almost here! We’ll be flying into Anchorage and then heading to Whittier to take the Alaska Marine Highway to Valdez. We get to spend a few days in Valdez doing some hiking, an awesome glacier exploration day, rafting and more. Then we head to McCarthy to enjoy the McCarthy Lodge and Wrangell-St Elias National Park. It’s the largest National Park and I know we’ll only just get to scratch the surface. After that it’s up to Copper Center and we’ll do some fishing on the Copper River, then we return to Anchorage to come home. It’ll be two weeks of fun and memories, doing things that we all are interested in. I can’t wait!
Alaska Travel Discounts for YOU
I’ve been working with several different travel partners in Alaska (and other destinations too) to secure travel discounts for people that use our promo codes and it’s been working out great! How blogging works on the business end is through affiliate income and other things, so I’ve worked with some of our partners that we highly recommend to secure discounts for our readers.
If you’re planning an Alaska trip, check out our ALASKA TRAVEL DISCOUNTS page to see if there’s something that you’re interested in. We’ve got helicopter tours, seaplanes, car rentals and Inside Passage cruises. More are coming soon, but check it out for your upcoming trip!
Last - Maine Adventure
Maine is always a special place to visit for us because some of our absolute best friends live there and we get explore like a local with them. This summer we’re heading up to Portland for some glamping and then to MidCoast to hang with friends and enjoy all the lobster things, and then a quick visit to Acadia NP and DownEast before we spend a few days up in the Highlands. It’s going to be so much fun. Usually I go to Maine by myself, but this summer all of us get to go!
Completed - Florida Keys, focused on teen fun
We just got back from the Florida Keys and had an awesome time. Read all about the Florida Keys with Teens here!
The goal was different than normal, with a focus on doing things that were best for the kids. They’re so much older now and the whole teen vibe is strong. We planned our trip in a way that they kids had plenty of their own time, but then we also did fun adventures that were age appropriate, meaning a little more intense. We did two great snorkeling trips, one that was an intermediate level adventure, we did some biking, and the kids’ favorite was our speedboat safari out of Key West. And we also got to have another dolphin encounter, this time with Dolphins Plus in Key Largo, and that was just so special.
We worked with two really nice properties (meaning that I’m writing about them) and they were perfect for giving the kids their own freedom to chill as they liked and then great activities on property we all enjoyed. The Hyatt Centric Key West was such a fun place to be based and the snorkeling directly from the hotel was epic. And then on Marathon we stayed at the Courtyard Marriott Faro Blanco, which is perfect for teens. They have outdoor activities, bikes to borrow, a game room, daily planned events, smores and big rooms.
Key West Pride, a special celebration
Part of our time in the Florida Keys was getting to enjoy Key West Pride. They do lots of events, special LGBTQ sailing trips, a street fair, and of course a big Pride Parade. It had the usual colorful floats, local activists and political people that support the community, but what really stood out to me was the diversity of representation in the LGBTQ community.
Work trip - Richmond, Virginia
I’m going on my own, but I’m counting this as part of our summer travel because I get to have a day at King’s Dominion riding roller coasters. I’ll be speaking at TBEX, which is a conference for travel bloggers and content creators. I love when I get to participate in this conference because it helped me so much when I was first starting out, and now I get to help others. I’ll be speaking about writing and content creation for neuro divergent creators. I know that might sound a little odd, but I’m excited to talk about how I manage my ADHD and OCD tendencies, as well as share the tools I use to be able to run our different websites. And NO, AI IS NOT A SINGLE PART OF ANY OF IT!
Balancing Life in the Summertime
And now to have a moment of commiserating with my fellow parents and guardians who have full time jobs AND kids off for summer break. Y’all it’s tough and great. It’s so wonderful to hear their voices in the house and to have them lounging about in the morning instead of rushing off to school. It makes me miss when they were younger and not gone all the time… but then there’s the reality of “OMG, will they just leave me alone for ten minutes?” and “I’m so sorry, I have a meeting I have to be in right now…” It’s a struggle.
Last summer we were very successful having the kids on a schedule on days where both Chris and I had to work, but this year with the kids being older and in the throes of teenagerness it’s just not working out the same. Oliver had to get a phone because they used them at school, so now he has that as a part of his life, although it’s managed closely. Elliott has friends that he wants to have over (all the time) or that he needs rides to their houses… Balancing wanting to spend time with the kids and make sure they’re having a good summer break is hard. Thank goodness we have all of our trips lined up well so we get lots of time off together, but the in-between time is a bit of a struggle.
That’s all for today. Thank you for reading, both my Substack and checking out our websites for helpful travel info. And don’t forget about the Alaska Travel Discounts page above. It’s a great way to save on fun summer experiences if you’re heading to AK.
Have a great week and you’ll hear from me again when we’re back from our epic rafting adventure!