• Travel-n-Trips

    Vacationing with Kids in Michigan

    With COVID wreaking havoc in the United States (well, it’s really governmental incompetence that is wreaking havoc—right?), we had to rethink how we would normally do summer vacation. We opted for vacationing with kids in Michigan.

    On Day 1, we spent the whole day driving to Indiana. My personal opinion is that there are really only two ways to do a long road trip with kids:

    1. Drive the whole thing in one day, no matter how many hours it is.
    2. Drive 3-4 hours every morning and spend the afternoon exploring a different spot.

    Because of COVID, we opted for #1. The boys end up falling asleep by 8 or 9pm, … Read More

  • Travel-n-Trips

    New Zealand Friends? Are you out there?

    I am dreaming and scheming about visiting New Zealand. The closest I’ve gotten is Australia. Maybe I’m obsessed with New Zealand because they banned assault weapons within one month of the Christchurch Mosque Massacre. Perhaps it’s that they banned nuclear weapons (the United States has 6,185). Maybe it’s the fact that they were the first country to give women the right to vote. Or perhaps it’s that they’ve been working on reparations for the Māori People for more than 35 years. Or maybe the coherent, concerted response to COVID-19? So do I have any New Zealand friends out there?

    I realize it’s a very American thing to do to … Read More

  • Travel-n-Trips

    Family Gap Year Post #6: An International Pandemic

    I can’t help but hear an Alanis Morisette song in my head, every time I think of our Family Gap Year. Instead of singing, “It’s like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife,” I sing, “It’s like planning a trip and then a pandemic hits.”

    What are we going to do? If this whole thing works out according to plan, we would head to Ireland in mid-June. As of now, the world is canceling flights and sheltering in place. I can’t seem to find a clear path back to normal. Maybe when a vaccine is found? Which is estimated to be 12-18 months?

    Our Options

    1. Postpone
    Read More