12 days. 11 states. Family of 5. No electronics. Super-tight budget. Oh, and a whole lot of curiosity since only I knew where we were headed!
That, folks, is how we did Road Trip 2015!
How did we do so much with so little? Easy! We stayed with some friends, used hotel points (from when our house was being repaired), maximized online deals like Priceline or apps like Trivago, used our AAA discount, pre-planned for months so got any necessary coupons, planned lots of free or cheap places, utilized hotels with free food (so less to pay for), loaded up on snacks in the car… the list could go on.
A few days before leaving, we had to change our 1st night plans from WV to outside of DC. That kind of changed days 1 & 2 in a big way. Then, the whole 2nd half of our trip changed a great deal based on time spent somewhere, a Sunday, an hour lost with time zones, and another person we ended up not being able to stay with. So yeah, the second half of my months-long planned trip had to be changed on the fly but I was able to roll with it. That is why I don’t tell people my plans – they could change and I don’t want disappointment!
Many pictures were taken on our trip, just not only by me. Cole pretty much had the good camera most of the time. I used my iphone unless some kid begged for it and then the 3rd kid begged for Tom’s. So we have a lot of pictures from all views of the family. That being said, I learned how amazing my 11-year old at photography, especially in things he is interested in like cars. His pictures kind of floored me. So much so, that we created him a SmugMug account as he keeps taking pictures. He really has a good eye. Cole Tyler Photography
States we had fun in on Road Trip 2015: VA, PA, OH, MI, IN, IL, WI, MN, IA, MO, TN.
After this road trip, the kids only need 15 more continental states. Road trip 2016 is to Buffalo for the NHL Draft 2016 and venturing out of the US into Canada to Ontario and maybe Quebec too. Not too many friends that way, so I need to start saving! 😉
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
