GETTING LOST IN THE USA
Highlands, North Carolina
We might be headed into winter, but with today's 80 degree temperature in New Orleans, it reminds me of our late summer vacations to North Carolina. Nearly every August, we make a last ditch effort to escape the heat in Highlands, North Carolina. Just over the border...
Northern California’s Volcanoes
For the last leg of our journey, we left the rugged, chilly coastline to venture east to northern California's volcanoes. The two areas couldn't have been more different than each other. And the four-hour drive between them was alternately wildly beautiful and utterly...
Northern California – Redwoods and Beaches
After traveling from San Francisco to Eureka, part two of our journey was in northern California's redwood coast. We spent three nights in McKinleyville, just north of Eureka. This gave us two full days for exploring, and we crammed in as much as possible. Our agenda...
Northern California – San Francisco to Eureka
Our most recent summer destination was northern California. After a terrifying flight and unexpected landing in Colorado, we finally made it to San Francisco. Glad to be on land again and anxious to begin our ten-day driving tour, we threw the bags and kids in the...
Walter Anderson’s Ocean Springs
A short day trip from New Orleans, Ocean Springs is one of those small towns for which America is famous. Its historic downtown has quaint shops and restaurants lined up along a walkable main street, jutting off perpendicularly from a railroad line that runs straight...
Buffalo National River & Arkansas Highlights
When the invitation arrived to my nephew's wedding in rural Arkansas, we immediately decided to extend our stay and do some exploring. We booked a little cabin in Gaither, just north of the Buffalo National River where cattle seemed to outnumber the people. It was a...
Vacation Time: North to the Smokies and DC
Scrambling to get in a vacation before the first day of Kindergarten, we escaped the summer heat and pointed our car north, spending two weeks frolicking in the cold streams of North Carolina's Smoky Mountains and the air conditioned museums of Washington, DC. If I...
Thanksgiving Pow Wow
Growing up in Alabama, a Thanksgiving family tradition was to visit the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Atmore, Ala., for their annual Pow Wow. This year, we continued the tradition by bringing our children to see the colorful costume displays, rhythmic dancing and...
Early Summer Vacation: Great Smoky Mountains
Occasionally our wanderings across Louisiana lead beyond the state's border, taking us farther out into the rest of the country. Last week, we rooted our jackets out of the far reaches of the closet and kicked off the arrival of summer heat with a trip to the Smoky...
Exploring the Gulf Coast: Dauphin Island, Alabama
A short road trip out of state landed us in Alabama's Dauphin Island, a barrier island at the mouth of Mobile Bay. Vacation hotspot for locals more so than tourists, you won't find any shopping outlets or putt putt golf here, but rather quiet neighborhoods overlooking...