Let it be easy! That’s what I want for whomever comes across my page, whether it’s from my Instagram, through my newsletter or some other way. As the family trip planner – whether it’s for an afternoon outing or a full blow vacation, I appreciate when I come across places that put it all together and make my life easier to create the best trip for my family.

Blog Posts

• Airport Play Areas in the DMV – BWI, DCA, and IAD all have play areas and are accessible by public transit!
• Free Mall Play Areas in the DMV – This article has much more than malls. I lay out other ideas for what to do near each mall.
  • Dulles Town Center – I’ll add this to the article soon, but for now it’s on IG.
• Free Fun for Kids at Big Box Retailers – We are huge fans of free and affordable fun! There are so many companies that have weekly or monthly offerings.
  • Merry Pin is a new local store that has free story time and art each Saturday!
• Keep Your Green at Great Wolf Lodge – We visited the one in Perryville, Maryland that’s north of Baltimore and had the best time! Definitely a core memory for my daughter (and me).
• Maryland Ice Cream Trail Adventure – My daughter and I had the best time trying ice cream at cow to cone locations! We visited libraries, towns, playgrounds, etc. as part of our adventure.
• Sligo Creek Parkway Playgrounds and Nearby Ones – There are so many incredible parks in Silver Spring, along the creek, as well as parks in the surrounding areas like Wheaton and Takoma Park.
• Splish Splash in Maryland – Beat the summer heat and head to one of the outdoor pools! Also includes some splash pads to get you started.
• Top Tips for New Silver Spring Parents – This is chock-full of suggestions and will benefit you whether you moved to Silver Spring ,are new to parenting in Silver Spring or you’re located in a surrounding area!
• Your Family Needs the ASTC Passport – If you have a kid, you have to get an annual membership to an ASTC Passport covered museum, especially if you like to travel. If you’re in the DMV, I recommend joining the Maryland Science Center when its on Groupon.

Affordable Adventures

• 10 Fun Things with Kids Near Pine Island, Florida – Ideas near Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Matlatcha, etc. This area seems to be constantly recovering from hurricanes, but there is still a lot of fun in the area.
• Carolina On My Mind – Lots of nature options and cute town between Greenville, SC and Asheville, NC. Find an affordable flight from BWI to AVL and venture to the Smokies too.
• Details on Disney – I share the details of how much we paid for our 3.5 day Disney trip in October which included staying at a resort, Magic Kingdom, tons of resorts and the Orlando Science Center. This trip was round-trip from BWI to MCO.
• From Michigan to Maryland: A Mom Recommends Museums and More – Lots of kids fun to be found in the metro Detroit area. Find an affordable flight from BWI to DTW.
• Gulf States Winter Break Adventure – Details of our epic road trip from Maryland to Texas with a focus on the gulf states. I include how much we paid each step of the way.
• How to Find Affordable U.S. Travel – Here’s my formula and links for how we seek affordable travel.
• How to Save Money In Order To Travel – This shares lots of tips on ways we have saved money with our lifestyle choices and ways we find free and affordable fun.
• Roller Coasting Through Knoebels – Read why we opted for unlimited rides at this PA park!
• Visiting DC is for everyone with so many free spots – If Washington, D.C. is on your list to visit, I share lots of our favorites here.

Newsletters

I created a Substack newsletter. It covers near and far travel, books, random learnings and more! I would love for you to subscribe for free. The content highlighted below are DMV places (or very close) but some posts may cover other areas like Edition 1 touches on Salt Lake City.

• Trek, Travel and Treat | Edition 16 – Koziar’s Christmas Village, Reading and Lancaster in PA.
• Trek, Travel and Treat | Edition 15 – Berlin, Maryland, Delaware Beaches and the Milken Center’s Advancing the American Dream Museum in D.C.
• Trek, Travel and Treat | Edition 14 – Knoebel’s Amusement Park (PA), Dutch Wonderland (PA) and sponsored swimming lessons.
• Trek, Travel and Treat | Edition 13 – Ocean City, Maryland, Virginia Beach over Juneteenth, DMV summer reading and DMV Waldo Searches (July annually).
• Trek, Travel and Treat | Edition 12 – Memorial Day weekend to Pennsylvania and NJ beaches, Musings from a former Kindergarten Mom, Woodbridge area and the Maryland ice cream trail.
• Trek, Travel and Treat | Edition 11 – Spring Break trip to Texas, Fourth Wing, Maryland festivals, and the upcoming pool season.
• Trek, Travel and Treat | Edition 10 – Free fun in Annapolis, free and low cost performing arts, staying sane and planning Spring Break.
• Trek, Travel and Treat | Edition 9 – 2025 has been a lot so far. Share some games my daughter and I like, mid-winter play date, quick trip to Florida and my thoughts on life right now.
• Trek, Travel and Treat | Edition 8 – First newsletter of 2025 covers my word of the year, an overview of holiday travel and library offerings.
• Trek, Travel and Treat | Edition 7 – Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Great Annapolis Pumpkins, Silver Spring playgrounds and more.
• Trek, Travel and Treat | Edition 6 – Maize Quest Adventure Park, historic Kensington, plus Bethesda and the Kid Museum.
• Trek, Travel and Treat | Edition 5 – Maryland Ice Cream Trail, free fun in DC and the Glenstone Museum.
• Trek, Travel and Treat | Edition 4 – Travel ideas for Michigan and South Carolina plus Baltimore adventures.
• Trek, Travel and Treat | Edition 3 – Lancaster, Pennsylvania and free Maryland museums like the National Cryptologic Museum, the Gaithersburg Community Museum and Splash Pad and NASA’s Goddard Visitor Center.
• Trek, Travel and Treat | Edition 2 – So many stops to and from Ocean City, Maryland (Berlin, Easton, Cambridge, etc.) and splash pads!
• Trek, Travel and Treat | Edition 1 – Mayo Beach near Edgewater, Maryland and a nearby bakery and bookstore with a fairy to find.
• Parks, Coffee and GWL | DMV – Sligo Creek Parkway playgrounds (Silver Spring), Compass Coffee with kids nook, Chevy Chase Recreation Park and Splash Pad and a reminder about free Montgomery County Recreation Center access for residents in 2024. There are two rec centers with indoor play areas for littles – Wisconsin Place Recreation Center and the new Silver Spring Recreation and Aquatic Center.
• DC Day, Interactive Art and Some Good Nationwide Deals – Planet Word Museum in DC, MLK Library in DC, Doodlehatch in Columbia and Kids Bowl Free!
• Thrifting, Junior Ranger Badges and More | Florida – White House Easter Egg Roll.
• Bird Exhibit, Play Areas and Free Fun | DMV – Smithsonian Zoo’s bird house play area and mall play areas.
• Lowe’s, Learn and Listen – Lowe’s free kids project.
• Sunshine State of Mind – Join all of the Maryland library systems if you’re a Maryland residents. If you’re in the DMV, you can join all of the DMV libraries.
• Inaugural Newsletter – Why I decided to start a newsletter this year..

About the Author

Lydia Garry and her family, TeamTravelsBaby, live in Silver Spring, Maryland, and are working to achieve “vagabond status”. Much of their affordable family travel experiences include U.S. travel, national parks and Europe. Adventure with them here, subscribe to their newsletter and follow along on Instagram!