Tag: Weekend Trip

Roller Coasting Through Knoebels

Posted in Pennsylvania, Read Them All, United StatesTagged , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Knoebels is an amusement park in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. From Silver Spring (MD), it took us about three hours, taking us through Harrisburg. We had never been to this theme park before but it came on my radar because it’s a free park with free parking AND you can bring your own food into the park. All of this piqued my curiosity and I started researching if it would offer a good variety of rides for my husband, my 6 year old (47 inches) and me. The answer – why yes it did! And for under $100, we were able to enjoyed nearly 7 hours here on Sunday of Labor Day weekend (temps around 78 F and sunny).

Family time at Knoebels! | TeamTravelsBaby

Parking

This is free. Employees direct you to spots. There’s a tram offered as well. We arrived around 2 pm and parked in Parking Lot B, which was an easy walk into the park. We brought our stroller. We saw many people with wagons. There is paved and gravel in the park, so definitely bring something that you don’t mind pushing on gravel. And when we exited the park, we drove out the back exit, which seemed to be a lot faster then the people trying to exit Lot A and make a left onto the road out of the park.

Tickets versus Wristbands

Every family will have to consider their riding desires, the age/height of kids, amount of time at the park, day of the week visiting the park, etc. Start with this Knoebels page. For us, I started with reviewing the ride heights for the three wooden roller coasters (Flying Turns, Phoenix and Twister at $5 each) and the two water rides (Giant Flume and Skloosh at $4 each) to make sure we could all ride since my daughter (6 years old) is 47 inches tall. For our family of three to ride each of these five rides one time would have cost $69. I compared this with the various bands and found that on Sunday night we could get a “Sundown Special” (unlimited rides, excludes Haunted House from 4-9 pm) for $35 for each adult (48 inches or higher) and $24 for each kid (under 48 inches) for us a total of $94 booked directly online the night before going. This became a no-brainer for us!

But if your child is younger or shorter or is newer to rides, you may want to consider the tickets since the kiddie rides are less expensive (think $2-3) and perhaps only one adult will ride or no adult will ride. If you do decide on tickets, all the advice I read said to buy the ticket books (which never expire) at Weis Markets for a discount. If your child is younger, I would also highly recommend considering Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This is a family fave!

Free play area at Knoebels | TeamTravelsBaby
Free character meet up at Knoebels | TeamTravelsBaby

Free Fun

If you just want to experience the park, it’s free to enter. Check out their entertainment schedule as they often have music playing, puppet shows, magic shows, etc. You can definitely walk around and enjoy the vibe. You can also meet the characters for free and play in the kids play space for free next to the character meet spot. After we walked the park to get a feel for the layout, see the bald eagles by Black Diamond and located the rides we wanted to ride, Addy met Dexter the Raccoon and then played in the free play area before we went to redeem our tickets for our unlimited wristbands at 3:45 pm (this is the earliest you can get the bands and all people must be present). We made sure to get there a few minutes early and were among the first people to redeem and went straight to our first ride.

Our Ride Schedule

  • $4 x 3, Giant (log) Flume (we all got wet)
  • $5 x 3, Phoenix, wooden coaster (the first time was intense and felt like we came 4-6 inches out of our seat, so be prepared; this ended up being our favorite ride)
  • $4.50 x 3, Black Diamond (indoor dark ride, glad we did it once, but not a favorite)
  • $2.50 x 2, Paratrooper (you go up facing out and then they drop you)
  • $5 x 6, Twister (wooden roller coaster, super fun)
  • We rode all of the above between 4-6 pm
  • $4 x 3, Skloosh (we got soaked and it’s super short)
  • $5 x 3, Flying Turns (super unique bobsled type ride, one of a kind, long line but glad we did)
  • $4 x 3, Giant Flume
  • $3.50 x 2, Bumper Cars (Addy has enjoyed in the past at other places, but didn’t like here)
  • $3.50 x 4, Italian Trapeeze (swings that go up and out, not my jam, but Addy loved)
  • We rode all of the above between 6-8 pm.
  • $5 x 23, Phoenix (Addy and Mike rode 8 times and I rode 7 times; it was a literal marathon of riding and it was such an incredible experience; the excitement and energy were unmatched)
  • Phoenix over and over again from 8-9 pm.

In total, this would have cost our family $250.50! In other words, there’s no way we would have ridden this many rides without the unlimited pass and the $94 unlimited passes were a great value!

Rides at Knoebels over Labor Day weekend | TeamTravelsBaby

Other Rides

Many people recommend the Carousel because you can try to grab the brass ring. The Ferris wheel also looked nice, especially lit up at night and the scenic ride up the ski slopes looked pretty (believe it takes 20 minutes). There was a roller coaster (Impulse) and a huge dead drop ride that Addy was too short for. She also wanted to ride the Antique Cars (the ones that smell like gasoline), but opted for the coasters instead. In total there are at least 60 rides to choose from!

Crystal Pool

In the middle of the park is a waterpark. It has a huge spring fed pool (so it was cold when we visited), slides, diving boards and a splash pad. This is a separate cost and looks like it would be fun.

Labor Day Weekend

I did not know what to expect. The ride attendants said Saturday was absolutely packed. But I did not feel that way at all on Sunday. The longest we waited for a ride was 45 minutes and this only happened for two rides (Flying Turns, the trackless coaster like riding a bobsled and Black Diamond, an indoor dark ride). The rest we didn’t wait more than 15-20 minutes.

Hopefully you can see that for us $94 unlimited bands paid for itself. We absolutely loved it – here’s a link to my IG post if you want to save! If you’ve been before, share your tips in the comments. If you’re thinking about going, what questions do you have?

People are blurry on the Swings ride, which is lit up at Knoebels Amusement Park.
Swings at Knoebels | TeamTravelsBaby

Maryland Ice Cream Trail Adventure

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Have you heard of the Maryland Ice Cream Trail? It’s a real thing and there are prizes too! This was a highlight of Summer 2024 for us as my daughter (5 years old at the time) and I traveled to each of the cow to cone places, supporting small businesses while enjoying some of the most delicious ice cream. It was such a great motivation to explore new areas and took us from western Maryland to north of Baltimore to the Eastern Shore. Review the official site for the current dates, check out the interactive map and make sure to photograph your visit to each one and consider sharing on social media for prizes. In 2024, we won a cute ice cream squishy in one of the weekly social media contests! Check out my Instagram highlight.

Broom’s Bloom Dairy, Bel Air (Saturday, 7/20/2024)

  • We visited this one and Prigel Family Creamery on the same day. Our adventure included White Marsh Mall, the Bel Air Library (a Harford County library, see my pics of this amazing location) and Annie’s Playground (double check if this has reopened if you plan to go).
  • You could also consider pairing this with Havre de Grace which is an adorable city to explore with another incredible library, a great coffee shop, unique shops and street art. Plus don’t miss Millard Tydings Memorial Park and the boardwalk path to see the lighthouse. Check out my IG highlight.
  • We loved the colorful spoons here and the wall paintings inside. Lots of outdoor seating too.
Outside at Broom’s Bloom Dairy | TeamTravelsBaby

Chesapeake Bay Farms, Berlin (Wednesday, 6/19/2024, Juneteenth)

  • We paired this with historic Berlin and Ocean City! Ice cream post on IG here.
  • Check out my comprehensive Maryland’s Eastern Shore post with tons of ideas by city called, Explore the Eastern Shore.
Chesapeake Bay Farms | TeamTravelsBaby

Deliteful Dairy, Williamsport (Saturday, 8/31/2024, Labor Day weekend)

  • We visited this one and Moo Cow Creamery on the same day. While we visited as part of a long weekend trip, this could easily be a day trip. Surreybrooke is a whimsical garden store that my daughter and I wandered around. Bring a dollar or two for a snack.
  • You could also consider pairing this with a beach day at Greenbriar State Park (just remember to reserve and pay for your ticket beginning in 2025) or a relaxing day exploring the small town of Middletown (the library is beautiful here).
  • This was our last stop on the trail and it was my least favorite because it’s soft serve (I’m just not a soft serve ice cream person), but my daughter loved it! We loved going outside to see the highland cow, donkeys, horses and cows.
Inside Deliteful Dairy | TeamTravelsBaby
Animals at Deliteful Dairy | TeamTravelsBaby

Happy Cow at Grand View Acre Farms, Union Bridge (Sunday, 7/28/2024)

  • We visited this one and Woodburne Creamery on the same day. We started our day with strolling Carroll Creek and the downtown Frederick’s C. Burr Artz public library (which has a huge kids room with toys, games and usually a scavenger hunt) followed by the Fountain Rock Park and Nature Center which is free to explore. You can see real animals, walk the trails and also enjoy the shaded playground.
  • Of course, if you haven’t been, you must check out the Big Wooden Slide at Mt. Tabor Park. Check out my IG reel! This was super fun and free!
  • This was one of my favorites and I recommend picking a nice day to visit. We opted for a milkshake here. There are lawn games, a small playground, sand to play in and animals to see (if they decide to come within view). The goats came right up to the fence for us.
Game at Happpy Cow | TeamTravelsBaby
Playground at Happy Cow | TeamTravelsBaby

Keyes Creamery, Churchville (Tuesday, 7/16/2024)

  • After a fun overnight trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania and the Cartoon Network hotel, we stopped here to break up our drive home, northeast of Baltimore. We then continued our drive and popped off the highway into the Storyville at the Rosedale Library in Baltimore which is free and similar to the Woodlawn Library location.
  • This location had shaded benches under a pavilion and we enjoyed a flight (4 flavors) here.
Flight at Keye’s Creamery | TeamTravelsBaby

Lockbriar Farms, Chestertown (Saturday, 8/24/2024)

  • If you don’t mind crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (make sure to have an EZ pass), this is a great day trip. Many Eastern Shore libraries are closed on Sundays, we opted to do this trip on a Saturday so we could check out the Queen Anne’s County Library which was a great stop.
  • After the farm, we went to downtown Chestertown which happened to have a back-to-school free fair. Addy had the best time collecting things and everyone was so kind. Then we headed to Wilmer Park for the playground and a walk by the water. If we had known, I may have visited downtown earlier in the day to visit KidSPOT Children’s Creativity Center while it was opened since my daughter loves art.
  • This was one of our favorites! The fruit flavored ice creams are super flavorful and the sweetest cat hung out with us while we ate. One of the owners was so kind to walk us around with the dog, and take us inside the chicken coop where Addy got to hold an egg. The u-pick garden here is stunning.

Misty Meadows Farm Creamery, Smithburg (Sunday, 7/21/2024)

  • We visited this one and Rocky Point Creamery on the same day. We ate our ice cream on the shaded porch.
  • We wanted to check out the Discovery Station (kids museum) in Hagerstown and it’s free the third Sunday of each month. My daughter’s favorite is the top level with the art supplies and painting on an easel. We also enjoyed walking to the downtown library which has a cute kids section and finding the large painted butterflies around town. IG highlight here.
  • This one is super family friendly with a butterfly maze, sunflowers (we went past peak and they were 25 cents per stem), large tires to climb, little ride on vehicles and a playground. Inside we got a few free bits of broken up waffle cone to feed the goats and visited the cow and donkey too. I would love to return to this one.

Moo Cow Creamery at Walnut Ridge Farm (bonus location), Middletown (Saturday, 8/31/2024)

  • We started our day here for a long weekend adventure that would ultimately include: Surreybrooke, the C&O Canal in Williamsport (to earn a Junior Ranger badge), Deliteful Dairy (another stop on the ice cream trail), Winchester (VA), Berkley Springs (WV), Cumberland (MD), Frostburg (MD) and the Paw Paw Tunnel.
  • We loved the street art here and seeing the sweet kitties and golden retriever. This location does not scoop ice cream so we bought a 1/2 pint to share and a chocolate milk.
Moo Cow Creamery | TeamTravelsBaby

Prigel Family Creamery, Glen Arm (Saturday, 7/20/2024)

  • We visited this one and Broom’s Bloom Dairy on the same day. This could also be paired with a day in the Baltimore area. I have a whole highlight of ideas here.
  • Don’t miss a picture with the colorful cow outside. This location offers workshops and a kids’ Wonderfarm Club. If these may interest you, check out the dates and information online to sign-up and plan accordingly for your visit.
Prigel Family Creamery | TeamTravelsBaby

Rocky Point Creamery, Tuscarora (Sunday, 7/21/2024)

  • We visited this one and Misty Meadows Farm Creamery on the same day. In between the two ice cream stops, we popped into the Francis Scott Key Mall which has a Barnes & Noble to turn in Addy’s summer reading paper and get a free book.
  • This location was quite busy which was fun to see! We got our picture on the cow bench and then stopped at Rio Washingtonian on the way home.

South Mountain Creamery, Middletown (Saturday, 6/29/2024)

  • In my personal opinion, make sure to check out the creamery location instead of the storefront location. On the way here, we visited Pinecliff Park which is pretty large and also has a built in scavenger hunt. We then visited the Middletown Library – don’t miss the beautiful porches. Of course if you’ve never been to Sophie and Madigan’s Playground, this would be my top choice for the area playgrounds. I have more ideas in my Frederick highlight.
  • We understand why this place gets rave reviews. You can walk through and visit the baby cows, take a picture on a tractor and play at the playground with lots of toys. There’s a shaded pavilion right by the playground too plus various photo opportunities. We loved this one!

Woodbourne Creamery, Mt. Airy (Sunday, 7/28/2024)

  • We visited this one and Happy Cow on the same day. We sat behind the building in the shade under the tree. There were also beautiful flowers blooming here and a playground (that’s full sun).
  • On our drive home, we went to Damascus Recreational Park which had an incredible playground structure and bathrooms. If you’d rather explore closer to the ice cream stop, check out the small town of New Market to get coffee at 5 West Cafe and then play some games at nearby Adventure Park USA (keep an eye on Groupon – we got $100 credit for $48). This was perfect for the indoor ropes course and zipline, laser tag, some video games, bowling, etc.
Woodbourne Creamery | TeamTravelsBaby
Playground at Woodbourne Creamery | TeamTravelsBaby

A couple of general suggestions:

  • Follow each farm on social media as you may find another event to pair your trip with or decide to try their U-pick (flowers, fruit, etc.), they may offer a special or they may change their hours. (I have found that Google doesn’t always get it right, particularly with places that have seasonal hours. Hyperlinks above lead to their official websites.)
  • Many were closed on Sundays or things in the immediate area were, so again, make sure to plan accordingly so you’re not disappointed.
  • Document what you try so you can rank them at the end. I wish I had done a better job of this.
  • Some places will split a single, which means you can get a “single scoop” but try two flavors. On days when we tried multiple ice cream places, or when we couldn’t pick a favorite, we loved that we could do this. Make sure to ask. It’s also fun to try the different flavored milks and be prepared that each location may not offer samples.
  • Bring cash just in case. I believe I was able to pay with my credit card everywhere, but since these are small businesses and may have a minimum purchase amount or a credit card fee, it’s always a great practice to have some cash as an option.
  • If you enjoy hiking, check out the official site with the nearby trail for each stop.
  • Add a local library to each stop. If you’re a Maryland resident, you can get each Maryland county’s library card. This is great for access to online resources. I particularly love it because it allows me to add more cards to my Libby app so I rarely have to wait for a title. And at the same time, sign-up for Summer Reading! Even if you don’t think you’ll return to the county to finish, many library systems give you a prize just for signing up.
  • Have fun!!

New in 2025:

There is a Let’s Rallie app this year and also some new places on the trail to include Brown Cow Creamery in Mt. Airy, Glamourview Creamery in Walkersville, and Miller Farms in Clinton. We have been to the last one and plan to try these other too when we make our way to the Frederick area. When we visited Miller Farms, we combined it with Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Cove Farm, which is free and a place to earn a Junior Ranger Badge and ice skating at Tucker Road Ice Rink. We are excited to explore some parts of the Lancaster Ice Cream trail this summer. There’s a lot more than just Turkey Hill in this area.

Miller Farms in Clinton | TeamTravelsBaby

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 free newsletter and follow along on Instagram!

Visiting DC is for everyone with so many free spots

Posted in DC-Maryland-Virginia, Free Kids Fun, National Parks, Read Them All, United StatesTagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
US Capitol Building

When I was growing up, I had the opportunity to visit Washington, D.C. Then when I was in college, I had the opportunity to study abroad one summer in Europe between London and Paris/Tours, France. One thing I realized during this time was that I loved the convenience of public transportation and I wanted to live in a city that offered this. Flash forward to 2011 and I moved to D.C. for grad school.

When I lived in D.C. I would walk, metro and bus everywhere! I wanted to experience it all. Since moving to Silver Spring, Maryland, I try to remember that my goal is to be a tourist in my own town! I don’t want to lose sight of the fact I’m only a mile from the Silver Spring metro station and can be back in the heart of the city in no time! Most links will take you to pictures on my IG and I focused on free offerings unless otherwise noted. Always check the official site for hours, closures, ticketing, special events, etc. And if you’re taking metro, add your card to your phone ahead of time (it even works when the phone is dead)! Kids 4 and under are free.

The Best Free Views of D.C.

For all of these places, be prepared that you may have to go through security.

  • Washington Monument – Since I moved to D.C. and then there was an earthquake that shut this for many years, I did not want to miss a chance to visit when it reopened. It is iconic and I’m happy I finally got a ticket (I clicked on Group instead of Individual) for my daughter and I to go up (thanks to FamilyTripGuides for this tip). You can’t bring strollers up and be prepared for security. It’s $1 per ticket and you reserve through Recreation.gov either 30 days in advance or a day in advance (or take the chance of standing in line for a walk up ticket). Stand in the middle of the door on either side on the way down so you can see out the window that lights up.
  • Old Post Office – I still feel like this is a bit of a hidden gem because it was closed to the public for many years. Kids can earn a Junior Ranger badge (free) here. It’s also conveniently located by the National Children’s Museum so it could easily be combined. Enter behind the building and be prepared for security.
  • View of D.C. – This is in Arlington and metro accessible. This is also a venue space and it was super fun to take the glass elevator up spot all the sites. This closed sometime in 2024 (sad face), but I left it here in case it reopens in the future under a different name or owner.
  • Other great views include the back of the Lincoln Memorial to see the eternal flame at Arlington Cemetery, going to the top of the Kennedy Center and rooftop of the MLK Library.

Unique Non-Smithsonian Places for Kids

  • Planet Word – This is an interactive place that can be enjoyed by every age! Sing karaoke, take a picture in the photo booth, make a book come to life, find the hidden bookcase door, tell jokes, etc. If you have visitors, this is the spot to go! Reserve a free (donation based) ticket ahead of time and before or after visiting, check out Franklin Park across the street for a small playground. Take the metro here.
  • The People’s House: A White House Experience – This is free (donation based) and it’s recommended to reserve tickets in advance. This is super close to the White House and the Renwick Gallery. Sit in the 1:1 ratio Oval Office that changes with each President, take pictures like you’re presenting the Easter Egg Roll and touch various objects to make them come to life. This opened in September 2024.
  • Rock Creek Park Nature Center – This is free and since the Planetarium reopened, it sometimes has a free kids show! It’s also a place to see taxidermy, a couple real animals, color and hike! There is free parking.
  • MLK Library – We are the people who go to libraries on vacation because there are so many unique ones! This one has a slide in the stairwell of the kids section. Visit the rooftop too and if you have a little, the story time is excellent here. We metro here and combine with a walk through City Center DC since the decorations regularly change in Palmer Alley and Chinatown’s Friendship Bridge.
  • Anacostia Park – The first time I came here, I thought it was just the “pirate ship park”, but there is more! Bring socks and an ID to swap it out for free roller skates. We haven’t made it yet, but there is a nature type center here too called Aquatic Resources Education Center. There is free parking.
  • Merry Pin – This is a business that offers free Saturday morning story time and craft/art. We have found free street parking in this area.
  • National Children’s Museum – This is a paid museum right by the Ronald Reagan Building and the climbing dream machine (bring socks) is always my child’s favorite. Here’s my biggest tip – if you live in the DMV, go get an Alexandria library card (via reciprocity) then reserve a free ticket to visit online (follow all the steps)! We went in August 2024 with a 2:30 pm slot and they let us in 30 minutes early so we got 2.5 hours of free play here.
  • I wouldn’t go to the White House Visitor Center with a little unless I needed a bathroom or to escape the weather elements since there’s minimal interactivity.
  • Eastern Market – This is a fun area to explore for the outdoor market on the weekends and the indoor fish market. It’s changed so much in the time I’ve lived here. There’s also a great playground and splash pad (seasonal) nearby. Get a poptart from Ted’s Bulletin. If time allows, venture to Shakespeare’s Library. You can reserve a free ticket and there’s a kids scavenger hunt inside.

Free Smithsonians Can’t Be Missed

  • Natural History – This is our family favorite as we love the taxidermy animals, dinosaurs, the big entrance hall (from the National Mall side) and special exhibits like photography of the year. On Tuesdays, the butterfly garden inside on the 2nd level, closer to the National Mall side is free, just wait in line to get a timed ticket. On the Tuesday before Montgomery County schools went back, DC was empty – no school buses, no long lines to get inside.
  • American Indian – The Native American museum has a great kids section. We usually pair this with popping into the U.S. Botanical Gardens. We love the Botanical Gardens during the holidays to see the the outdoor train and the atrium. You can also see the Capitol from here.
  • Postal Museum – This is a top museum for littles and it’s right next to Union Station. I love making a digital stamp, picking a few old stamps to keep and exploring the interactive displays downstairs.
  • American History – This is a huge museum with so many exhibits. If you have a little, check the hours for Wegman’s Wonderplace and if your child is older, check out Spark!Lab. We have enjoyed both spaces. Be prepared for security and arrive early to beat the buses.
  • Asian Art – This is usually a museum we skip over, but we recently attended an Art & Me family event that was fantastic (reserve free ticket in advance). We also loved seeing and learning about the Peacock Room. The last Thursday of the month in the afternoon, you can see the shutters opened to reveal the window. Don’t miss the ceiling or the coins in the peacock mural. Pop into the Smithsonian Castle if it’s open or see the Eisenhower Memorial nearby.
  • African American History – This is an incredible multi-story museum. If you start at the bottom, you weave through history. If you start at the top, you learn about music, sports, etc. Don’t miss the reflection room that is beautiful and peaceful. Reserve a timed ticket in advance.
  • Zoo – One of the free zoos in the U.S. and pandas returned in early 2025! Reserve a free ticket online. Be prepared for the hilly walking! In the summer there are misters and a water feature by the seals/sea lions. There’s also a couple of play structures at the bottom of the hill near the prairie dogs and also by the farm. The play space inside the newly renovated bird area is great for kids with crafts, storytime and outdoor play. This is only open certain days/times per week. We usually come on a Sunday when street parking is free or metro to Cleveland Park (downhill trek to zoo) and return from Woodley Park (downhill trek from zoo).
  • National Mall – This is the big green space that has many of the free museums and I had the good fortune to have my grad school graduation here when Kerri Washington from Scandal was the speaker. If you’re exploring Smithsonians, it’s hard to miss. Venture to all of the monuments along the Mall like WWII, Lincoln, Washington Monument, Vietnam and beyond to all of the ones along the Tidal Basin (body of water). Make sure you wear comfortable shoes. They are all free to visit and shouldn’t be missed. Many people like enjoying the sunrise or sunset by the Tidal Basin. Fun fact, my husband proposed at the Lincoln Memorial.

Paid Museums to Consider:

  • National Law Enforcement – We were gifted this opportunity and loved it. The museum is underground and metro accessible from Judiciary Square. It is very interactive. You can sit in a police car and touch all the buttons, learn about dogs that work with law enforcement, listen to 911 calls, watch a short movie on the wall, etc. I would definitely return here in the future and their t-shirt is one of my favorites because it is so soft. Check for discounted tickets on Groupon.
  • Museum of the Bible – Check for tickets on Groupon. We found one for $18 and my daughter was free based on her age. It was beautiful during the holidays and we loved hearing the people play chimes and bells. There’s a kids play area inside and a section to play games.
  • International Spy Museum – This was a super memorable museum when I was younger and visited DC. It has moved locations since then and I look forward to taking my daughter at some point.

Specific Time of Year

  • January or February. Discovery Days happens in Baltimore and Maryland residents can reserve free timed tickets to the National Aquarium. This is an amazing deal! The Maryland Science Center nearby is covered by the ASTC Passport, so if you’re visiting the area from out of town, definitely check out this museum and you may be able to visit for free via reciprocity. Read my article, Your Family Needs the ASTC Passport, for all the convincing you need.
  • March or April. The cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin at or around peak season are to be enjoyed. Yes, it’s crowded because people come from all around the globe to see this phenomenon because it’s incredible. It’s also a chance to see gorgeous magnolias. I haven’t tested this yet, but we were told by a park ranger that they have seasonal Junior Ranger badges for kids to earn during this time! Sundays will be busier than a weekday, but you may be able to find free parking.
  • March or April. The White House Easter Egg Roll is such a fun event to participate in, particularly if it doesn’t rain and it’s not too hot. In 2023 we “won the lotto” and got to participate! Every February there’s a lottery period to submit your interest. There were lawn games with athletes, free treats, crafts and characters! We skipped the iconic events.
  • Summer. Visit Yards Park Canal Basin for the most unique “splash pad” type experience. Bring bathing suits and go under the waterfall or splash around in the shallow water. The views are beautiful. Don’t forget the sunscreen.
  • July. The peak bloom of the lotuses at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens are beautiful! It is definitely hot and humid, but also unique! This is a fun place to earn a Junior Ranger badge (free program for kids). Make sure to walk back to the boardwalk to look for various birds. Parking is free in the lot, but it gets crowded and then you have to use street parking.
  • Holidays. Check out the adorable trains at the Botanical Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland. My daughter loved the various scavenger hunts. This is free to visit and there’s also a nature center and children’s garden. It’s also gorgeous in the spring. The Washington, D.C. Temple, which is actually just outside of DC is a beautiful, free place to see lights and nativity sets from around the world.

Right Over the D.C. Border are These Gems

  • Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm – We timed it so we arrived in time to feed the chickens! There are other animals to see too, a nature building with coloring, games and books and a chance to earn a Junior Ranger badge.
  • National Harbor – The downside is parking (try to book ahead of time with SpotHero). Otherwise, play in the sand, catch a movie or sport on the big screen, find the famous statues, play in the little kid area or fenced in park and walk through the Gaylord. This is also close to the Tanger Outlets which has a small kids play area and free parking.
  • National Cryptologic Museum – This is a small museum with a decoding activity (and prize) for kids. We also got to use invisible ink. It has dedicated parking.

Thanks for checking out this article. This is not meant to be all-inclusive, but rather give you some ideas in one place from a local mom who enjoys adventuring and keeping the costs low. I could write full articles about the playgrounds in the area, cities like Alexandria, Annapolis, Frederick, etc., so make sure to check back if you’re interested in those. I would love for you to check out some of my other articles such as Airport Play Areas in the DMV, How To Save Money In Order to Travel, Keep Your Green at Great Wolf Lodge.

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!

Sligo Creek Parkway Playgrounds and Nearby Ones

Posted in DC-Maryland-Virginia, Free Kids Fun, Read Them All, United StatesTagged , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Addy about to get on the zip line at a Sligo Creek Parkway playground

Silver Spring, Maryland has a wonderful paved trail along Sligo Creek Parkway. It’s perfect for walking, scootering, pushing a stroller, etc. There are a lot of playgrounds along the path and various free parking offerings. Parts of Sligo Creek Parkway close to vehicle traffic on the weekends, so I’ve noted where I know that to be the case. Unfortunately, bathrooms are hard to come by for these parks. And many kids, including my own, do play in some sections of the creek, but from one parent to another, please always do your own due diligence on the water conditions.

  • Sligo Dennis Park – One of the newest parks along Sligo Creek Parkway and the equipment is orange and blue. This one is great for climbers and is set-up like an obstacle course. It’s along the creek and you can play in the water here. There is a small parking lot and on the weekends, it’s blocked by the road closure, so you have to park off Dennis and walk.
  • Hillwood Manor Neighborhood Park – This playground is also newer and is tucked into the end of a neighborhood by a low spot in the creek. It’s neighborhood street parking. There are two play structures and I appreciate that the tall one is enclosed. This is a good one to pair with a trip to to Aldi and Lidl off New Hampshire Avenue and is on the Takoma Park end of Sligo Creek Parkway.
  • Blue Park, I mean Dale Drive Neighborhood Park – This is a popular park often referred to as “blue park” because of the ground covering. My daughter loves the rope climbing structure here and it for sure makes me nervous. There’s also a pirate ship for littles, a see saw and some other small structures. There’s a big field nearby and access to the creek. Be mindful of the rocks as they do get slippery. There’s a small parking lot here off Dale Drive or you can park by the tennis courts on Sligo Creek and walk over. If you don’t mind walking a bit of a hill, pop up to Love and Flour bakery with treats and espresso drinks (it looks a little different now than my IG pics that are linked). You can also do a double park and walk about 8 minutes to Nolte Local Park which has quite a bit of shade in comparison to Dale Drive.
  • Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park – This is another newer park with two zip lines and access to the creek. The park is blue and green and nearly full sun. My daughter loves the zip line here and there’s also an accessible zip line. There are swings and a great climbing structure with slides. There’s also a smaller structure. This is located in a section that’s closed on the weekends, starting sometime on Friday evening (last time we were there it had signs by the small parking lot). You can also use the map to park in a nearby neighborhood and walk here such as Kennebec or Houston Ave.
  • Sligo-Bennington Park – This park has three separate structures but the best part is you can take a short walk to Zinnia’s for a treat or espresso drink (bring a penny for the wishing well). There is a wooden playground and my daughter loves the rings for the monkey bar structure (otherwise, this structure needs to be replaced in my opinion). Then there are two small structures and a ton of swings here. If you like going for a short walk, there’s a nature/unpaved path through the woods. It’s fun for throwing rocks in the water. This park of Sligo Creek is always open (unless it floods) and you can park along Sligo Creek Parkway or street park directly next to the park on Bennington. Have a double park day and head to Three Oaks Neighborhood Park (no swings).
  • Sligo Creek North Neighborhood Park – This is a shaded park right along the bend of Sligo Creek and another one that’s great to pair with Aldi or Lidl. This has descending monkey bars which can be great for learning. There are two side-by-side baby swings and two traditional swings. There’s a very small parking lot on the bend, otherwise, you’d have to look for neighborhood street parking.
  • Forest Grove Neighborhood Park – We call this “hospital” park because it’s close to Holy Cross Hospital. There’s are a couple of spaces directly on Sligo Creek or you can go on the other side of the park to park along the street near the basketball courts. The spinning structure is now the favorite here along with the monkey bars.

There is no shortage of parks in the area! Here are some other nearby ones with links to pictures on Instagram. I also recommend checking out my article, Top Tips for New Silver Spring Parents that will be helpful whether you’re visiting or live in the general area. It includes indoor suggestions as well.

  • Bullis Local Park – A lot of younger kids enjoy the train here to play on. It’s also a close enough walk to Silver Spring Library.
  • Burtonsville Local Park
  • Dewey Local Park – This is a personal favorite! I love the street art here, the little bike path around the park, the skating rink and all of the extras on top of an amazing park! Bring matchbox type cars to use on the small play structure And if you come here, check out Unique Thrift Store nearby! I like this park so much I have two posts!
  • Ellsworth Urban Park – This has a little kid park with a low arched monkey bar. Then it has a totally separate section for climbers – the big structure here used to make me so nervous!
  • Evans Parkway Park
  • Flora Singer Elementary School – This isn’t open during school hours, but it’s perfect for the weekend if you want to use the low monkey bars or play on the little soccer field with nets.
  • Flower Avenue Urban Park – This is a colorful park with the big circles that swing to move through. There’s some nice street art nearby here too.
  • General Getty Neighborhood Park – We recently returned to this park and I forgot how great it was! I enjoyed being able to walk the path around the park, while still being able to see my child play. This park has a “mommy and me” swing or rather the bucket swing with the traditional swing attached combination.
  • Highland View Elementary – This is probably best for non-school hours, but the ninja warrior type obstacle course at the upper playground is a lot of fun and has a big field next to it. Then there’s a lower park down the stairs that’s known as the Kindergarten park.
  • Hillandale Local Park – One of our favorites because of the log course! It also has a double swing, bathrooms and it’s next to a fire station.
  • Kemp Mill Park – If you have a climber, make sure you bring your tennis shoes! The rope climbing structure is huge here and it’s quite a stretch from the rope onto the platform for the humungous slide!
  • MLK Recreation Park – Another park with a low monkey bar for learning. There are accessible features here and bathrooms! There’s also a walking trail. I would say this is one of the most recommended ones for young children. This post has more pictures.
  • Montgomery Hills Park – Located behind Aldi’s on Georgia Ave. This park does get some shade, has a book box and it’s next to a tennis court. There’s a super pretty tree here in the Fall too!
  • North Four Corners Local Park – This is another favorite for us and it’s actually a double park! The bigger park has a huge field next to it and a great path for biking or scootering.
  • Opal Daniels Park
  • Seek Lane Park – Addy loved the ninja warrior type obstacle course set-up.
  • Sligo Cabin Park – Technically this one is along the trail too, but it is a bit challenging to get to with Purple Line construction unless you walk down from another section of Sligo Creek or one of the neighborhoods. On the weekends, you could park by Sligo Creek Elementary and walk down the steps or take the accessible path around to here.
  • Sligo Creek Park – This one is along the trail, but it is my least favorite because I always find it is so buggy! It’s close to Colesville on the side near Brunett Ave and relatively close to the golf course.
  • Sligo Mill Overlook
  • St. Paul Park – Set back from the road with an open field and path great for riding scooters, bikes or pushing a stroller. Walking distance to historic Kensington.
  • Toatley-Fraser Park
  • Upper Long Branch Park – Many refer to this as “fire engine park” because of the fire truck structure.
  • Wheaton Claridge Park
  • Wheaton Library Playground – This is a great, mostly fenced park. It is the perfect park for an outting because there’s also the library, the recreation center, a coffee shop and a Friends of the Library used bookstore. There are bathrooms when the building is open.
  • Wheaton Regional Park – This is a destination playground and great for a wide range of ages. There are bathrooms here too! I share more ideas in my article, Top Tips for New Silver Spring Parents.
  • Woodside Urban Park – This is a great park with free street parking. It’s also very close to the brand new Mom’s Organic Grocery which has a bathroom! I like to walk over to PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans from here.

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!

Family Friendly Cruise Day in Santa Barbara

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In April 2024, we took a one way cruise from the Los Angeles area (San Pedro to be exact) up to Vancouver, Canada. The cruise stopped in many cities we had visited before having our daughter, so it was exciting to return to places we could explore with her. The Princess Cruise stopped in Santa Barbara on Monday, April 8, 2024 which coincided with the Solar Eclipse.

We previously explored Santa Barbara, Solvang and many beaches and viewpoints in the area in November 2017. If you want to get more ideas beyond the one day itinerary in this post, check out Santa Barbara and the PCH Pacifically. The information below focuses on how to have a family friendly and affordable day in Santa Barbara, California based on what we actually did.

Before I share the specifics, it’s important to know that we maximize fun without breaking the bank. We tend to avoid organized excursions because we like the flexibility of planning ourselves and we are physically fit and active to walk multiple miles in a day. My first and most important tip is to consider getting an annual membership to an ASTC Passport covered museum before your trip. You will not regret it! As I share in my post, Your Family Needs the ASTC Passport, you’ll see how we were able to visit $148 worth of places in Santa Barbara for our family of three (2 adults and 1 child who was 5.5 years old) for a major deal that you can benefit from too.

When we got off the cruise ship, we brought our stroller, a day bag with snacks and water and our wallets. One thing I wish I had brought with me was a marble (see why below)! This port required a tender (a smaller boat) that took us from the cruise ship to the harbor.

8:45 am off the ship (via tender) at the Santa Barbara Harbor

We walked along the water and headed to State Street. It is hilly to walk up State Street, so it’s important to be prepared for this. We liked being able to see the main street of stores and architecture without a lot of people first thing in the morning.

9:45 am arrived to Alameda Park

It’s a solid 2-2.5 mile walk. The park has a wonderful, fully fenced wooden playground and bathrooms (it may show up on the map as Kids World). I wish we had brought a marble because there’s a unique marble run feature at this park. We stayed here about 30 minutes before continuing our walk, cutting through part of Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden.

10:45 am arrived to Mission Historical Park

It’s fun to pass by beautiful houses on the journey. We arrived to Mission Historical Park and stopped to literally smell the roses as many were already blooming. We were also able to photograph the outside of the Old Mission between the groups of people starting to arrive. We did not linger long and continued on our way to our first museum.

11:10 am arrived to Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

We enjoyed seeing the indoor spaces like the taxidermy birds, the huge dinosaurs behind the building, the whale skeleton out front and using the huge telescope during the Solar Eclipse (luckily we could borrow glasses for it). They also have an outdoor kids natural play space with shade and a small play room. We paid $0 (instead of $52) for our family to enjoy this space! I explain how in my post, Your Family Needs the ASTC Passport.

1 pm arrived to Santa Barbara Public Library

Our daughter could not stay awake on the long walk back, so she took a nap in the stroller. We knew we had two more places for her to enjoy so we let her sleep and restore her energy. We popped in the library, which is just off State Street (the main area) and has a dedicated kids space downstairs. There was a kids kitchen, toys and a table set-up for coloring and a craft. If you need free fun, this is a great space to utilize! Plus, there are bathrooms! When we left, we walked through La Arcade Plaza which had some really cool statues and a red telephone booth! Great photo opps in my opinion.

1:40 pm arrived to McConnell’s Ice Cream

We stopped at the location at 120 State St., which was directly across from the children’s museum. This was our big splurge ($8) in Santa Barbara and the way I got my daughter to wake up from her nap. We split a delicious waffle cone of ice cream and sat outside. It’s a Santa Barbara staple!

2:15 pm arrived to MOXI The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation

This multi-level children’s museum is incredible and I hope you read my other post for how we entered for $0 (instead of $55)! Addy loved the makerspace on the main level and had fun making various creations. She enjoyed the outdoor space on this level feeding the air machine with the small scarves and catching them. The Lego wall and car racing machine on the next level were favorites too. We took a quick trip to the rooftop for the view.

Playing with scarves at MOXI | TeamTravelsBaby

4 pm arrived to Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (Sea Center) 

Fortunately, this was super close to where we needed to get back on the ship. We parked our stroller and headed inside to see this small aquarium. My personal favorites were the octopus and sea horses. Addy liked watching the worker drop a bucket into the water and pull up various sea life. I am glad we could pop in for $0 (instead of $41) as it’s small and we only had a short window of time to check it out.

4:45 pm return to tender line

The last tender was scheduled for 5 pm, so we played in the sand for a few minutes before getting in line to get back on the cruise all aboard.

The Princess Cruise was amazing and this was a great stop on the itinerary! If you think this would help someone planning a trip to Santa Barbara, please share this article with them!

First ice cream of the cruise | TeamTravelsBaby

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!

Your Family Needs the ASTC Passport

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Every family should strongly consider joining a museum that’s part of the ASTC Passport Program. ASTC stands for the Association of Science and Technology Centers and it covers a ton of museums and science centers across the United States, Canada and beyond! It even covered a zoo in Duluth, Minnesota, the Greensboro Science Center, North Carolina which had a zoo, aquarium and kids museum all in one and the Montreal Science Center in Canada (which had a great dinosaur special exhibit when we visited)!

In 2022, we were visiting Michigan for an extended visit and I found that buying an annual family membership to the Ann Arbor Children’s Museum paid for itself in two visits! And with that membership, we would be allowed to visit any museums beyond 90 miles of this museum and our home address for FREE! Museums within that mileage would be 50% off. This was a no brainer for us and we actually found that many museums did not check our ID, so even when we thought we would pay 50% of the admission price, we often got in for free with our pass!

In November 2022 and November 2023, we bought the Maryland Science Center (Baltimore) Groupon for around $80-90. This gave us a family membership for one year and there’s a long lead time before you have to redeem and start the one year clock. We actually waited until April (6 months later) in both cases to redeem our pass with a Sunday visit to the Maryland Science Center. If you join, which I highly recommend, check out my IG highlight for some more Baltimore ideas.

If you travel, this is the MUST HAVE pass!

I try to yell from the rooftops about the benefits of this program. From where we live in Silver Spring, I don’t think Baltimore is super convenient because it involves taking I-95! But we make a point of going two times in the year, on a Sunday, avoiding baseball game days. We go on Sundays because we can find free parking and we go twice, because that’s how quickly this pass pays for itself. in 2024, it’s $30/adult and $22/child (ages 3-12). In the DMV, there’s also the Children’s Science Center in Fairfax (inside the mall) that is also part of the ASTC Passport Program. It’s fun to check out downtown Fairfax while in the area too.

When we travel, I always look up all of the covered places using the ASTC Passport website to see the current brochure of places listed by state. In my mind, whether we visit a place for 30 minutes or for hours, it doesn’t matter, because it’s FREE. We have visited museums that would have cost us more than buying the Groupon for the Maryland Science Center. When I tell you it’s worth it, it is 100% worth it.

To give a quick example, when we cruised to Santa Barbara in April 2024, there were three covered places by the pass that we visited in one day. If we had paid for admission separately, we would have paid $148! Below is the breakdown by museum, but remember we paid $0 in Santa Barbara to enter these three places. The main takeaway is that spending $80-$90 for our Maryland Science Center pass in November when it’s on Groupon is a MUST PURCHASE!

  • MOXI The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation – This was an incredible kids museum, with a great makerspace. We even got to enjoy a beautiful rooftop view. In 2024, this museum cost $15/kid (3-12 years old) and $20/adult (13+). This would have cost our family (2 adults + 1 child) $55 to visit, but instead it was FREE because it’s more than 90 miles from our condo in Maryland and the Maryland Science Center.
  • Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History – We enjoyed seeing the indoor spaces, the huge dinosaurs in the back, the whale skeleton and we happened to be here during the Solar Eclipse so it was amazing to use the huge telescope. They also have an outdoor kids play space and small play room. This would have cost our family $52 to visit ($19/adult and $14/kid ages 2-12), but instead, we showed our Maryland Science Center pass and it was FREE.
  • Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (Sea Center) – This was a small aquarium. I loved seeing the octopus and watching an employee pull up items directly from the water. It was also conveniently close to the cruise port. This would have cost our family $41 ($15/adult and $11/kid ages 2-12).

I love this pass and I think you and your family will too. It also makes for a great experience gift! I set a reminder for each November to keep a look out for it! If you subscribe to the Maryland Science Center newsletter, you also get notified. I’ll do my best to share via my newsletter too!

Have you visited an ASTC Passport covered museum? Let me know in the comments.

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!

From Maryland to Michigan: A Mom Recommends Museums and More

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Michigan has so many great offerings for kids! We are very fortunate that my in-laws and extended family live in the Detroit metro area, so we’ve done quite a bit of exploring over the years. This post focuses on museums, playgrounds, towns, libraries and other adventures we’ve taken that are kid friendly. Since Instagram eliminated the IG guides, I figured it was time to add everything to my website (links will take you to the relevant TeamTravelsBaby IG post for more info and lots of pictures). We have explored quite a bit of the state including Mackinac Island, the UP (upper peninsula), Traverse City, etc. but I’ll save those for another post.

I’ve alphabetized cities we’ve visited and what I’ve personally experienced and enjoyed with my daughter. And as we love free and low cost fun, the places highlighted are kid friendly and family friendly affordable fun within a reasonable distance of metro Detroit. You’ll be able to tell that we love visiting libraries as they are free indoor spaces, usually with toys and often have great free programming too, even without a library card! At the end of this post, I added a couple of additional places within 2 hours if you’re looking to expand your search.

Ann Arbor

This makes for such an amazing day! In Maryland, we belong to the Maryland Science Center and there is a covered museum in Ann Arbor that we can access for FREE because they are included in the ASTC Passport Program. We always buy in November when it’s around $80-90 for an annual family membership. Plus you can enjoy walking around the University of Michigan campus here and see the huge squirrels!

Birmingham

This is a fancy town! It has some really nice stores, bakeries, coffee, a farmers market in the warmer months and is very walkable.

Brighton

This is such a cute walkable town to visit! It’s pretty, has a coffee shop, a bookstore and an incredible wooden playground. This is one of my personal favorites.

Clarkston

You can blink and drive through this town, but we found it was worth a stop to enjoy the park and candy store. It’s also where an indoor play area is that often has costumed characters. 

Commerce

Farmington/Farmington Hills

Howell

Exceeded my expectations. We initially came only for the nature center but ended up walking the town and liked the playground and unique stores.

Milford

A walkable city to visit with ice cream, a coffee shop and playground. We’ve come for their car show before which was a fun event to walk around.

Northville

If you can’t tell by now, I love walkable towns! This one is really cute, especially in the fall! There’s a library, an incredible indoor play space that’s a great way to observe which toys interest your child, tons of restaurants, coffee shops, a kids consignment store, etc.

  • Stemville (check to see if you need to reserve a time block in advance and wear socks; there’s a coffee shop inside)

Novi

Waterford

  • Hess Hathaway Park (not open daily, check hours and you can see animals plus a farm themed playground)

White Lake

Wolverine Lake

We have driven many times from Maryland to Michigan as well as flown into DTW (Detroit) airport. It’s a huge Delta hub with a separate terminal for them. Our most recent trip was only $88 roundtrip on Frontier from BWI to DTW. We look forward to continuing to explore new places and return to our favorites!

If you would like to expand your search, here are places within two hours or so of where we visit.

And while I will make an effort to add new places to this post and on TeamTravelsBaby Instagram when we visit, here are IG accounts I follow in Michigan for ideas: Michigan Mom of One and LittleGuide Detroit.

Thanks for checking out my post! Feel free to add ideas in the comments! And make sure you’re subscribed for our newsletter!

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!

How To Find Affordable U.S. Travel

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I know I’m fortunate to live in an area with three major airports to choose from (as a bonus, they all have play areas)! In the Washington, D.C. metro, we have Baltimore-Washington airport (BWI), Washington Dulles (IAD) and Reagan National Airport (DCA). This helps with pricing flights and having options.

Tips on how to find affordable U.S. travel.
Airplane in the air | TeamTravelsBaby

My formula for evaluating travel is:

(Flight price total + Car rental price total + Lodging price tota)l / (# of people x # of nights)

More on this in a minute.

Find the flights

I know there are many “travel experts” who want you to pay and subscribe for flight deals. Personally, I swear and live by Google Flights (even Southwest Airlines was finally added in 2024). Google allows you to put in your home airport(s), enter “United States” as the destination, add your dates and then see the prices for various places. From here, you can see what blue dots appear on the map that intrigue you for the time of year you’re looking to travel. You can also use the filters if you prefer to stay under a certain price per ticket or want to limit to non-stop/direct flights. Once I narrow down the destination, before I book, I also check one way flights to see if that helps with the overall price or presents better time options then roundtrip with a single airline carrier. As a tip, use a computer to search instead of a phone. I find it’s better with the explore feature.

One major thing to consider is how you pack. My experience is that we most often end up flying Spirit, Frontier. Sun Country or Allegiant (all low cost carriers), which does not bother us. But, it does mean that we have to each pack in a “personal item” (with small and specific dimensions) to avoid tacking on additional fees. We checked the specs and got super small luggage pieces from Sam’s Club to ensure compliance. If you can’t pack this way, you may want to consider what adding the luggage cost is for each way and then compare it to the next airline carrier that will include your bags (such as Southwest or Delta). Also, sometimes it’s cheapest to pack as a family into one larger checked baggage. 

Reminder: Airlines allow you to cancel your flights AND get a full refund to original payment within 24 hours of booking. This is the U.S. Department of Transportation’s regulation.

Find the rental car

The next thing I do, especially if I’m torn between two destinations, is look at the cost of a car rental during the period. I regularly use CarRentals.com to check this. I know many recommend checking Costco prices, so if you have a membership, don’t forget that’s an option. Some car companies will offer a lower price if you pay in full with no rights to cancel. Others allow for free cancellation (by a certain date) and this can be very appealing. We typically go with whatever is the least expensive since it’s only 3 of us traveling. We bring our own car seat too. Another thing to do is consider using your credit card (if you have more than one) that gives you travel protection as part of its benefits.

Find the accommodations

The last major piece is to find where to sleep each night. This piece is easier or harder depending on whether or not you’re moving locations (e.g., cities), how long your trip is for and whether or not you’re traveling during a busy season. I typically use Booking.com, Super Travel and Airbnb.com to see which route is more affordable for a particular city and my needs for that trip. For example, if I’m on vacation and only plan to sleep in the accommodation, as long as it has a decent review, I don’t care how small it is (e.g., a Motel 6 or a room in someone’s house). But, if I need to work or spend more time in the accommodations, I look for something a bit bigger or one with a kitchen and private bathroom and high speed internet. 

The great thing is looking for affordable options with “free cancellation” and then taking the time to continue looking. These appear on the sites and allow the most flexibility in planning and finalizing a trip.

Back to the formula

Once I have my prices (which I usually screenshot or record into a Word doc), I can see what my base price for a family trip is. 

(Flight price total + Car rental price total + Lodging price total) / (# of people x # of nights)

Example:

  • Flight price total (for all 3 people): $600
  • Car rental price total (for 6 days): $200
  • Lodging price total (for 5 nights): $500
  • Total: $1300
  • Formula: $1300 / (3 people x 6 nights)
  • Result: $72.22 – – This is the average price per night per person.

The $72.22 is one way to look at this. It shows that by person, I’m paying that amount for each night. Put another way, I could eliminate the number of people in the denominator (since this is my family and I’m not being reimbursed by another person for their share) and see that each night of the trip will cost $216.67. If I want this “base cost” of travel to go down, I have to do better on one of the three main cost areas (flights, car rental or lodging). 

Other considerations

We like to spread out the costs whenever we can across multiple credit card statements. This helps with not having one huge credit card bill at the end of a trip. For example, the flights and sometimes an Airbnb reservation may go on one bill, but then the credit card may not charge until after we return the car rental. 

If you’re able to have a friend or family member drop you and pick you up from the airport, this will be a cost savings. I know in our area, it can easily be close to $50 on  Uber* or Lyft* each way, which will add to the cost of the trip. Compare the pricing in the apps and book a ride in advance if you’re going that route. If public transit is available to your nearest airport, this is another possible way to minimize additional cost.

It’s probably obvious, but of course you can always consider driving your personal car instead of flying and renting a vehicle or picking a destination that’s fully accessible with public transportation and shared rides or visiting a place where you know someone and have a place to stay. This are all ways that will cut down on your cost and make travel more affordable.

At the end of the day, I hope you don’t wait for retirement to start experiencing the world! If you’re looking for other ways to save money to afford travel, check out my article “How to save money in order to travel”. 

* The Uber and Lyft links are referral links. There’s no additional cost to you and if you’re creating an account for the first time, I appreciate you using my link which may provide me with a small benefit in the form of a credit or discount by the provider.

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!

DMV Landing Page

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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.
  • 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

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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.

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!

Explore the Eastern Shore

Posted in DC-Maryland-Virginia, Free Kids Fun, Read Them All, United StatesTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Red playground | TeamTravelsBaby

From our condo in Silver Spring, Maryland it takes us about 45 minutes to cross the Bay Bridge (make sure you have an EZ Pass for the toll) and then there are a lot of choices for exploring Maryland’s Eastern Shore. When we first started venturing to the Eastern Shore, I only thought of Assateague and Ocean City, Maryland. Let me assure you, there are a lot of fun places – ice cream shops, cute towns, playgrounds, beaches and art to see! If you prefer staying on Instagram, I have a highlight reel, but I have many more details here and it’s searchable. Some of my hyperlinks below will also take you to my Insta with pics.

Berlin

This is a cute historic town with ice cream, a thrift store (cash only), a coffee shop and some shops. If you pass through on a Sunday, there’s a seasonal market and stores are open too. This is very close to Assateague and Ocean City.

  • Island Creamery is located downtown and will let you split a single scoop so you can enjoy two flavors for just over $5. There’s often a line here but it moves fast and you can enjoy seating in the alley next to it.
  • Chesapeake Bay Farms is one of the stops on the Maryland Ice Cream Trail; this is directly off US 50 West so it’s an easy stop without adding too much time to your journey
    • You can learn more about it here and the possible prizes!
  • The library has toys and is a good stop if you need a clean bathroom.
  • The beautifully painted pumpkin scavenger hunt in October was so much fun! It’s free, the town is happening with music and activities for kids. See our reel here.
  • About 10 minutes from downtown is Wal-Mart which is a great place to stock up before the beach. We’ve also slept in this parking lot to save money!

Ocean City

This is a destination for many and it’s super fun with the ocean, the bay, a long boardwalk and many other family friendly offerings. We recently found a last minute deal for $92 for the Blue Wave Inn which was like a Motel 6 but with an incredible pool and parking that lasted until 3 pm on the day of check out. It was only 2 blocks from 9th street at the boardwalk. I would stay again.

  • No name park is new and a must visit near the skate park and views of the bay.
  • Check out CertifiKID* to see if there are any deals for Jolly Rogers Amusement Park (we saw some in June 2024). Many places, like miniature golfing offer deals if you look in hotels at the pamphlets.
  • Ocean City is fun in various seasons. We loved visiting in October for the enjoyable weather and the off-season pricing (see what we paid here) at the Francis Scott Key Family Resort which has an indoor pool, putt-putt, free popcorn and a movie room. Insta pics here.

* CertifiKID is very similar to GroupOn. If you’ve never used it, please consider using my referral link as it’s no extra cost to you and I will receive a small credit from CertifiKID. In the DMV, we have found deals for places like DoodleHatch (Columbia), Jolly Yolly (Westfield Montgomery) and HyperKidz.

Bivalve

Cove Road Beach is the only reason we came here which is on a river and very relaxing. It’s about 25 minutes from Salisbury.

Cove Road Beach | TeamTravelsBaby

Cambridge

Located along the Choptank River, this is a great halfway point to stop and stretch on the way to the Atlantic Ocean. It also makes for a fun day trip from the DMV area (90 minutes from Silver Spring).

  • Sailwinds Park has a great playground and is located along the river
  • Chick-fil-A is about 1 mile from Sailwinds and has a small play area
  • There is a downtown with coffee, ice cream and art! Set your GPS for Black Water Coffee Shop and you’ll be in the heart of it all. IG post here.
  • Dorchester County Library is a place to escape the heat but still let your kids stretch. They have kids toys.

Chestertown

This is close to Rock Hall and Betterton Beach. I definitely recommend combining all three for a great day trip away from the DMV. Chestertown is the biggest town and is fun for wandering in and out of shops like the bookstore.

  • Betterton Beach is one of those ideal beaches for littles! Check out my IG post. It’s under 2 hours from Silver Spring, MD and we’ve enjoyed this as a day trip.
  • Rock Hall – grab a treat at Sweet Cheeks Bakery, grab coffee from Java Rock and look for ospreys at Blue Heron Park.
  • Lockbriar Farms for ice cream is part of the Maryland ice cream trail and has delicious fruit flavored ones. The owners had a sweet cat who sat with us and then we took a little tour to see the chickens and flowers blooming.

Easton

Less than 90 minutes from Silver Spring is an Amish Market, indoor play space and great park! It can easily be combined with Cambridge.

  • Be with Me Playseum is an indoor playspace with different areas for pretend play, real animals and art. Be sure to check their hours here. This is located on US 50 West. There’s also a location in the Columbia Mall and one in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
  • Idlewild Park is an amazing wooden park that’s mostly fenced in, has a tot lot too and bathrooms! There’s also a book box and a really pretty court. IG reel here It’s only a couple of minutes off US 50 East, so it’s another great park on the way to the beach.
  • Amish Country Farmers Market – Check their hours and know that it’s closed Sundays. This is a great stop if you just need a quick outting and perhaps some affordable and delicious treats! We love Amish markets and have enjoyed exploring many in the DMV like Annapolis, Laurel and Germantown.
  • Chick-fil-A here has a small play area.
Be with Me Playseum | TeamTravelsBaby

Grasonville

The Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center is a great place for getting outdoors, especially if you enjoy walking/hiking or getting out on the water with paddleboards or kayaks. It is exceptionally affordable (like $20/day) and first come first serve. Read more on their site. Grab coffee from Dessert First Dockside Coffee and make sure to check out the marina.

Kent Island

This makes for a great trip and is great when the weather is comfortable for hiking and spending time outdoors.

  • Ferry Point Park – Park and check out the Chesapeake Heritage and Visitor Center, then go for a leisurely walk and enjoy the small beach.
  • Terrapin Nature Park – This is also a great place to walk and enjoy a small beach.
  • Pair with Old Love Point Park or other fun from Stevensville or Grasonville.

Oxford

I could come here just for the uniqueness of the ice cream! There is a small town along Main Street, a playground with shade near the water and a small beach.

  • Scottish Highland Creamery is so cute and right on the water!
  • Main Street has a little museum, a cute store of 30+ local vendors called the Treasure Chest, a market, Mystery Lovers Bookstore and my personal favorite was my iced lavender latte at Oxford Social Cafe. There’s a playground on the water and a little beach too.
Main Street Oxford | TeamTravelsBaby

Salisbury

This is the great stop to break up the drive to or from the ocean or to enjoy as its own trip.

Two Scoops Ice Cream | TeamTravelsBaby
Ben’s Red Swings next to the free zoo | TeamTravelsBaby

Stevensville

Will travel for ice cream should be our middle names. You can have a great day between the beach, ice cream and playground all within a short distance of one another.

  • Historic downtown Stevensville is small, but worth visiting for the Tasty Toucan which has a very kid friendly outdoor space. Check out my IG post.
  • Matapeake Beach is a small beach nearby. Parking is limited so get there early or come later in the day.
  • Old Love Point Playground

St. Michael’s

There’s a Saturday morning market and the library has toys if you’re visiting with a young child. It’s a fun town by the water. Grab coffee at Blue Crab and check out my IG post here.

So much to do on the Eastern Shore

If you have time and like birding, bring your camera and check out Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and the nearby Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center. And why not venture all the way to Delaware! You’re almost there anyways. Here’s our day in Rehoboth. I also have a beach highlight on Instagram that some of the beaches we’ve been to within a reasonable drive of the DMV.

Let me know in the comments what you love about the Eastern Shore or somewhere we should visit on a future trip!

Free mall play areas in the DMV

Posted in Free Kids Fun, Read Them All, Uncategorized, United StatesTagged , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Whenever it’s cold or rainy and you don’t want to spend $20+ on an indoor play space, free mall play areas to the rescue! I’m impressed by how many we have in the DMV area that are within 45 minutes of Silver Spring, Maryland!

My daughter (5 years old) loves the free mall play areas! And while some of them seem like they would be boring after a few minutes, because there always seems to be kids to play with, she can easily spend 1-2 hours here playing! If we’re using the mall as our simple, get out of the house as a family on a Saturday or a Sunday, my husband and I take turns in 15-20 minute increments watching Addy while the other one gets to walk the mall and get steps! I take this as the perfect time to chat on the phone or listen to an audiobook or run that quick errand!

We almost always combine the mall with something else free and fun (or a practical errand like grocery shopping)! In the list below, you’ll find the malls we’ve adventured to and what you can pair with it on a rainy or cold day or a heat wave. If the weather’s nice, I’ll have to post separate ideas for that as there are so many!

Ellsworth Place in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland (Montgomery County)

  • Parking: The Montgomery County parking garages are free on Sundays! Park in the one near Chick-fil-A and take the sky bridge so you don’t get wet or cold! You can also park in the neighborhood by Ellsworth Urban Park and walk.
  • Metro Accessible: If the weather is nice enough, it’s a short walk from Silver Spring Metro on the red line.
  • Play Area: Located on the bottom level! It’s a mostly enclosed space with a little house and a larger house plus a spinning ride and two animals to sway back and forth on.(Given the multi-levels and only one elevator, it is not a very stroller friendly mall.)
  • Stores: We love that there’s a Five and Below here! We also love frequenting the Michael’s clearance, especially after holidays when the items get marked to 70% off! And while this location doesn’t have in-person classes, you may be interested in my Free fun for kids at big box retailers post for other ideas!
  • Cheap Treats: Ice cream from Chick-fil-A, a cookie from Whole Foods or a few pieces of candy from Five and Below!
  • Nearby Indoor Fun: The Silver Spring Library officially called the Brigadier General Charles E. McGee Library is only a block away! There’s a school bus to play in and many tactile items. There’s almost always a scavenger hunt to do and earn a prize too! Definitely check out their events to see if you can catch a story time or Lego playtime! And if you live in Maryland, or the DMV, check about getting a library card!
She’s too fast at Ellsworth Place | TeamTravelsBaby
Silver Spring Library Bus | TeamTravelsBaby


Westfield Wheaton in Maryland (Montgomery County)

  • Parking: Relatively easy! I like to park by Target on the side that faces toward Giant and the freestanding Starbucks.
  • Metro Accessible: If the weather is decent enough, it’s a short walk from the Wheaton metro on the red line. As a bonus, you get to ride a super long (230 feet) escalator with a 115 feet vertical rise! (Thanks Wikipedia!)
  • Play Area: Located on the lower level near Dick’s Sporting Goods and Joann Fabrics. (The side of the mall closer to Costco, not Target.) While the seat covers were recently replaced (2023), the large structure in the middle was removed. There are a couple of animals and a log to climb on or through plus a few items attached to the wall.
  • Stores: There’s Target, Five and Below and Costco (if you have a membership). Check the calendar for the Wheaton Arts Parade store. We’ve enjoyed story time and coloring here before! I also love checking Joann Fabrics for clearance/discounted crafts around various holidays.
  • Cheap Treats: Nothing beats Costco or a couple pieces of candy from Five and Below. Personally, I love that this Costco has their café outside of the physical store (in the mall), however it recently changed and now requires a membership card.
  • Nearby Indoor Fun: Not too far up Georgia Avenue is the Wheaton library and recreation center. If you’re a Montgomery County resident, the rec center (all MoCo recs) are FREE in 2024 again (just like 2023). Just bring your proof of residence and fill out the form! You can play pool, video games and ping pong here! They also have a tot time in the gym. I love that this library has a Friends of the Library and a coffee shop inside. The library has kids computers, usually a scavenger hunt and some tactile items (the kitchen is no longer there as of January 2024 since a child pulled it onto themselves). And the playground is very nice too! There’s free garage parking to avoid the cold or wet weather too.
Wheaton Escalator | TeamTravelsBaby


Westfield Montgomery in Bethesda, Maryland (Montgomery County)

  • Parking: There are lots of parking options! We often park in the garage main level near the Tesla entrance that’s right by the play area.
  • Play Area: It’s right by the Lego store and Build a Bear on the main level! It’s mostly enclosed with small things to climb on or go in and it’s near family bathrooms. There’s even a little flushable potty – so cute!
  • Stores: I love the decorations at this mall! For various seasons like Cherry Blossoms and the end of year holidays, they tend to go all out! It’s definitely worth a visit to see. We’ve even caught a free Koo Koo kids concert here! The Lego store is always fun to pop around and if we’re celebrating a special day, we like building the three Lego characters for $10. And Jolly Yolly Kids is a fun indoor play space that has a cost – – keep an eye out for a GroupOn or CertifiKID deal (usually have to buy at least the day before and bring grip socks). IG pics!
  • Cheap Treats: Jolly Yolly, from what I can tell, has the cheapest treats, snacks and drinks.
  • Nearby Indoor Fun: Locust Grove Nature Center is less than 0.5 miles away! It’s free and has a couple of animals inside. We went one February and found the hearts along the trail to get a prize. Another place to check for events. Cabin John Ice Rink is also fun and around the corner. It has Cheapskate times and a Toddler skate time that is an incredible deal for a child (ages 3-4) and a parent or caregiver! Check out our Instagram pics here!
Westfield Montgomery | TeamTravelsBaby
Westfield Montgomery Play Area | TeamTravelsBaby
Westfield Montgomery | TeamTravelsBaby


The Mall in Columbia in Maryland (Howard County) – – under renovation until Aug 2024

  • Parking: Very easy! We usually park by J.C. Penny’s and enter by the food court to walk to the play area on the main level!
  • Play Area: It’s mostly enclosed and has a dentist theme! And if you need a break, walk down the corridor that’s not the food court to get to a hand shuffle board and tic tac toe to play near the bathrooms.
  • Stores: We love that the mall is next to Lidl! We often get our groceries here before heading home. There’s also a Barnes and Noble on the backside of the mall, which you could easily attend for story time! I shared this tip in this blog post.
  • Cheap Treats: We usually just pick up something from Lidl as part of our grocery shopping!
  • Nearby Indoor Fun: Robinson Nature Center is a gem! It does have a small fee to enter, but it is definitely a nature center worth visiting in the area with real animals, a play space, taxidermy and usually an activity like a scavenger hunt. If the weather is decent, there’s play space outside of it too! Find pics here! About 15 minutes away is downtown Ellicott City which has the free B&O train museum and a free children’s museum (think more like living history). Train pics here!
Shuffle board | TeamTravelsBaby
Columbia Mall | TeamTravelsBaby
Birthday Build-A-Bear | TeamTravelsBaby


Arundel Mills in Hanover, Maryland (unincorporated Anne Arundel County)

  • Parking: Easy, but we found this mall to be very busy on the Saturday we visited!
  • Play Area: Near Medieval Times in the mall. Best recommendation is park near Bass Pro Shop and then when you enter the mall, turn left. You’ll run into it. It’s mostly enclosed and relatively small. There are three structures to climb in or on.
  • Stores: Bass Pro Shops is a fun store to walk around. There’s a big fish tank with real fish, lots of taxidermy animals and a waterfall. There’s a Five and Below in this mall too. Addy also likes sitting on all the little rides that cost money (but without the money) and the structure by the Egyptian movie theater is cool too!
  • Cheap Treats: We often pair with Sam’s Club in Laurel on the way home (you need a membership card, which you may be able to find on GroupOn or CertifiKID) and get cheap pizza and ice cream!
  • Nearby Indoor Fun: The Elkridge Library has a really cute kids area! Addy loved the scavenger hunt, the coloring sheets and toys! I was so impressed by the DIY Education Center which is a place you can check out tools (think home improvement and for gardening/yard work), sewing items and baking molds for a week! If you live in Maryland, you can get a library card AND a DIY card.
Bass Pro Shop | TeamTravelsBaby
Arundel Mills | TeamTravelsBaby
Egyptian Theater | TeamTravelsBaby
Lego Store at Arundel Mills | TeamTravelsBaby
Arundel Mills | TeamTravelsBaby


Westfield Annapolis in Maryland (Anne Arundel County)

  • Parking: Easy! We usually park near Cheesecake Factory and you walk by an open indoor grassy area. If you continue straight, you’ll come to the play area.
  • Play Area: Very close to Pottery Barn. It’s a mostly enclosed play area with a nautical theme. Lots of pics on TeamTravelsBaby Instagram!
  • Stores: The PAWS at the Mall location is fun for seeing cats and a variety of other animals. Whether it’s open or closed, you can usually at least see cats napping through the windows.
  • Cheap Treats: Sometimes the library location has free food from the 7-Eleven next door (check for a cart outside the library entrance and inside or ask). Also, 7-Eleven for a slurpee, which I like to call an icee (from my childhood days).
  • Nearby Indoor Fun: Inside the mall is a great library, with a large separate room for events! There is also a play kitchen, train table and other toys, plus unique kids seating options. And the nearby Michael E. Busch Annapolis Library is beautiful with large windows and things for kids to play with.
Amish Market in Annapolis | TeamTravelsBaby
Michael Busch Library | TeamTravelsBaby

Francis Scott Key Mall in Frederick, Maryland

  • Parking: We parked near the REI. We didn’t have any issues finding parking and visited on a weekend in the summer.
  • Play Area: It’s near the furniture store and in the same hallway as JC Penny’s but the opposite side.
  • Stores: Another mall with a Barnes and Noble! We were here in the summer, so perfect for participating in their Summer Reading Program!
  • Cheap Treats: While not exactly cheap (unless you share), we made the drive to South Mountain Creamery in Middletown about 20 minutes away which was incredible by itself, which is best enjoyed on a decent weather day.
  • Nearby Indoor Fun: Frederick County has some incredible libraries! We loved the new one in Middletown and the one in Walkersville. Check out my IG highlight with more Frederick ideas.




    Tysons Corner Center in Virginia (Fairfax County)
  • Parking: We have only visited on a weekend and it can get busy! As long as you’re willing to keep going up levels in the parking structure, you will find a spot!
  • Metro Accessible: You can take Metro’s Silver Line here and get off at the Tysons Corner Station! I’ve never done it, but it’s available! It’s about a 45 minute ride from Dulles Airport on the Silver Line.
  • Play Area: It’s upstairs by the food court and close to the movie theater! There’s an escalator from the second level, not far from the Barnes and Noble. It is always so busy, I’ve never gotten a good picture without other people’s kids.
  • Stores: We are Barnes and Noble fans! You can easily pair your visit to the mall with the free story time here and they have a little train table. The Lego store is always a hit and the Camp Store is fun to walk around. My daughter loved walking around the American Girl Doll store too and adding everything to her birthday list (or her wishful thinking list).
  • Cheap Treats: Sometimes Lolli and Pops Candy Store offers free samples!
  • Nearby Indoor Fun: Dolley Madison Branch and Tysons-Pimmit Library are both less than 10 minutes away! Dolley had a great scavenger hunt when we visited and puzzles. Tysons-Pimmit had a couple of toys and a Friends of the Library cart at the entrance. As a reminder, DMV residents can get a card here! (I loved adding mine to the Libby app!)
Barnes and Noble in Tysons | TeamTravelsBaby
American Girl | TeamTravelsBaby


Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax, Virginia (unincorporated Fairfax County)

  • Parking: We’ve only been here once, on a weekend, but we didn’t have any issues finding a spot.
  • Play Area: We walked around until we found it. It’s got a cute tool theme. This was one of the nicer play areas we’ve been to.
  • Stores: If you are visiting the area from more than 90 miles away and are a member of an ASTC passport museum, the Children’s Science Center is a covered museum and would be free! If you’re more local to the DMV and belong to the Maryland Science Center, you can get in for 50% off! This is what we came to explore and the experiments were such a hit! Addy also loved all of the different building toys and creations she made here. IG pics here!
  • Cheap Treats: We haven’t explored a ton in this area, so send me your ideas for our next visit!
  • Nearby Indoor Fun: Right in the heart of downtown Fairfax is the City of Fairfax Regional Library. We are big fans of exploring libraries anywhere we go! Pics here on TeamTravelsBaby IG!
Children’s Science Center | TeamTravelsBaby
Inside the Science Center | TeamTravelsBaby
Free Play Area at Fair Oaks Mall | TeamTravelsBaby

When we expand our search, where should we visit next? I’m thinking Springfield Town Center, but would love for you to add your ideas to the comments! Find some of our fun adventures on Instagram here and catch up with each month via our Substack newsletter (it’s free and you don’t need an account to receive via email)! If this content was helpful to you or would help a friend, please share!

10 Fun Things With Kids Near Pine Island, Florida

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Critters on shells at Turner Beach | TeamTravelsBaby

The beach is the obvious thing to do on a trip to Florida with kids, but there are more options! My personal favorite is the variety of birds – I could post hundreds of pictures of Florida birds, but don’t worry, I only shared a couple. Enjoy and let me know what we should add to our list for next time!

I feel very fortunate that my in-laws spend the winter months (January, February and sometimes March) enjoying Florida and have invited us to enjoy a piece of it with them the last couple of years. For me, escaping to the Sunshine State is perfect for my state of mind because it’s always significantly warmer than the temperature in Maryland where we live. Over the years, here are ten fun things to do on and near Pine Island, Florida (located on the west coast of Florida, south of Tampa and north of Sarasota). Given the location of where my in-laws stay, near Bokeelia, our travels have taken us to Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Sanibel/Captiva and Punta Gorda which are all within an hour. We have flown into Fort Myers Airport (RSW, about 1 hour), Punta Gorda Airport (PDG, about 45 minutes) and have driven all the way from Maryland. Of course Florida is choc full of airports, so if you’re willing to drive, you may get a better deal flying into Tampa/St. Petersburg, Orlando, Sarasota, Miami or Fort Lauderdale to name a few.

Tern Seagull | TeamTravelsBaby
White Pelicans | TeamTravelsBaby
Brown Pelican | TeamTravelsBaby
Osprey with a fish | TeamTravelsBaby

We have adventured around this area with our daughter between the ages of three and five. Below are things we have done with her and enjoyed, in no particular order. (Always do your due diligence to check hours, road conditions and current pricing.)

  • Lee County Manatee Park – See manatees near the water tower. Just pay a couple of dollars ($2/hour or $5/day in 2024) for parking and you’ll find a great place to walk, play at the playground, have a picnic, etc. There are also bathrooms.
  • Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve – An amazing boardwalk trail and chance to look for wildlife! The parking lot is small, so go early or late to try and snag a spot and pay the nominal parking fee. I loved seeing the ibises.
  • Flea Master Flea Market and Goodwill Outlet – My in-laws hid 10, $1 bills for my daughter to find and then off the flea market, in the rain, we went. Bring an umbrella and good water shoes for the parking lot, but then enjoy the covered market. She loved getting a $1.60 back scratcher, $3 to have her face painted and $2 for fairy hair and a $2 tsum tsum necklace. Goodwill Outlet is no ordinary thrift experience and kids under 12 can’t go in this location, BUT, if you’re looking for inexpensive toys for your trip, pop in here for the experience. Nearly everything is by weight and you can snag some amazing deals! Some people like to wear gloves when looking through the humungous bins! My favorite part is watching the crowd when a new row of bins comes out – trust me!
  • Fort Myers Beach – This one is probably obvious and it does look different since the hurricane, but still lots to explore and a fun family outing! And while we haven’t been, I want to check out D Street along the river (The River District). They hold a variety of events and Leoma Lovegrove (one of my favorite spots from Matlatcha is moving here in 2024).
  • Pine Island Public Library, Philips Community Park and Spot Ice Cream – If you’re driving onto Pine Island, you’ll come through the town of Matlatcha. Sadly, as of January 2024, it still has not fully recovered from Hurricane Ian (September 2022), but if you’re able to, definitely get out and see the beautiful street art, pop in the stores that are open and get coffee at the Perfect Cup! Continue on to the library which has a cute kids area and bathrooms, play at the playground across from it that has a scavenger hunt and one of those kid “elevators” and then end with Spots Ice Cream across the main road. My personal favorite was the blueberry cheesecake. (Sundays and Mondays aren’t the best days given some things are closed.)
Marina by Lazy Flamingo | TeamTravelsBaby
Matlatcha Street Art by CreativelySass | TeamTravelsBaby
Critters on shells at Turner Beach | TeamTravelsBaby
  • Cayo Costa State Park – Fortunately, my in-laws can take us here on their boat, but there is a way to get here if you don’t have access to one (verify the details). The bird life, walking the beach and looking for dolphins are some of my favorite parts. And if you have time, drive to the farthest point north on Pine Island to Bokeelia. Next to Capt’n Con’s restaurant I love to buy earrings made by locals. You can also check out the pier or catch the sunset behind the restaurant. And if you’re walking, take a look down Moyer Lane – it’s a hoot! We love eating at the Lazy Flamingo up the street, walking around the marina and catching the sunset from the bridge by it. There are so many pelicans and Addy even fed some this year! We’ve also seen wood storks, night herons, great blues and others.
  • Fellowship Park in Cape Coral – This is a playground, splashpad and coffee shop! It’s associated with a church, but is open to all. Don’t forget to pack a bathing suit and towel.
  • Fishermen’s Village – If you fly into Punta Gorda (check Allegiant Airlines for deals), this is less than 10 minutes away. We loved popping by here during the holidays when it was beautifully decorated, walking around the shops and watching Addy play in the sand and climb the big chair while catching the sunset. There’s also a huge outdoor bar in the sand.
  • Turner Beach – There are multiple beaches on Sanibel and Captiva. We parked in the small parking lot here, paid for parking on our phones and then started searching for seashells. Right by the big rocks is the best place to look we found – we collected and then went to the Dollar Tree for art supplies to use them in crafts like decorating picture frames and other wood décor! There’s also real restrooms here too. I needed my coffee fix and popped into Jerry’s Grocery to get one. (Unfortunately, some of the other coffee shops have not reopened since the hurricane.) Prepare with a Sunpass to pay the toll or get a bill with your license plate.
  • J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge – Start with the visitor and education center and then explore the wildlife loop. I believe it’s a couple of dollars, but if you have a U.S. National Parks pass (like the America the Beautiful pass), it’s included. This is a great place to spot birds – we were so happy we brought our Nikon D500! Many people had binoculars. It’s on a paved road, so you can easily walk with a stroller, bike, etc. This is located on Sanibel and requires a toll to get on the island.
Wood Stork | TeamTravelsBaby
3 Year Old Addy | TeamTravelsBaby
Dolphin | TeamTravelsBaby

We look forward to our next adventure here. And if you have the time, definitely make the drive to the Everglades! We’ve been twice and I would happily go again. Check out my post here (Right Up a Birders “Alli” (gator)), which includes the stops we made along the way. The Everglades and Acadia National Park are my favorite east coast parks.

What should we add to our list for the next time we visit this area? Feel free to leave them in the comments so we can all benefit! We particularly love free and low cost fun for our family. And if you didn’t find me via my newly created Substack newsletter, take a look and subscribe or follow us on IG at TeamTravelsBaby!

Sunset behind Capt’n Con’s 2024 | TeamTravelsBaby
Face painting at Flea Master | TeamTravelsBaby
Sunset at Fishermen’s Village 2023 | TeamTravelsBaby

Right Up a Birders “Alli” (gator)

Posted in National Parks, Read Them AllTagged , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

A whirlwind long weekend (3 day trip) exploring South Florida! Everglades National Park boasts tons of wildlife (like alligators and birds galore), biking through beautiful nature and air boat rides. Biscayne Bay National Park is nearby with a small land portion and views of the Bay. Tons of other great stops for viewing opportunities along Tamiami Trail and totally doable with a toddler.

Day 1 Highlights

  • Lee County Manatee Park (Fort Myers)
  • Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve (Fort Myers)
  • Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park (along Tamiami Trail)
  • Ochopee Post Office (smallest in the U.S.) (along Tamiami Trail)
  • Big Cypress National Preserve (along Tamiami Trail)
  • Animals – alligators, anhingas, great blue heron, stork, SO MANY BIRDS
Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve and Lee County Manatee Park | TeamTravelsBaby

When you find roundtrip tickets for $65, you book IMMEDIATELY! I couldn’t believe the deal we found (albeit on Spirit) to Fort Myers, Florida. Fort Myers is on the west coast of Florida and the airport is beautiful and all the car rental companies are ON PREMISES – a huge bonus. Recently, I discovered a new car rental site called “Wisecars” and I was very happy with it because it truly found the cheapest price for us (plus they allow cancellation up to 48 hours in advance). We rented from Budget and when we arrived, the line was SUPER long, but I was impressed it only took us about 45 minutes to get our car and be on our way.

Within a 15-20 minute drive of the airport is Lee County Manatee Park. This place was something like $2 to park (for an hour) and free to enter. It is an extremely short walk to the water (past a cute playground if you have kids) and during the cold months (like February), you can see manatees. We saw SO MANY manatees! There are volunteers there sharing information – like one of the 1000 pounds manatees eats 1/10th of its weight in food everyday! From here, we got our Wal-Mart water/snacks and then went to Six Mile Cypress Slough [sloo] Preserve. This place has the tiniest parking lot and they recommend carpooling or biking because there are literally not nearly enough spots for the middle of the day. We lucked out, found parking (which is like $1/hour) and absolutely loved the boardwalk trail. We saw anhingas (a type of bird), an alligator sunning himself, ibis, turtles and a few other animals.  The boardwalk is extremely well-maintained, and this is worth a stop if you have at least 90 minutes.

Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park along U.S. 41 | TeamTravelsBaby

We started our drive toward U.S. 41 (Tamiami Trail), which is the scenic drive across the Everglades (compared to I-75/Alligator Alley). This road is incredible, and you can literally see all types of gorgeous birds and alligators on your drive. Our first stop was Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. We parked right along the trail and headed for the walk in where we saw incredible birds, an eagle’s nest and a small alligator. We did not hike everything, but 45 minutes here was perfect for a taste of south Florida wildlife. As we continued along the road, it was super random, but we got to see the SMALLEST U.S. Post Office called “Ochopee”. Definitely a great photo op!

We nearly had the State Park to ourselves | TeamTravelsBaby

If your goal is to see alligators (like anyone who comes to the Everglades), then Big Cypress National Preserve is a must! Easy to park and free! They have a nice, short boardwalk where the opportunities to see alligators, birds, and alligators hunting birds are endless! Don’t forget to look down. It was crazy how many people walked right by an alligator without noticing it. There’s also a visitor center here if you’re a park stamp collector. We actually ended up stopping here twice because it was that good!

The smallest U.S. Post Office | TeamTravelsBaby

Day 2 Highlights

  • Shark Valley, 15 mile bike ride-alligators, all types of birds (Everglades National Park)
  • Flamingo Bay-osprey, crocodiles (Everglades National Park)
  • Royal Palm, Anhinga Trail-green heron, great blue heron, alligators (Everglades National Park)
We survived our first family bike ride…only 15 miles | TeamTravelsBaby

We started our morning early and headed to Shark Valley Visitor Center. We parked our car early as we waited for the rangers to open the gate (at 8:30 am for us). While we waited, we saw alligators next to our cars in the water. After showing our America the Beautiful pass ($80 annually), which I can’t recommend enough and as long as you visit a few parks is 100% worth it, we parked at the Visitor Center. As a side note, the Everglades alone are $35. Bike rentals are hard to come by, so get there when this place opens. It was easy to rent (by the hour for $9/hour/bike) and they have kid seats/helmets so our 16 month old daughter got to enjoy her first ride. Within our first two miles, we had already seen tons of alligators and a huge variety of birds. In hindsight, we totally could have turned around at this point and have been satisfied by what we had seen. BUT, we’re not those people, so we powered through and made it to the tower around the halfway point. The tower reminded us of the one we climbed at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We finished the 15-mile loop and will note that the first 7ish miles are definitely more scenic and have more wildlife.

We drove to the southern most visitor center in the Everglades called Flamingo Bay. Did you know Florida had crocodiles?! Honestly, even though I lived in Florida more than half of my life, I didn’t know that! We saw an almost 14-foot crocodile in the water (that people were kayaking in…because they’re crazy), a baby crocodile and the coolest osprey nest we had ever seen. This osprey nest was amazing because you could see the mama bird and then when the dada bird arrived with the food, you could see two out of her three babies! It was so much fun watching and our daughter loved it too! We heard manatees and dolphins can sometimes be seen in this area, but we did not see any.

Sunset on the Anhinga Trail in the Everglades | TeamTravelsBaby

On our drive out, we stopped at Royal Palm to walk the less than one-mile boardwalk through sawgrass marsh (Anhinga Trail). It was perfect timing because the sun was starting to set, and the lighting was great for taking pictures. PAY ATTENTION! I was so thankful someone pointed out the alligator under the open railing because it would have been super easy to walk by and not notice.  The coolest bird we saw here was a green heron! These birds are unique looking and can be hard to spot (we were lucky someone pointed it out to us). You will definitely see other birds and alligators here.

Day 3 Highlights

  • Biscayne Bay National Park (land portion)
  • Coopertown Airboat Ride plus alligator tail (Everglades National Park)
  • Fort Myers Beach

After a good night’s rest in Homestead, we made the 15 minute drive to Biscayne Bay National Park. We parked at the Dante Fascell Visitor Center and enjoyed the lovely Jetty Trail. You can see Miami and Miami Beach in the distance, spot birds and watch the boats leave for the Biscayne Bay National Park islands. This park is 95% water and if you want to see more than the trail and visitor center, you have some planning to do. If you’re a national park stamp collector, don’t forget to get one!

Biscayne Bay National Park | TeamTravelsBaby

In talking with another tourist at Big Cypress, we learned about Coopertown Airboat. All along Tamiami Trail you will see signs for airboat companies. Lucky for us, Coopertown (it’s been around for 75 years) had a great reputation and a GroupOn deal! Our daughter went for free and our America the Beautiful pass waived the additional fee for access to the park. Before the boat ride, there’s a short animal show. They have a handful of alligators on the premises and then someone presents a snapping turtle, a snake (which my 16 month old pet with excitement…not mommy) and talks about the Everglades. From here, we were placed on the airboat and having a toddler landed us in the front row! There are life jackets on-board, they offer you cotton balls for your ears and give the little ones headphones.

Riding on an airboat was not scary like I anticipated. It was a thrill! The boat moves really well, and you get up close and personal with birds (before they fly away) and alligators (yep, they may swim right next to your boat). The driver was informative and funny. It’s insane to imagine there used to be a canopy covering over the Everglades before Hurricane Andrew wiped it out in 1992. Seeing the Everglades via air boat is a MUST to complete any trip here. There’s a small restaurant next door and as part of our experience, I ordered alligator tail for us to try. Needless to say, it tastes like chicken? Well, it’s fried and breaded, so I couldn’t tell it was alligator and we both really liked it.

We made our way back down Tamiami Trail, stopping again at Big Cypress for up close alligators and birds and then at a random lake filled with white and brown pelicans, roseate spoonbills and tons of other birds before driving through Marco Island (absolutely stunning with cool canals) and Naples. Ultimately, we arrived at Fort Myers Beach. Fort Myers Beach took quite a while to get onto since it narrows to a one lane each direction road over a bridge. We found reasonably priced public street parking (on the right when you get over the bridge). We walked the historic pier, wandered between the shops and let Addy walk the beach for the first time. She loved collecting sticks, leaves and shells! We also took off her shoes and socks so she could walk into the ocean for the first time. The water was pretty chilly, but she tried! The sand between her toes didn’t bother it at all and at one point we thought she was going to lay down and make a sand angel. We caught a lovely sunset here before heading to Tampa to spend time with my parents and then fly home.

Fort Myers Historic Pier | TeamTravelsBaby
Thanks for following our trip to the end (aka sunset on Fort Myers Beach) | TeamTravelsBaby

Loopin’ London

Posted in Europe, Read Them AllTagged , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Three days in London is the perfect amount of time to get a taste of this huge city that will leave you wanting more! We were lucky to experience the city with minimal rain and boy oh boy did we pack it in! Some highlights included the Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the House of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Camden Market. London has amazing public transportation and is also extremely walkable. Check out our trip report, pictures and tips!

  • Thursday, April 4 morning through Sunday, April 6 morning
  • Arrived via Heathrow (LHR) airport and departed via Stansted (STN) airport
  • Transportation: Oyster card, pay as you go for the Underground (subway) and buses
  • Accommodations: Excelsior Hotel, easy walk from Kings Cross Station; feel free to use my Booking.com referral link for any hotel accommodation and we each get money at no additional cost to you

Thursday (Day 1)

We picked a hotel near Kings Cross station because it’s a hub with lots of different Underground (aka “The Tube”, aka metro/subway/train) lines running through it. It was easy to get on the Piccadilly Line from Heathrow airport and take the Tube for about a 50 or so minute ride without any need to transfer. The Excelsior Hotel was conveniently located about 2 blocks away once we found the correct exit and allowed us to store our luggage early. 

Tower of London | TeamTravelsBaby

We were able to start exploring before 1 pm and headed to the Tower of London. We figured a weekday would probably be a little less crowded then the weekend and we were right. We walked up and bought our ticket without issue (you can also get a slight savings by buying it ahead of time). We took a free tour with one of the Beefeaters, saw lots of the notorious crows and the famous crown jewels. We brought our stroller here (plus our rain cover that we ended up needing), which worked out fine. We enjoyed walking along the top of the castle wall through each of the towers and just left our stroller until we returned for it. If you do this, make sure to go in the room that tells about the Royal Beasts (animals). We made one of the three offerings of the White Tower tour (when we went it was offered at 10:45 am, 12:45 pm and 2:15 pm) and ended up getting a PRIVATE tour because no one else came. We really enjoyed it. From inside and outside of the castle you can see Tower Bridge, which is beautiful and often confused as being London Bridge. It’s definitely worthy of a few pics! If you look up from inside the Tower of London you can also see the Shard (cool looking triangle glass building) which was completed around 2012.

View from London Bridge facing Tower Bridge | TeamTravelsBaby

From here we walked the River Thames and crossed the London Bridge. On the way we got to see the Monument to the Great Fire of London (you can pay to go up it). The view of Tower Bridge from the London Bridge is spectacular on a clear or semi-clear day. We stumbled upon a gorgeous church called Southwark Cathedral (the city’s oldest gothic church) and the Borough Market as they were closing once we crossed the London Bridge to the south bank. This area has some amazing street art that’s fun to find or stumble across in our case. We continued along the river past Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre to the Millennium Bridge where you get a gorgeous view of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Before crossing the Millennium Bridge, you may want to pop into the Tate Modern, art museum. While we didn’t have time to see any art, it’s free, so it makes a great stop for a bathroom and changing station if needed. Actually, many of London’s amazing art museums are free, just like the Smithsonians in Washington, D.C. If you do have time or can time it right to be here on a Friday or Saturday night when it’s open late (until 10 pm), you can look for work by famous artists such as Cézanne, Dali, Matisse, Picasso and Warhol. While you’re walking around London, don’t forget to keep your eye out for the iconic red telephone booths which make for another great photo op! If you decide to keep walking around, like we did, you can see additional places like the Royal Court of Justice, London School of Economics and Covent Garden to name a few. We ended up walking to Convent Garden because there was a Tube station here with a direct ride (8 minutes) on the Piccadilly Line back to Kings Cross.

Friday (Day 2)

We started our morning early with a Tube ride. When we got off the train, we wandered through the official Temple Bar Gate which signifies you are entering the City of London. Make sure to check out the cool dragon! Since we brought our stroller again, we were able to enter St. Paul’s Cathedral through the accessible entrance and then were taken to the ticket counter to purchase our ticket. It’s absolutely gorgeous inside the Cathedral and the tour with a guide is included in the price. After our tour, we left our stroller and moved Addy to our on-person carrier to climb the many stairs (very narrow in some places) up to the dome. This should NOT be missed! The views from the top are spectacular! You can also enjoy some time wandering the crypt. From here we made our walk to the Royal Court of Justice. It’s free to enter after you pass security and some people say it has a Hogwartesque feel to it. Unfortunately, they don’t want you to take pictures inside (good luck trying to do so incognito). Covent Garden was not too far around the corner and is super fun to walk around. There are tons of shops, restaurants and good people watching! If you have time to spare in this area, it’s a short walk to Neal’s Yard which is a super colorful hidden alley.

View from the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral | TeamTravelsBaby

Hopping on the Tube is super easy with the Oyster card. We rode the Piccadilly line from Covent Garden to Green Station. We enjoyed wandering Green Park, St. James Park (to see the famous resident pelicans; they are fed daily at 2:30 pm, but we saw them even outside of feeding time) and seeing Buckingham Palace (if you want to see the changing of the guard this happens around 10:45 am. Because we LOVE to walk and see it all, we continued to Hyde Park. This park has lovely flowers, tons of birds, and points of interest to see like Kensington Palace and Gardens. We exited on the south side of the park by the Albert Memorial and Royal Albert Hall. From here, we ventured to a street with many museums and popped in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Besides being a free museum, it also has late hours on Friday nights (open until 10 pm), which made it a great place to rest and again find a free bathroom.  If you are here earlier in the day, the Natural History Museum is on this block and is free too.

  • The resident pelicans of St. James Park | TeamTravelsBaby

As if our feet weren’t exhausted, we trekked on to Harrods, the must see humungous department store. We walked the main floor and then took the elevator to the kids section. The organization of each cubby-like room is by theme (stuffed animals, Legos, Barbie dolls, etc.) and fun to see…but forget about being able to buy anything. Take a picture, it’ll last longer. The baby furniture section and the creepy kids’ mannequins were also unique to see. Then right outside of Harrods we hopped on a bus heading in the direction of Piccadilly Circus and got off there (very short, less than 10 minute ride). It’s a fun area to see at night and we loved posing for pics in the Lego Shop at Leicester Square. They had a life-sized Tube train with characters to sit with and a map made entirely from Legos. Let’s just say we CRASHED after this day of exploring London!

  • Addy needs a giraffe | TeamTravelsBaby
  • Creepy mannequins | TeamTravelsBaby

Saturday (Day 3)

We woke up early and rode to the Embankment station which put us right along the River Thames. It was a beautiful walk with views of the London Eye. If Big Ben weren’t under construction until 2021, we would have had a nice view of the clock as well. Since we did not buy our tickets ahead of time for the House of Parliament (aka the Palace of Westminster), we had to go to the ticket booth located in front of Portcullis House on Victoria Embankment, which was actually on the way from the train station. If we had gone during peak tourist season, it would have been better to buy these ahead of time, but luckily we were able to secure tickets for later in the day.

In the meantime, we hustled over to Westminster Abbey (across the street) and got in line to purchase our tickets. Luckily, we were able to secure them here and go right in (it opened at 1:30 pm on Saturday). We got the self-guided tour headset and thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful church (if we were here during peak season, we would have purchased it ahead of time). So many famous people are buried here like Isaac Newton and Charles Dickens! Since my visit as part of my study abroad experience in May 2010, Stephen Hawkins’ ashes were buried in Westminster among other brilliant science-y people (think Newton and Darwin). When you get near the Poets’ Corner, you have the option to pay and climb up Westminster Abbey.  

  • Quick snap inside of Westminster Abbey | TeamTravelsBaby

From Westminster, we exited into Parliament Square (where there are tons of famous statues to see like Mandela and Churchill) and it was booming with people! It was like a bunch of tour buses opened their doors and the people flowed out to the streets! We crossed the street and entered the House of Parliament for our ticketed time. Touring this was an absolute highlight and getting a self-guided tour headset is included in the ticket price here too. We were only allowed to take pictures in the first two rooms, but the other rooms are gorgeous and I definitely wish I could have snapped away!

After we exited, we walked along Horse Guard Road between St. James Park (another chance to see the famous pelicans) and a lot of other beautiful architecture on our way to Trafalgar Square. We made it to the National Gallery, which hosts loads of famous work from artists we’ve all heard of like Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Renoir and Van Gogh. The beauty is, this place is FREE, so you don’t have to feel bad only seeing a few particular paintings and on Friday nights it’s open late (9 pm).

  • Guard
  • Monet
  • Van Gogh

To catch a breather, we hopped on the Tube and road past our hotel stop at Kings Cross up to see Camden Market. This area has tons of shopping, incredible street art and murals and is a must see area of town, very different from the sites we had seen up to this point on our trip. After a nice coffee break, we walked to Regent’s Park. We enjoyed the park stroll on our long walk back to Kings Cross. Other things in this area include: Queen Mary’s rose garden, the ZSL London Zoo (the world’s oldest scientific zoo) and Hampstead Heath (supposed to have great views) if you have the time.  

Camden Market Area | TeamTravelsBaby

Sunday

London is definitely a city that requires more than a stopover. There is so much to see that even with our three days, we know we could come back and see more. On Sunday morning, we took the Tube from Kings Cross to Tottenham Hale station. We then had to buy a separate ticket for the Greater Anglia Railway to take a direct commuter-type train for 35 minutes to Stansted Airport. Even with a baby and our luggage, we found this to be incredibly easy and worthwhile since we were flying on an inexpensive one-way ticket via Ryan Air to Barcelona, Spain to board our Mediterranean cruise to Italy and France. Check out those hyperlinks to read about those portions of our trip!

Trip Planning Considerations and Tips

  • For some, it may make sense to purchase the London Pass. Ultimately, we decided on the Oyster pay as you go card and purchasing individual attractions. This article may be helpful for your review: https://www.londonpass.com/london-attractions/
  • If you are looking for other ideas, perhaps free or inexpensive ones, this article may be helpful: https://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/budget-london/101-free-things-to-do-in-london
  • There are tons of other blog articles with ideas for stopovers, weekends and 3 day adventures. I also found reviewing the Free Tours by Foot, such as this article to be helpful: https://freetoursbyfoot.com/things-to-see-near-buckingham-palace/
  • Transportation: Make sure to have a map or a transportation app. If you’re not using your phone overseas except on Wi-Fi, I definitely recommend screenshots or physical paper maps for reference. Of course, you can always just ask a local! If you’re going to use your phone a ton, it may be worth getting a portable battery bank!
  • Accommodations: Our hotel, was really more like a hostel (Excelsior Hotel). We had a shared bathroom and a private room. Since we had our stroller, two pieces of small luggage and a backpack, plus a pack-n-play, there was virtually no room to walk in the hotel room. For us, this was perfect because it was the least expensive place I saw for 3 nights (because we didn’t want to have to switch hotels in the middle of our short trip) in a good central location. We also knew we wouldn’t spend any time in the room except for sleeping.
  • Often mistaken for “London Bridge”, this is actually Tower Bridge | TeamTravelsBaby

Ve-nice to Hollywood

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Hollywood Sign | Teamtravelsblog

Lots to see in Los Angeles and it’s more than the rich and famous! Hiking to the Hollywood sign, seeing the Melrose Avenue street art and taking in the Venice Beach sunset are among the highlights!

Los Angeles, California Highlights over Veterans’ Weekend 2017

  • Santa Monica Pier
  • Venice Beach (sunset, street art and bread pudding)
  • Venice Canals
  • Third Street Promenade and Sidecar Donuts
  • Hike to the Hollywood sign and Bronson Caves
  • Graffiti at the Old LA Zoo
  • Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard
  • Street art on Melrose Avenue and Alfred Coffee on Melrose Place
  • View from the Griffith Observatory

When we find a great flight deal we go for it! We took a direct Spirit flight from Baltimore (BWI) to Los Angeles (LAX) and arrived shortly after noon on Friday, November 10th. We picked up our cheap rental car from Payless since we got a great deal through CarRentals.com. While it wasn’t the fastest service and we caught them trying to charge us the wrong price, everything ultimately worked out and we were on our way without being upsold on any of the extras. We parked the car at the Convention Center by the Santa Monica Pier and met our friends. (Traveler tip: If you go on a weekday, park at the Santa Monica mall instead. The Convention Center is a good cheap spot on the weekend.) The pier was fun to walk along – enjoyed the street performers, checked out the roller coasters, got our picture with the “66-End of Trail” sign and saw the fishermen at the end of the boardwalk. We especially enjoyed watching the sunset here.

Santa Monica Pier | Teamtravelsblog
Santa Monica Pier | Teamtravelsblog

We moved our car to Ocean Boulevard street parking part way between the Santa Monica beach and Venice beach to a meter that was free after 6 p.m. We walked along the pedestrian and bike path, which was lit. When we got to Venice beach where all of the stores are, we found lots of homeless and seemingly homeless people. While we felt safe, it didn’t seem like our kind of scene (read to the end to see how our opinion changed on our second visit here). We continued from here to the Venice Canals. The houses along the canals are beautiful and if you’re lucky, people will have their lights on so you can get a peek inside their living rooms. I’d love to find an AirBNB here!

Venice Canals | Teamtravelsblog
Venice Canals | Teamtravelsblog

I saw a picture of the Sidecar Donuts on Instagram and I knew I had to try one! We parked on 5th Avenue, paid the meter and made the short walk. I tried the maple bacon donut and it was SO GOOD! From here we walked down the Third Street Promenade. It reminded us of carless streets like the 16th Street Mall in Denver. We watched more street performers here, saw a Barnes & Noble with the old school signing and found huge hedge dinosaurs. We also poked our head down 4th Street which had trees decorated with colorful changing lights. Before calling it a night, we took a quick detour to Rodeo Drive and saw all of the fancy designer stores.

Instead of carsleeping this trip, we stayed at our friends’ place nearby, ate a lovely homemade breakfast, got serenaded by their 3 year old with Let It Go and headed out the door by 8 a.m. We arrived at 3200 Canyon Road by 8:30 a.m. and were able to secure a parallel parking spot for free. It’s a steep hike, but a rewarding hike from here to the Hollywood sign.

Hollywood Sign | Teamtravelsblog
Hollywood Sign | Teamtravelsblog

While it was a bit foggy, we did enjoy seeing downtown LA from the top too. Before returning to our car, we made a left past the Smokey the Bear sign and made the very short trip up to the Bronson Caves. They’re cool to walk through and if you walk all the way around, you’ll get another view of the full Hollywood sign. We were back in the car by 11 a.m. and made a short trip to the Old L.A. Zoo in Griffith Park. The parking was plentiful and free. After a few minutes of seeing the old cages that were abandoned in the 1960s, I was ready to go and didn’t see the appeal. It didn’t look like the Instagram pictures I had seen that showed graffiti. The trick is you have to climb the stairs in the second exhibit or come down from the top. The graffiti work is really cool and it’s a bit eerie to crawl through what used to be animal enclosures.

Old LA Zoo Graffiti | Teamtravelsblog
Old LA Zoo Graffiti | Teamtravelsblog

From here we headed to see the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Blvd. Luckily we found two hour free parking on Emmet Terrace. Hollywood Boulevard is extremely touristy with some inappropriate stores, but for us, we had to at least see some of the famous stars. We enjoyed calling out names and noticing the different symbols depending on the person’s industry (e.g., entertainment, music, television, etc.).

Walk of Fame | Teamtravelsblog
Walk of Fame | Teamtravelsblog

After we got our fix and checked this off the list, we headed to Melrose Avenue. We found free street parking on North Orlando Avenue nearby. I really liked the vibe of Alfred Coffee on Melrose Place and they had nostalgic Lisa Frank cup sleeves. Melrose Avenue was perfect for taking pictures! We headed up and down the street so I could take pictures of the pink building, the famous wings, “Made in LA” wall, comedian wall by the Improv, the Marilyn Monroe portrait and much more!

Marilyn Monroe on Melrose | Teamtravelsblog
Melrose Avenue Street Art | Teamtravelsblog

From here we spent two days around Santa Barbara and the Pacific Coast Highway. Check out my next article to read more about that part of the trip. On Monday afternoon, we returned to Los Angeles and drove to the Griffith Observatory. The Observatory was closed, but we paid $4 to park and take in the view from here. The Observatory is beautiful and the walk around the building is superb! Even with some light fog, we still got some great shots of the skyline. You’ll get another chance to see the Hollywood sign. We also spotted a mom and two baby deer wandering around.

With a few hours left on our trip, we returned to the Venice Canals. We parked for free on N. Venice Boulevard near the LA Public Library. Since we made it before sunset, the lighting and reflections were perfect! The houses are all really unique and beautiful. Lots of people own little boats and we even saw a flamingo paddle boat!

Venice Beach | Teamtravelsblog
Venice | Teamtravelsblog

We walked back to Venice Beach and found ourselves having a completely different experience from our first one. Venice was a happening place! We found amazing street art along the strip and closer to the water. I ate the most amazing classic cinnamon and salted caramel bread pudding from Espresso Yo’self. The skate park is a must see! Watching the skateboarders is completely mesmerizing as they dodge one another, flip their boards and stick their landings. By 5 p.m. the sun had set and the sky changed to the most magnificent colors. I couldn’t put my camera down!

Before we knew it, it was time to return our car to Payless, shuttle to the airport and fly home on the red eye flight. California is incredible and we will be back! Remember to check back to read about our two days around Santa Barbara and the PCH.

Sunset on Venice Beach | Teamtravelsblog
Venice Beach Sunset | Teamtravelsblog

Venice Beach | Teamtravelsblog
Venice Beach | Teamtravelsblog

 

The Baddest Lands Around

Posted in National Parks, Read Them AllTagged , , , , , 3 Comments

Wake up at Custer State Park and then enjoy all that the Badlands National Park has to offer! We loved seeing so many animals in their natural habitat. One of the biggest highlights was seeing two male big-horned sheep fight!

South Dakota Highlights on Saturday, October 28, 2017

  • The animals – elk, bison, swift fox, deer, badgers, prairie dogs, big-horned sheep
  • Sunrise along the Wildlife Loop at Custer State Park, drove west to east
  • Wall Drug for coffee and a donut
  • Badlands National Park – Door, Window, Notch and Cliff Shelf Trail
  • Badlands National Park – Big Badlands, Yellow Mounds and Pinnacles Overlook
  • Rapid City – Art Alley and president statues

We woke up excited to find more animals. If our day visiting Wind Cave National Park was any indication, we were going to be in for a good day. It was a very short drive from our lodge to the Blue Bell entrance onto the Wildlife Loop of Custer State Park. The first animal we came across was an entire herd of elk! To top it off, the elk were bugling (this is the sound they make)! We were completely mesmerized.

Elk in Custer State Park
Elk in Custer State Park | Teamtravelsblog

Once the herd moved along, we did too. We continue along the loop until we came across four bison grazing near the road. As we watched them, they began to walk toward our car. Was I scared? Uh yea, a little! The bison watched us to make sure it was safe to cross the road behind our car, which was a great opportunity for more pictures and video.

Driving through Custer State Park is a must on your visit to South Dakota! As we continued, we saw an endless gang of bison.

Bison at Custer State Park
Bison at Custer State Park | Teamtravelsblog

The sunrise was beautiful as the day began to break. We also found tons of deer by the visitor center at the I-36 intersection. This is the best map I found if you want to follow along: https://gfp.sd.gov/state-parks/directory/custer/docs/custer-map.pdf We exited the park on I-36 east and continued to spot bison. We used this exit so we could easily get on to I-90 toward Wall Drug and the Badlands National Park. Wall Drug was about a 75 minute drive.

From the moment you get on I-90, where you can drive 80 miles per hour, you’ll start to see hokey advertising for Wall Drug. Mike was skeptical, but I was determined to stop here and try their 5 cent coffee and famous donuts! “Wall Drug” is the name of the store, which is located in Wall, South Dakota. The maple donut was delicious and the coffee was good – who can beat 5 cents? If you have a few minutes to spare, check out the backyard’s giant jackalope for a photo op. In less than 30 minutes, we had arrived at the Badlands National Park. We were thankful, yet again, to have our Annual National Park Pass for $80, since this park currently costs $20 by car.

Our first stop in the park was the Big Badlands Overlook. Make sure to take note of the details on the mounds and stay alert for rattlesnakes. Luckily, throughout our entire day in this park, we did not see a rattlesnake. Needless to say, I would have flipped out if we did!

Big Badlands Overlook | Teamtravelsblog
Big Badlands Overlook | Teamtravelsblog

As we continued, there was a large parking lot that had the trailhead for the Door Trail, Windows Trail and the Notch Trail. We started with the Door Trail, which begins with a nice boardwalk and then offers yellow numbered poles to follow to the “End of Trail” sign. It’s about 0.75 miles round-trip and a good hike to immerse yourself in the park. We learned here that it was named “the Badlands” by the French who called it “Les Mauvaises Terres” because the land was difficult to traverse. The Window Trail was super short and has a pretty view. One of the big highlights for us was the Notch Trail! The trail starts off easy as you’re following the poles to stay on the trail. Then you arrive at a wooden ladder and have a choice. We opted to climb the wooden ladder because it’s part of the adventure! Once at the top, you follow along some steep cliffs, may have some challenges finding a pole to follow and eventually make it to the end which overlooks the Cliff Shelf Trail. We met two really nice cross-country travelers here and swapped stories about our favorite national parks and must sees! The Cliff Shelf Trail was another short and beautiful boardwalk trail with stairs.

Notch Trail
Notch Trail | Teamtravelsblog

If you want to follow along or plan out your trip, click here for a good, free map of Badlands National Park.

Since we were at the Badlands during the off-season, the Ben Reifel Visitor Center was the only visitor center open. It has real facilities and a place to fill your water bottles. To date, we’ve found that all of the park rangers we’ve met offer great advice. He recommended that we drive the Wildlife Loop Road for our best chance at seeing wildlife and that we continue onto the unpaved road called Sage Creek Rim Road in order to see bison, prairie dogs and potentially other animals. He also advised that people were reporting big-horned sheep near the Conata points of interest on the map. We also learned that the Badlands is a free hike park, so you can hike anywhere, but they strongly recommend following an existing buffalo path since this animal always takes the path of least resistance. You’ll know a buffalo path when you see one.

While we stopped for some pictures of the scenery, our first major stop was the Yellow Mounds Overlook. I don’t know why, but the color yellow that twinkles in the light reminded me of the yellow brick road from The Wizard of Oz.

Yellow Mounds Overlook
Yellow Mounds Overlook | Teamtravelsblog

We met a bike rider who thought he spotted a big-horned sheep, so we got in our car and followed him. We turned onto Conata Road and sure enough, there were tons of big-horned sheep! It felt like we hit the jackpot when the two males started butting heads!

| Teamtravelsblog
| Teamtravelsblog
| Teamtravelsblog

We were completely mesmerized as we watched the female big-horned sheep graze and the males continue to fight off and on. As the next 30 or 45 minutes unfolded, there became a clear winner, the dominant male who rejoined the rest and left the inferior male to lick his wounds.

Before turning onto Sage Creek Rim Road, we found two young big-horned sheep in the Pinnacles Overlook parking lot. Have your camera ready on the Sage Creek Rim Road. As we were driving, we saw a swift fox cross the road with a prairie dog in its mouth! We opened our windows and the prairie dog town was going crazy! They were so upset that one of their own was kidnapped! Mike had a really good eye and spotted a badger! We’d never seen one of these before. The badger was on the hunt for a prairie dog itself. This badger interrupted another badger keeping quiet that appeared to have a better strategy than the first one. It was interesting as we scanned the land, there were no prairie dogs nearby, as they had all disappeared into their mounds and had clearly taken note of the badgers lurking. As we continued on the drive, we saw bison and a few loner big-horned sheep. If you’re looking for a specific place with prairie dog (even though they’re everywhere), check out Roberts Prairie Dog Town.

| Teamtravelsblog
Bison | Teamtravelsblog
| Teamtravelsblog

If it isn’t obvious, Badlands National Park is incredible!

We returned to the Pinnacles Overlook to watch the sunset. The light illuminates the landscape in a magnificent way. We also saw another big-horned sheep grazing. As dusk set-in, we drove back toward the Yellow Mounds Overlook and saw tons of deer on the side of the road. Make sure to be careful and drive with your high beams when you can. We exited the park at the Pinnacles Entrance which was about 9 miles to the interstate. We saw more deer along this drive then we saw people in Badlands National Park!

Sunset at the Pinnacles Overlook
Sunset at the Pinnacles Overlook | Teamtravelsblog

Mike drove us safely to the city called Rapid City in South Dakota, while I took a nice warm car nap. The parking on Main Street was free and made it right before 7 p.m. I wouldn’t go out of your way, but if you have 30 minutes or so to spare, it’s fun to check out the various president statues and Art Alley (by the Alex Johnson Hotel) all within walking distance. Art Alley has some cool graffiti. We found statues of FDR (note the cane behind the podium), Calvin Coolidge and Chester Arthur to name a few. Since it was in the 50s, we found a safe place to carsleep for the night.

Art Alley in Rapid City
Art Alley in Rapid City | Teamtravelsblog

I hope you’ll check back with us soon to hear about our Sunday travels. They include more Custer State Park highlights, Jewel Cave National Monument, Crazy Horse Memorial and some incredible drives around and through the Black Hills National Forest. I would love to have you follow us on Instagram if you enjoy our photos and content!

Wind Cave is Rushmore than a Cave

Posted in National Parks, Read Them AllTagged , , , , 3 Comments

Wind Cave National Park and Mount Rushmore National Memorial are must see places on any visit to the western part of South Dakota! If you’re an animal lover, we hope you get to see bison, coyotes, prairie dogs, pronghorn and mountain goats like we did!

South Dakota Highlights on Friday, October 27, 2017

  • The animals – bison, coyotes, prairie dogs, mule deer, pronghorn, mountain goats
  • Rankin Ridge trail (1 mile loop) at Wind Cave National Park
  • Wind Cave natural entrance tour
  • Boland Ridge trail at Wind Cave National Park
  • Mount Rushmore National Memorial

We arrived to the Denver airport on Thursday night around 11 p.m. on a last minute, direct Frontier Flight for $97! For our three day trip, we found a car with Payless Car Rental for under $70. I love using CarRentals.com for great, last minute deals! Have I mentioned before that we’re carsleepers? Well, we are and we love it! We spent the night in the Walmart parking lot in Fort Collins, Colorado about an hour away and then headed to Wind Cave National Park (another 4 hours) in South Dakota very early in the morning. Through our travels, we’ve learned to be light packers and filled one of our two personal items with two blankets.

We entered the park from I-385 intending to find the visitor center, but turned onto I-87, which was not the right way. It was meant to be though because we got some great views of bison. We found a few bison almost instantly upon turning onto the road and then two more up the road at Lookout Point Trail. Here’s a map of the park if you want to follow along: https://www.nps.gov/wica/planyourvisit/upload/WICAmapBrochure.pdf

As we continued along I-87, there are two narrow bridges. After the second narrow bridge, we drove about another mile or so before we pulled off to the side. Stay alert because it turned out we had parked by a prairie town! A prairie town is literally grasslands with adorable prairie dogs and their homes.

Prairie Dog at Wind Cave
Prairie Dog at Wind Cave | Teamtravelsblog

Since it was so quiet, we could hear them chirping to each other and enjoyed watching them eat and pop in and out of their mounds. From here, we turned around, made it back to I-385 and found the visitor center. On the drive up to the visitor center, again, there are TONS of prairie dogs to see. If you have an interest in touring the “Wind Cave”, it’s a good idea to buy your ticket early (we were told they’re refundable). We bought our tickets ($5 per person) for the Natural Tour for the 1 p.m. tour and got advice on places to see from the extremely helpful ranger. Since we had a little less than 3 hours before the tour (we barely missed the 10 a.m. tour), we drove back up I-87 to Rankin Ridge. It’s a relatively easy 1 mile loop that gets you to the highest point in the park. While on our hike we saw a mule deer (keeping our streak alive with this being our 7th national park in a row of spotting a deer) and some beautiful views of the park. Traveling on the off season has some huge advantages – we didn’t see a single other person!

Coyote on I-87
Coyote at Wind Cave | Teamtravelsblog

Rankin Ridge at Wind Cave National Park
Rankin Ridge | Teamtravelsblog

On our drive back down I-87, we looked up and saw a coyote slowly crossing the field! As we followed the coyote, we spotted a second coyote! How cool is this? I took this picture from a bit of distance with my Nikon Coolpix L340*. We also found the same bison from earlier in new positions by the Lookout Point Trail and near the intersection of I-87 and I-385. While on the main road (I-385), we drove past the visitor center and found tons of bison on the side of the road. We were in picture heaven! As we approached Gobbler Pass, we spotted a coyote (our third one)! We stopped and watched the coyote walk by two bison, completely uninterested in each other. What was interesting was listening to the prairie dogs going crazy and warning each other!

We turned around because we didn’t want to exit the park and used the map to find the tiny pull off (for about 3 cars) at the Cold Brook Canyon trailhead. It was a peaceful walk, with tons of bison remnants to watch for as we stepped.

Bison and Coyote
Bison and Coyote | Teamtravelsblog

We returned to the visitor center for the 1 p.m. tour. Wind Cave recently became the 5th longest cave in the world (up one spot from #6). The ranger who served as the guide was super passionate and started by showing us the natural entrance. It’s really small! The park measures the barometric pressure so you can see whether the wind is blowing into or out of the cave. The highlight was entering the room at the end dubbed “The Post Office” which has beautiful boxwork (the cave is famous for this). The cave was definitely worth the $5!

We found the park map to come in handy. From I-87 we turned onto NPS-5. This is an unpaved road, but easy to drive. Along the drive we saw lots of prairie dogs and some pronghorn. We got to the intersection of NPS-5 and NPS-6 where we turned and found the small lot for the Boland Ridge trail. Again, we had to watch our step for animal remnants, but we also wanted to enjoy our surroundings. We came across a band of pronghorn. They watched us like hawks and it was fun to watch them jog away considering they’re the fastest animal in North America. We also found many more bison in this area. Wind Cave National Park impressed us!

Pronghorn at Boland Ridge
Pronghorn at Boland Ridge | Teamtravelsblog

We drove almost an hour out of the park, through Custer (where there are gas stations) and onto Mount Rushmore National Memorial. As we were approaching the parking entrance, we spotted deer grazing and two mountain goats! As we looked up from the mountain goats, we realized they were perfectly in front of the presidents’ heads!

Mountain Goat at Mount Rushmore
Mountain Goat at Mount Rushmore | Teamtravelsblog

We took advantage of the photo opportunity and then continued to the parking lot. We fully expected to pay about $11 for the parking structure, but there were no attendants when we entered shortly after 5 p.m. We parked for free and began our walk up to the memorial. The walk is beautiful. As you walk the Avenue of State Flags, you can get a picture with your home state and notate the day it became a state.

Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore | Teamtravelsblog

There is a large viewing area as well as steps down to another viewing area to see Mount Rushmore. Since we arrived before sunset (sunset time: 5:51 p.m.), we enjoyed the memorial in the natural light and then stayed past 6 p.m. to see the illuminated memorial which was also cool. While this place may be crowded in the summer, there were minutes at a time where we had the entire place to ourselves!

We got a great tip from the gentleman in the Mount Rushmore store. After leaving the memorial, we followed the signs for the “Profile View” where you can park and get pictures of George Washington’s profile. Since the evening temperatures were set to fall into the 20s, we opted to find a last minute hotel deal. I am a huge fan of Booking.com*. We found a highly rated lodge called Calamity Peak Lodge for under $60 in Custer. If you’ve never used Booking.com* before, I would encourage you to use my link* so we can each get $20 when you book. The lodge was really unique inside with wooden walls, clean and had all of the normal amenities. The owner was extremely nice and met us as soon as we called to check us in. I would definitely recommend this place.

As we have in previous trips, we decided to call it a night at a reasonable time so we could wake up with the birds and go searching for animals by sunrise! Check back with us to read about the animals we found in Custer State Park and the Badlands National Park on Saturday!

Bison at Wind Cave
Bison at Wind Cave | Teamtravelsblog

Park’d in Chicago

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Chicago Skyline | Teamtravelsblog

An inexpensive weekend getaway to Chicago to walk along Lake Michigan, take in the skyscrapers on the Chicago River, see the polar bear playing and drink the  coffee treats. Plus Chicago offers so many parks!

 Chicago, Illinois Highlights for Sunday, October 8:

  • Millennium Park and the Bean
  • Walk along Lakeshore path
  • Navy Pier
  • Lincoln Park Zoo – the polar bear
  • Dropshot Coffee & Snack Bar

Let’s start off by stating two important facts: 1) We slept in a Wal-mart parking lot and 2) we managed to get 61,204 steps by the day’s end. We arrived the morning of the Chicago marathon, so not surprisingly, many streets were blocked off and my initial parking plan was not going to work. We were SUPER lucky and stumbled upon free parking on Lincoln Avenue not too far from Lincoln Park.

We walked a few miles before arriving at Grant Park, which was closed for the marathon, so we started down Michigan Avenue and I bought a unique pour over coffee at Fairgrounds Coffee. As a bonus, this place had a nice bathroom. We wandered across the street to Millennium Park and the Bean. Walking around and through the Bean, posing for selfies was fun as you can get some awesome reflection pictures with the skyscrapers in the backdrop. We made our way from here to Maggie Daley Park where we saw the rock climbing walls and then to Lake Michigan along the Lakeshore path. Chicago 1Renting bikes probably would have been a great idea, but we chose to walk the path up to and around Navy Pier before continuing to the Lincoln Park Zoo.

The zoo is incredible and it’s free! The zoo was beautifully decorated for the fall season and the animals were lively in the warm weather. The polar bear playing in the water with its toys was an absolute highlight. Check out my video on Instagram. The macaque monkeys were also very playful to watch and there were babies! Baby animals of any kind are always top notch in my book! Chicago 2Another notable animal included the pygmy hippo, which you can see a video of its snack time on my Instagram as well. There were other large animals like double-humped camels, rhinos and big cats. I was bummed not to see the red panda, which is my favorite animal, but this just means I will have to return to this zoo in the future. We exited on the west side of the zoo, regrouped for a bit and then made our walk up Michigan Avenue.

I was craving a second coffee treat of the day, and read good reviews about Dropshot Coffee & Snack Bar. The decorations were incredible – it’s a sports themed coffee shop! There’s everything from bleachers to a scoreboard on the wall and the prices were reasonable. Don’t leave without checking out the lower level which looks like a pool and has lots of games, plus clean bathrooms. Chicago 3Michigan Avenue was fun to walk along, full of people, especially marathon runners sporting their completion medals. It was pretty exciting to learn that an American won the men’s marathon earlier in the day. One thing to note about Michigan Avenue is the stores close around 7 pm on Sunday nights.

Chicago, Illinois Highlights for Monday, October 9:

  • Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park
  • View from the BP Bridge between Maggie Daley and Millennium Parks
  • French Market
  • View of the city from Adler Planetarium
  • Wicker Park (The Wormhole Coffee)

We got lucky again and found an amazing, free parking spot near the location of the Maxwell Street Market (which I don’t recommend). We walked a little under a mile to Grant Park and found the most magnificent fountain, Buckingham Fountain. The park was pretty desolate with remnants of the marathon from the day before. We walked through the park and smelled some beautiful roses before coming to the BP Bridge between Maggie Daley and Millennium Park. The BP Bridge is about 925 feet long and is a great viewing point for the city’s skyscrapers. Chicago 4We took a few more Bean (aka Cloud Gate) pictures and then started our walk along the Chicago River from the Michigan Avenue entrance. Chicago 5The skyscraper reflections, public art and river pathway make this a great stroll. We loved stumbling across the oversized deer statue.

After the river, we headed to the French Market which is inside the train station. It’s about 30 booths with delicacies like macaroons. Whether you plan to eat or not, it’s a neat place to check out. From here we took a rather lengthy walk along Michigan Avenue, past Millennium and Grant Parks to the museum area by Shedd Aquarium (highly recommend) and the Adler Planetarium. I cannot recommend this view of the city skyline enough! You can see Navy Pier in the distance and get a full view of the city skyline to include the Willis Tower. Lots of people were picnicking in this area.

We walked back to our car and drove about four miles to Wicker Park. The first time we had to pay for parking, but fortunately it was only $2 per hour and we were there less than two hours.

Chicago 9

We went into The Wormhole Coffee, which is a nostalgic coffee bar filled with Gremlins, Bowser in his castle, Ninja Turtles and E.T. stuff among lots of other things. It’s pretty expensive, but unique. I loved the “Cool But Rude” latte that I got made with fresh ginger and curry sauce. We wandered through the park and on our way back to Milwaukee Ave., I spotted Andre Royo, the man who played Bubbles in the television show The Wire and Thirsty in the show Empire.

Chicago 7

He was extremely down to Earth, chatted with us for a few minutes, and took an awesome selfie! Keep your eyes peeled for the street art around Wicker Park that shouldn’t be missed!Chicago 8

Since we still had about two hours of vacation before returning our rental car, we drove to the Magic Hedge Bird Sanctuary. There’s nothing too noteworthy here, except for another nice place to view the city skyline and it connects in with the Lakeshore path. Then right outside the airport, we parked at Robinson Woods South. It’s a park where we spotted over 9 deer grazing close to dusk. It’s also a good place to view planes that have just taken off from the Chicago O’Hare airport. Our car rental return and ride home on Spirit Airlines were uneventful, which is the way we like it.

Chicago is a world class city and we will definitely be back. What did we miss and should plan to do next time?

Wisc’d Away Before Chicago

Posted in Read Them All, State CapitolTagged , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Wisconsin State Capitol | Teamtravelsblog

Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin are two great cities around the corner from Chicago worth jumping in the car to see over the course of a day. The State Capitol in Madison is the second tallest and offers a 360 degree view of the city!

Madison, Wisconsin Highlights for Saturday, October 7:

  • University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Michelangelo’s, coffee shop
  • Market in Capitol Square (Saturdays only)
  • State Capitol rooftop
  • State Street
  • Thai Pavilion in the Olbrich Botanical Garden

As soon as we arrived at Chicago O’Hare (ORD) airport at 7 am, we took the Budget-Avis shuttle to get our rental car and hit the road for Madison, Wisconsin. Luckily, I found an amazing car rental deal through CarRental.com days before our trip (under $72 for 3 days)! The fastest route is taking a toll road, so having cash is key! It cost less than $10 across 4-5 toll booths which are located on the right side of the road when it splits. When we arrived in Madison, we drove through the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, which is beautiful! One amazing thing is there is tons of free parking on campus during the weekends and it’s walking distance from all of the sites. Click here for a list. We parked in “Lot 26” which was along the main road, directly outside the Observatory and had a front row view of Lake Mendota.

We walked down to the lake and over by the Memorial Union Terrace. There are lots of nice boats docked and seating to take in the scene. You can also pose for a picture with UW’s mascot, the badger. Madison 1We walked along Langdon Street to see a lot of Greek houses before making our way toward Capitol Square. I spotted Michelangelo’s, an artsy, large coffee shop which has two entrances. Madison 2The specialty menu is really unique as it’s made up of drinks created by current and former employees. I tried the “espresso miel” which was a latte of honey and cinnamon that I enjoyed!

On Saturdays, there is a large market (Dane County’s Farmers Market) that starts early and usually ends by 1:30 pm in Capitol Square. This is the area that surrounds the State Capitol, which is the second tallest one in the U.S. (behind Louisiana). While I didn’t have a chance to try it myself, Stella’s Bakery is a popular offering. Exploring the Capitol is a must! The rotunda is beautiful, you can explore on multiple floors (with or without a guided tour) and the bathrooms are clean. Plus, it seems like a well-kept secret, but you can find the spiral staircase to the rooftop and enjoy a 360 degree view of Madison for free. This was a highlight for us. From here, walking along State Street is ideal as there are lots of shops, restaurants and bars before you return back to UW-M’s campus. If you’re a bookstore person, definitely check out A Room of One’s Own.

Once you’re back at your car, take the 15 minute ride to the Olbrich Botanical Gardens.

Madison 3

It’s free to walk around and there’s a beautiful Thai Pavilion that was donated by the Thai government.We accomplished this itinerary and a few other spots in about 5 hours. If you have more time, some other ideas would be to rent bikes and explore the lakes along the paved bike paths, take in the view of the city from Olin Park or check out the places along Williamson (“Willie”) Street.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Highlights for Saturday, October 7:

  • Milwaukee Public Market
  • Milwaukee Riverwalk and Art
  • View from Veterans Park

The drive from Madison to Milwaukee was very easy, under 90 minutes and toll free. It was raining when we arrived, but stopped shortly after. We found free parking near Van Buren and Michigan Avenue. The location was great because it was walking distance to the Milwaukee Public Market in the Historic Third Ward.

The market is small, but has a good variety. I tried the bee at Anodyne, saw the around the world market clocks and got a classic picture of the “Milwaukee Public Market” sign.

Milwaukee is very walkable and it’s only a few blocks to the Milwaukee River. All along the river you’ll find public art such as Rosie the duck, the Bronze Fonz, a statue of Arthur Fonzarelli from Happy Days and other artistic pieces. Milwaukee 3I recommend timing your walk close to sunset so you can enjoy the colorful sky and reflections on the water. We were particularly lucky because a little boy called out a rainbow that appeared near the duck family statues.

Milwaukee 5

Break from the main path to see the Old World Third Street. Before starting our drive to Chicago, we drove to Veterans Park for a short walk which has a lovely view of the city and would also be a great place for the sunset along Lake Michigan.

Be sure to check out my next entry on our two days in Chicago that followed.

Moose, Elk and a Black Bear, Oh My!

Posted in National Parks, Read Them AllTagged , , , , 2 Comments

Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado can’t be missed. If you can travel from Grand Lake on the west side to Estes Park on the east side, you won’t regret it! On our journey from west to east we saw moose, elk and a black bear!

Rocky Mountain National Park Highlights on Monday, September 4 and Tuesday, September 5, 2017

  • The animals – moose, elk, black bear, Stellar’s Jay (bird)
  • Adams Falls (west side)
  • Continental Divide (middle)
  • Many Parks Curve Overlook (middle/east side)
  • Alberta Falls (east side)
  • Bear Lake (east side)

I had done all of the driving up to this point of the trip and as we were leaving Maroon Bells, it finally caught up to me. Mike’s foot was starting to feel better, so he offered to drive us to the Grand Lake entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). While I-70 east was easy, cruise control driving, the way the GPS took us to RMNP was insane! It was up and down a mountainside, narrow roads, and quite honestly, made my heart skip some beats. Luckily, it didn’t snow or rain, so we made it to the RMNP without incident. We started our trip with the traditional “National Park” sign and then drove by the lodge to get a picture and view of Grand Lake. If you have a few minutes to spare, it’s worth parking in the lot and seeing the beautiful lake.

View of Grand Lake from the Lodge
View of Grand Lake from the Lodge | Teamtravelsblog

You’ll start to contemplate your existing retirement plans and see yourself here. It is so peaceful! Again, make sure you have the Annual National Park Pass for $80 or risk spending $30 just for this park. If you want a map of the park, here it is: https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/upload/ROMOmap1_small.pdf

From here, we stopped at the Kawuneeche Visitor Center, where we made it in the door about a minute before closing. The park ranger was kind enough to give us a map and make a few recommendations. His best advice was to drive up and down the main street, especially at dawn or dusk for the best opportunity to see animals like elk or moose. He also heeded us that if we saw two cars pulled over, to go ahead and be the third, because this meant animals! We drove the main strip and pulled into a few of the points of interest, but we didn’t do any hiking until we got to the last pull off on the left, which was the Colorado River Trailhead. The first part of the walk is a bit steep, but then it’s quite level after that and has a main intersection that allows you to choose different trails. During one of the sections, we looked up and spotted an animal. We were so caught off guard that we ended up scaring the “elk-moose”, whatever it was, before we got a good look. We’re convinced it was a moose, but without our photographic evidence, we couldn’t say for sure.

As the sun started to set, we did as the ranger advised and drove the main strip. It didn’t take long before we saw groups of cars pulled over looking at herds of elk. We were lucky that people were willing to share their binoculars for better views and a park ranger was also present at one of the stops offering information about bugling (the noise that elk make). We didn’t get any elk close ups and didn’t see a moose, but we were exhausted and knew it would be a good idea to get some sleep so we could return to the main road before the sunrise. We filled the car with gas in Grand Lake and then we used Booking.com* to find a nearby, last minute hotel for the night. We stayed at America’s Best Value Inn-Bighorn Lodge. The receptionist office is not 24 hours, so make sure you check the closing time for any hotel you’re considering. We arrived at the receptionist office shortly before closing and got a nice, clean room. After two nights in the car and five out of the previous six nights, I was ready for a shower and a bed to rest my head.

Our plan worked! Early to bed and early to rise! We dropped our room key in the dropbox and were back on the main strip before the sunrise (sunrise was: 6:35 am). We couldn’t believe it – there were SO MANY UP CLOSE ELK! Male ElkWe had a blast stopping in the pull offs and on the side of the road to capture photos and video of the adult and young elk. We got some great ones of elk crossing the street and grazing on the side of the road.

Once we were satisfied with our elk experience, we drove back out of the park and to a separate section of the park where Adams Falls is located. You actually drive through part of downtown Grand Lake to get there. There’s a large parking lot, facilities and a short hike to a beautiful waterfall. We even got lucky and saw a deer here! As our seventh national park on this trip, Arches National Park was the only one where we didn’t come across a deer. I’m not sure if it was the time of day or if it was because it was the Tuesday after Labor Day, but we got the place to ourselves. We also got another wonderful view of Grand Lake.

Back in the car, we drove back into the rest of the park and past the Kawuneeche Visitor Center. We drove slowly, as we wanted to see animals. We saw a car pulled over and decided to go see what they were looking at. We were rewarded and saw a moose grazing. At one point, the moose even looked straight at us and I got some cool shots with my Nikon Coolpix L340*.

Momma Moose
Momma Moose | Teamtravelsblog

Just when we thought the show might be over, an adolescent moose appeared out of nowhere. Our car and the one in front of us, inched forward and then we got to see the momma moose cross the street and the adolescent one scurry across close behind. I was so happy that Mike was ready with the camera and got a video of the whole thing!

At this point, we were satisfied and started our drive to the tundra. On the way, we stopped to take a look at Lake Irene, which was pretty and the Continental Divide. By the Alpine Visitor Center, which was actually quite busy, we made the extremely windy and cold walk up the stairs on the Alpine Ridge Trail. There’s a sign at the top that says “elevation 12,005 feet above sea level” which makes for a good photo op. We continued our journey east through the park toward Estes Park. We made a few stops at places like the Lava Cliffs and Forest Canyon Overlook. While we were at Many Parks Curve Overlook and enjoying the panoramic viewing platform, we saw a group of people gathered and sure enough, they were looking at a black bear! It wasn’t super close, but luckily the zoom feature on my camera really helped us to get a better view.Black Bear

Continuing through the park, we followed the signs to Bear Lake. A huge sign said there were no parking spots and to take the shuttle, but we took our chances. We found a spot in the Bear Lake parking lot and hiked to Alberta Falls. This waterfall is incredible!

Alberta Falls in RMNP
Alberta Falls | Teamtravelsblog

There are huge rocks alongside it that you can climb on and find great places for selfies! From here, we went to Bear Lake and watched the birds. The blue and black bird known as Steller’s Jay was here and really beautiful to see. On our drive down from Bear Lake, we found another great opportunity to see male and female elk. We pulled the car over and took advantage of the photo opportunity.

We absolutely LOVED RMNP and will be back again! We made the easy 90 minute trip to Denver and I hope to tell you all about this wonderful city soon!

Steller's Jay by Bear Lake
Steller’s Jay by Bear Lake | Teamtravelsblog