I really enjoyed our family's relaxing trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which is a 5.5 to 6 hour drive from Chicago. I was pleasantly surprised that family-friendly and dog-friendly things to do were plentiful in the area. I'm sharing some ideas to get you started on your trip planning to the UP, although I acknowledge we have a lot more to see. We mostly explored the Au Train and ... Read more
Our Pictured Rocks Cruise Tour on Lake Superior, Michigan
One of the highlights of our Upper Peninsula family road trip was our cruise with Pictured Rocks Cruises, which is the only approved vendor at the National Park Service's Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We booked the 2.5-hour cruise that ventures all the way to Spray Falls one afternoon. Other options for cruises were the classic cruise and the sunset cruise. We paid four tickets were $92. ... Read more
Muir Woods National Monument With a Toddler
When we booked a last-minute weekend trip to the Bay Area recently, we had only two must-dos on our list besides seeing our family. One of them was visiting Muir Woods National Monument. We've been fans of redwood trees for a long time as nature lovers, so we couldn't wait to see them in person. Muir Woods recently enacted a new parking and shuttle service, which means you must make a parking ... Read more
Toddler-Friendly Visit to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
There's plenty for families to do at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. You can still take in the sites and explore with a toddler. We recently spent a day visiting the park for our second time. (Our first trip to the island of Hawaii was in 2014 on our honeymoon.) You could spend days here, or you can squeeze in quite a bit of adventure in just part of one ... Read more
Celebrating Canada’s 150th Anniversary & a Giveaway!
I recently read an article listing Canada, which is honoring its 150th anniversary, as one of the best places to travel in 2017, which sparked my interest in finally setting dates for our trip. Because we can't take a major vacation until winter, we're instead looking at places to explore that aren't too far of a drive from Chicago and have lots of activities to do as a family, especially ... Read more
Visiting Arches National Park, Utah
Arches National Park has been on my bucket list for years. Seeing those sunset-colored arches has been the cherry on top of a sweet 2015. You can take in the splendor of the park even if you don't have time for much hiking, but schedule some time for exploring if you can. Now that I've had a taste, I need more. I plan to return to Arches for more hiking as soon as Graham and I can. Arches is ... Read more
A Quick Stop at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota
We almost didn't make it to Mount Rushmore. It wasn't part of our loosely pulled-together road-trip plans. But we had just left Badlands National Park, and I kept seeing signs for Mount Rushmore. It can't be too far out of the way, I said. Graham wasn't convinced it was a good idea. He wanted to get back on the road, but I insisted. This is what road trips are for, after all. Plus, who knows when ... Read more
Badlands National Park, South Dakota
One of the most important lessons I've learned over the past few years thanks to yoga has been to be open to the possibilities. I am typically the planner, but for our most recent road trip I left the route decisions up to Graham. He chose a route that took us through Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota. He had a stop in mind: Badlands National Park. Other than seeing a few images of the ... Read more
Cloudy day at the Grand Canyon
I finally experienced the wonder that is a cloudy, rainy day at the Grand Canyon. It even started sleeting for a few minutes at a time. We soaked in a completely different view of the Grand Canyon National Park than I've ever seen, with ever-changing shadows and random rays of sunlight. Desert View watchtower. Pinyon jay, I think. Cellphone shot of elk at the Grand ... Read more
How to pack for camping on Maui
** This post contains affiliate links. I make a small commission for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting Floradise. I am always up for camping, especially when I came up with the idea of camping during our trip to Maui. Once I figured out where to stay (Wai'anapanapa State Park) and where to rent our gear, the next challenge was to figure out ... Read more