Our Epic RV Trip: Visiting Several Western US National Parks

Last summer, after about a year of planning, our family did what we’ve been talking about doing for several years… we rented an RV and spent 2 weeks touring many places in the western US! We drove through 11 states, over 5000 miles, visited 14 major destinations, including 7 national parks and made endless memories! This isn’t a trip that I typically help plan for my clients, however, it’s one that I know many people have thought about doing and are curious about where we went and how much it cost. With so many people choosing to travel domestically this summer, I thought it might be helpful information.

A little backstory, we are a family of 5… my husband, myself, and 3 kids ages 16, 13 and 8 at the time we traveled. We live just outside of St. Louis and love to experience new places as a family. Several years ago we began discussing the idea of renting an RV for a couple of weeks and hitting up as many national parks in the western US that we could. We knew that we wanted to plan it for a time when our kids would hopefully remember the trip and be able to easily adjust to life on the road. We tend to loosely plan out our vacations a couple of years in advance (it is my job after all) and the summer of 2019 looked like the perfect time to do it!

About a year before our trip, we bought a US map and started mapping out different areas that we considered “must sees” for this trip. I did lots of Pinterest & Google searches to look at itineraries from other people who had taken similar trips and get ideas of places we wanted to see. Once we had a pretty good idea of where we wanted to go, I found a website called Roadtrippers (www.roadtrippers.com) where I was able to enter all the destinations we were interested in and map everything out (I used the free version of the site). This was so helpful because it gave me a better idea of where everything was located and how long it would take to get to each place. We were then able to come up with a loose plan and remove or add places until we were happy with it.

Then we knew we needed to finalize a few details. First we had to decide what dates would work for us. I knew I wanted to try to go as soon as our kids got out of school in late May so that we would beat the summer crowds and heat. We also knew we had about 2 weeks to work with, so from there we decided that we would plan Saturday, May 25th thru Sunday, June 9th.

The next step was to research different campgrounds. Campgrounds inside of or near national parks can book up anywhere from 6 months to a year in advance, so this needed to be done as soon as possible. We were able to book most online and left a few nights open when we had longer drives since we didn’t know where we would want to stop to sleep. When booking a campground, you have to double check to see if they have spaces for RVs your size, as some do not allow the larger ones.

Next, we checked into several companies that rented RVs. We compared sizes, prices, availability, inclusions and reviews of many different companies. Eventually we decided that we wanted each of our kids to have their own beds and space to separate, since they are older, so we went with a 30 foot Class C Motorhome. Because our mapped out trip basically made a big U-shape, we also decided that we could cut out a lot of expense if we drove our own car to a middle point where we would rent the RV from. The middle point for us that had a variety of rental companies to choose from was near Denver, Colorado. We ended up renting our RV thru Road Bear RV in Commerce City, CO (and were very happy with them). One way rentals are typically more expensive and since we were leaving our personal car there, we needed to pick up & drop off the RV at the same location.

Once we had that settled, I began doing more research on each place we wanted to visit. I began taking notes on what hikes we might like, what places we wanted to see within each park, etc and coming up with a more detailed itinerary. Doing this allows you to see as much as possible without wasting time deciding what you want to do once you get there. This was important since we didn’t have a ton of time at each place.

Next, it was time to countdown to our trip and do any last minute preparations. We purchased new water bottles and holders for them, waterproof hiking shoes, an annual National Park Pass ($85 for the whole family) and National Park Passport books to collect stamps along the way.

Then, on Friday afternoon, May 24th, our kids last day of school, we packed everything up and began the drive from St. Louis to Colorado. We stopped in Salina, Kansas and stayed the night in a hotel before driving the rest of the way to pick up the RV.

Day 1: GARDEN OF THE GODS, Colorado City, CO.

Our first day was mainly spent driving to pick up the RV, getting everything into the RV and stopping at WalMart to pick up groceries. We didn’t want to go too far on the first few days while my husband was getting used to driving it, so we planned to go to Colorado City to check out Garden of the Gods, about 1-1/2 hours away. Driving a 30 foot long motorhome was definitely a challenge for my husband, mainly because of the wind & curvy, bumpy roads. I was very glad that we didn’t drive very far the first several days, because it was definitely not easy to get used to. (Side note- you do not need a special drivers licence to rent this particular RV, just a regular one will do).

Once we arrived at Garden of the Gods park we stopped at the visitor’s center, stamped our passport books and asked a little bit about where we could drive and what we could do in a short amount of time. We ended up driving along the Juniper Way Loop, and made a few stops for pictures along the way. We wanted to get to our campground before the sunset, so we didn’t spend a whole lot of time at the park. We reserved a campsite at the Pueblo KOA Campground in Pueblo, CO, about 45 minutes away. It was easy to get to and right off the highway. We were thrilled that they offered pizza and other snacks there so we didn’t have to worry about hooking up the RV for the first time, getting settled and cooking dinner. The kids played for awhile at the playground and basketball court before getting ready for bed.

Admission to Garden of the Gods: Free

Cost of Campground Reservation: $65.08 for 1 night in a pull-thru with full hookups.

Day 2: GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK, near Alamosa, CO.

On our next day, we drove 2-1/2 hours to Great Sand Dunes National Park. We had to wait in line about an hour to get into the parking lot, but it didn’t bother us because we had a bathroom available and were able to make lunch while we waited. It was a cloudy, windy day while we were there and only around 70 degrees. We walked thru Medano Creek and up into the sand dunes, but our youngest didn’t like having sand blown all over him and requested to go back to the RV. The older 2 kids hiked quite a ways up the dunes and had fun playing in the sand, despite how windy it was. It was definitely amazing to see, but I wish it would have been warmer and less windy. On our way out, we stopped at the visitor’s center, stamped our passport books and looked around a bit before driving about 2-1/2 hours to our next campground. Our route to the campground took us thru the San Juan mountains, where it was snowing! That was nerve-wracking in the mega RV. My husband was definitely white knuckling it the whole way! We finally arrived at the Pagosa Pines RV Park in Pagosa Springs, CO just before dark. We made dinner and played cards before heading to sleep.

Admission to Great Sand Dunes NP: Free with our National Park pass.

Cost of Campground Reservation: $58.64 for 1 night in a back-in spot with full hookups.

Day 3: 4 CORNERS MONUMENT + MONUMENT VALLEY, Utah/Arizona border

Day 3 started with our youngest waking up with a stomach bug which lasted most of the day. I was really thankful that we were in an RV because he was able to lie down, sleep, get up to use the bathroom, etc while we drove to our next stop. Unfortunately, he didn’t leave the RV at all that day, so he missed seeing a few things, but we still drove to the 4 Corners Monument, about 2-1/2 hours from our campground. It was SO windy the closer we got. We were very nervous the whole way & ended up staying in the parking lot for awhile to see if the wind would die down some. Once we arrived, I stayed in the RV with our sick kiddo, while my husband and other 2 kids stood in the 4 corners and took photos (I had visited the monument when I was younger, so I didn’t mind missing out). After awhile, we left and headed to Monument Valley, about 2 hours away. It stayed pretty windy that whole day, but we were able to see the Mexican Hat and stop at “Forrest Gump Point” along the way. They do offer tours up and around Monument Valley, but we felt like we really just wanted to be able to see the infamous landscape, which we were able to do very well from the road. That night we stayed at Gouldings RV Campground, near Monument Valley. We really liked it there. You could see the infamous rock formations from the campground and they had an indoor pool and laundry mat, which we took advantage of.

Cost for entrance to the 4 Corners Monument: $5 for parking.

Cost of Campground Reservation: $69.88 for 1 night in a back-in, full hookup site.

Day 4: HORSESHOE BEND + ANTELOPE CANYON, Page, AZ

On Day 4, we drove a couple of hours toward Horseshoe Bend. We had to park down the road from Horseshoe Bend and take a shuttle there. It was about a mile easy hike before seeing the landmark. It was amazing! So many of the places we visited were things we had only seen on TV or screensavers, so to see them in person was really neat. There were several places to take pictures.

Our next stop was a little bit of hiking and photos around the Glen Canyon Dam. We found an overlook area and it was beautiful! Great place for a quick stop.

We had made a reservation in advance to take a tour of nearby Lower Antelope Canyon. Our reservation was for a one hour tour at 4:15 with Dixie Ellis Tours. This was a “Must Do”! We were able to climb down into the canyon and hike with a tour guide who was kind enough to take tons of pictures of us with my phone. Just a note, make sure that you research what time it is here when you visit. The tour company operates on Arizona Mountain Standard Time so you don’t want to arrive too early or late!

After our tour we drove about 30 minutes to Wahweap Campground at Lake Powell. This was a beautiful campground right on the lake. We loved walking around the campground area.

Antelope Canyon Tour: $227.06 for all 5 of us.

Cost for Campsite Rental: $58.15 for 1 night in a back-in site with full hookups.

Day 5: GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, South Rim

The next morning we drove 2-1/2 hours to Grand Canyon National Park. We checked in at the Mather’s Campground inside the park before going to the visitor’s center, stamping our passports and getting a map. We hiked the Rim Trail for a few miles (an easy hike along the top rim) before hiking about a mile on the Bright Angel trail. Our youngest 2 kids also completed the Junior Ranger program here as well. We took the shuttle around for a bit before going back to the campground.

Grand Canyon NP Entrance fee: Free with our pass.

Cost for Campsite Reservation: $18 for 1 night pull-thru with no hookups.

Day 6: ZION NATIONAL PARK, Southwest Utah

The next morning we spent a bit more time at the Grand Canyon visitor’s center before beginning our 4-1/2 hour drive to Zion National Park. We were in awe of how beautiful this entire park was! It looked like a painting everywhere you looked. Our first stop was the visitor’s center where we stamped our passports, got a map and talked to a park ranger about which hikes we should do. This park uses a shuttle system, so we were able to leave the RV at the visitor’s center and shuttle to the entrance of whatever hike we wanted to do. We did the Lower Emerald Pool Trail and the Weeping Rock Trail which were perfect for us. When driving thru the park with a large RV, you do have to pay to be escorted thru a very narrow Zion-Mount Carmel Highway Tunnel. The cost is only $15, good for 2 trips thru. They stop traffic in each direction and escort you through.

This evening we stayed just outside the park at the Zion Canyon Campground, which had beautiful views of some of the rock formations and a river nearby.

Admission to Zion NP: Free with our pass.

Zion Tunnel escort: $15

Cost for Campsite Reservation: $61.14 for 1 night in a pull-thru spot with hookups.

Day 7: ZION NATIONAL PARK + A DAY OF DRIVING, Utah + Wyoming

We knew that this would be a long day of driving, as we were making the trek to Wyoming. We decided to hike a bit this morning before being stuck in the RV for many hours. We hiked a couple of miles on the Watchman Trail before getting on the road. From Zion, it was about a 10 hour drive to our campground at the Grand Tetons. We had no campsite reserved this night since we weren’t sure exactly how far we would get before we needed to stop. We made it all the way to Afton, Wyoming at dusk and found a newer campground (the Kodiak Mountain Resort) there to stay at for the night.

Entrance back into Zion NP: Free with our pass.

Cost for Campsite Reservation: $52.92 for 1 night in a pull-thru with full hookups.

Days 8 & 9: GRAND TETONS NATIONAL PARK, Jackson Hole, WY

The campground we wanted to try to stay at in Grand Tetons (Gros Ventre) is first come, first served so we knew we wanted to try to get there before noon. It was about 1-1/2 hours from our campground that we had stopped at. We arrived at the campground and were able to get a spot easily for 2 nights. We then drove around for awhile, stopping at different pull-offs to take pictures before doing the Leigh Lake hike (easy hike that is 1.8 miles round trip). The next morning we got up early to go to Jenny Lake and take the boat shuttle to do some hiking. We hiked to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point, which were both moderate hikes, but easy enough that my kids didn’t complain. The views were beautiful. I highly recommend the boat ride and hikes. We then stopped for yummy pizza at Leeks Marina, past Colter Bay and spent the rest of the day driving around and stopping at various areas along the way. We really enjoyed watching all of the bison, elk & beavers we saw. Later that afternoon we decided to drive into the town of Jackson Hole to check it out. It was such a cute, quaint town with lots of touristy shops and restaurants.

Entrance to Grand Tetons NP: Free with our pass.

Jenny Lake Boat Shuttle: $50 for the 5 of us, plus tip.

Cost for Campsite Reservation: $110 for 2 nights in a pull-thru, electric hookup site.

Days 10 & 11: YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Northwest Wyoming

The next day we packed up & headed toward Yellowstone National Park, which even though it seems close to Grand Tetons, it takes about 2 hours to get inside the park from where we were camping. We went in through the snow covered southern entrance and had to wait awhile to get into the park. Once inside, we stopped at a few waterfalls and then at the Grant Village visitor’s center to get maps and stamp our passport books. Our next stop was Old Faithful. Unfortunately for us, the weather turned cold & rainy so waiting for it to erupt seemed to take forever, however it was pretty neat to witness.We then went to the Grand Prismatic Spring. Parking was hard to find, but we ended up parking along the road near the trail that leads you up to the terrace where you can look down onto the spring. It was still cold and rainy, but this view was amazing! By this time, we were near the west entrance, which was where our campground was located, so we decided to go check in. Campgrounds inside of Yellowstone book up close to a year in advance, so we stayed at Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park for 2 nights. The location was great, but we didn’t really care for the campground much. It was nice & clean with showers, laundry and a playground, but no fires were allowed, so that was a bummer for our family. We did spend time washing laundry and taking showers before going to sleep that night.

The next morning we were up & ready to see more of Yellowstone. Since Yellowstone & Grand Tetons were big parks, we knew we’d want to stay 2 nights at each one and I’m glad we did. Yes, we could’ve stayed longer at every place we went, but we were trying to visit as many places as we could and never felt like we missed out on seeing anything or felt rushed. On the second day there, we stopped at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone (both upper & lower falls) where we took tons of pictures and were in awe. Next we drove around for awhile and went to Mammoth Hot Springs & Steamboat Geyser with lots of stops along the way. There is one section of the park that we read was not really safe for RVs to go, so we didn’t get to see one section of the park. (The main road thru the park is shaped like a figure 8. The part that is supposed to be dangerous for RVs is located on the top, right side of the 8). We knew we had another long day of driving ahead of us the next day, so we turned in early for the night.

Entrance Fee for Yellowstone NP: Free with our pass.

Cost of Campground Reservation: $190.09 for 2 nights in a pull-thru with full hookups.

Day 12: Driving to South Dakota

Day 12 was spent making the long drive toward South Dakota. It took us about 10 hours driving straight thru (my hubby was a pro driver by this point, ha!). We stopped in Custer, SD for dinner before finding a campground nearby. We got in late, but stayed at Heritage Village Campground, which had a great view of the Crazy Horse Memorial all lit up.

Cost of Campground Reservation: $31.80 for 1 night in a pull-in site with full hookups.

Day 13: CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL, MOUNT RUSHMORE & BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK, South Dakota

This day would be our final day of sightseeing and we had a lot we wanted to do. Our first stop was the Crazy Horse Memorial. We arrived shortly after they opened and looked around the museum, watched a movie about the memorial and took a narrated shuttle ride to the base of the memorial. The shuttle driver was very informative and it was neat to get a little bit of a closer perspective of the memorial. We really enjoyed it.

Next up was Mount Rushmore, just a short drive away. There we checked out the visitor’s center, walked along the presidents trail and took lots of photos. After spending a couple of hours there, our next destination was Badlands National Park. We had to stop at the infamous Wall Drug store on the way and see what all the fuss was about (there are tons of billboards advertising Wall Drug along the way). We checked out all of the kitschy souvenirs and grabbed milk shakes, donuts & free water before finishing our drive to the Badlands.

Once we arrived at the Badlands, we drove the loop drive beginning at Pinnacles Entrance. We didn’t really know what to expect at this park and I will say, for us, it was a bit underwhelming after going to such magnificent parks earlier in our trip. It was still very interesting to drive thru, but we didn’t see much to do here. After a short stop at the visitor’s center to stamp our passport books, we were on our way again to begin our trek back to Colorado to return the RV. The Badlands felt very remote. We traveled a long way before ever seeing another car! We didn’t have a campground reservation for this night, but ended up stopping in Cheyenne, Wyoming at the A.B. Camping RV Park for the night.

The next morning, we drove the rest of the way to return our RV, which was due before 10:30am. We had originally talked about maybe returning the RV and staying a night in Estes Park in the Rocky Mountains, however we were all kind of ready to get home. We ended up driving straight thru and arrived home around 2am!

Entrance Fee for Crazy Horse Memorial: $30

Shuttle Bus to Base of Crazy Horse Memorial: $20 for all 5 of us.

Entrance Fee for Mount Rushmore: $10 (you cannot use the NP pass here).

Entrance Fee for Badlands NP: Free with our NP Pass.

Cost of Campground Reservation: $46 for 1 night with full hookups.

HERE IS A BREAKDOWN OF OUR EXPENSES FOR THE TRIP…

RV Rental for 13 days, plus additional miles: $3160

Campground Reservations for 13 nights: $762

Gas + Propane Refill (including gas in our personal car, driving to/from Colorado): $1402

Entrance Fees + Tours: $382

Annual National Park Pass: $85 (without this pass, we would’ve had to pay $275 to enter all of the parks we did!)

TOTAL SPENT, NOT INCLUDING FOOD, NECESSITIES OR SOUVENIRS: $5791

MY FINAL THOUGHTS…

This trip was everything I dreamed it would be and more! Sure, it was stressful at times, but the quality time we all had together, experiencing new places as a family was amazing! We made so many memories from this trip and we were all able to get up close & personal with things and places we had only seen in books or on TV. Watching our kids pass the time playing cards together while we drove or play together at the campground or take their own pictures of things they thought were neat or even how everyone worked together to set up or take down each time we moved to a different location was incredible for me to watch, as a mother. I can’t recommend a trip like this to families enough and I’m so thankful we were able to make it happen!

Is there anything I would do differently? Not really. Obviously if we would’ve had more time, that would have been great, but I’m really proud of how much we got to experience in 2 weeks. There are so many places out west that we would still like to see, but we’ll save those for next time. The only other thing I can thing of is that I was wanting to go on this trip at the end of spring to try to beat the summer heat, but it was unseasonably cool in many places we went (even some snow!) so I wish the weather would’ve been a bit warmer. Maybe trying it in beginning to mid-June would have been better, but weather is very unpredictable.

Are there any ways to save some more money doing this type of trip? We chose to stay in actual campgrounds every night, however there are lots of options for free camping (aka boondocking) in state parks or even some Walmart parking lots. You could also save money by renting a smaller motorhome, using one you already have or borrowing one. We decided that the expense of renting a larger RV would be worth it so that we could each have a little bit more room. We ate most of our meals in the RV, stopping at WalMarts along the way to get groceries, however we did eat out a few times just as we would if we were at home.

I hope this blog post is helpful and that you’re inspired to take a trip like this yourself. I know it’s lengthy… I tried to keep it as short as I could, but if you have any questions, I’d be happy to try to answer them. Safe travels!

Destination Spotlight: Turks and Caicos

It’s been a bit since I’ve highlighted any vacation destinations on my blog, so I thought it was time to bring it back. I know that sometimes it helps spark ideas for future vacations and I’m all for that! If you know me personally, you know that I’m not a big fan of traveling to the same place twice. I love to explore this great big world and hope to encourage others to do so as well. That being said, I thought that this week I would shed some light on the Turks and Caicos islands.

Turks and Caicos are made up of 40 islands, 8 which are inhabited. The majority of the population and tourism happen on the Providenciales (Provo) and Grand Turk islands. These islands are located less than 90 minutes from Miami. The main airport for Turks and Caicos is located in Provo, however there are options from there for flying to Grand Turk. Provo is very family friendly. There is an ordinance preventing any construction above 5 stories. There are also no traffic lights or Starbucks! English is the native language and US dollars are the local currency, however it is a British territory and driving is done on the left side of the road. There isn’t any public transportation on the islands either, however taxis and rental cars are easy to locate.

Turks and Caicos have year round beautiful weather. With 350 days of sunshine per year, they see very little rain, mostly during hurricane season, from June to November. The temperatures dip a bit November thru April, but remain consistently warm year round.

The beaches on the islands are some of the most beautiful in the world. Hundreds of miles of soft, white sand and crystal clear waters without any rocks, seaweed or pollution, thanks to being protected by one of the largest barrier reefs about a mile off shore. Grace Bay Beach is probably one of the best known beaches, located on the north shore of Provo. There you will find luxury accommodations and some of the most beautiful water. Long Bay Beach is located opposite of Grace Bay and is a great spot for kite boarding or horseback riding.

There are several different types of accommodations on the islands, including all-inclusive resorts, adults only resorts, small boutique style resorts and you can even stay on your own private island, Ambergris Cay. It can be a bit pricey to dine out and buy groceries on the islands, but the beauty makes it all worth it.

If you’d like to find out more about Turks and Caicos, I’d love to help you plan your vacation there.

Family Trip to Washington DC

I’ve been receiving lots of questions about our recent spring break trip to Washington DC, so I thought I’d write a little blog post about our trip. Maybe it’s just me, but I love reading details of other peoples trips while I’m planning out mine. Washington DC has been on my travel bucket list for awhile. My husband had been there on a school trip, but the rest of us had never been. Both of my older kids have turned down opportunities to go with school because they would rather go with family. My in-laws have become world travelers in their retirement and mentioned something about wanting to go on a trip with the whole family. After checking into several options, we decided that a trip to Washington DC would be a great idea and spring break would be a great time to visit.

I will start out by saying that we traveled to Washington DC with myself, my husband, my three kids (16, 12 & 8), my mother-in-law & father-in-law, my sister-in-law, her boyfriend and their 10 month old. We flew out of St. Louis, MO on Wednesday evening and flew back home the following Monday evening, so we had about 4-1/2 days to explore.

Because we had such a large group of people going, we decided that renting an Airbnb might be our best bet. We had a bit of a challenging time finding something that was close to everything & was large enough to sleep 10 people comfortably. We ended up reserving a row house north of the Capitol Hill neighborhood and very close to Union Station. There were a couple of grocery stores within walking distance, as well as several restaurants, which was nice, but the house itself left much to be desired.

One fantastic thing about visiting DC is that most places that you visit are free! Some things must be booked 3-6 months in advance, however. Once we had our flights & house booked, I emailed our congressman to schedule a White House tour. You can also set up tours for the Capitol Building, FBI, Bureau of Engraving & Printing and more thru your house or state representative. I also went ahead & booked our Capitol Building tour, the National Archives & the Holocaust Museum. I tried not to book too many tours with set times to allow flexibility in our schedule. Once our trip got closer, I was able to check the weather and loosely schedule out our days. We were fortunate that it only rained for part of one of our days, so we planned to visit some of the Smithsonian museums that day since most of the other things we wanted to see and do were outside.

On our first day in DC, we walked to Union Station and took the subway to the Pentagon. You can set up a tour of the Pentagon thru your congressman as well, but we decided to just go and visit the 9/11 Memorial. This was a bit of a walk from the subway stop, but was a neat thing to experience. We spent about a half hour there before getting back on the subway to Arlington National Cemetery.

The 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon

We were all impressed with the sheer size of the cemetery. It expands as far as you can see and can take quite awhile to walk from place to place. We visited Kennedy’s grave before walking to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. At the time we visited (mid-April), the changing of the guard occurred every half hour. It was definitely an experience to remember and gave me goosebumps. After a couple of hours at the cemetery, we took the subway back to the national mall area. We had talked about going to Mount Vernon (George Washington’s home) afterward, however a lot of the recommendations suggested allowing several hours there and we decided that we just didn’t really have time, so instead we decided to skip it.

Arlington National Cemetery

Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Kennedy graves

The national mall is basically a big grassy park surrounded by the majority of the Smithsonian museums and monuments. We were all pretty tired once we got there and decided to lay in the grass for awhile to relax. There were ice cream trucks and food trucks nearby for those that wanted a little snack. After relaxing a bit, we walked over to the Washington Monument (which was unfortunately still closed for repairs) and then to the WWII Memorial. While there, we were able to see the presidential helicopter fly over twice! We then walked over toward the White House for our dinner reservation at Old Ebbitt Grill. We all really enjoyed our meals there & highly recommend making a reservation!

Standing outside of the White House after our tour.

On our second day in DC (Friday), we had tickets for the 10:10am tour of the White House. We took an uber from our house and arrived early for our tour. There are very strict security measures taken to get into the White House. No purses, backpacks or strollers were allowed and there were several different security checkpoints you had to go thru before entering the building. I think we spent over an hour in line before being able to enter, not an easy feat with 4 kids, including a baby! The White House tour was self-guided meaning you walk thru and look at things at your own pace. We were only able to go thru the east wing (lower level) of the White House, but it was pretty incredible to walk thru. We were even able to see a soccer goal set up out on the lawn, which we presume was there for Trump’s youngest son, Barron.

After taking tons of pictures, inside and out, we grabbed lunch at a nearby Potbelly’s. Once we were finished with our lunch, it began raining. We saw this in the forecast so had already planned on hitting some museums that afternoon, but it began before we actually made it to any museums. We took a very wet walk to the Museum of Natural History, where it felt like everyone else in DC also was! We spent a few hours exploring the museum until it closed. Just a little side note… even the museums are free! Some of the ones that require a ticket to get into, like the Holocaust Museum, will charge you a $1 reservation fee, but that’s it!

We had heard that we should try Ben’s Chili Bowl, a local diner that serves “smokes” (smoked sausage) and chili dogs. There was one just down the street from our house, so we decided to try it out for dinner this night. It was great!

On our third day, Saturday, we had tickets for the 10:30 tour of the Capitol Building and were able to walk there from our house (I could even see the top of the Capitol building from a small window in our shower). We all really loved this tour. Unlike the White House tour, this one had a guide. Everyone wore headphones that allowed you to hear your guide well. The guides there are so knowledgeable. We were all very impressed! After our tour, we walked thru the tunnel that connects the Capitol Building to the Library of Congress. One thing I will say about DC is that everywhere you look, the architecture is amazing. The Library of Congress was no different. Such an impressive building. We walked over to the Supreme Court from there and took pictures outside. It’s only open Monday thru Friday, so we weren’t able to go inside.

Outside of the Capitol Building

We then went to grab lunch in Capitol Hill at a little pizza place called We The Pizza. It was yummy! After lunch, we walked to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. There are two locations of this museum, one in the national mall and one at Dulles airport. I’ve heard that the one at the airport is better, but since we flew into Reagan, we visited this one instead. It was a really neat museum. We wanted to watch an IMAX movie, however there weren’t any that we wanted to see playing while we were there. I’ve heard great things about them. Once we were finished at the museum, we were all pretty exhausted and decided to grab ice cream and lounge around at the national mall for awhile again. We walked a ton on this trip and by this point, we were all feeling it! After a little break we walked to the Smithsonian Castle (eh!), then took the free Circulator bus to Union Station and walked home. We picked up dinner at the grocery store and ate before heading back out to Union Station to meet up with our Monuments at Night tour, which I had booked a few days in advance. On this trolley tour, we were able to see the Capitol Building, FDR memorial, Lincoln memorial, Iwo Jima memorial and more, all lit up at night. It was really neat to see the different monuments all lit up, but we didn’t love the tour itself. It was freezing on the trolley and it lasted way longer than what it said it would. When I purchased the tickets it said it would be an hour and a half tour, it ended up being 3 hours and 20 minutes! I loved seeing the Lincoln Memorial and Iwo Jima at night and would highly recommend doing so, but we were so exhausted by the end of our tour!

The national archives building

The next day was Easter. We woke up to a surprise from the Easter Bunny who had hidden Easter eggs all around our house. After a quick Easter egg hunt, we had a 10:30 pass for the National Archives. I will say there was no line here, so advance passes weren’t necessary for us, but maybe that was because it was Easter, so not many people were there? It was so neat to see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The guards there were so informative as well. I totally recommend asking them any questions you might have.

Ford’s Theater was just a few blocks away, so we walked there next. For those who may not know, this is where Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth. We were able to get free tickets to tour the theater as well as the Peterson House across the street (where Lincoln was taken after he was shot and later died). We really enjoyed both of those, especially after visiting where Lincoln lived in Springfield, Illinois a couple of years ago.

lincoln memorial

Next we got back on the free Circulator bus and took that to the Lincoln Memorial. This was one of the things I was most looking forward to seeing while in DC. We had seen it at night the night before on our tour, but we all wanted to go back and see it during the day time as well. It really is an incredible monument and the view across the national mall from there is a sight to see.

After a short stay there, we hopped back on the Circulator bus and took it to the Holocaust Museum, where we had tickets for 3:30. This was an incredibly moving museum and is quite large. I will say that I was a bit worried about how my kids would handle this museum and they all handled it really well and asked a lot of questions. I didn’t notice anything too graphic and thought it was done really well. We left the museum when it closed at 5:20 and took the circulator bus to the Vietnam Vets memorial. We had some family that was also in town, so we grabbed pizza with them at a little pizza shop near their hotel in Dupont Circle before heading back to our house.

On our last day (Monday) we had a few hours before needing to head to the airport, so we were able to visit the Georgetown neighborhood. We didn’t have a lot of time, but really enjoyed this area and would love to stay there in the future. There was so much to see and do!

We had such a great time in DC! We were all exhausted by the end of our trip, but we were able to see and do so much. If there’s one thing you should know about how I do trips, is that I don’t typically like to go to the same place twice since there are just way too many places that I want to see. So, when we go on a trip like this, I like to pack in as much as possible. My family is great about it, but it may not work for everyone.

Vietnam Veterans memorial

A few tips I have if you’re planning a trip to DC…

-Springtime was a fantastic time to visit! We missed the cherry blossoms blooming by one week which I was bummed about, but the weather was fantastic.

-Make reservations for the White House, Capitol Building and any other tours in advance. The African American Museum & Holocaust Museum can be hard to get tickets to as well.

-As far as transportation while we were there… we didn’t feel like a car was necessary. Parking is hard to find everywhere you go. We took an Uber or the subway or the free Circulator bus everywhere we went. I will say that I thought the subway was harder to navigate than the one in NYC, but not terrible. Lyft also has scooters you can rent all over the city. Since we were traveling with a large group, we didn’t try them, but many people were using them.

-Plan out your days according to what is near each other. The national mall is huge! We planned all of the things on the east end for one day, things on the west end for another day and things in the middle on a different day. Check out a map in advance and determine what you can visit in a day.

-Take breaks when you need it! Like I said, we like to go, go, go on trips like this, but we also make sure to take time to relax in the park if needed and get plenty of sleep. Chances are you will walk a lot in DC, so be prepared and rest when needed.

-Take your kids! We waited until our kids were a bit older before visiting DC. I wanted to wait until I thought it would be something they would remember and be able to connect with. I was very impressed with how much my older kids (12 & 16) knew about different sights and events and it was great for my 8 year old to be able to visually see some of the places he’s beginning to learn about. Since we’ve returned from our trip, all of my kids have talked in school about several things we saw on our trip and they were so excited to be able to say that they had actually seen them in person.

-Have fun! We really had a great time and loved DC. We felt very safe and just had the best time. I know we made memories that will last a lifetime.

Destination Spotlight: Cozumel, Mexico

Cozumel is an island in the Caribbean Sea, off the easternmost coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.  The distance between Cozumel & Riviera Maya is about 18 miles.  It's a popular cruise ship port of call, but you can also get there by flying directly into Cozumel or by flying into Cancun, taking transportation to Playa del Carmen, then taking a ferry to Cozumel.  Near hourly ferry rides to/from Playa del Carmen take about 30-45 minutes each way.  

Cozumel is known for it's crystal clear water, endless beaches, world famous coral reefs and spectacular sunsets.  Besides scuba diving, some of the top things to do on the island are visiting Stingray Beach, sailing on a catamaran, going on a mini submarine tour, going deep sea fishing or snorkeling.  I recommend renting a car and getting away from the touristy areas and really check out the beauty of the island.  The 185 square mile island is very safe and the economy is based entirely on tourism.  

The average temperature on the island is 69 to 91 degrees Farhenheit.  The dry season runs February to April.   It can be fairly wet, with brief rain showers the rest of the year.  However, the highest amount of rainfall typically occurs in September & October.  

If you plan to stay on the island, there are many different types of accommodations, including several family friendly and an adults-only all-inclusive resort. I can take care of all hotel and travel plans, allowing you to have a truly worry-free vacation.  If this sounds like something you're interested in, contact me for more information.

Questions Answered: Is Travel Insurance Worth the Cost?

Every time you book a trip, whether with a travel agent or on your own, I'm sure that you've been asked if you would like to purchase travel insurance.  If you're anything like I was, you think about it for a couple of minutes and try to decide if you really want to spend the extra money, when it sounds like it's one of those types of insurance policies that you don't even need (kind of like extended warranties when you purchase something).  However, as I have learned over the time that I have been a travel agent, most of the time, it's a smart move to get it and I have seen it be a great investment for several clients. 

I think that oftentimes, most people aren't exactly sure what the insurance policy actually covers and they assume it will really only cover you if there's a hurricane or another natural disaster.  My hope with this blog post is to inform you a little more on how it actually works and when it's probably ok to skip it.

Travel insurance is meant to protect you against unforeseen travel misfortunes.  Each policy is different, so it's very important to read over the policy thoroughly, however most policies will cover the following...

• Trip Cancellation & Trip Delay. The insurance company will reimburse you your non-refundable travel costs if your trip is cancelled, interrupted or delayed due to a natural disaster, illness, plane failure, labor strikes or the carrier goes out of business. Many companies will also offer a "cancel for any reason" policy, which gives you flexibility to do just that, cancel for any reason whatsoever, up to 48 hours before departure.

• Baggage & Personal Item Coverage. If someone steals something out of your bag or hotel room, or your luggage is lost or delayed... insurance will reimburse you for your loss.

• Emergency Medical Insurance. You wouldn't want to go without medical insurance in your every day life, you shouldn't when you're traveling outside of the country either. Of course you never expect to become injured or ill when you're on vacation, but unfortunately that happens all the time and medical care in other countries can be very expensive, especially if you end up needing to be transported back to the U.S. Most medical insurance policies will not cover you if you leave the country.

• Accidental Death or Dismemberment. As tragic as it may be to think about, travel insurance can protect you if you or a loved one dies on the trip or suffers a life-impairing accident.

• There are also a select few travel insurance policies that will offer a Best Price Guarantee as well. This means, if the same exact vacation that you have booked goes on sale for a cheaper price, you will receive the difference back. I've personally helped people save hundreds of dollars on their trips who have purchased this insurance policy.

• Many policies will also cover pre-existing conditions.

When is travel insurance maybe not necessary?

In my opinion there are two major factors to consider when deciding whether or not to purchase travel insurance...financial risk and medical concerns.  Are you concerned about losing money due to a canceled, delayed or interrupted trip, lost bags or medical expenses?  Is a large part of your trip non-refundable?  Are you leaving your home country, where your medical insurance won't cover you?  If you answer yes to any of these questions, I would highly recommend adding a travel insurance policy to your vacation package.  If you're traveling domestically and maybe using airline miles or staying with family or your able to cancel your room at the last minute, travel insurance may not be necessary.

Check with your credit card companies to see if they offer travel insurance as one of their perks.  Only 15% of credit card companies offer this, but it's definitely worth checking it out to see if this is something you could take advantage of.  

I hope this information is helpful for you to use when deciding whether or not to add travel insurance to your vacation package.  Always read over the policy thoroughly to see what is and isn't covered so that you make sure you understand what benefits you're getting.  

Happy Traveling!