I had one last stop planned for the final day of our road trip – Natural Bridge, VA.  The namesake feature of a Virginia state park, Natural Bridge is a 215-foot tall limestone gorge carved out by Cedar Creek.  In addition to the bridge itself, Natural Bridge State Park includes hiking trails, waterfalls, and an Indian Village. Easily accessible from I-81, the park is reached through the Visitor’s Center, which has plenty of free parking out front.  Admission fees are $6 ages 6-12 and $8 ages 13 and up.  We were there on Father’s Day and all dads got in …

“This is the coolest thing I’ve ever done.” RB, age 11 after leaving the Luray Caverns. “Mom, can you please tip the tour guide because I asked him SO many questions.”  Also RB, just before leaving the Luray Caverns. As parents of growing travelers, there are many ways to rate the success of a trip.  The smiles on your kids’ faces.  The family memories made.  The kids asking to go back again.  But it’s hard to find a better indicator of a trip’s success than a statement like that.  “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever done.”  And it’s hard …

Our Newport schedule was thrown off when we could not take a Fort Adams tour on our arrival day.  We pushed the fort tour to the next day and pushed the trolley tour back another day.  But when our third day arrived and it was dreary and rainy, we decided to skip the trolley tour altogether and hit the road.  Since we weren’t doing an activity in Newport and the trip up from NJ to RI had been a long one, I wanted to be sure we stopped somewhere on the way home. On the drive up I noticed that …

The coastline in Newport is stunning and there is no better way to experience it than to stroll along its famous Cliff Walk.  The full length of this National Recreation Trail is 3.5 miles, but you can easily walk smaller portions of it.  Walking the full length of the trail takes about 2.5 to 3 hours. There are 7 public access points between the beginning and end of the trail: Narragansett Avenue, Webster Street, Sheppard Avenue, Ruggles Avenue, Marine Avenue, Ledge Road, and Bellevue Avenue.  You can park at the north end of the trail, head south, and exit at …

In the late 1800s, Newport, Rhode Island was the ultimate summer destination for the wealthy.  In the Gilded Age, wealthy families such as the Vanderbilts and the Astors built “summer cottages” along Newport’s rugged coast line.  The elite left New York City behind for several weeks during the summer and came to Newport to entertain and be entertained. The Preservation Society of Newport County has done a marvelous job of preserving these mansions and protecting their architectural heritage.  The society’s eleven properties offer a combination of audio tours, docent-led tours, and self-guided tours.  Tickets can be purchased online or at …

With only two nights in Newport, our rough itinerary was this: day 1 – arrive in the afternoon and go to Fort Adams day 2 – trolley tour, the Breakers, and Cliff Walk day 3 – Green Animals Topiary Gardens and/or another mansion But, as often happens in travel, things did not go exactly as planned.  The last tour of the fort is at 4pm so we aimed to get there by 3:00.  But a late start and traffic got us there closer to 3:45.  But we still made it!  We rushed in to the visitor’s center to buy our …

As someone passionate about travel, I follow a lot of different travel sites and am constantly reading “top 10” type lists for different travel categories. Harpers Ferry WV kept popping up on lists of prettiest towns in America.  Upon further research, I was excited to find that it is located just off I-81 so would be a perfect stop on our road trip north. Harpers Ferry sits at the junction of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers and borders the state lines of West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland.  Aside from the scenic location and picturesque town, it is also a National …

The first leg of our road trip was Charlotte to Harpers Ferry WV, a roughly 6 hour drive.  We were staying the night in Harpers Ferry but wouldn’t arrive in time to do any sightseeing that day.  So I wanted to be sure we broke up the trip and made at least one stop along the way. Since this would be a longish driving leg, I just wanted a quick stop, some sort of roadside attraction or scenic viewpoint that wasn’t too far off our path.  I already had Luray Cavern and Natural Bridge planned for the trip back so …