My Family Travels | Best Family Vacation Ideas
Previous Next

LATEST ARTICLES:

Article
This 70-Year-Old New Jersey Drive-In Reopened After Two Years Closed, Then Hit The Market For $100,000

A drive-in that sat closed for about two years finally reopened, then popped up on Facebook Marketplace just months later. Yep, an actual roadside stand, listed like a used couch.

Read More    6 min read

Article
After a Pennsylvania Town Lost Its Only Grocery Store, One Family Brought It Back and Created 60 Jobs

A grocery store with sushi, a coffee shop, and a Korean restaurant at the same address sounds like a big-city thing. This one sits in a small, friendly Pennsylvania borough that...

Read More    7 min read

Article
This Remote Oregon River Canyon Feels Worlds Away From The Rest Of The State

Two wild rivers meet at the bottom of a canyon so quiet your phone basically gives up. The campground sits at the end of a slow, rough gravel road, and that's part of the charm.

Read More    7 min read

Article
This New Hampshire Haunted Attraction Is Bringing Zombies, Twisted Clowns And Pure Darkness To Halloween

Five haunted houses are packed under one roof, inside a 65,000-square-foot building. That's not a typo. It's one of the biggest...

Read More    7 min read

Article
A Motorcycle Signed By Tim Tebow Is Sitting Inside This New Jersey Antique Village

A Florida Gators motorcycle signed by Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer is parked inside a New Jersey antique shop. It's a custom Softail built by Purple Chopper LLC.

Read More    7 min read

Article
This Maryland Antique Store Packs 10,000 Square Feet With Forgotten Treasures and Collectibles From Another Era

Baseball cards and NASCAR memorabilia share a roof with antique crocks, vintage records, and furniture from another era. And that's only a fraction of what's packed into this Maryland...

Read More    7 min read

Article
A New Jersey Couple Opened A Turkish Bakery With One Oven, Now Their Five Daughters Keep It Running 24 Hours A Day

A bakery that never locks its doors, not even on holidays? Okay, that would make me stop. This New Jersey spot bakes Turkish...

Read More    7 min read

Article
11 Missouri Eateries That Never Bother With Advertising Yet Fill Up Every Night

Somewhere in this lineup, a server throws hot rolls across the dining room, and hungry people line up just to try catching one. That alone sold me.

Read More    9 min read

Article
She Started Selling Tacos From a Food Truck, Then Ben Affleck Walked Into Her Pennsylvania Restaurant and Business Exploded

A woman who once sold tacos from a food truck now runs a sit-down restaurant where Ben Affleck showed up to eat. That is the kind of plot twist most small kitchens only dream about.

Read More    7 min read

Article
This Award-Winning Minnesota Restaurant Puts Vegetables at the Center of the Plate

Salt-and-pepper mushrooms with a scallion dip might be the most talked-about starter at one Minneapolis-area dining room. Fried mushrooms stealing attention from steak? That tells...

Read More    7 min read

Article
Grandma’s Mason Jars Line The Shelves At These 8 West Virginia Amish And Mennonite Stores

Apple butter with extra cinnamon is sitting in a jar somewhere in West Virginia right now, and I can't stop thinking about it. One small bakery near the Virginia line even sells...

Read More    6 min read

Article
This New Jersey Vintage Store Feels Like Someone Emptied The Best Closet From 1997

An entire online shopping category dedicated to blink-182. That's how seriously this New Jersey vintage store takes its nostalgic band tees, and I'm already sold.

Read More    7 min read

Article
This Growing West Virginia Rail Trail Turns An Old Railroad Into Miles Of Scenic Riverside Path

A pair of runners once headed south on this trail and kept going for 50 miles. They only stopped because a wide creek had no bridge, and the water was too cold to swim.

Read More    6 min read

Article
An Ohio General Store Once Had Permission to Sell Dynamite, and It’s Still Open 186 Years Later

A tiny country store once held permission to sell dynamite, right alongside everyday groceries. I would love to know who needed blasting supplies with their flour back then.

Read More    7 min read

Article
This Oregon Restaurant Makes Peruvian Food The Reason To Skip Your Usual Dinner Spot

A Peruvian family's restaurant dream started decades ago in a small town in the Sacred Valley. It now lives inside a renovated house in north Portland, and I can't imagine a better...

Read More    7 min read

Article
Vandals Shattered A Historic Virginia Statue, But Local Volunteers And Sculptors Brought It Back More Than A Decade Later

A stone Pan, the goat-legged Greek god of the wild, got knocked off his spot by vandals in December 2002. He stayed in pieces for more than ten long years.

Read More    7 min read

Article
Wealthy Buyers Are Replacing Old Family Cabins With Million-Dollar Homes Along This Virginia Lake, And Its Shoreline Is Changing Fast

Five hundred miles of shoreline sounds like plenty to go around. Yet the old cabins along this lake keep giving way to sleek custom homes with serious price tags.

Read More    7 min read

Article
A New Jersey Bagel Shop Is Turning Rainbow Bagels Into A Blink-And-You-Miss-Them Favorite

Rainbow bagels are the kind of treat that can vanish before you finish your first sip of coffee. Okay, that alone would make me set an early alarm.

Read More    7 min read

Article
A Maryland Roadside Hangout Gave Up Its Old Identity and Became a Family Cafe With Homemade Cheesecakes

A former biker bar that once hosted rally crowds now sells homemade cheesecake and soft-serve ice cream. Its manager wanted a place where her children could feel welcome, so the...

Read More    7 min read

Article
An Ohio Woman Turned Her Love of Childhood Candy Into a Store Packed With Retro Sweets and Toys

A real car from the Wildcat roller coaster at the old Idora Park now sits inside a candy store. I can't imagine a better mascot for a shop built on childhood thrills.

Read More    7 min read

Article
War Of 1812 Soldiers Built This Ohio Fort, And Today You Can Walk Its Rebuilt Blockhouses

I'll admit it, I expected a quick look at some old logs and then a snack stop on the way home. Instead, I found myself wandering an enormous timber fort in northwest Ohio for hours,...

Read More    10 min read

Article
A Doctor Bought A Missouri Spring For $800, Then Built A Hospital Over A Cave Hoping Its Air Would Help Patients

A doctor once built a hospital right on top of a cave mouth. He hoped the cool cave air would help people breathe easier. I wasn't...

Read More    7 min read

Article
This Oklahoma Yarn Shop Turns A Quick Skein Run Into A Whole Afternoon For Knitters

I only needed one skein of sock yarn, the kind of errand that should take ten minutes in and out. Somewhere in Oklahoma, though, a small shop had other plans for my afternoon,...

Read More    8 min read

Article
This Pennsylvania Restaurant Makes Calzones So Huge They Take 45 Minutes to Bake and Won’t Fit on a Single Plate

A calzone that takes about 45 minutes to bake should come with a warning label. This one reportedly stretches about as wide as the table it lands on.

Read More    7 min read

Article
A Minnesota Restaurant Made A National List With One Chicken Sandwich

A spicy chicken sandwich helped a small Vietnamese restaurant land on the New York Times list of America's top 50 restaurants. That's a big deal for a dish you can hold in two...

Read More    7 min read

Article
New Jersey Just Launched Official Film Trails That Let You Visit Real Horror-Movie Locations Across The State

The diner counter where a soaked camp owner grabbed coffee in the original Friday the 13th still serves breakfast today. I love that you can order home fries in the exact spot...

Read More    7 min read

Article
From Door-to-Door Potholder Sales to a $25,000 Prize, This 82-Year-Old Ohio Shopkeeper Has Quite a Story

An 82-year-old shopkeeper in Ohio once sold potholders door to door, and later she walked away with a $25,000 prize. That's quite a resume for someone who now runs a cheerful little...

Read More    7 min read

Article
An Ohio Toy Store Expanded to 20,000 Square Feet of Childhood Nostalgia

Floor-to-ceiling shelves of Star Wars figures, G.I. Joe, Transformers, and Ninja Turtles fill one giant room. The store carries...

Read More    6 min read

Article
This Virginia Family-Owned Discount Warehouse Buys Truckloads Of Store Returns, And Shoppers Never Know What Bargains They’ll Find

The price tag here shrinks every single day of the week. Wait until Thursday, and whatever is left in the bins costs a fraction of what it did on Saturday.

Read More    7 min read

Article
This Virginia Farm Turns More Than 20 Acres Into A Halloween Nightmare With Haunted Cornfields And Dark Forest Trails

A family farm famous for slides and cider donuts by day flips the switch after dark. Suddenly, more than 20 acres turn into chainsaws, spiders, and haunted cornfields.

Read More    7 min read

Article
After 25 Years, This Ohio Vintage Shop Moved Into a Bigger Space Packed With Nostalgia

A full 1960s kitchen sits inside this shop, staged so well you half expect a casserole to come out of the oven. That alone made me want to know more.

Read More    7 min read

Article
You Can Try A Little Of Everything At This Missouri Indian Restaurant’s Six-Day Lunch Buffet

Goat curry, chicken tikka masala, and pakoras made with paneer could all fit into one lunch break. That alone makes my stomach pay attention.

Read More    7 min read

Article
Seven Pounds of Burger in 30 Minutes Is the Challenge at This Ohio Restaurant

Seven pounds of burger. Thirty minutes on the clock. That is the dare waiting at one smoky steak and barbecue spot in northeast...

Read More    7 min read

Article
Minnesota Has A Museum That Preserves The Story Of A Real-Life Dorothy

A carriage from The Wizard of Oz sits in a small Minnesota museum, and it once belonged to Abraham Lincoln. That alone made me stop and read twice.

Read More    7 min read

Article
Why Thanksgiving Pie Orders Start Now At These 5 Small-Town Oklahoma Bakeries

The best pie I ever ate came from a plain little counter I almost drove right past on a gray Oklahoma afternoon. No fancy sign, no big crowd, just a glass case and a smell that...

Read More    4 min read

Article
This Pennsylvania Grocery Outlet Started on an Amish Farm in 1986, and Shoppers Still Hunt for Groceries at Deep Discounts

A grocery store that proudly puts dents and bumps in its slogan? It exists, and shoppers fill whole carts there without flinching. The...

Read More    7 min read

Article
This Easy 1-Mile Indiana Trail Hidden In An Ancient Forest Leads To A Secret Waterfall Ravine

Nine cents. Local lore says a worker once dropped a full day's wages, just nine pennies, into a creek. That creek now gives its...

Read More    7 min read

Article
Nobody Expects A 600-Foot Gorge Lookout From A Picnic Table, Yet Grandview Delivers One

A picnic table here sits just a few minutes' walk from a lookout perched 1,400 feet above a winding river. That's not a typo, and it's not a hike that requires boots and a granola-bar...

Read More    7 min read

Article
This Historic Indiana Grist Mill Has Peaceful Family Trails You Need to Walk at Least Once

A water-powered mill in northern Indiana still grinds corn, wheat, rye, and buckwheat on stones. It has been doing this job since the 1830s.

Read More    7 min read

Article
This Indiana Consignment Shop Hides Chanel, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton Among Its Secondhand Finds

Chanel, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton bags sit on the shelves of a secondhand shop in a suburban strip of Indiana. They aren't knockoffs, either.

Read More    7 min read

Article
This Missouri Indoor Waterpark Has A Lazy River For The Ultimate Slow-Motion Escape

A 600-gallon bucket sits on top of a three-story treehouse, waiting to dump water on everyone below. Somewhere nearby, a lazy river keeps drifting along like nothing dramatic is...

Read More    7 min read

Article
Only 39 People Had Finished This Five-Pound Pancake at an Ohio Diner, According to Its Staff

A single pancake here weighs about five pounds, and it arrives on a platter instead of a plate. According to the staff, only 39 people had managed to finish one at one point.

Read More    7 min read

Article
This Texas Museum Lets You Explore 45,000 Square Feet of Military History Without Paying Admission

An actual fighter jet is on display here, alongside tanks, helicopters, and rows of historic military vehicles. And admission costs absolutely nothing.

Read More    7 min read

Article
Oklahoma Has A Whole Pioneer Village Of Log Cabins You Walk Through Like A Town Stopped In Time

Some road trip stops look like nothing from the parking lot, and then they swallow your whole afternoon. I pulled in expecting a quick look at a few old cabins and walked out hours...

Read More    8 min read

Article
She Retired, Helped Raise Her Grandchildren, Then Opened the Tiny Ohio Restaurant She Always Wanted

Every hot dog on this little menu is named after one of the owner's granddaughters. That's five grand girls, each with her own dog.

Read More    6 min read

Article
A Two-Hour Ride Behind A Coal-Fired Shay Steam Engine Climbs A Mountain In West Virginia

A steam locomotive built to haul logs still drags open-air passenger cars up a mountainside in West Virginia, burning coal the whole way. The engine is a Shay, a geared climber...

Read More    10 min read

Article
Oregon Has A Museum Where 20,000 Square Feet Of Neon Signs Tell America’s Story

A glowing Howard Johnson's Simple Simon sign lives inside a 1910 Elks lodge. Nearby, an animated Dog n' Suds sign shares space with vintage gas station giants.

Read More    7 min read

Article
An Ohio Restaurant Turned an Old Bank Vault Into Seating, and You Can Still Eat Inside It

I walked in hungry for a burger and walked out talking about a giant steel door. This small Ohio restaurant sits inside a historic old bank, and the original vault is now a dining...

Read More    9 min read

Article
Hot Tamales Keep Oklahomans Coming Back To These 7 Family Kitchens

The first time I unwrapped a corn husk in a little strip-mall kitchen in Oklahoma, I expected a quick snack and got a whole new obsession. Steam rolled out, the masa was soft and...

Read More    5 min read

Article
This West Virginia River Ferry Has Carried Travelers Across The Ohio Since Before The Civil War

The paperwork for this river crossing was signed in 1817, back when West Virginia was still part of Virginia. More than two centuries later, the job hasn't changed much: get people...

Read More    9 min read

Article
A Texas Family Turned an Old Airport Terminal Into a Restaurant Where Dinner Comes With a Runway View

White runway markings stretch across the dining room floor, while real planes taxi past the windows. No boarding pass required. This...

Read More    6 min read

Article
A Tiny Hole-In-The-Wall Ohio Bakery Is One Of Columbus’s Most Beloved Italian Staples

I once drove past a plain little bakery three times before I finally stopped, and I have been apologizing to my waistline ever since. Ohio has plenty of sweet shops, but very few...

Read More    6 min read

Article
7 Oklahoma Stops Between OKC And Tulsa That Make The Turner Turnpike Worth Exiting

Most of us have driven the Turner Turnpike so many times that the exits blur together like fence posts. Then one day you get hungry, take an exit on a whim, and find a smoky shack...

Read More    6 min read

Article
An Old Downtown Hotel In Guthrie Holds Territorial Oklahoma’s Forgotten Capitol Story

I pulled off the highway expecting a quick stretch break and maybe a snack, and instead found a red brick doorway that swallowed up my whole afternoon. Most Oklahomans can name...

Read More    8 min read

Article
Real Indian Tacos On Fry Bread Are Worth The Drive To These 6 Oklahoma Kitchens

Some of the best meals in Oklahoma come from places you might drive right past without a second look. A plain little building, a paper plate, and then a golden circle of fry bread...

Read More    5 min read

Article
This Texas Restaurant Uses Indigenous Family Traditions to Tell a Story That Goes Far Beyond the Food

The smoker outside this Texas restaurant used to be the propane tank at the owner's grandparents' house. It ran their home for decades.

Read More    7 min read

Article
A Family-Run Horse Boarding Ranch Near Broken Arrow Where Rescue Comes First

Some of the best places in Oklahoma don't come with a gift shop or a giant sign by the highway. I went looking for animals and found a quiet ranch where horses graze, hay bales...

Read More    6 min read

Article
We Ranked 10 Texas Apple Cider Donut Spots From Good to Absolutely Worth The Trip

One farm bakery on this list opens just three mornings a week, and only for four hours at a time. Miss the window, and you wait days.

Read More    8 min read

Article
This Classic Missouri Steakhouse Has Been Keeping The Steak-Night Tradition Alive Since 1961

A filet mignon wearing a pile of onion rings sounds like it dressed up for dinner. Here, it goes by Steak by George, a name with enough personality to make me reconsider my usual...

Read More    7 min read

Article
More Than 300,000 Cheese Rolls Come Out Of This New Jersey Diner Every Year

Over 300,000 cheese rolls leave one diner bakery every single year. That's the detail I can't get over. It works out to hundreds...

Read More    7 min read