My Family Travels | Latest Articles
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This Sprawling Indiana Asian Market Packs A Kitchen And A Huge Grocery Under One Roof

The plan was to be in and out. Forty minutes later, the cart was still moving. Somewhere between the ramen shelves and the...

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This 1.5-Mile Indiana Trail Lets You Walk to a Real Shipwreck’s Propeller Resting Right on the Beach

Someone once trusted this propeller to keep a ship moving. Now it sits in the sand. The four-bladed relic came from the J.D....

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This Texas Restaurant Serves Dinner Inside A Restored Grain Elevator

Dinner inside a grain elevator sounds like something out of a dream. But here it is a reality. Overlooking the Guadalupe River,...

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This Oklahoma Mountain Escape Is the Budget-Friendly Alternative to Colorado Getaways

Colorado getaways are wonderful. The mountains, the fresh air, the endless outdoor adventure. But the drive is long, the prices...

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The Best Filipino Restaurant In Oregon Serving Authentic Island Cuisine

There's a difference between eating food and tasting a culture. At this Oregon restaurant, you get the latter. The chef behind it has been recognized nationally for reimagining...

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This Massive Missouri Spring Is A Dreamy Day Trip That Will Make You Forget Big City Stress

The water erupts from the base of a limestone bluff like it has been holding its breath for a thousand years. Millions of gallons per day, cold and impossibly clear, pour into...

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13 New Jersey Shops Where Runners Can Stock Up On Shoes And Gear

The first time I laced up a pair of shoes that actually fit my feet, I understood why runners get so weirdly loyal to one little shop.

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Why People Specifically Ask to Stay in Room 314 at This Historic New Hampshire Resort

I have stayed at a lot of historic resorts over the years, and I have learned that some rooms have more stories than others. At this New Hampshire resort, there is one room that...

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There’s A Reason This New Jersey Chinese Restaurant Has Lasted For More Than 40 Years

Forty years and they still cannot get a table without a wait. That is the kind of problem this New Jersey Chinese restaurant has.

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Paddle Through a Ghost Fleet of Sunken Ships at One of Maryland’s Strangest Natural Attractions

Maryland has ordinary kayak routes, and then it has one where the scenery includes the skeletal remains of more than 100 World War I-era wooden steamships.

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This Maryland Island Preserve Has Quiet Trails Beaches and Chesapeake Wildlife Without the Usual Crowds

Maryland’s Chesapeake side can feel wonderfully wild when the route ahead is more likely to involve marsh grass and herons than traffic lights.

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The Oregon All-You-Can-Eat Gem That Locals Guard Fiercely

You know the type - the spot locals mention in hushed tones, the one they're almost reluctant to recommend because they don't want it to get too crowded. This Oregon all-you-can-eat...

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11 New Hampshire Secret Seafood Buffets Locals Keep Off The Map

Some of the best things in New Hampshire are the ones that locals do not talk about. They keep them off the map, off the tourist guides, and off the social media feeds.

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This Missouri Restaurant Is Hidden Inside A Craft Mall Where Live Music Comes With Dinner

A meal and a show usually mean two separate stops. Not at this spot in Missouri. A restaurant tucked inside a sprawling craft...

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The Sweeping Views From This West Virginia Overlook Extend Across Five Counties In Two States

The climb is a steady push, and the trail demands your legs work for it. But step onto that rocky perch and every last bit of effort evaporates.

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This Is The Oldest Pick-Your-Own Orchard In New Jersey, And It Is Still Going Strong

The sun had barely risen over the fields when this New Jersey orchard started doing something revolutionary. In the early...

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The Concrete Tower That Serves No Purpose but Has Been Watching Over This Pennsylvania Town for Over a Century

The red roofline appeared through the trees as I drove up the mountain, and at first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. A seven-story Japanese-style pagoda built in 1908...

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This Remote Alabama Hollow Echoes With Civil War History and Lost Moonshine Stills

Take the wrong turn on purpose. Just this once. The road gets narrower, the pavement disappears, and suddenly the Alabama forest...

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One Of America’s Largest Zoos Is Right In Oregon And It Is Absolutely Magical

Some attractions are famous for a reason. With nearly 3,000 animals across 64 acres, this Oregon zoo offers one of the most immersive wildlife experiences in the country.

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10 Rustic New Hampshire Maple Sugar Shacks Serving Warm Pancakes in the Woods

There is something magical about eating pancakes in the woods, surrounded by trees and steam rising from a sugar shack. New Hampshire is full of rustic maple sugar shacks, and...

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Where Does Money Go The Furthest? Comparing 10 Popular Maryland Weekend Getaways

A $250 Maryland weekend can feel luxurious in one destination and suspiciously optimistic in another, which makes comparing getaway prices far more useful than simply asking which...

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11 Stunning Waterfront Dining Experiences You’ll Only Find In Oregon

Some meals are about the food. Others are about where you sit while you eat them. In Oregon, the waterfront dining scene delivers both - and then some, with settings that rival...

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The Ohio Museum Where You Can See Everything from a 2,000-Year-Old Skull to a Cursed Mirror

That dim little room on a city street held a box that supposedly traps a demon inside, and I stood there staring at it longer than I expected. I had come to Ohio expecting lake...

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This Oklahoma Deli Bakes Its Sandwich Bread In-House Before Stacking It With Thick-Cut Pastrami

The smell of fresh-baked bread is the first thing you notice. A deli in Oklahoma has decided that good sandwiches start with good bread, so they bake it themselves every morning.

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12 Lesser-Known Hikes In West Virginia To Add To Your 2026 Bucket List

There is a stretch of Appalachian backcountry where the fog sits low in the valleys until almost noon, and the only sound for miles is water tumbling over sandstone.

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This No-Frills Alabama Riverside Shack Serves Crispy Fried Catfish That Locals Guard Like State Secrets

The best way to arrive may be with river water still on your ankles. Paddlers already know the routine. Come off the Escatawpa,...

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The Smoke That Follows You Home from This Pennsylvania BBQ Joint Is the Best Souvenir

That scent of oak and brisket found me before the red barn did, somewhere along a curve where the fields open up and the traffic thins out. The building appeared big and unapologetic,...

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This Enormous Vintage Store In Minnesota Is The Kind Of Place You Have To See To Believe

There are antique stores, and then there are the ones that genuinely stop you in your tracks. This Minnesota vintage store falls firmly into the second category.

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Taste 100 Years of Virginia History At This Beloved Small-Town Bakery

Some bakeries have been around for a century. They have survived wars, recessions, and changing tastes. This beloved small-town...

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This New Jersey Dominican Ice Cream Shop Started As A Side Hustle In A Bronx Hair Salon

You know the best ideas often start small. This one started in a Bronx hair salon where a stylist with thirty years of experience...

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This Texas Country Store Has Everything You Want From A Road Trip Stop And Far More Than You Planned To Buy

The dangerous road-trip stops are not the ones with bad bathrooms. They are the ones where you walk in for coffee and somehow emerge carrying strudel, kolaches, bread, sausage,...

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The Louisiana Roadside Museum Built Inside a Creole Cottage with a Giant Bass

A vintage gas station frozen in time, a fish the size of a pickup truck with the head of an alligator, and a cat that greets you at the gate. That is what I found when I drove...

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This Oregon Steakhouse Looks Closed From The Outside But Is Always Packed Inside

From the outside, it looks like nothing. Maybe a forgotten building, maybe a place that closed years ago. But that unassuming exterior hides one of Oregon's best steakhouses, a...

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Oklahoma’s Only Surviving Homestead-Era Sod House Is Still Standing Inside A Museum Built Around It

It looks like a low mound of earth from a distance, a grass-covered bump on the prairie that barely registers as a building. Up close, the walls reveal their true nature.

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This Missouri Barbecue Joint Turns Burnt Ends Into A Breakfast Burrito Worth Waking Up Early For

The alarm clock becomes a necessary evil when you know what is waiting. A burrito stuffed with tender burnt ends, scrambled eggs, and cheese is enough to pull anyone out of bed.

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This New Jersey Creamery Is The Rare Place Where Baby Goats And Artisan Cheese Steal The Show

You will not find a creamery quite like this one. Udderly charming from the moment you arrive. Nestled in the woods of New...

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10 Pennsylvania Oddities That Will Make You Question Everything You Know About the State

Following the strange little brown signs instead of the highways is how I found the best of Pennsylvania. I expected cheesesteaks, covered bridges, and a lot of history, and I...

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This Indiana Ice Cream Shop Uses Science to Freeze Every Order Right in Front of You

Nobody needs to be told when the ice cream is ready. The fog gives it away. It spills over the counter, drifts toward the line,...

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This Indiana Pizza Joint Became a Small-Town Legend Without Ever Needing a Big City

A teenager ate here in 1975. Decades later, that same person brought a grandchild through the door. Somewhere along the way,...

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This Iconic Virginia Dairy Bar Serves Some Of The Tallest Ice Cream Cones Around

You order a cone and they hand you something that defies gravity. Three scoops, maybe four, towering high and dripping just enough to keep things interesting.

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This Historic Virginia Town Hosts One Of America’s Original 1775 Post Offices Established By Benjamin Franklin

Before email, before telephones, before any of the instant communication that fills our modern lives, there was the post office. And in 1775, when the postal system was still finding...

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This Remote Texas Diner Serves Homemade Pies So Huge, They Barely Fit On The Plate

Some restaurants treat dessert like the polite little finale after dinner. This Texas country café appears to consider pie a perfectly reasonable reason for making the trip in...

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Forget Fast Food, This New Louisiana Spot Is Serving Shawarma the Way It Should Be

A small spot with a vertical rotisserie spinning right behind the counter, the meat crisping at the edges, and the smell coming through a half-open window changed everything about...

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This Oregon Park Has a 200 Foot Fishing Pier and a Beach Most Tourists Drive Right Past

Most people speed right past the unassuming turnoff, completely unaware of what's just ahead. This Oregon state park sits quietly on the water, offering a 200-foot fishing pier...

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The Milkshakes at This Pennsylvania Creamery Come from Cows You Can See from Your Table

The scent of hay, grass, and warm summer air hit me before I even parked the car at that Pennsylvania farm. A line stretched at the ice cream window, kids swung putters near the...

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The California Desert Sound Chamber Where Visitors Report Unexplained Vibrations

That white dome rising out of the California scrub made me slow the car down, just to make sure I was not imagining it. It sits alone in the desert, a parabolic structure that...

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This Indiana Trail Crosses Through A Virgin Prairie Home To The State’s Rarest Wild Orchids

I almost stepped right over it. Not the trail. The orchid. It was sitting there among the grass, small enough to miss and rare...

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This Alabama BBQ Spot Looks Simple But Has A Following That Says Otherwise

I was not looking for barbecue that day. I was looking for somewhere to eat before getting back on the road. Then the smell of...

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This Unassuming Alabama Restaurant Is Packed When Locals Want Classic Comfort Food

The person in front of you has probably been here before. You can tell by the speed. One glance at the pans, one quick order,...

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This Woodland Virginia Hike Rewards You With A Swinging Bridge At The End Of The Trail

You walk through the forest, the path winding between trees and over small streams, the canopy filtering the light into a soft green glow. The trail is not long, but it feels like...

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This Virginia Seafood Spot Makes Every Meal Feel Like A Vacation

The water is close enough that you can hear the waves while you eat. The breeze carries the smell of salt and grilled fish, and the pace of the meal moves at the rhythm of the...

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This California Museum Is a Collection of Weird, Wonderful, and Completely Unexplained Objects

That museum behind a plain storefront in California hums with crickets, glows in low amber light, and asks you to lean in close to things you cannot quite explain. I drove past...

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12 Maryland Beach Towns Ranked by How Much a Weekend Will Cost You

A Maryland beach weekend can be either pleasantly affordable or an impressive demonstration of how fast a credit card can overheat.

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This Pennsylvania Diner Has Been Serving the Same Breakfast Platter Since 1955

That red neon glowing against chrome in the early morning light pulled me off the Somerset exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, where I had expected nothing more than gas and a stretch...

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This Minnesota Pizzeria Serves New York-Style Slices That Rival The Real Thing

Some pizza places aim for the familiar. Others bring the magic of New York within reach. This Minnesota pizzeria goes all in on authenticity, right down to the water that's filtered...

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This Bayfront Spot Is Where Texas Food Lovers Go For The Freshest Catch And Golden Sunsets

A seafood dinner gets a lot harder to rush when the water outside keeps stealing attention from the plate. This Texas bayfront...

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These 11 Free Outdoor Adventures In Texas Prove The Best Experiences Don’t Require A Wallet

The best Texas adventures do not always begin at a ticket booth. Around the state, free trails, wildlife refuges, city greenways, public beaches, nature preserves, historic walking...

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Oklahoma’s Only Surviving Pre-Civil War Plantation Home Is Open For Living-History Tours

A Greek Revival house built around eighteen forty-five still stands on a quiet hill in Oklahoma, the only pre-Civil War plantation home left in the state.

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This Oklahoma Town Puts Three Completely Different State Parks Within A Thirty-Minute Drive

You can dig for rare hourglass-shaped crystals in a salt flat, explore one of the largest gypsum caves in the world, and ride ATVs over rolling sand dunes, all within a thirty-minute...

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This Cozy West Virginia Bookstore Lets You Browse Secondhand Books With Coffee In Hand

You walk in for a coffee. You walk out with a stack of books and zero regrets. That is just how it works at this West Virginia...

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