In 2017, airline passengers paid around $4.2 billion dollars in baggage fees which amounts to about $1 million a day! If you’re a frugal frequent flyer, you know the importance of cutting costs where possible. One of the easiest and most effective ways to save money when traveling is to know how to pack. With the right tips you can avoid overweight luggage that results in excess fees and charges.
The world is full of fascinating places, some well-known, some overrun with tourists and others rarely explored. Like you, I am always up for a challenge and thrive in getting out of my comfort zone. So here follows a handpicked selection of towns, cities and regions from around the globe that are ideal for day trips or as alternatives to their more famous neighbors.
As the cool air of fall cuts into the fading warmth of summer, it’s time to enjoy all that comes with the season. October approaches, and with it comes opportunity for leaf peeping, apple picking, festive fairs, and more - and what better place to do it than in the New England towns of Massachusetts? Enjoy autumn in an area riddled with history and folklore for a trip of festive fall days in Salem, Boston, & Concord.
Our next destination on our Summer Road Trip was the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. We decided that the town of Hood River would make a great base for our adventures in the area, and it turned out to be a much better destination than we had originally hoped for, as we found vineyards, orchards, waterfalls, and amazing viewpoints around every turn.
The area west and south of Rapid City is home to several national and state parks as well as the famous and frequently photographed Mount Rushmore. While Mount Rushmore draws a huge number of visitors every year, visiting this area and skipping the rest of the region would be like swinging through Paris to see the Eiffel Tower and visiting nothing else. The park areas around Mount Rushmore include large tracts of land where Bison roam freely, one of the largest caves in the world, unique geological landscapes not found anywhere else in the world, and fun cultural and historical attractions.
The first stop on our summer road trip was Chicago, and it didn't disappoint. Since we were traveling with our three year old daughter, we wanted to make sure that we provided plenty of entertainment for her instead of just dragging her around to the major sights that most grown-ups would want to visit.
The Southwestern United States is a grand palette of history, culture, and natural wonders as brilliant as the reds, oranges, and golds of the dramatic landscape itself. Thisis a sampling, an itinerary from a trip of my own, of locations in Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. Integrated throughout are tips on cutting costs as well as lodging and dining recommendations along the way.
It's the quintessential trip for a young family, almost a writ of passage. For us, it was one of those things before we had kids that we'd sworn we'd never do. Kind of like our plans to feed our child an organic unprocessed diet, provide her with only educational toys, and of course, no screen time. But here we were, driving down to Florida, our child staring at her tablet and munching on a fruit bar as we headed down I-95 to the happiest place on earth.
Though it was August, Lassen’s peak had just a touch of snow and ice remaining—its white crown prominent over the kingdom of earth below. I turned to look at the world beneath me. Stretching across the horizon I could see other peaks in the Cascade Range faded blue in the distance and spotted with pine trees.
From Devils Tower we drove west across much of Wyoming, seeing nothing but fields. Fields, fields, fields, some hay bales, an endless stretch of road, and more fields. What I did not realize was that we were also rising, approaching small mountains on the horizon. It wasn’t until we were up on the mountain’s side that I realized how high we had risen. So high that we could see the line of haze where the atmosphere of the great big sky touched the vast green fields of earth below. This was a god’s point of view, and we could not help but stop for a few moments to take in the view.