Canada

Raising Travelers, Not Tourists

East Coast Road trips with kids, Maine with kids
Blueberry Land in Maine is CLOSED. We drove all the way from Texas to visit it!

The carful of kids drove over 7,000 miles during our East Coast road trip to get to the eastern edge of North Americafrom Texas. Along the way we lost a SUV and nearly all of our electronic devices but we didn’t lose our sense of adventure or our will to continue.

Why We Travel

Years ago, I vowed to drive my kids through the lower 48 to experience the vastness of our country in a way you can’t experience by popping into places. So far the carful of kids have driven to 43 states and four Canadian provinces.

I am a traveler and I have been a traveler for years; I have a packed bag sitting in the corner of our room just waiting for the next trip. Because I value the time I spend with my kids on the road exploring and seeing new things, I spend weeks planning and organizing our trips.

We spend the summer passively learning without any pressure and that’s fun–Really. The carful of kids spend less time bickering and complaining when we’re on the road and that’s music to a mother’s ears.

The traveling we do has been great for all my kids but especially for my struggling student. Reading and writing is a constant battle with him but now he’s coming into his own with social studies and science because I can relate those subjects to our travels.

What I Thought of Our Trip

This trip was our most ambitious to date andfull of great moments. I especially liked stopping at the Maid of the Mist in Niagara, the Bay of Fundy, Acadia National Park and the Statue of Liberty–all epic moments for us.

If I had the trip to do over again, I would spend one less day in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, and visit Halifax, Nova Scotia, instead. I would have entered the Cape Breton Highlands National Park from the south entrance and explored that area and not driven the whole park.

Due to the hurricane, our whale watching trip on the tall ship got cancelled, which was disappointing. I wanted to see some puffins in the wild and we really tried to get to Newfoundland Island and Labrador–maybe another trip.

I would have skipped Montreal and visited Quebec City instead, the obvious reason is they stole my car. Besides that, Quebec City has more to offer in the way of history and it’s the North American city that feels most like a European city.

So as I wrap up my recap of the carful of kids’ travels, I’m looking forward to our next trip. It is in the final stages of planning and I getting that giddy feeling of excitement.

If you are looking for ideas for your own road trips, reach out, I love researching and exploring new places. I encourage all families to travel to places that excite them as well.

Note on replacing our stolen stuff–Thanks to our insurance and more importantly our replacement insurance, we have replaced all of our stolen items. We have even upgraded some of the technology. Of course, I think we might have a flag on our policy now.

Until next time, safe travels.

Catherine Parker has a passion for travel and seen all 50 U.S. States. As a former flight attendant with one of the largest airlines, there isn't a North American airport that she hasn't landed in at least once. Since clipping her professional wings after 9/11, she combines her love of the open road with visiting architectural and cultural icons. She is based out of Central Texas dividing her time between writing and restoring a pair of 100-year-old houses. She shares her life with her three kids and her husband.

Comments are closed.