Gulf Road Trip Planning Almost Complete

Ever since coming home from my cross country road trip in the summer of 2021, I've been dying to get back on the road.  I've taken a few road trips northeast to Massachusetts, Vermont, New York and Pennsylvania, but nothing significant.  For that reason, I have decided to take my family to Gulf Shores, Alabama for Spring Break 2022.  

Like some of the past road trips, I will drive out in my car a few days before my family plans to depart, having them fly to the destination so they can make the most of their vacation time.  I have a much more flexible work schedule than my family who must follow school hours and days of leave.  So heading out early and getting the car there for when they arrive is pretty easy to do.  Plus it gets me some much loved alone time watching the pavement run under my wheels.  

Due to our trip being Spring Break and around Easter, I found that flights to the Gulf are pretty expensive.  However, flights to New Orleans were cheap.  So we are kicking off our vacation in New Orleans.  This will be good as I love the food, drinks, sights, and people in New Orleans.  Plus my girls have never been to New Orleans, but have heard a lot about it from me.

Some of the highlights of this trip include:

Mississippi

• Airboat tour at Gulf Coast Gator Ranch
• Spend the night at Hotel Whiskey in Pass Christian (without family)

Louisiana

• Driving to the end of the Mississippi River in Boothville-Venice (without family)
• Fort Jackson (without family)
• Jean Lafitte National Historical Park (without family)
• Oak Alley Plantation (without family)
• Bourbon Street (with and without family)
• St. Louis Cemetery Tours
• French Market
• Cafe Du Monde
• Ride Streetcars
• Audubon Nature Institute
• Jackson Square

Florida

• Pensacola Blue Wahoo baseball game

Alabama

• Dinner at Lambert's Home of the Throwed Rolls
• Fort Gaines Historic Site
• Fort Morgan Historic Site
• Dauphin Island Sea Lab
• Gulf State Park
• Bamahenge
• First White House of the Confederacy
• Town of Spectre (where Big Fish movie was filmed)

Tennessee 

• Chattanooga Lookouts baseball game 

Although this is going to be a relatively quick road trip, I'm already pretty excited about going on it.  April can't come soon enough!!!!

Day Tripping to Harper's Ferry, WV

Christmas was a crazy time around my house.  Between the girls being in school, family visiting, and work being really busy, I haven't had much time to write about any of my road trips.  

Back on December 5th, my parents were visiting us from Massachusetts.  We decided to make the 70 minute drive out to Harpers Ferry and Bolivar, West Virginia for their Christmas celebration.  

Harpers Ferry is an interesting place.  It is located at the intersection of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers where Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia meet.  Geographically, it is stunning.  

Harpers Ferry and neighbor Bolivar are packed with history too.  They are the locations where John Brown raided the Federal Armory in an attempt to end slavery and it also served as the location of the first battle in the Civil War on October 16, 1861.  Add to the fact that the buildings along the rivers are old and beautiful, and it makes for a fun day trip location from those living in the DMV (DC, MD, VA) area.  

This year happened to be the 50th anniversary of the Harpers Ferry / Bolivar Olde Tyme Christmas.  Deep in the thick of COVID, I took my kids for the first time in 2020 and they had a blast.  There was plenty for all of us to do outdoors.  So I wanted to make sure we went again this year.  

Downtown Harpers Ferry has a bunch of fun little shops and places to eat.  It is also the location of the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.  Being that we have an annual National Parks pass, we were able to get into the park free of charge.  We stopped by the visitor's center, got the girls their Junior Ranger workbooks, and took the free shuttle to downtown Harpers Ferry.  

NOTE:  It is possible to drive directly to downtown Harpers Ferry, but the parking is very limited (especially during special events like this).  So parking at the National Park and taking the shuttle is the best bet.  

Arriving in the downtown area, we went into several of the historical buildings and visited several of the local shops.  The highlight of this event for my daughters is visiting the Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus in the gazebo at the Bolivar town center (something you can easily walk to from downtown Harpers Ferry).  They are dressed up so authentically, my girls believe they are the real Santa and Mrs. Claus, not just Santa's helpers.  

On the way back down from seeing Santa in Bolivar, we walked over to the ruins of St. John's Episcopal Church and Harper Cemetery.  These are must visit locations as the views of the downtown and surrounding areas are beautiful.  

Even tough it was cold, everyone in my family had a great time hiking around.  

After we were done, we took the shuttle back up to the National Park parking lot, stopping by the visitor's center so the girls could get their Junior Ranger badges.  

Finally, we followed the route of the Holiday Light tour.  This was fun, but I will say lacked the same number of lights that we saw the previous year.  

Overall, everyone had fun going around Harpers Ferry and Bolivar this year.  It is definitely a fun family location to go to no matter what the season.