You might wonder after you read the travel posts: How do they plan such detailed trips? 

Wonder no more, we are here for you.

The essentials are: GoogleMaps, a spreadsheet, and the internet, preferably fast internet.

First you gotta decide where you’re going and how long you’re going to be gone. Then you put those dates onto that spreadsheet, choose a bright color if you’re like Maria or if you’re like Catherine and can’t be bothered half the time, do the ole black.

We put all accommodation information, tours and hikes into the spreadsheet along with how long driving time is between point A and B then print it out and bring it with us. You never know when you’ll lose service and can’t access information on your phone. Plus its nice to have everything in one place.

Now the big question: Are you flying or driving? If you’re from the Midwest you know a 14 hour drive is doable in one day. 

If you’re flying, book those tickets and best of luck to you. Don’t forget the rental car and be prepared to pay that extra hundreds of dollars if you’re under 25 or 26, whatever that magic age is.

If you’re driving, you put those destinations into GoogleMaps to see how long you’re gonna be spending in the car.

Here are our best tips for various activities:

Hiking – All Trails is a great asset. It tells you how long the trails are, if they’re Easy, Moderate, Hard, it gives you a brief description of the hike. There are also reviews for each hike so you can find out if bears are common on the trails and if its actually going to be really hard. You can also try to find a youtube video of the hike. 

Tours: Most websites are pretty thorough in their tour times and prices, but be warned, Canada shuts down in the Winter. Its hard to find tour times for June when you’re looking in January, that’s just Canada. If you’re wondering if you should book tours ahead of time or if you can get tickets the day of, I’d say read the reviews if there are any, and just think about what kind of tours they are. We bought the tickets for the Wind Cave Tour and Mammoth Cave Tour ahead of time, but the Laura Ingalls Wilder sites we purchased the day of. 

Random Stops: If you’re the type of person who likes the most random places, browse Roadside America. There are some wild things on there.

If you’re going to some place like Boston and have questions about what are the highlights to hit, or how I should travel into Boston, Youtube it. There are several vloggers out there, watch the videos, decide what you think is cool and go for it. Sometimes they tell you good places to eat as well. 

The best way to get advice sometimes is finding a real life person – friend, acquaintance, co-worker – who has already gone on the trip you desire. They can give you tips you might not find on the internet and you can bounce ideas or questions off them. 

If someone asks you about the bridge you drove over when you went to Acadia National Park, I’m going to just say, the bridge is practically nonexistent so no, you’re not crazy for having no idea what this person is talking about.

Hotels/AirBnB – Ah booking the accommodations. This might be my favorite part of the whole planning. Reviews, my friends, reviews are your biggest friend. Never book a hotel without reading the reviews. And of course you have to look at the pictures of the room cause sometimes those bedspreads are just awful.

If I read multiple reviews where the rooms are dirty or weird things are found in the sheets or there’s hair on the shower curtain or its in an unsafe area, its a nope and I’m out. 

If you want to pack as much as possible into your trip like we did when we went out West in 2022 or when we went to Canada in 2023, GoogleMaps is your best friend. You put every possible destination into that baby, see what the driving time is, find out what your time frame is for the sightseeing, pick what is most important to you and put it on the spreadsheet. But! Don’t get rid of your second choice. Throw it into the spreadsheet and say: IF WE HAVE TIME. 

A second part to this is being aware of how long things will take and when the sun goes down. What’s the average time for that hike? How long will that tour take? Are you going to pack lunch or go to a sit down restaurant? Do you prefer to start early in the morning and be done earlier in the evening, or a late start and a late night?

You might be the type of person who hates that we plan this all out and likes to wing everything. All power to you, I say. My motto is, If I’m going, I want to see everything I possibly can that I’m interested in.

No matter how detailed you are, don’t get your knickers in a twist if you end up spending longer than you thought at a really cool place, or you stop for coffee and it sets you back twenty minutes. Also don’t be afraid to say, I’m tired, I want a shower, pizza and beer. Is that hike really worth it? Then decide to make it an early day and skip the hike. The hike won’t even be fun if you’re not in the mood for it anyway.

Best of luck to you!

Road Tripping

We’ve done our fair share of road tripping, together or with our families and here are our biggest tips. 

The amount of fun you have on a road trip depends most on the company in the car. If they don’t like the same things you like or you can’t hold random conversations with them or can’t sit comfortably in silence, then this trip might already be a dud.

Snacks. Always bring snacks. Something semi healthy, something sweet, something salty. The snacks STAY IN the car with the people. Not in the trunk. You never know when you’re gonna get hungry.

Liquid. You must stay hydrated.

Podcasts, music, audiobook. Our podcasts are generally more history oriented while the audiobooks are books we rage at. The music can be anything but we always end up blasting some ‘80’s.

Catherine’s personal advice is: Don’t be afraid to take a nap. 

Packing advice

With a couple of vacations under my belt I feel like I can give my essential packing list. 

I nearly always pack a pair of jeans. Even if the weather is supposed to be 80 degrees the whole time you never know when you’re gonna get that cool night and want some jeans. The same goes for a sweatshirt.

I try to find a place for sweatpants as well cause the hotel is always weirdly chilly and sweatpants are very comfortable for when you’re sitting on the bed watching TV.

If you’re hiking and you start out early in the morning while its still cool but its gonna get hot later in the day, throw a long sleeve shirt on over your tank top. It provides a little warmth but won’t take up tons of room in your backpack when you take it off.

A portable battery for your phone is really useful. If we’re going hiking all day I’ll usually bring it with me just in case something happens.

Last but not least. A nail filer. Never go anywhere without one.