Cross-Country Vacation 2023

  The web address for our blog is called "travelingvtjs", which refers to Traveling Vermonters Julie and John. The purpose for this blog is to share all the wonderful places that we visited along our journey. In early 2023, we started planning for a cross-country trip to visit family. Our plan was to leave in mid-April and use  Airbnb  and  Hipcamp  to find places to stay along the way. Experience using  TripAdvisor ,  AAA TripTiK , and  Google Maps  for planning vacations and places to visit helped. Purchasing  Wanderlog  and  DayOne  were also useful to plan and record. Because National Parks and camping were on the list, we used  Recreation.gov  for reference and planning too. Being a veteran I was able to purchase a lifetime pass to National Parks for $10 (processing fee & handling charges); it allows us in to all National Parks where a fee is charged. We are both in our mid-sixties so we knew that we did...

The tent is pitched. We are with family and we are happy to be here. (Click on any photo to enlarge)   Day 1 - Woke up in the tent this drizzly morning, temperature 46F degrees. Slept pretty good last night. Could hear the neighbors wind chimes on and off during the night. Made a couple batches of coffee in our French press.  It was nice to be with family and not have to go anywhere. We did go to Schmizza Public House for Dinner. Day 2 - We found a place to eat breakfast at Kevin's Cafe .   After we headed to Waterloo County Park . We found a nice 1.2 mile walking path on Alltrails , full of wildflowers and birds. We spent nearly 2 hours here.  This was a special place that we will create another page for. Lots of wildflower and bird photos! https://travelingvtjs.blogspot.com/p/waterloo-county-park.html . Day 3 - 49 degrees and raining this morning. We found Randy's Main Street Coffee in Brownsville, the food was delicious....

Week 2, Day 1 - Started our morning at Menlo Park Bungalow Airbnb . This is a beautiful place and we spent the morning sitting in the garden bird watching. (Click on any photo to enlarge) Pygmy Nuthatch California Towhee Foxglove French Rose Garden Getaway Garden Getaway Hybrid Tea Rose Painted Indian Mallow Roses Spotted Towhee Then off to The Palo Alto Creamery for breakfast, then time with family. The morning was about taking care of the car. Since we had driven cross-country we wanted to change the oil and get a car wash before heading back. I went to Oil Changer for the oil change. It was quite different than anything I had been to before, no appointment required and you sat in your car while the oil was changed. Then Ducky's Carwash for a good wash and a hand dried experience. We went to Rossotti's Alpine Inn for an afternoon lunch. It's a nice place with outdoor seating. After, we went to Palo Alto Foothills Nature Preserve. Vi...

Day 51 - Today's plan is to drive 311 miles in 6.5 hours. (Click on any photo to enlarge) We started our day at Country Side Family Diner which was right across the street from the Big Horse Inn & Suites. It was a nice country style diner with the normal breakfast choices. After, we headed towards Funks Grove Nature Preserve. Along the way we found Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge on the Illinois River. This was an unplanned stop so we only spent 40 minutes here. This was a special place and a separate page will be created . To see more go to https://travelingvtjs.blogspot.com/p/emiquon-national-wildlife-refuge.html The next stop turned into a joke. I was searching for an nature preserve on Rte 66 when we drove past Funks Grove Maple Sirup . I have a way of sniffing out maple, so the joke was that this was my original destination. It wasn't, but we did turn around at the nature preserve and head back. They had never heard of Maple Creemee's so I showed ...

Day 52 - Today's plan is to drive 246 miles in 6 hours. (Click on any photo to enlarge) We started our morning with a delicious breakfast at the Purviance House Inn. We drove about 2 hours, then stopped at the Litzenburg Memorial Woods in Findlay, OH. There was nobody here! We walked the trails and explored the grounds. Common Yellowthroat Northern Cardinal We stopped in Tiffin, OH to eat at Reino's Pizza & Pasta . This place was incredibly inexpensive and the food was delicious and the people friendly. From here we attempted to make it to Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens before closing. Unfortunately, we just missed it. This 70 acre estate has gardens and one of the largest mansions in the United States. We ended our day at Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Kent, OH. Today's Route: