In March 2015 we were interviewed by Alisa from http://exploreall50.com.
Here is our interview with Alisa!
First off, give me a little intro into your family-what do mom and dad do? How old are the kids and their first names and any other interesting info you want folks to know about your family.
We are the Richard Family, from Amherstburg, ON.
Mom and dad have been married almost 18 years, together for 23.
College sweethearts as they say!
I am Darrie-Ann, 41, a ravenous reader,who loves learning about history and genealogy. I seem to suffer terribly from a case of wanderlust. The kids even call me maphappymom. I have been a stay at home mom for just over a decade, but volunteer my time as a literacy aid at the elementary school.
My husband Jason is also 41. He’s an avid golfer, a Pittsburgh Steeler fan, and great daddy, who works very hard for an international steel company. In his management position he travels frequently throughout North America. These trips take him away from home, but when they do it also allows him to collect air mile and hotel points. It is these loyalty points that allow our family to take some of our fun to destinations a bit further from home.
Our son Ethan is 13. Our daughter Emily is 10.
1. What ignited your passion for travel and why road trips?
It all started with my own parents, who took their 3 kids from coast to coast across the provinces and many northern states. Road trips were the way my family travelled from my hometown of Thunder Bay in Northern Ontario to all of our planned adventures. (Rail and Flights were just too costly.) My parents are still travellers, with their own kids now grown they have started taking on the rest of the world. Jason and I started taking road trips right from the start as a couple. Now like my parents did, we want to show our kids as many different places as we can. We also believe that visiting parks, cities and museums are important. There is a good chance that they may study so much of what they see and learn there in their history, geography or art classes as they grow. It will make everything they learn and see even the more important and they will remember the fun they had there, and make the lesson more enjoyable too.
2. As Canadians, what is it that you discovered in your travels that you love about America, that most American's don't appreciate enough?
Absolutely it’s your National Parks and Monuments. There are so many of them, and they are so diverse, so incredible, and so AFFORDABLE! You can disappear into another world, and come out having seen beautiful vistas, wonderful wildlife, and usually a history lesson or two about the days gone by, or important people or places. But it’s not just National Parks that this applies to. Sites like your very own Capitol, of Washington DC, are a great part of the National Parks Service too, and are often completely free to visit.
Many years ago we purchased a book for our kids at a gift shop in The Great Smoky Mountains NP. It has facts and information on all the parks and monuments, and a place in the back to get a park cancellation stamp for each site we visit. It may be the best $7.95 I ever spent. At every park we stop at the visitor center and the kids stamp the book themselves. Some of our trips have even been planned around what stamps we can try and get next. The kids have a few favourites… Lincoln Memorial, Mammoth Cave, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (St. Louis Arch), Everglades National Park … and there are so many more to come.
3. Give us your best survival strategies for traveling with kids.
I am in total agreement about the license plate game!!!! For our family it’s tradition!
Our kids have always been excited about all our trips; there hasn’t been many “Are we there yet?” in all our years, because we make it fun for them. We include them in the planning, and we have created traditions that make the road trips so much more enjoyable.
Little traditions like the license plate game, collecting stamps at the parks and memorials, or even how we sometimes stop for special treat like a milkshake from a favourite restaurant.
In the past I have even been known to print off activity sheets from the internet. Usually they are a map, and a crossword puzzle with information about the states we’re visiting for them to do in the car.
Another thing we used to do was visit the library for audio books before we left. The Little House on the Prairie Series, Ramona and Beezus and even Percy Jackson have kept us company and entertained across the miles when we needed it. But now that the kids are older, they prefer to read quietly a book of their own.
4. What would your kids say is the strangest thing they've eaten on a road trip in the USA?
Ethan would say ALLIGATOR. In the Florida Everglades we all had gator for lunch. My kids though are definitely not normally courageous eaters. They have asked me to tell you instead about the favourite things they have eaten on our trips. The things you just can’t get like it anywhere else.
1. Beignets at Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans, LA.
2. The real Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago, IL.
3. Green-Chili Cheeseburgers and Sopapillas in Old Town Albuquerque, NM.
5. Give us your craziest road trip story that you laugh about now?
The kids still talk about how my husband and I not knowing we caught a glimpse of the same license plate at the same time spontaneously broke out singing SWEET HOME ALABAMA at the exact same moment. So perfectly in sync, we couldn’t do it again if we tried. There were some really good giggles after that one.
6. Your kids Top 3 favorite sites and why?
Emily-
1. Sanibel Island, Florida - Swimming and Collecting Shells, and every time we are there dolphins are swimming along the shore.
2. Albuquerque International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. Emily says everyone should see it once in their lives. 800 colourful and creatively shaped balloons taking off from the field while you stand among them…AMAZING!
3. New Orleans French Quarter by Horse and Carriage. Hearing the history and seeing the old houses and sites.
Ethan
1. Kashe-Katuwe Tent Rocks, New Mexico - Taking a hike to the top of the peak, and once above the clouds we heard thunder start to roll. The sky changed so instantly, it was very cool.
2. US Space and Rocket Center – Huntsville, Alabama. Going to Space Camp, and meeting kids from all over the states.
3. St. Louis Arch. Going underground to the museum where you catch the coolest tram to get to the top.
7. Why should other families do what you are doing?
In a world where everyone is moving too fast, and everyone is plugged into some kind of technology, road trips are one of the best remaining ways where we can relive and reconnect with the gentle simplicity of our own past and even take our kids with us. Get out on the open road, put the electronics away, and take a look around, spend time with one another. Spouses get to talk and get reacquainted without work calls or responsibilities, siblings are forced to share a space and get to know one another better and become friends, and the family will have so many wonderful memories to last a lifetime. If you need to pull out an electronic… make sure it is for capturing those moments in a picture.
Other thoughts from the Richard Family:
Living so close to Michigan our family has taken advantage of our geographic location. In a matter of 5 hours we can be at many American cities in the same time it would take us to drive north to just the city of Toronto in our own province. Canada’s provinces and wide open spaces are so much larger, so we are taking advantage of the fact you can travel to more places in less time in the US. The US population is so much larger as well, so there are far more cities to visit and see.
Our friends always ask us how we get to travel so much.
We are a one income family like so many others.
So our biggest tip is:
By being loyal to certain chains is the primary reason we get to go as far and as often as we do.
Staying in the same hotel chain and signing up for their reward program will add up to free nights. Loyalty pays. With every 4-6 stays could earn you another night free. We don’t splurge on our hotels. Chain hotels like the Hilton Honors provides you with great affordable hotels like Hampton Inns, or ChoiceHotels, have Comfort Suites, that provide a clean bed, a pool for the kids to use some energy after being in a car all day, and they also include a free breakfast each morning saving you money for the next day.
Check out the interview on Alisa's blog - explore all 50. We think it turned out great! exploreall50.com/?s=richard
Here is our interview with Alisa!
First off, give me a little intro into your family-what do mom and dad do? How old are the kids and their first names and any other interesting info you want folks to know about your family.
We are the Richard Family, from Amherstburg, ON.
Mom and dad have been married almost 18 years, together for 23.
College sweethearts as they say!
I am Darrie-Ann, 41, a ravenous reader,who loves learning about history and genealogy. I seem to suffer terribly from a case of wanderlust. The kids even call me maphappymom. I have been a stay at home mom for just over a decade, but volunteer my time as a literacy aid at the elementary school.
My husband Jason is also 41. He’s an avid golfer, a Pittsburgh Steeler fan, and great daddy, who works very hard for an international steel company. In his management position he travels frequently throughout North America. These trips take him away from home, but when they do it also allows him to collect air mile and hotel points. It is these loyalty points that allow our family to take some of our fun to destinations a bit further from home.
Our son Ethan is 13. Our daughter Emily is 10.
1. What ignited your passion for travel and why road trips?
It all started with my own parents, who took their 3 kids from coast to coast across the provinces and many northern states. Road trips were the way my family travelled from my hometown of Thunder Bay in Northern Ontario to all of our planned adventures. (Rail and Flights were just too costly.) My parents are still travellers, with their own kids now grown they have started taking on the rest of the world. Jason and I started taking road trips right from the start as a couple. Now like my parents did, we want to show our kids as many different places as we can. We also believe that visiting parks, cities and museums are important. There is a good chance that they may study so much of what they see and learn there in their history, geography or art classes as they grow. It will make everything they learn and see even the more important and they will remember the fun they had there, and make the lesson more enjoyable too.
2. As Canadians, what is it that you discovered in your travels that you love about America, that most American's don't appreciate enough?
Absolutely it’s your National Parks and Monuments. There are so many of them, and they are so diverse, so incredible, and so AFFORDABLE! You can disappear into another world, and come out having seen beautiful vistas, wonderful wildlife, and usually a history lesson or two about the days gone by, or important people or places. But it’s not just National Parks that this applies to. Sites like your very own Capitol, of Washington DC, are a great part of the National Parks Service too, and are often completely free to visit.
Many years ago we purchased a book for our kids at a gift shop in The Great Smoky Mountains NP. It has facts and information on all the parks and monuments, and a place in the back to get a park cancellation stamp for each site we visit. It may be the best $7.95 I ever spent. At every park we stop at the visitor center and the kids stamp the book themselves. Some of our trips have even been planned around what stamps we can try and get next. The kids have a few favourites… Lincoln Memorial, Mammoth Cave, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (St. Louis Arch), Everglades National Park … and there are so many more to come.
3. Give us your best survival strategies for traveling with kids.
I am in total agreement about the license plate game!!!! For our family it’s tradition!
Our kids have always been excited about all our trips; there hasn’t been many “Are we there yet?” in all our years, because we make it fun for them. We include them in the planning, and we have created traditions that make the road trips so much more enjoyable.
Little traditions like the license plate game, collecting stamps at the parks and memorials, or even how we sometimes stop for special treat like a milkshake from a favourite restaurant.
In the past I have even been known to print off activity sheets from the internet. Usually they are a map, and a crossword puzzle with information about the states we’re visiting for them to do in the car.
Another thing we used to do was visit the library for audio books before we left. The Little House on the Prairie Series, Ramona and Beezus and even Percy Jackson have kept us company and entertained across the miles when we needed it. But now that the kids are older, they prefer to read quietly a book of their own.
4. What would your kids say is the strangest thing they've eaten on a road trip in the USA?
Ethan would say ALLIGATOR. In the Florida Everglades we all had gator for lunch. My kids though are definitely not normally courageous eaters. They have asked me to tell you instead about the favourite things they have eaten on our trips. The things you just can’t get like it anywhere else.
1. Beignets at Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans, LA.
2. The real Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago, IL.
3. Green-Chili Cheeseburgers and Sopapillas in Old Town Albuquerque, NM.
5. Give us your craziest road trip story that you laugh about now?
The kids still talk about how my husband and I not knowing we caught a glimpse of the same license plate at the same time spontaneously broke out singing SWEET HOME ALABAMA at the exact same moment. So perfectly in sync, we couldn’t do it again if we tried. There were some really good giggles after that one.
6. Your kids Top 3 favorite sites and why?
Emily-
1. Sanibel Island, Florida - Swimming and Collecting Shells, and every time we are there dolphins are swimming along the shore.
2. Albuquerque International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. Emily says everyone should see it once in their lives. 800 colourful and creatively shaped balloons taking off from the field while you stand among them…AMAZING!
3. New Orleans French Quarter by Horse and Carriage. Hearing the history and seeing the old houses and sites.
Ethan
1. Kashe-Katuwe Tent Rocks, New Mexico - Taking a hike to the top of the peak, and once above the clouds we heard thunder start to roll. The sky changed so instantly, it was very cool.
2. US Space and Rocket Center – Huntsville, Alabama. Going to Space Camp, and meeting kids from all over the states.
3. St. Louis Arch. Going underground to the museum where you catch the coolest tram to get to the top.
7. Why should other families do what you are doing?
In a world where everyone is moving too fast, and everyone is plugged into some kind of technology, road trips are one of the best remaining ways where we can relive and reconnect with the gentle simplicity of our own past and even take our kids with us. Get out on the open road, put the electronics away, and take a look around, spend time with one another. Spouses get to talk and get reacquainted without work calls or responsibilities, siblings are forced to share a space and get to know one another better and become friends, and the family will have so many wonderful memories to last a lifetime. If you need to pull out an electronic… make sure it is for capturing those moments in a picture.
Other thoughts from the Richard Family:
Living so close to Michigan our family has taken advantage of our geographic location. In a matter of 5 hours we can be at many American cities in the same time it would take us to drive north to just the city of Toronto in our own province. Canada’s provinces and wide open spaces are so much larger, so we are taking advantage of the fact you can travel to more places in less time in the US. The US population is so much larger as well, so there are far more cities to visit and see.
Our friends always ask us how we get to travel so much.
We are a one income family like so many others.
So our biggest tip is:
By being loyal to certain chains is the primary reason we get to go as far and as often as we do.
Staying in the same hotel chain and signing up for their reward program will add up to free nights. Loyalty pays. With every 4-6 stays could earn you another night free. We don’t splurge on our hotels. Chain hotels like the Hilton Honors provides you with great affordable hotels like Hampton Inns, or ChoiceHotels, have Comfort Suites, that provide a clean bed, a pool for the kids to use some energy after being in a car all day, and they also include a free breakfast each morning saving you money for the next day.
Check out the interview on Alisa's blog - explore all 50. We think it turned out great! exploreall50.com/?s=richard