The process...

My husband and I decided we wanted our kids to see and experience some historic places they had studied. When we moved to the East Coast from Denver, CO, we were presented with an awesome opportunity to do so.

We knew from the beginning that our main focus was going to be Washington D.C. Starting with that, we found the most basic route from our home in Florida to D.C., determined the amount of time it would take us to get from point A (home) to point B (D.C.), and booked the extended stay hotel. We used Expedia.com because they have a rewards program that will help us with our future travels as well as give us good deals. There are more options though: Priceline.com, Hotwire.com, Travelocity.com, and Orbitz.com. If you happen to have a Mypoints.com account, you can earn point for travel there as well.

The Beginning

What ever happened to the Great American Family Road Trip, where the adventure relied as much on the travel as on the actual destination?

My family has been planning our first true road trip from Florida to Washington, D.C. for the past few months. It started with a basic drive from our home to our extended stay hotel in Maryland, but when we started to tell our friends and family about our plans, they helped us create a true adventure.

It's true that our initial 13+ hour drive to Maryland has now turned into a 3 day journey, but in that 3 days we will be treasure hunters, honored guests, and true historians.