I believe there is nothing more relaxing and restorative than spending time in nature. This was never more true than our road trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and I'm so excited to share my list of things to do and see in Shenandoah National Park. My husband and I love hiking in our beautiful wooded area of New Jersey. We were excited to plan our first ever family vacation as a family of three with our son, Gavin, when he was 10-months old. We want to share our love for the outdoors with him at an early age, and we quickly decided that the Blue Ridge Parkway would be a perfect destination for our first family adventure. We spent the first two days of vacation visiting my cousin in Washington, DC. This is another great East Coast destination for families, and we enjoyed a slow-paced visit walking the National Mall and viewing the monuments. Washington DC is a short 2 ½ hour drive from the North entrance of Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive, so it’s a great stopping point or add-on. Here’s the deal: I did mention we’re traveling with a 10-month-old, right? Well, our darling baby foiled our vacation plans two days in when he woke up with a 104 fever. We ended ...
travel with baby
Helpful Packing List for a Beach Vacation with Kids
I have always prided myself on being an efficient packer. My job often required me to hop on a flight last minute and I’ve spent months at a time on business in different countries, so somewhere along the way, I mastered the art of filling that suitcase. Then, babies came along and any form of an organized travel system was out the window. We’re just back from a 10-day beach vacation, and although we had many scrambled moments looking for various items (like leaving the baby's swaddle at the hotel on the drive down!), I thought it would be helpful to share our packing list for anyone else looking to hit the beach before summer ends. We were lucky to be staying at a house right on the water, so you might need to modify this list based on how you transport to the beach daily. //FOR THE BEACH Baby Beach tent: When Gavin was born we bought a small pop-up tent for the beach that we never used because it was impossible to fold it back up. My cousin was using the Fisher Price On The Go Baby Dome Playard for her adorable baby boy and he loved it. It’s easy to assemble and offers great sun protection, perfect for beach naps. Beach hats: I love this Baby Sun Bucket Hat by ...