Making Holiday Travel into a Vacation

With my mom in Ohio, my sister (and the other half of The Summers Collective) in Kentucky and my family in Florida we collectively (pun intended) spend a lot of time traveling up and down Interstate 75 to visit each other.  At Thanksgiving it usually means my family travels north and gets to oooh and ahhh at all of the fall leaves as we meander through the mountains and at Christmas when everyone heads to sunny Florida, the rest of my family gets a break from winter weather with a day at the beach and fresh orange juice and sometimes even a dip in our pool.

Sometimes holiday travel can feel a bit overwhelming.  The crowds.  Packing.  Unpacking.  If you are traveling for Christmas you have to decide how you’re going to get packages shipped to and from.  It can be tough.  But adding in a quick detour to and from your final destination can be a great way to turn one trip into two and you might even find you are shedding some of that holiday stress in the process.

ADDING FALL FOLIAGE TO A TRIP NORTH FOR FLORIDIAN KIDS THAT MISS OUR ON PRETTY LEAVES

We usually try to keep our side trips within a few hours drive.  Since we are already facing a 13 hour drive from FL to KY it’s nice to just add a few hours to the overall trip. We have stopped in Atlanta, Stone Mountain, Chattanooga and this year we did Gatlinburg.  All have beautiful views around Thanksgiving which is a treat for kids that get little in the way of fall leaves.

FINDING JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE CHRISTMAS SUNSHINE BEFORE HEADING BACK NORTH

My sister on the other hand likes to extend the sunny weather – stopping in coastal warm places on her way back up North as a way to squeeze out every last bit of sunshine before heading back to KY.  She has done St. Augustine, Florida and Charleston, S.C. on her way back North and she says it really helps her savor all of that holiday fun and relaxation just a few more days.

So if you are planning holiday travel or even travel for work or family in the next few months maybe try to add a few extra days somewhere along the way to give yourself an extra little bit of fun before heading home.  Even a quick overnight stay at one of your layover cities if you are flying can make a trip feel more like an adventure.