I’ve driven across America three times. Each trip was unforgettable — and each one left me exhausted, white-knuckled, and wondering why I’d volunteered to stare at 2,800 miles of interstate instead of actually seeing the country. So this summer, I’m doing something different. I’m parking the car, booking a Superliner bedroom on Amtrak’s California Zephyr, … Read more
I’ve logged enough highway miles with kids in the backseat to know that the difference between a trip everyone remembers fondly and one that ends with someone crying in a gas station parking lot comes down to preparation. Not the kind where you fold outfits into packing cubes and label snack bags — I mean … Read more
There’s a specific moment during every coastal road trip where the chaos melts away. For me, it usually happens around mile 40 of a two-hour drive — the GPS stops barking, the highway opens up, and that first sliver of blue appears on the horizon between the dunes. That’s when the vacation actually begins. Everything … Read more
I used to be a chronic over-packer. Two checked bags for a four-day trip. A carry-on stuffed so full the zipper screamed for mercy. A personal item bursting with “just in case” items I never touched. Then, on a flight home from Phoenix last summer, the airline lost both my checked bags for 36 hours, … Read more