5 Books for Road Trips
On the Road by Jack Kerouac Probably the most famous road trip book ever written, Kerouac’s fictionalization of his cross-country wanderings is known as the book of the Beat Generation, immortalizing the counterculture of drugs, jazz and emerging masculinity exemplified by writers like William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg and Kerouac himself. Retrace any of the routes taken by Kerouac’s autobiographical narrator, Sal Paradise, as he adventures... Read More
Wishlists
I’m sure that 90% of people reading this are the same as me and that somewhere hidden safely away (so as not to be a constant reminder, but equally a heavenly escape) have a ‘wish list’. Now this could be a list of anything-you may even have multiple wish lists of varying topics (in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m one of those ‘list’ types!) But the one specifically in my mind today is, naturally, my travel wish list. Wish lists come in... Read More
Product Review: My Vacation HD
I have never been a first generation adapter of anything. My iPod is five years old, I don’t have a smart phone, and I only joined Facebook in July. The iPad was the exception to this rule. Light and easily transportable, it was the perfect piece of technology for someone moving to a foreign country and not wanting a lot of baggage. But the iPad is nothing without your personally curated selection of apps. Enter My Vacation HD. As I prepared for... Read More
Merry Christmas and a Car Window
It’s Christmas Eve and my first one with a guest in tow. Marvin is excited to be spending the holiday with my family, yet uncertain about what to expect. But I know all-too-well what comes with a Clapis Family Christmas. Fried dough with brown sugar and cinnamon is already wafting through the rooms of my grandmother’s house, fueled from her small Hartford, CT kitchen. Every few minutes a door opens, another cold rush of air, another series... Read More
We Are Travelers
Beautiful Vermont I gotta hand it to him: my boyfriend hates mornings, and he sleeps in every second he can (well into the afternoon, sometimes), but if he has to get up and out of the house at a certain hour, he does it with military precision. So it’s not a minute past 6am that we pile into his GMC envoy for a long trip ahead of us. It’s pitch black outside and you can hear the ocean rolling just across the street from our home. I’m... Read More
Road Trips: Making Maps of Memory.
There’s a lot to hate about road trips: hours and hours seated in the same position, the possibility of flat tires and overheated engines, the threat of being squished by a careless trucker, the constant quaffing of caffeinated beverages and the subsequent frequent need to pull over and pee. And from the perspective of plane travel, road trips are slow; automobiles take days to accomplish what hours can in a 747. But I love road trips, and I have... Read More
Zion National Park
Zion National Park was only a few hours drive from our last camp at Cathedral Gorge State Park. We were concerned we wouldn’t find a camp site, even though it was Sunday. It’s summer, and all the reservation campgrounds were spoken for. It was early afternoon already, but luckily we drove right in to South Campground and got a site.We set up camp and decided to drive the park. Unfortunately, the long road that gives access to... Read More
Cathedral Gorge State Park, NV
July 31st In our travels of the west, we are seeing amazing works of art made possible by Mother Nature. From rock formations that are millions of years old to spectacular sunsets, it’s hard to not be filled with a spiritual feeling when witnessing these masterpieces. This feeling was most powerful for me at Cathedral Gorge State Park in Nevada. The only reason I picked this park was because it broke up the drive to Zion National Park. ... Read More
Yosemite National Park, CA
Yosemite National Park, covering over 750,000 acres, was established in 1890. Here you can see topography that is millions of years old. What does that mean for the Go Girl traveler? Amazing landscapes, waterfalls, hikes, and photo opportunities. Breathtaking landscape at Yosemite Just to remind you, we are traveling with dogs. Most national parks allow dogs, but you are very limited in your movements. Yosemite is best known for its waterfalls,... Read More
Trout Lake, Washington
When planning this extensive road trip, there were a handful of must-see places we had on our wish list. Trout Lake near Mount Adams was high on that list, and now we can say deservedly so. View of Mount Adams from our Trout Lake camp The Trailhead B&B in Trout Lake, WA is another location we found on freecampsites.net. It’s not free, but $10 a night, which is a bargain for what you get. Pulling up you see the flower and veggie garden,... Read More
