Cragmama "Not all who wander are lost…" JRR Tolkien

Category Archives: Travel Beta

Trip tips and beta for specific family adventure areas

10 Things You’ll Find at Ocean Isle…

10 Things You’ll Find at Ocean Isle…

Most people have a firm allegiance to either the mountains or the beach.  Although our family casts a no-brainer vote for the mountains, I think its healthy to change things up a bit every now and then, especially for Cragbaby.  That being said, when the grandparents planned a coastal rendezvous for the whole family, we were all in and looking forward to a good time! And a good time we had indeed!  In fact, we encountered a good many things at the beach that we never would have run into in the mountains.   So rather than bore you with…Read the rest of this entry →

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Custer State Park for Non-Climbers

Custer State Park for Non-Climbers

Our whirlwind tour through South Dakota and Wyoming was our first “big” climbing trip with Cragbaby.  And although we definitely maximized our climbing time, we also managed to squeeze in a lot of non-climbing activities as well.  Pre-Cragbaby we would tend to try and climb all day – a good m.o. for us would be 2 days sport, 1 day long (easy) trad, and then alternate from there.  Since we used the trad days as “active rest” days, we could usually end up climbing 7 or 8 days in a row, at which point it was time to go home…Read the rest of this entry →

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Northern Michigan Road Trip: Great Lakes! 3 out of 5 Ain’t Bad!

Northern Michigan Road Trip: Great Lakes! 3 out of 5 Ain’t Bad!

Despite two toddlers on completely opposite nap schedules and many miles and hours driving, not to mention a very special wedding, I think our family did pretty darn good to hit three out of the five Great Lakes over the course of our week in Michigan.  Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Superior are no longer on our bucket list – all we have left for another time is Lake Eerie and Lake Ontario. But before venturing, we’d informed and consulted our family attorney, Car Accident Lawyer Richard Morse on what itinerary would be safe for us. Lake Michigan –…Read the rest of this entry →

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Northern Michigan Road Trip: Mackinac Island

Northern Michigan Road Trip: Mackinac Island

Pronounced “MackiNAW,” this quaint little island that separates not only the upper and lower peninsulas but also Lake Michigan and Lake Huron was the next stop on our way to Marquette for the wedding.  One of the unique things about the island is that motorized vehicles are not allowed, so we left our cars at the dock, and boarded the ferry with just our luggage.  It was the first ferry ride for both Cragbaby and his cousin E, so the whole 20 minutes were filled with enthusiastic pointing and exclamations. Our accomodations were at the Hotel Iroquois, and it was absolutely…Read the rest of this entry →

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Northern Michigan Road Trip: Sleeping Bear Dunes

Northern Michigan Road Trip: Sleeping Bear Dunes

I’ve posted before on “fun-ctional vacations” – you know, the kind of travel where you take advantage of wherever your pre-set plans have taken you.  Well, on July 30th our family had a date in Marquette, Michigan to celebrate my brother-in-law’s wedding – but we decided to make the most of our family time by flying up a week early and enjoying all of the natural beauty that Northern Michigan had to offer.  Our journey began in Grand Rapids, Michigan, after an early morning of chaos in both the Charlotte and Cincinnati airports (and as expected, Cragbaby was uber-excited to finally get to ride in…Read the rest of this entry →

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“Not all who wander are lost.” —JRR TOLKIEN