travel

  • How I pack a carry on for week-long trips

    When I fly these days, I rarely check a bag. It’s partly to avoid paying a baggage fee, and it’s partly to make a quick exit as soon as I land. I’ve fine-tuned my packing process so that I can now pack a carry on for up to a week at a time. You can…

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  • Drumroll please

    If you’ve been playing along, you’ve reached the finished line of our PCS game. If you checked Instagram last night, I might’ve let the secret slip! You’re welcome for a grainy photo taken from the plane. That’s right, we’re moving to Fort Carson!!! I consider Colorado Springs to be where I grew up, so I’m…

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  • Apple picking at Carter Mountain Orchard

    Yesterday, we made the most of a gorgeous fall day and headed down to Charlottesville (aka enemy territory) to go apple picking. We decided to check out Carter Mountain Orchard. Fun fact: the Page family (of which I am a member) closely intermarried with the Carters. This farm actually borders the land owned by Monticello…

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  • DC Duck Tour

    Mac and I also checked out the DC Duck Tour when he was home (and I forgot to blog about it). We’d taken the Ducky Tours in Seattle and Stone Mountain, so we knew this was a must-do. The driving tour wound from Union Station down the Mall, onto the Potomac, then back into the…

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  • Great Falls Park

    Amid the hubbub and general crush of humanity that is Northern Virginia, a large number of parks provide a nice, peaceful break from urban life. The falls of the Potomac River happen to sit fewer than 20 miles upriver from Washington and are about 8 miles from Falls Church in Great Falls Park (get it,…

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  • The America the Beautiful Annual Pass

    A few years ago, the National Park Service began offering military families their annual park pass for free. For non-military folks, this pass costs $80. The annual pass allows you access to over 2,000 national parks and recreation areas. It covers the admission cost for one vehicle or four adults, depending on the park. I…

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