We are finishing Day 2 in Albany, NY. Gorgeous day. 77 and blueskies. Perfect. We started at Maid of the Mist. I was forewarned to start out early to miss the crowds and lines. We in fact missed the lines. The ride was amazing. I always wanted to go on the Maid of the Mist. It was really a breathtaking experience. We passed the American Falls first which are smaller but no less amazing. The boat then takes you right into the mist of the Horseshoe Falls. It is...

Weather- 77 and sunny We had a great first day of driving. The kids worked on their first location in the book I made for them. Believe it or not they liked it. Then they watched a movie about Niagara Falls (twice). Nice intro to where we were going. They got excited when they saw things when we got there. What a great visit to Niagara Falls, Ontario . We arrived around 7 PM to the Marriott Gateway Fallsview. It is a very nice hotel. We did not have a fallsview r...

We are finally on way to our 16 day adventure. Everyone has been so excited. The Beast is pack with room to spare. First stop Niagara Falls. I have to type this fast because we will be in Canada shortly and I don't want to be on international minutes. yikes.My brother has been staying with us which has been great to spend time with him. I am relieved that he will be staying with our dogs while we are gone. The dogs were freaking out. At least in my eyes. sni...

We are one week away from taking off on the beginning of our US adventure. I've mapped everything out. I've booked places to stay. Now, I'm planning how to pack the car, what to bring and how to manage meals along the way. There is nothing that annoys me more than trying to figure out where to eat for 3 meals a day for a week or more. It begins to ruin the eating out process. Especially with kids. Plus, money flies out the window eating out that much....

Today we planned a visit to the Vatican. The owners of the hotel helped us with transportation there and back. They suggested we walk back. He created a map of all of the sites to see along the way back. Great idea. Getting to your locations at a specific time can be a challenge with traffic and small roads. We almost missed our window for the Scavi tour. We made advance reservations online (only way to do this tour) for the Scavi tour or the Roman Necropolis. I...