Spending our summer driving across the United States with 3 kids, 2 parents, 1 fifth wheel and a whole lot of excitement – join the fun and follow along on our summer road trip each day on Instagram.
Weekly updates also posted here. Welcome to Week Two! (If you’re watching the video on a mobile device, use two fingers to stretch the screen for best viewability.)
We drove over 2,100 miles last week before pulling into my brother Karl’s driveway in Augusta, GA on Saturday afternoon.
See our camper peeking out from behind their front gate? We could hardly believe that it fit in the space. We very much appreciated spending this past week just relaxing with family. The family time is always priceless and the break from the road just made it even better this time.
We swam in the pool, played board games, and ate some tasty food, of course. Many thanks to my brother and his lovely wife, Heather, who were my taste testers last year in the midst of developing the recipes for The Weekday Lunches & Breakfasts Cookbook.
For this visit, I re-tested some new recipes that are in the works, as well as some older favorites.
For breakfast one morning, I made Green Chile Cheddar and Bacon Waffles topped with Sausage Gravy. (That waffle recipe will be on the site in the next week or two. I can’t seem to make myself stop with the savory waffles, but truthfully, I’m not really trying to stop.)
After several savory breakfasts, we had Blueberry Pancakes for dinner one night along with my grandmother’s waffle sauce. If you’ve never poured waffle sauce over blueberry pancakes, you’re missing out on a seriously amazing pairing. The pancake recipe is in The Weekday Lunches & Breakfasts Cookbook.
For my favorite dinner all week, I made Slow-Cooker Baked Beans, Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork, and Tangy Memphis Coleslaw.
If I’d remembered to buy cornmeal, I’d have made the Cornbread Waffles that I’ve been working on and piled them high with a BBQ Sundae. I’ll be sharing that deliciousness with you soon.
Games, games, and more games were the order of our days and nights all week long. My whole family is BIG on board games and we packed a dozen or more to play along the way. Would any of you be interested in hearing about our favorite board games in another post?
One big perk to making the BBQ Sundaes is that I had a LOT of leftovers for both of our families. This means that I have another dinner stashed in the fifth wheel freezer with a meal’s worth of pulled pork and baked beans.
I’ll pick up hamburger buns and toss together some coleslaw one night while we’re in D.C. and dinner will be ready in a matter of minutes.
Once again, cheeseboards ruled the day, because there just isn’t anything easier for snacks and lunches. For the complete list of ingredients we love for cheeseboards, check out the How To Make A Cheeseboard blog post.
This simple melamine tray has turned out to be one of the handiest things I packed in the camper. (Mine isn’t as pretty as the one I linked here, but it’s the same size and shape.)
This tray has been super helpful for carrying things from the camper to a picnic table. And it’s absolutely perfect for cheese board meals with its high sides and handles.
The first time I tried to carry a cutting board full of food down the steps from the camper, it was a bit nerve-wracking. The tray keeps everything nicely contained.
My Aunt Judy’s Almond Bars were the must-have treats this year for our visit. Those Scandinavian Almond Bars are one of the most requested desserts I make. If you haven’t tried them yet, I recommend putting them on your baking list to try soon.
We’ve had so much fun this week and the kids went to bed absolutely worn out every day. (See photo above for proof of fun. It’s hard to believe my “baby” is a gigantic eight year old already. Sean won’t be able to carry him to bed for much longer.)
We are saying goodbye to Georgia today and driving to North Carolina. We’ll spend a couple days there with my cousin’s family before heading on up to Washington, D.C. I am so excited to share D.C. with my kids at last.
If you have any kid-friendly restaurant and/or attraction suggestions in Washington, D.C. that we really shouldn’t miss, please share them with me here in the comments, on Instagram, or via email.
I love adding your suggestions to our plans whenever possible. We have really enjoyed all the tips you’ve sent so far. So, thank you in advance for all of your recommendations!
For the rest of our summer road trip story, check out these posts:
Larry says
Sounds like a fun trip – welcome to the East.
Rie says
Aren’t you so lucky to have family to share time with!!! YES,…. I would be interested in the board games. My family usually spends our time after we gather for dinner playing games. The dice game GREEDY is a family fav. Introduced to use by my bonus(step) Mom!!. Enjoy the rest of you trip. Welcome to the East coast!!! (Drive safe)
mary_h says
Looks like you’re having an awesome vacation!!! Love reading all about it 🙂
Lynne | 365 Days of Baking & More says
I love that you are all having such a wonderful trip! Visiting with family and friends is absolutely priceless, and the fact that you’re seeing so much of the country and historic sites is a huge bonus, too!
Here’s to more great weather, safe travels and lots more fun! Oh, and even more delicious food along the way!
Anita says
What great times with your family! Wonderful memories for your sons that they will remember forever. I was recently in D. C. visiting my son and we went to the National Air and Space Museum…not the one on the mall but the OTHER one, in a hanger (one museum, two locations), near one on the airports, maybe Reagan? There is a space shuttle there, the Enola Gay ( fasinating, listen to the free tour), they currently have a 3D IMAX movie about aircraft carriers, which was fun for us because our son served on one. This was our second trip to this museum and enjoyed it again. My 8 yr old grandson and I are going to fly up in August to visit and I will definitely take him there as he is fascinated by carriers, and he needs to see a space shuttle. Oh, and they have a “traffic control tower” where you can watch the planes come into the airport from an elevated position and hear the controllers communicate in real time. Okay too many words! Sorry, but you can tell, I REALLY like this museum!
Tania Induni says
I stumbled on to your page by a google search for Long fog Tea, which I love. I simply feel in love with your page. You have a beautiful family may God continue blessing you. I really enjoy all your ideas and tips. P.S. I have a giant six year old that falls asleep where he shouldn’t.
Stephanie Hale says
Your sons absolutely have to see the changing of the guard. My son went to DC for his eighth grade trip and I was fortunate enough to chaperone. I met his dad in Fort Belvoir, VA and it was delightful to take him to places I visited as a young private in the Army. We even got to take the same dinner cruise his father and I took as a wedding gift. Washington D.C.is such a beautiful city. You literally can see something new everyday and never see it all. If you get a chance take the graveyard tour at night. It’s wonderful. Safe traveling to you and your family. Love the recipes.