In 2017, we set off in June to travel the United States. It was our second trip in our new motor home and we were very excited. Much to the chagrin of my husband, I had spent months planning the trip down to the day. He would have much rather have played the entire trip by ear, I wanted to make sure that we had a location to go “home” to and rest.
A year ahead of the trip I began looking at a potential route around the States. My husband had earned his first sabbatical from Intel and we were planning a trip of a lifetime. I planned using several tools available online for free:
Google Maps
Google has a tool called “My Maps”. Here you can collect locations, create directions, and mark individual locations with icons. I will dedicate more time to explaining in future tip pages.
Google Sheets
Sheets is a free spreadsheet tool. I use this to create a document that keeps track of cost estimates, travel locations, reference codes, and pertinent websites. Again I will dedicate a post to using Sheets for travel planning as well as provide a template.
Travel Sites Galore!
The internet is an amazing tool for travel planning, there are many people who have created websites with their own travel experiences. The catch though is many of these locations are tourist-central. Many people follow the trends of the travel blogs and soon the locations are booked-up full.
Even so, knowing what is available in the location is important for planning for a family of different tastes.
Some of my favorites are:
- Atlas Obsura
- Nomadic Matt
- And finally any city and/or local visitor sites (for example Chamberlain, South Dakota). These sites often have information about smaller businesses that may not have websites of their own.
3 Boys and a Mom 