When I asked (rhetorically) who would be interested in reading another family’s travel year recoup, Vit immediately retorted: “I WOULD!“ So this post is for my husband and travel partner Vit (also known as a person behind most of the pictures on the blog) in gratitude for helping to make our family weekend celebrations a reality. And since we are on the subject of giving thanks, I would also like to thank my wonderful kids for embarking on our family weekend celebrations and (sometimes) missing out on the time with their friends. (It is especially challenging for a teen of the family that loves to celebrate every weekend by going places! )
Our home base in a suburb near Boston, Massachusetts, offers a myriad of opportunities for weekend celebrations within just several hours of driving which gives us a chance to explore year-long without going far!
WINTER
We started the year with a skiing day trip to New Hampshire (there are several skiing resorts within two-hour drive of Boston, such as Gunstock and Loon Mountain where my kids learnt to ski.)
Winter is not our favorite season, so we try to escape by taking our annual road trip to Florida.
During February school vacation week 2015, we spent several days in Boca Raton, Florida (taking full advantage of our Hilton reward points) and then embarked on a 5-day Caribbean cruise with Carnival Victory.
You may or may not love cruising, but this is undoubtfully the cheapest way for a mid-winter family escape, especially if you drive to your embarkation port like we do.
By the time we were back home, Boston’s “snowest” winter ever was almost over.
SPRING
In March, I participated in my first blogging conference Women in Travel (that happened to be in Boston) and got inspired for a year of travel blogging ahead.
As part of the conference, I went on a Boston TV and Movie Sites Tour and enjoyed being a tourist in my own city.
in April, Dennis went on a busy week-long school trip to Paris, France and started a series of the Teen Perspective posts on the Blog.
During first long weekend of the year we went to New York City where we took a Movie Tour of Central Park and enjoyed a family spa day (also part of the new Water Retreats Series on the Blog.)
SUMMER
Summer is by far our favorite season for weekend celebrations.
In June we discovered a new favorite biking path – East Bay Bike Path in Bristol, Rhode Island (which runs for 14 miles along the Narraganset Bay and offers an opportunity to stop for a picnic at scenic Colt State Park.)
We spent 4th of July weekend on Cape Cod while Dennis went on a 2-week trip with grandparents across Japan (both he and my mom brought us back their Japanese stories for the Blog).
And since there is much more to summer in Massachusetts than the beach, we went on a weekend cultural exploration to the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts (summer home to world-class music, dance and theater festivals amidst beautiful mountainous surroundings).
During the few summer weekends when we did not leave Boston, we were happy to explore Rose Kennedy Greenway , my favorite area in Boston’s downtown.
In August we flew to Europe on our longest family trip. During these 15 intense travel days through German Bavaria, French Alsace and a small portion of Switzerland, we admired natural beauty of the Bavarian and Swiss Alps, swam in the Alpine lakes, took it easy in French countryside and explored Strasbourg, Zurich and Munich on foot; relaxed in the family-friendly spas and enlightened ourselves with the finest Bavarian castle architecture. We have brought home numerous travel stories which we will be delighted to share with our readers (and get to relive ourselves!) for months to come!
Back home in Massachusetts, we said our good byes to the summer during Labor Day Weekend family camping trip to Truro on Cape Cod. We spent time sunbathing on the beaches of National Seashore, biking and enjoying Provincetown with friends.
FALL
This fall was our busiest fall of weekend travels ever.
First, Vit and I went on our annual adult-only anniversary weekend to coastal Maine.
September weekends were incredibly warm – we craved more coastal time, so we went on several day trips to Newport, Rhode Island.
October college tours took us to New York and Connecticut.
Our annual trip to Storyland in New Hampshire happened in late September this year. While there, we explored portions of the scenic Kankagamus Highway near the town of Conway in the White Mountains.
We celebrated fall harvest season in historical Greenvale Vineyards, along the Sakonnet River near Newport, Rhode Island.
Vi made bread and butter at the Appleton Farms in Ipswich, Massachusetts.
I drove by myself to Burlington, Vermont, in November, to see a childhood friend, completing a list of all 6 New England states we visited this fall.
Our family annual Khanuka celebration was hosted by the grandparents on Cape Cod; we enjoyed historical warm temperatures as we went on a December beach walk in Hyannis.
Record warm temperatures continued though the end of December, when we went on a skiing trip to Sunday River in Maine. It did not produce a lot of snow, but it made for a great outdoor swimming!
As we are ringing in the New Year 2016, here is to many more family celebrations!!!
This post in linking up with a#Weekend Travel Inspiration collection of travel stories at Albom Adventures blog . Check them out for more travel ideas.
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What a great year you’ve had. Oh how I miss New England, especially in the fall. I loved reading your posts from these trips as well.
You had an amazing 2015! We visited a few of these places over the summer as well. We loved the Alsace region, Munich and the Alps. I can’t believe you were in so many places in 15 days!
It was a very busy trip, Dana but because of the “strategically” planned spa time, we really enjoyed it all!!!
Sounds like an amazing year! Looking forward to see where things take you this year.
Congratulations on a great travel year! I love looking back at all the things we have done, and it was fun to see your list.
What an amazing year! Boston is one of my favorite cities, so much to do especially in the summer. It’s fun to see where everyone has been.
I did enjoy reading about your travel year. You managed to travel so much – and with a family – I’m impressed. I was interested to see the beach shot at Cape Cod. It looks so beautiful.
Thank you for reading! Cape Cod beaches are amazing; miles of walking and you can always find less crowded ones, even in the season!
Looks like it was a very busy year indeed! We also explored Strasbourg, Munich, and Switzerland, but in November. I’m sure it was a much different experience. Hoping there are many adventures headed your way in 2016!
Looks like you had a fantastic year! Glad to have shared two of these with you (the conference and the Rose Kennedy Greenway). Here’s to an even better year ahead in 2016 – Bon Voyage!
Thank you, Jolanta! Hoping we will share more experiences this year!
It seems you had a great year, Victoria. What a blessing to be able to travel with your entire family! I miss the time when our son was young and went along on all our trips. Enjoy your kids while they are still young.
Thank you for your comment, Anda! This is my intent (even though i now have to work harder to recruit my teen:)
I love reading these year end travel roundups as well. It looks like you had an incredibly busy year. How fun for you and your family! Have a great 2016!