seriously… steve and i have been talking up a killer trip like this for a few years now. he’d be willing to do it in a minivan (we’ve already come semi cross-country in ours!) but i’m thinking an rv would be waaay more fun for our large brood. and even some internet hook-up: tales of me & the husband hits the open road! i can see it now. steve’s seen almost all of the usa and the kids have seen parts: colorado + minnesota and some places in between. i’ve flown to california a few times, but goodness, there’s a lot to see in between our coasts that i’ve yet to lay eyes on and that you can only really take in via the road. i know everyone’s always talking europe, europe, europe (including me) but our country has got some sweet landscapes i’ve got to check out. so, this is hopefully gonna happen within the next few years. just after i can get my hands on an rv. you got any dream vaycays?
Love that some Canadian destinations made your list!! I wrote about my dream vacation last week and it looks like it might miraculously happen! Check it: http://www.heatherboersma.com/dreaming-of-surfing/
Zion is beautiful – Bryce Canyon is also fabulous!
The pacific northwest is definitely on my list to do soon – hopefully next summer.
I'd love to live on a boat for a week and go scuba diving everyday. Someday.
Have you ever considered taking a train trip across the country? I once took an Amtrak train from Chicago to Portland, OR. I got to see lots of the country and didn't have to pay for the gas. Regardless, I hope your RV trip happens because you're right – there is so much to see in the US.
I have never been to the Asheville, NC area and I've heard it's amazing!! I want to go!!!
i've always wanted to do a US of A trip like this!! i say you do it and document it. an RV would make it 10 times more fun 🙂
that sounds like so much fun. i'd love to visit quebec. i'm from upstate new york, so it'd just be a few hour drive or maybe a train ride, but i feel like that'd be so romantic in the winter time and i speak french, so it'd be even easier. i just need to go convince my man now.
We have an RV and travel when we can. It's great….the very best thing is that the passenger seat is a recliner and you don't have to stop to go to the bathroom, unless you're the driver of course.
I'm guessing you would have to have an RV outfitted to sleep more than two (because in reality two is all a normal one sleeps comfortably). But if you do it, it's a lot of fun and most of the RV parks are kid and animal friendly!
Ha! My hubs and I have talked of a vacay similar to this one for years. We'd like to do the Southwest and the California coast as well. Oh, and try to fit in Mount Rushmore, too. Now that we have a babe, though, we're thinking it's a ways off. Want him to be big enough to enjoy it. 🙂
P.S. Banff, SO gorgeous! Went with my family when I was a kid. Have you been?
This is what we used to do when I was a kid. In an RV. It was so fun and I loved getting so much of the country under my belt at such a young age–so much beauty to see!
(I know it's not on your list, but Glacier National Park and the Grand Tetons were my FAVORITE!)
i hear you. i have been to way more euro. countries than american states and that is just sad!
Oooh, I dream about a southern road trip – New Orleans, Charleston, Savannah, some places in Florida. We'd have to fly to the south, then rent a car, which seems like a lot with two toddlers.
There's also this AWESOME train that goes through Canada (Jillian and the men did it on the Bachelorette, did you see it?). I'd love that.
That sounds pretty awesome. I can just see it now, the Hunt brood hitting the road in an RV. Sounds like a reality TV show maybe??
@erin, i remember that train ride! yes!
@sarah ann, i am totally adding glacier nat'l park to my list!!!
@jamie, never been to banff. can't wait to go!
How fun! I've done cross country a few times, just never in a RV or van like that. I would love to fly overseas with my honey. He's never been out of the country!
Hate to break it to you Bridge, but travelling to national parks in an RV with your kids in tow…. old person dream. You convince yourself by saying you want to explore, hike around the beautiful terrain, hug a redwood and out run a bear (or maybe not). All nimble, young people things. But really you’ll end up playing dominoes at a table and eat unbuttered popcorn while on the road.
What I’m saying is, I can’t wait to do this.
Really though. There are some slamming hikes in Zion. It's so freaking beautiful there. And the Redwoods, Yosemite, Seattle, all amazing. This west coast girl says Doooo it!
I want to go!
I'm thinking an airstream, the RV with style.
Oh, you could spend weeks touring around the Pacific Northwest. It's so flipping gorgeous there (here), complete with a rain forest and the awesome city (Seattle). Okay, so I grew up there, but going home is a vacation for me now. Seattle alone is just way too cool. You'll love it.
Now… I must go explore the east coast a little more and get over to europe. That's just the beginning of my dream vacation.
My fam did this with six kids, twice. My favorite part was waking up and having cereal at the former bed-now-table and already being on the road. That and the profusion of smore's.
I hate to say this, but the teenagers should be allowed to opt out if they want to. Or maybe I just needed to b/c I had four younger brothers? Either way, the second time around, it was too much for the blossoming teenage girl's soul.
I'd like to just live in Paris for a summer. An extended vacay of leisurely museum excursions and train rides to the countryside.
yes. please.
I've never traveled in an RV but my relatives swear by it. And I live in Seattle myself! There are some beautiful sites around here and at least one experienced nanny 😉 Happy planning!
ooooh, like this. RV-ing seems like it'd be the only way to go with little travelers.
i haven't seen enough between the coasts here, either.
such a great idea for a vacation…
xx
I would love an east coast tour… All the early American history sites (nerd alert) and sweet architecture! Want to just trade houses for awhile some summer and you all can soak up te PNW while I enjoy the east coast? Just kidding. But seriously.
Redwood forests are magical. There is a smell, a feeling and a silence that you can't really describe. When you put your hand on one of the ancient trees and gaze up… it is just amazing.
Also, I remember the first time I went to Yosemite. I went with my high school class and this noisy bus full of teenagers suddenly went silent as we pulled into Yosemite. You could hear a pin drop. The beauty will take your breath away. Yay for northern California!
my family – minus because i was at summer camp, drove across the country when we moved from south carolina to california. i kind of wished i had seen all those states in between.
can mike, quinn and i come too or is this a hunts-only trip? we will totally pimp out a vw bus and travel behind you or something. and we can homeschool on the road. my imagination continues to wander…we could have a camera crew follow us, could write a guidebook. limitless possibilities…
o.k. Zion was the my childhood background. It's amazingly beautiful (and I really should've appreciated it more.) Go!
Now that I live in the Pacific NW, I can also promise many great things about this place. Seattle (Portland hollah!) and all the wonderful things in between are amazing.
You can't go wrong. Really.
Ohhh how fun! If this ever happens you guys can stop and see me in Seattle. Blogger date? 🙂 Ha! I'll show you around.
Those are some great choices! Yosemite and the Redwoods are my two favorite places in Cali, I try to go at least once a year to each place! There are so many spectacular places in our country that there's really no need to travel anywhere else!
Zion and Yosemite are Ah-maz-ing! i was just there last week, http://lostandfound-bailee.blogspot.com/2011/10/road-trip-part-iii-zion-national-park.html, and can't wait to go back. You should definitely do it!
Death Valley is also amazing, and not far from both Zion or Yosemite- but go in Dec or Jan, otherwise it's too hot. And it may be too difficult to maneuver in an RV, but Highway 1/ Big Sur is gorgeous!
Happy travels! The day will come!
this sounds like my dream. the hunts come to stay with the johnsons.
i'd suggest adding rocky mountain, colorado national monument, bryce canyon and antelope canyon to your list. we're sort of national park junkies. 🙂
i love this idea. definitely a trip they will alwayssss remember, those hunts (:
I'd like to go to Maine.
What's there to see in Maine? Who knows. But everybody who's been says you just have to go and then you'll know.
Great list.
Banff is a beautiful place. I a m going in the neighbourhood next week.
Why isn't Austin on this list? Offended.
How 'bout adding Cape Breton and the Cabot Trail to this list??? And then you can swing by Halifax for a cocktail and some guacamole w/ your good friend??? 🙂
Yosemite is AMAZING. My favorite place in the whole entire world (better than Seattle!)! It's totally worth a trip once baby Parker gets a little older. And be sure to book your stay like a year in advance, Yosemite books SO quickly!
We had an amazing chance to do a month long road trip across America. Now that baby is on the way, we are excited to plan one that includes the three of us!
http://lillovestories.blogspot.com/
Bridge, you can't RV it to Cinque Terre.
I live in Calgary close to Banff and you HAVE to visit. It's an amazing sight! 🙂