5 tips for picking the perfect family road trip destinations

This is a sponsored conversation written by Peanut Blossom on behalf of U.S. Cellular. The opinions and text are all ours.

Like clockwork it sets in every June: an overwhelming desire to grab our things, jump in the car, and head out on the road. The last three summers since our move to the Carolinas have been all about adventure and exploring our {not so} new area with the kids and I've loved every single second of it.

Family travel was one of our biggest priorities when selecting which city we wanted to relocate to and make our new home. I spent a long time poring over maps and making lists of things we could do together within a 6 hour drive of our house. I love the southeast and it's nearly endless list of destinations we can reach via car and even more extensive list of cities reachable from our international airport.

In just our last three southern summers, we've been blessed to visit:

• Atlanta
• Savannah
• Asheville
• Wilmington
• Hilton Head
• Charleston
• Folly Beach
• Washington DC
• Orlando
• Columbia
• Myrtle Beach

Many of our travels have been documented right here, but I still have a few to catch up on and add to my library of posts.

We still haven't even touched Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, Alabama, or Virginia! We have years and years of trips ahead of us before we could possibly get bored.

So when I heard from U.S. Cellular that millions, yes MILLIONS, of people have never even left their home state I was floored. I can't imagine not getting out of town for a major change of scenery. To help make travel an accessible reality for a few lucky people, U.S. Cellular has partnered up with the Food Network to launch "Big Country," a series that seeks out every day Americans who for one reason or another have never gone far from home and take them on a trip of a lifetime.

The online episodes of U.S. Cellular's "Big Country" are hosted by Andrew Zimmern from the Travel Channel and have so far featured New York City and Bend, Oregon with episodes visiting San Francisco and Portland, Maine on deck.

Take a peek at Julius visiting New York here:

Doesn't that look fun?! If you think this is something you'd love to do, "Big Country" has an open casting call right now for their season finale. You can apply for a spot in their show over on Food Network's "Big Country" hub.

In the meantime, if you'd like to get started on planning your own adventure, here are my favorite ways to pack some fun into your schedule.

5 tips for picking the perfect family road trip destinations:

1. Start with a map: I obsess over Google Maps. I start with our address plotted in as the starting point and then just zoom out far enough to see the highway system. I follow all major highways out of town until I find the next nearest "big city." Then I type in keywords like "museum, zoo, or tourist attraction" and watch the hot spots pop up on the map. I have a running list of daydream trips I've plotted so when we have an open pocket of time (a day vs. a weekend), I can usually find the right distance that fits.

2. Research your destination options: When you use Google Maps to research your travel options, they will recommend hotels, restaurants, and nearby attractions and tell you extra information (weather, and quick facts, etc.) about the area right within the search:

3. Plot your hot spots: Once you've selected your destination city, you can use Google Maps to plot the potential sightseeing spots, restaurants, and hotel options available and save them for future reference. I love that you can easily access both the address and phone number of places like your hotel & restaurant choices by saving them to your map.

4. Planning with pinning: Pinterest is my other go-to source for travel planning. Did you know you can create a map board for your location pins? I keep one inspiration board for all places I'd like to go that fit within a day trip or long weekend via car distance. (If you live in the area, you can follow my Day trips & adventures from Charlotte here.)

I add the location to the pin and it automatically plots itself onto an interactive map:

5. Pinspiration: If you've settled on a specific trip, creating a Pinterest board for your destination allows you to bookmark the items you find using the search function straight from the Pinterest newsfeed. You can find reviews and tip articles on just about any element of your desired city and easily pin them with location to your map board. Then, when you're actually out and about on your adventure, you can access the things you were interested in right from your mobile phone. By pinning a bunch of ideas to your map, you have a menu of options at easy access when the final decision has to be made. It's a fantastic way to be organized and yet flexible on your trip.

So are you one of the millions that haven't made it out of your state? What's holding you back? Time, money, interest, opportunity? A combo of all the above? I'd love to know!

 

 

U.S. Cellular is looking to cast one more special customer to take on a trip of a lifetime for the season finale of Big Country! Please visit the link to apply for the opportunity to find yourself in the middle of anywhere with national coverage from U.S. Cellular and TV host Andrew Zimmern on the show Big Country.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of US Cellular. The opinions and text are all mine.