There is nothing I love more than traveling with my family! Getting in the car for a road trip really brings us together and makes for fun adventures. Whenever we travel we never stray too far from home, though. While road trips are fun, sitting in the car for too long is not my idea of comfortable travel. A quick jaunt to the mountains or the beach is great for us. Living in North Carolina, we are fortunate to have the best of both worlds.

This spring and summer we have some amazing adventures ahead of us. I’m really looking forward to it. We just came back from visiting Washington, DC for the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival. Luckily, it was only a five-hour drive. And longer than that and we’d have to fly or take the train.

Washington was absolutely gorgeous! The weather was about 15 degrees warmer for this time of year, according to the local weatherman. For visitors from southern regions like us, it was pure bliss. We timed our visit to the festival perfectly because the cherry blossoms were at peak bloom. Hundreds of pink blooming trees lined the tidal basin. The scene was glorious.

Despite walking around in a huge sea of tourists during the festival we managed to have a wonderful time taking in the historic trees and also visiting some of the Smithsonian museums. On tap for our visit was the Freer Gallery of Art and then the Natural History Museum. Little did we know, the line for the Natural History Museum would snake down the steps and wrap around onto the side walk. The overall family consensus: We’ll visit the Natural History Museum next time!

We also have some fun plans to visit big cities and quaint locations in North Carolina. On the calendar through the end of the summer are New York City, Philadelphia, the beach (of course) and our state amusement park.

My husband and I love to travel with our daughters because it teaches them new things about the places we visit and it also teaches them how to be adventurous and travel widely. A great trip doesn’t always mean flying off to another country. It can simply mean hopping a train to the nation’s capital or taking a quick drive to the beach.

Do you have any spring or summer family travel plans?