How exciting it was at the end of our study of American History In-Depth
to plan a field trip through the eastern United States where our country began,
where our country fought for independence,
and where our country struggled to stay together!
(see Raising Scholars: Establishing Roots)
This was experiential learning at its best —
so many of the places we had studied and seen in pictures,
we could now see in person!
This was a big part of why we embarked on this independent academic journey with our kids!
Planning & Places
All-in-all, this five-week Early American History Tour took us (myself and my three sons, ages 8, 12, and 14) over 6000 miles through 22 states plus Washington D.C. To engage everyone, we each selected five or more places we wanted to see and then planned our itinerary to include them all plus so many more.
On our way north from Texas,
we walked the Serpent Mound in Ohio,
stood under Niagara Falls, and
rode through the locks of the Erie Canal.
In New England,
we followed Paul Revere’s ride,
walked the Freedom Trail in Boston,
and saw the (very small) Plymouth Rock.
In the “Middle Colonies,”
we went to the top of the Statue of Liberty,
climbed the rocks in Central Park,
visited Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell,
and experienced Gettysburg at the renowned battlefield.
In our nation’s capital city,
we toured where our government works,
visited the national treasures in the Smithsonian,
and saw the original Declaration of Independence and Constitution.
On our way south,
we took in the very first permanent English settlement of Jamestown,
hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail,
and walked numerous battlefields, imagining the courage of our fallen soldiers.
These are just a few places on our Early American History Tour.
HERE is our full itinerary.
I used the AAA Tourbooks extensively to identify must-see sites, especially historical sites, in each state and plan our itinerary.
(Note: 2019 update – AAA Tourbooks have deteriorated significantly in quality and information since we originally took this trip in 2014, so we will use this itinerary plus online resources the next time we do this trip. I can no longer recommend the AAA Tourbooks.)
Vehicle & Lodging
This was truly a multi-experience trip. We stayed in hotels, lodged at military bases, and camped in the Adirondacks, the Smokey Mountains, and the eastern forests. When we do this trip again when my youngest son gets to this point in history, we might incorporate AirBnB or VRBO for some of the lodging.
I debated whether to get a pull-behind camper, take our own minivan (Toyota Sienna), or rent a vehicle. Ultimately, I decided to rent a new minivan because
(1) I was traveling alone with our three children,
(2) our van was several years old with over 100K miles on it, and
(3) I wanted to quickly and easily swap vans if there were any problems with our rental.
I was very comfortable driving a minivan; in it we would easily be able to maneuver through cities as well as climb mountains. With carefully packing, we fit everything we needed, even with the variety of experiences for which we had to be prepared including hot and cold weather, urban sightseeing and rural hiking, hotel lodging, and camping.
Food
As with road trips, we also had to pack food and food prep supplies. If we stayed in a hotel, we ate breakfast the hotel provided. If we stayed somewhere else (camping, military lodging), we had breakfast tacos or oatmeal with nuts and fruit.
Lunch was the meal we tended to eat on the go since we were usually out and about during those times, though sometimes we would have our picnic food with us. If we could get something local to the area, we would – we enjoyed picnic lunch from the food stands at Central Park and the original Philly sandwich in Philadelphia, to name a couple.
At the end of a long day, I liked to just relax so we would tend to not eat out for supper. I had several easy-prep suppers that could be cooked in the microwave in hotels if needed, but would take advantage of our cookstove in the military lodging and while camping to cook up some hearty, nummy suppers. We would stop periodically at grocery stores to restock our perishables.
Bringing and preparing food along the way made our trip affordable. All our food fit into a large cooler, two banker boxes, and a cooler bag (which we took into the hotels).
For emergency food, I purchased a box of military-style ready-to-eat meals with built-in heaters for times we needed a meal and could not conveniently get to one. We actually used these a few times and were very glad for them.
HERE is a list of some of the meals we would eat on this type of trip.
Emergency & Camping/Hiking Equipment
With a trip like this of extended time and variety of experiences, we also brought emergency supplies and camping/hiking equipment.
We are light packers when camping/hiking, so a couple of small tents, a few self-inflating sleeping pads, sleeping bags and some backpacking chairs made for a comfortable camping experience in some breathtaking locations. (One time we were the only campers high in the Appalachians near a mountain lake!)
Clothes & Packing
As with our other travels, each person had a duffle (I had my carry-on size suitcase) which held the majority of clothing, and a backpack which contained clothes for the night (or two) in the hotel (or other lodging), toiletries, and in-transit entertainment.
We had clothes for 7-10 days and did laundry as needed. Thankfully, lodging at the military bases often had washers and dryers in the rooms.
HERE is our full packing list for this type of trip (see section on Multi-Experience Travel).