Philips Road, Hopewell Junction
This project began as a recollection of family drives throughout the country, documenting our travels. Over the years, it grew into a blog, and now it is a webpage hoping to inspire others to travel with their own families, or go somewhere inspiring alone.
Pictures don't always capture all the little nuances of the way a place felt, or how it evoked a specific feeling. As a writer, I wanted to capture these little details for my children to remember one day, of all the places we traveled as a family.
Our family has lived in 6 different states in 6 years-so it has been an interesting journey. Some of most interesting places we have seen were sometimes the most off-beat, or the most unassuming - I talk about these places in the blog. With 4 kids we also travel on a budget, so we love exploring our National Park System, and places that are both free, or low cost, family-friendly, and often they are day drives close to us.
In reality, travel is not always about going to far away places, sometimes it's about what we learn about ourselves in the process. These drives are a source of so much inspiration and feeling. Since I love to write, the subject could not be more perfect to explore all the depths of the soul.
The secret places right near us are sometimes the most interesting and inspiring of all.
Each week, I'll share my experience of our family Sunday drives. My idea is to write something that captivates the emotions I felt and my observations of our kids experiencing new places. The hidden charm of some of these nearby places is truly inspiring.
One day, when I lived in NY, I went into an Antique shop in Hopewell Junction, NY and found a first edition copy of Robert Frost's collected poems. It had been awhile since I read, "Stopping by the woods on a snowy evening", and I wanted to read it to my girls. I had been thinking about the poem for quite some time, and had not gotten around to ordering a copy. And there on the shelf, haphazardly was something I had been searching for.
Travel is quite the same, we often find things we cherish in the most unexpected places.
Perhaps Hans Christian Anderson said it best when he said, "To travel is to live". So I challenge you to live fully and go see some of these places for yourself, maybe alone or maybe with your whole family. I hope that if my three children read this one day, they find the beauty around them in every single waking moment, no matter how near or far.
Please feel free to post questions, comments, insights or ideas for future drives for our family. The blog will serve as a running record of sorts, or a virtual scrapbook of our adventure. If you would like us to visit a particular site and write about it, I'd be happy to, please reach out and introduce yourself. You can reach me at miriamoclifford@gmail.com Wishing you Happy & Safe Travels!
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One of our first Sunday drives in the Hudson Valley, Cold Springs, 2015. Amada and Lilliana overlooking the frozen water with Aunt Sandy.
