50 States Before 50…with Kids!

Travel itineraries and tips for working families in the Maryland/DC Metro Area.

The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.
Oprah Winfrey

I caught the travel bug.

Hi, I’m Sandy – former owner of Lucky Ladybug Photo, full-time marketer, mom of two girls, and stepmom of two boys. I caught the travel bug when I turned 40 and met my husband. 2019 is when my journey to visit all 50 states before turning 50 began. We didn’t ditch our jobs or buy an RV, we definitely don’t have an unlimited budget – and we have kids. But we do fit in travel whenever we can.

These days I use my iPhone to capture entirely too many travel photos and pack in as many sites to our trips as possible. This blog is a journal of our itineraries out of the MD/DC/VA area, photos, and occasional travel mishaps along our #50before50 journey with real-life encouragement for you to write your own travel story.

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Day Trips

The kids are still in school and sitting idle for too long makes a travel addict antsy. In the mid-Atlantic, we’re fortunate to live within a day’s drive of 1/3 of the U.S. population. More

Long Weekends

Long weekends with a day or so off of school on the calendar are my favorite trips and I plan these out at the beginning of the school year. They can be affordable – and fun! More

A Week Off

With so many places to visit in the US before I hit all 50 states, I try not to repeat the same week-long vacation twice. I will always make an exception for Disney though. More

U.S. National Parks

There are 63 national parks in the U.S. covering 30 states, and 423 total including historic parks, monuments, seashores, and recreation areas. Our family has a long way to go before crossing them all off but that’s for another day and another challenge! An ideal family vacation for us includes visiting one of America’s most beautiful national parks. Whatever type of outdoor experience you prefer, from mountains to lakes, to caves and sand dunes, National Parks provide experiences of all kinds for families of all ages.