Family on the Go

About three years ago – during COVID – we started getting stir crazy and wanted a change of scenery, so we planned a big road trip, driving through nine states and seeing many different places. Ever since that vacation, we’ve planned a whirlwind road trip at least once a year.

In the past, we may have flown somewhere and rented a car to maximize our time. This year, with a one-and-a-half-year-old who can’t sit still, we knew we couldn’t do a flight and keep him contained. So, we decided to pack up the car, drop off the dog with family in Indianapolis and go see our neighbors to the north.

When we considered this vacation, the boys didn’t have their passports; we did our research, completed all the paperwork, got photos and submitted everything at the post office and waited for them to hit the mailbox before booking anything.

Since we had to drop off the dog, our first leg of the trip was a night in Indianapolis, and we started the full vacation from there.

Day 1 – Indianapolis to Detroit

We left early in the morning after a diaper change, bathroom breaks and plenty of caffeine. Dad is a Notre Dame alum, so even though it was slightly out of the way, we had to make a stop for early college visits.

We did lunch there after walking around campus and got back on the road to head to Monroe, Michigan.

You might ask yourself “What the heck took them to Monroe?” Well, we (mainly Dad) collect National Park passport stamps and Monroe has a battle site from the War of 1812, River Raisin National Battlefield.

After getting the stamp and learning about the battle, we had dinner at an amazing pub with unique, Michigan-specific offerings. Then it was to the hotel to get ready to cross the border the next day.

Day 2 – Detroit to Toronto

As always on these road trips, especially on a travel day, we woke up early, grabbed breakfast (the boys love a good hotel breakfast) and went to Belle Isle to see the Detroit skyline and explore a bit before heading across the border. We took Ambassador Bridge and ran into a 45-minute wait around lunchtime. However, our app showed the Windsor Tunnel had no wait, so we suggest looking at border crossing wait times before choosing which one to use.

Before getting to Toronto, we went to see the southernmost point of Canada at Point Pelee National Park.

We spent some time looking around the park and then got back on the road for a few hours in the car before arriving at our hotel in Toronto. We had a later departure from the park than we wanted, so we hit a lot of night construction outside the city which delayed us almost an hour. Checking in, getting to our room and putting everyone to bed felt amazing after a long travel day.

Day 3 – Toronto

We were able to slow down – a bit – and spend the entire day in Toronto. Initially, we thought about taking our bulky double stroller, but luckily thought to bring the umbrella stroller and jogging stroller which took up less space in the car and made it easier to maneuver while walking around the city – and we walked EVERYWHERE.

We left the hotel and made a quick stop at Tim Horton’s – of course – before heading to the Royal Ontario Museum where our dinosaur- and animal-loving boys enjoyed seeing taxidermy animals and dinosaur fossils and had fun in the hands-on Wonder Works exhibit.

We made our way back to the hotel to regroup and make our plans for the afternoon and evening. Naps are always hit or miss on trips like this, so our littlest guy fell asleep in the stroller on the mile walk back to the hotel.

Being big St. Louis Blues and hockey fans, we made a last-minute decision to go to the Hockey Hall of Fame on our way to dinner at the CN Tower. The Hall of Fame had more Blues items than I was expecting, so I was happy, and our older son enjoyed the interactive exhibits and games.

After the Hall of Fame, we made our way to the CN Tower for our dinner reservations. If you make a reservation at 360 Restaurant at the CN Tower, you skip the lines and still have access to the observation decks after your meal when you spend a minimum of $75/adult and $40/kid ages 4-12. The rotating restaurant provided amazing views and entertainment throughout dinner.

After dinner, we went to the observation decks, gift shop and stumbled upon a cute old train roundhouse with a microbrewery and restaurant in the train sheds.

After a long, busy day, it was time to walk back to the hotel, take a quick swim in the hotel pool (our older son’s favorite part of any vacation) and get a good night of sleep before another adventurous day.

Day 4 – Toronto to Niagara Falls

We wanted to go to St. Lawrence Market, so we grabbed Tim Horton’s again and walked down to the market. We looked around, picked up some souvenirs and made our way back to the hotel for check out.

After loading up the car – again – we went to Henderson Brewing Co. to get the beer on which they partnered with Rush. Then, we were on our way to Niagara.

We were told by a hotel employee that any trip to Niagara “was a waste” if you didn’t go to Niagara on the Lake. It was beautiful and had a lot of wonderful wineries, but even the winery we went to on a list of family-friendly wineries was probably not the best choice to visit with toddlers. The wine was delicious and we absolutely recommend trying the wineries sans kids or with older children.

After the winery and the scenic drive, we made our way to Niagara Falls. When we drove into Clifton Hills, it was packed and a little discouraging. We checked into the hotel, found a place for dinner amongst the crowds and chaos and bought Skywheel tickets to be used any time the next day.

We made it back to the hotel in time for the fireworks at the falls and were able to enjoy a quiet night before a full day in Niagara. If you want to avoid crowds – when possible – and have little kids, a Fallsview room is the way to go. We were able to watch the fireworks from the comfort of our hotel room, in our pajamas, and it was worth it.

Day 5 – Niagara Falls

We all woke up early, so we went down to check out the falls thinking it would start getting busy. To our surprise, hardly anyone was there and we were able to walk the mile-long stretch between the falls without bumping into people or having to push our way to the railing for pictures. It was the perfect start to the day.

We walked the mile back to Clifton Hill, went to Tim Horton’s (can you tell we enjoyed our breakfasts there?) and were at the Skywheel when it opened at 10, so we were one of the first groups on the wheel that day. The area still wasn’t busy so we did some shopping, had a light lunch and actually made it to the hotel for a full nap. We felt like superheroes getting the boys down for a complete nap, in beds and not strollers or car seats; we almost popped a bottle of Rush beer to celebrate.

After the nap, we taught the boys about old school arcade games and how you get tickets to “win” a prize (that mommy and daddy spent three times its worth on tokens) and had dinner at Niagara Brewing Company where the boys were entertained by live music, and we could enjoy sampling some of their beer.

Day 6 – Niagara to Columbus

This was our longest travel day of the trip, so we tried to get an early start and break up the drive.

After a few detours and stops, we made it to Columbus for dinner and another hotel swim.

Day 7 – Columbus

The final day of our vacation… While we weren’t ready for it to be over, it was a great end to the trip. We spent the morning at the Columbus Zoo. There were a ton of active animals, and the boys really enjoyed the interactive play areas.

We purchased our tickets and parking pass the night before, which made it easy to get in; it helped that we got there right when the zoo opened, too.

We were able to see almost the entire zoo in three hours, but then it was time to check out of the hotel and drive to Indianapolis for the night.

Day 8 – Indianapolis to St. Louis

In order to maximize the trip – and because we weren’t ready to be home – we made a stop in Casey, IL to see Big Things in a Small Town.

Then, we made it home Saturday evening so we could unpack and settle and still have a day before getting back to reality.

We’d be lying if we said we weren’t exhausted or that there weren’t moments we thought we were crazy to pack in as much as we did, but when we look back, those moments won’t be the ones that matter. It will be the amazing memories we made with our family.

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