Pacific Northwest Oregon's Columbia River Gorge

Thank you for visiting my family vacations on a budget blog. My family loves to travel! However my husband & I are both teachers making a budget all the more important.  We have one child, our son is 13. I want to show him as much of this great world as I can before he is grown. This summer we visited the Pacific Northwest for our family vacation.  We traveled July 11th-20th throughout this beautiful area of the United States. In this blog post I will tell you about our day spent in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge: where we stayed, things we did, & travel tips to help you as you plan your next vacation. In the coming weeks I will feature a different destination or travel tip from our Pacific Northwest journey. Subscribe to my blog so you don't miss any of my posts from this fantastic family vacation (on a budget). 

Pacific Northwest Getting There!

Thank you for visiting my family vacations on a budget blog. My family loves to travel! However my husband & I are both teachers making a budget all the more important.  We have one child, our son is 13. I want to show him as much of this great world as I can before he is grown. This summer we visited the Pacific Northwest for our family vacation.  We traveled July 11th-20th throughout this beautiful area of the United States. In this blog post I will tell you how we traveled to the Pacific Northwest, while maintaining a budget. In the coming weeks I will feature a different destination or travel tip from our Pacific Northwest journey. Subscribe to my blog so you don't miss any of my posts from this fantastic family vacation (on a budget). 

We like to fly Southwest Airlines - 2 bags plus a carry on fly free!

Welcome to the Pacific Northwest!

Thank you for visiting my family vacations on a budget blog. My family loves to travel! However my husband & I are both teachers making a budget all the more important.  We have one child, our son is 13. I want to show him as much of this great world as I can before he is grown. This summer we visited the Pacific Northwest for our family vacation.  We traveled July 11th-20th throughout this beautiful area of the United States. During our journey we saw small towns, rapidly growing cities, waterfalls, lush river valleys, mountains, remote islands, beaches, a temperate rain forest, thousand year old trees, turquoise lakes & rivers that make you think your eyes are out of focus,  & perhaps the most beautiful place we have ever seen. In the coming weeks I will feature a different destination from our Pacific Northwest journey. Subscribe to my blog so you don't miss any of my posts from this fantastic family vacation (on a budget).  

The Hill Country of Texas - A Fun Family Adventure!

As spring break was approaching I began looking for places for us to visit for a couple of days.  I started out looking for destinations far away we could fly to.  However, I quickly realized during spring break airfare was too expensive for our budget, so I opted for a road trip.  After considering several locations, I selected the Texas Hill Country! 

We were really lucky that spring had come early to Texas & the bluebonnets & wildflowers were blooming. This made an already alluring part of our great state even more beautiful!

Where is the Texas Hill Country? 

The Texas Hill Country is a 25 county area of Central & South Texas. The major metropolitan areas include Austin & San Antonio.  We have previously visited both of these cities & this trip we were looking for small town charm.  To learn more about the Texas Hill Country towns & cities you can visit the Texas Hill Country website.

A Day in Kilgore, Texas!

If you are looking to explore beautiful East Texas; Kilgore is worth checking out.  We recently spent a day in Kilgore and found an interesting museum & a tasty restaurant that are not to be missed. 

Kilgore is a small town with a population nearing 15,000. Kilgore has a rich history that tells a true Texas tale! In 1930 this rural town in Texas was hit hard by the depression that was gripping the United States. With the discovery of oil this once tiny town grew to thousands within weeks. As you visit Kilgore today you will find the stories of the early families resonate in the community years after this discovery. 

  

Replica of Kilgore, TX 1930

Our day trip included a stop at the East Texas Oil Museum located on the campus of Kilgore College in the heart of town. The museum is well worth a visit as you will find it to be the same caliber as metropolitan museums while maintaining small town charm. On the day of our visit we lucked into a

A guided tour guide is a great way
to learn about the exhibits.

guided tour & found the docent to be quite knowledgeable & entertaining.  Typically guided tours are by appointment only. The East Texas Oil Museum has memorabilia from years gone by in the front portion of the museum.  In the back portion of the museum you will find a replica of Kilgore, Texas circa 1930. In this portion you can go into buildings & get a real feel for life during this time. Make sure you do not miss the "elevator" ride to the center of the Earth & the movie theater.

"Elevator" to the center of the Earth

Our tour lasted about an hour and a half but you could easily spend a couple of hours exploring this museum. The museum is open Tuesday - Saturday from 9 AM - 5 PM. Entrance fees are $7 per person. Find out more information on the website for the East Texas Oil Museum.  

After our museum visit, we found a local favorite restaurant to have lunch, the Back Porch Restaurant.  The Back Porch is located within a couple of blocks from the East Texas Oil Museum. It has been a popular Kilgore restaurant for over 20 years.  They serve down-home good food that will keep you coming back for more. The day of our visit we opted for burgers & curly fries that were fantastic. If you are looking for more than a sandwich, plate dinners are also available that range from catfish to pork to chicken to beef. All meals come with self-serve all you can eat beans & cornbread that make you think your mama is in the kitchen cooking. If you like live music, the Back Porch Stage features nightly music 3 times per week from a variety of genres. To view the menu & learn more about the Back Porch visit the website. 

Located in the heart of Kilgore!

Our bellies were full & we headed back to the road to explore new areas of Texas. As we drove away from this quaint Texas town, I could not help but think how the lives of so many were changed from a single discovery!

May God bless you wherever the road may take you!

GRAND Adventures in Arizona

I am trying something new with my blog this time... I think I will call it the TwitterZona blog. Since words cannot possibly describe our 4 day trip to the Grand Canyon State in November, I thought I would limit the words & just SHOW you how beautiful Arizona is.

Day 1

Southwest Air offers great fares - if you are flexible. We departed Dallas to Phoenix on Saturday & returned on Tuesday in November. Cost $88 pp round trip non-stop & 2 bags fly free.

Colorado - Great Sand Dunes National Park

Do you like the sand but want to enjoy the fresh mountain air?  Have I got a place for you! The Great Sand Dunes National Park located near Fort Garland, Colorado is the best of both worlds. 

Enchanted Circle, NM - Red River, Angel Fire, & Taos

When we were choosing a destination for our big family vacation this year there were several locations that came to mind. We wanted a vacation that was diverse in what we would see & do but was also budget friendly.  After giving it some thought we decided to visit New Mexico. The previous year we had visited Red River & really liked what we found. This trip would be different because we would travel across West Texas & visit Southern New Mexico on our way to the Enchanted Circle. Our trip lasted 10 days with 7 wonderful days in Red River, Angel Fire, & Taos. 

A Day Trip to Dublin, Texas

For our family vacation this year we took a road trip to New Mexico. As part of the road trip we cut across West Texas. One of the stops we made was to the small town in Central Texas named Dublin.  Dublin is located about 1 1/2 hours southwest of Fort Worth.

Dublin, Texas is the home to the world's oldest Dr. Pepper bottling plant.  While the Dublin Bottling Works still makes sweet goodness, it does not bottle Dr. Pepper anymore. But it does still bottle some of the best sodas you will ever taste! All sodas bottled at the Dublin Bottling Works are produced using pure cane sugar, none of that high fructose corn syrup is produced here!  A variety of flavors are offered ranging from Dublin sweet peach, to root beer, to the Original Black Cherry which tastes a lot like... you guessed it Dr. Pepper! 

All sodas are made with pure cane sugar.

We stopped in at Old Doc's Soda Shop which is across the street from Dublin Bottling Works. Old Doc's has soda jerks that will prepare a soda just like you like it! After sampling

Soda Jerks will prepare your soda just like you like it!

some of the sodas, we picked our favorite & enjoyed the pure cane goodness of a Dublin Bottling Works soda. We liked the soda so much that we bought some bottles to take home with us. If you are interested in the bottling process, you can tour the bottling facilities for $5 for adults & $4 for seniors & kids. Tours run every 45 minutes starting at 10:15 AM running through 4:15 pm Tuesday - Saturday & from 1:00 to 5:00 PM on Sunday. Tours start at the Dublin Bottling Works & ends at Old Doc's Soda Shop.  We did not take the tour but instead headed straight for Old Doc's. 

Old Doc's Soda Shop has a variety of souvenirs. 

We give this pit stop on our road trip a big thumbs up!  If you are in the area, it is worth your time to stop in & step back in time at Old Doc's Soda Shop. 

The tasty sodas we selected!

We had no cell service in Dublin so we were left to find Old Doc's Soda Shop on our own. You will find it about 2 blocks off Highway 6 off Patrick Street in Dublin.