Erin Gifford

I’ve begun to plan out my summer vacation calendar, and as usual, fun family road trips are in the works. This will be our second time exploring this family vacation destination that’s a stone’s throw from Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I wasn’t originally planning to venture into Tennessee on this road trip (it was to be more of a Virginia “state-cation”), but my kids loved Pigeon Forge when we visited during our cross-country road trip in 2015. This was one of our first stops at The Island and my kids quickly found high payout games (as in, games that dispense loads of tickets they could cash in for prizes).

Last week, the good folks at Disney let the world know that – at last – an opening date has been set for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the much-anticipated new land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida. has been talking about this new land and on August 29 you too can line up to be among the first to ride the rides and see the shows

Indianapolis has long been considered a racing town, best known for the Indy 500 car race held each May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. However, there’s much more to the second largest city in the Midwest

Go to the U. S. Botanic Garden for plenty of model trains, which will chug around iconic train stations, like New York City’s Grand Central Terminal and St. Louis’ Union Station, all made out of plants as part of the annual Season’s Greenings (runs Nov. 22 – Jan. 1). For delightful Washington, DC Christmas lights, head to the National Zoo evenings Nov. 23 – Jan. 1 for ZooLights (5-9 pm). Head to National Harbor for a spin on the 180-foot Capital Wheel for a bird’s eye view of our Nation’s Capital, as well as the whimsical carousel and a 56-foot-tall tree with two million twinkle lights. Get out of town and head up to Hershey, PA for Hersheypark Christmas Candylane (runs Nov. 16 – Jan. 1).