[caption id="attachment_743" align="alignnone" width="960"] First Year Anniversary Gift - Paper[/caption] Anniversary gifts can be challenging. Do you buy something practical, or make something thoughtful? Do you orchestrate a romantic dinner, or do you splurge on an extravagant get-away? Stumped, I went to google for inspiration and searched traditional anniversary gifts. The first year? Paper. My first thought was, "wow..." but the search also revealed gift ideas! To my surprise, there are many great paper presents: a message in a bottle, your "first song" lyrics printed on one of your wedding photos, romantic coupons, or you can order personalized novelty toilet

All of us can identify with having a time or few where we discovered that we weren't going to be getting on the road at our predetermined time.  You walk to your car and one of your tires are flat, you go to start your car and nothing turns over, or you search everywhere for your keys, only to find them locked in the car...in the ignition. Maybe you've stepped out the door to find your car plastic wrapped, a tree laying on top of it, or your car stolen?  Either way, we've all experienced delays.  How do you respond? After you pout

Music touches us in many ways.  Songs can remind us of an epic fight scene, an ex we'd rather forget, or a memorable TV show. Some people have playlists for the gym, the tanning bed, or while storming the enemy's fortress (it's an awesome mix, admit it). What about road trips?! Most playlists are aged, but I think we will surprise you with our top ten travel picks: 10. Rollin', Limp Bizkit [vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_video link="https://youtu.be/RYnFIRc0k6E"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] 9. Life is a Highway, Tom Cochran [vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_video link="https://youtu.be/U3sMjm9Eloo"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] 8. Start Me Up, Rolling Stones [vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_video link="https://youtu.be/SGyOaCXr8Lw"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] 7. Greased Lightening, Grease [vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_video link="https://youtu.be/4l2tLIZHlBQ"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] 6. 500 Miles, Proclaimers

Whether you're taking a detour home from work or you're a seasoned vagabond, the great thing about road tripping is that it's for everyone! Who doesn't enjoy capturing images of their adventures?  Thanks to Rebecca and our friends' encouragement, our pictures have evolved from the traditional selfie to totally hamming it up every chance we can.  Like a roadside marker for a WWII UFO crash site! Yes, I said UFO. People ask us all the time how we get our pictures.  It's simple really, we travel with a photographer! Well, sort of.  Some of my previous jobs involved photography, and it's

You know exactly what I’m talking about, or you refer to it as something else, either way, we all pay it from time to time. My most common stupid tax is forgetfulness.  Whenever I travel, I always seem to forget something.  On a whitewater rafting trip in Beckley, WV, I left my pillow at the lodge upon checkout.  I ended up having mismatched pillow cases for years…actually, I’m sure I still have the lone pillow case.  The first time I drove over 1,000 miles to meet Rebecca, I didn’t bring a belt.  Our first date included a stop by Wal-Mart. 

Plan a trip to DC! I saw a family of 5 pull off DC for $500. Having visited when I was young I always wanted to return. This past summer my bonus children (I don't have stepchildren) came to West Virginia from Texas, which presented the perfect opportunity for a great family road trip! Our frugal living, coupled with my competitive nature, provoked me to pull off our DC trip, with more people, in two cars, and for less. We packed a cooler of food, bottled water, stayed at the Americana Hotel for one night. We chose this hotel was