4,000 miles.

That’s about how far we drove on another epic summer trip. We were away from home for 16 days. Some play, some work, and LOTS of driving. We added 7 more states plus DC. Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. Here’s a quick recap of a few things we did and saw:

Statue of Liberty✅

Ellis Island✅

Governor’s Island✅

Brooklyn Bridge✅

Manhattan Bridge✅

East River✅

Hudson River✅

NY Harbor✅

Battery Park✅

Ferry Ride✅

Trinity Church✅

New York City Hall✅

Wall Street✅

Broadway Street✅

New York Stock Exchange✅

Empire State Building✅

Trump Building✅

Trump International Hotel✅

Times Square✅

Times Square Church✅

New Years Eve Ball✅

Central Park✅

NY Hot Dog Stand✅

NY Style Pizza✅

Subway Rides✅

One World Trade Center✅

9/11 Memorial✅

Independence Hall✅

Liberty Bell✅

Museum of Art (Rocky’s Steps)✅

Try a REAL Cannoli✅

Pat’s vs Geno’s✅

Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers Stadiums✅

Ocean City Beach✅

Ocean City Boardwalk✅

Mini Golf✅

Kohr Bros. Ice Cream✅

Pork Roll✅

Boogie Boarding✅

Body Surfing✅

Sand Castle Building✅

Crab Hunting✅

Mt. Vernon Tour✅

White House✅

Washington Monument✅

Library of Congress✅

Supreme Court✅

Capitol Building Tour✅

Ebenezer’s Coffeehouse✅

Gettysburg✅

It was incredible.

We kept telling the kids we could spend a whole week in any of the places we visited. As awesome as it was to see all the amazing things we saw, the best part of the trip, by far, was the people.

Of course we loved spending time as a family, but I’m talking about the people we met each place we visited.

In every single place we stopped, we were met with gracious hospitality of longtime friends and endearing kindness of new friends and strangers. Often, we would leave a place and one of our kids would say, “Wow! Can you believe they did that for us? We are blessed!”

Yes, we are.

It was surreal to be back in a place where I spent high school and was so formative for me. So much had changed, and yet so much hadn’t, like the outdoor triple rim basketball hoops. It was overwhelming to experience so much history in parts of our beautiful country that were so formative to our beginning as a nation. Breathtaking really, and it was neat to see what stood out to my family at each place.

Speaking of my family, a lot of people will comment and ask how we do it. Really, it’s not rocket science. Do the kids sometimes bicker and fight in the car? Absolutely. But guess what, they do that at home too.

We decided to go on the trip anyway.

This trip was extra special because a storm hit our house while we were gone. It snapped a tree, damaged the roof, and destroyed our trampoline among other things. Guess what would have happened if we decided we couldn’t be gone that long?

The same thing. So, we decided to go on the trip anyway.

Not to mention the lightning strike that hit our house and nearly started a fire. We really didn’t have control of that either.

I guess a major lesson from this trip is that you will always be able to find a reason why you shouldn’t go on the trip, or make the change, or do the thing. At the end of the day, life happens with or without you. Are you going to make things happen or wish they would happen?

A new friend we met on this trip shared the life tip that there are three types of people:

Those who wish things would happen.

Those who make things happen.

Those who wonder what happened.

And often, those who wish and those who wondered are the same.

Which one are you?

Go on the trip.

#daddylessons