We’re a married, age-gap couple with a passion for exploring the U.S., one road trip at a time! Our travels focus on national parks, scenic drives, and hidden gems, with detailed itineraries to help you plan your own adventures. While we cover destinations across the country, we have a special love for Southern California, Las Vegas, Florida, and our current home base—Dayton, Ohio.With a background in hospitality and tourism management (B.A. & M.S.) and experience in hotels, theme parks, guided vacation sales, and special events, we bring both industry expertise and firsthand travel experience to our content.Follow along as we uncover the best weekend getaways, off-the-beaten-path spots, and foodie finds across the U.S.!
Discount Travel Secret: Fun and Free Ways to Celebrate Labor Day Weekend 🌿
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Happy Saturday! Hi Reader, Labor Day weekend often feels like the last big chance to soak up summer, but you do not have to spend a fortune or even leave town to enjoy it. With a little creativity, you can turn the holiday into a staycation packed with fun, free, and affordable activities. Here are a few ideas you can try, and some examples from my own backyard. 🎶 Local Festivals, Parades, and Fairs Many towns host special events over the holiday weekend. If you are not sure where to start, search “Labor Day weekend events in [your city]” or check your local tourism board or county website. For example, Destination Dayton lists seven different parades and festivals happening over Labor Day weekend. The key to saving money is to carpool to save on parking, eat before you go so you are not tempted by expensive food, and set a spending budget before you enter. 🖼️ Free Museums and Landmarks Plenty of museums are always free or offer discounts during holiday weekends. In my area, the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is free year-round, and there are several Wright Brothers historic landmarks that do not cost anything to visit. Check what museums in your town may have free admission. It is a great way to enjoy a cultural day without paying full ticket prices. 🌿 Hiking and Nature Trails City and county parks are often free, though in bigger cities parking may cost extra. A hike, picnic, or day on the water kayaking, canoeing, or tubing is a relaxing way to enjoy the last days of summer. If you are bringing kids along, try a scavenger hunt to keep them engaged. For example, see if they can find something in every color of the rainbow along the trail. 🎲 Budget Friendly Entertainment at Home You can also make your own holiday fun right at home. Check out your local thrift store for cheap board games and activities. We have collected over 50 board and card games for no more than $3 each, and many were brand new, having never been opened or played. Every Friday we do a game night with family, where everyone contributes to dinner, drinks, and snacks. We have a projector and inflatable screen for backyard movie & video game nights, bonfires with s’mores, and outdoor games from cheap stores like Five Below. It has become a tradition that has lasted over a year and a half, and it has been one of the best investments for low-cost entertainment. Labor Day is all about relaxing and spending time with family and friends. Whether you head to a parade, visit a free museum, hike a local trail, or set up a backyard game night, you can enjoy a weekend that feels special without overspending. See you next week, Eva and JP 💎 P.S. Ready to plan your next trip? Find some of our favorite travel-related resources below. ✔ Find the cheapest rental car rate |
Discovering Hidden Gems
We’re a married, age-gap couple with a passion for exploring the U.S., one road trip at a time! Our travels focus on national parks, scenic drives, and hidden gems, with detailed itineraries to help you plan your own adventures. While we cover destinations across the country, we have a special love for Southern California, Las Vegas, Florida, and our current home base—Dayton, Ohio.With a background in hospitality and tourism management (B.A. & M.S.) and experience in hotels, theme parks, guided vacation sales, and special events, we bring both industry expertise and firsthand travel experience to our content.Follow along as we uncover the best weekend getaways, off-the-beaten-path spots, and foodie finds across the U.S.!
Discount Travel Secrets Hi Reader, This week I just want to share some brand new blog posts that have been published since my last newsletter. I realized I had never written reviews for some of the places I stayed in on my most recent trip to Florida back in July. So I started with those first: Orbit One Vacation Villas Review - literally right outside of Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park, the curb appeal is not the greatest, but it has been recently renovated and has a mid century modern +...
Happy Saturday! Hi Reader, Have you seen all the TikTok videos about “The Great Lock-In”? Basically, people are treating these last four months of the year as their time to really lock in on goals, bucket lists, and plans. And I am HERE for it! So I thought why not do the same thing for travel? Here’s how I’m using September to get “locked in” for Fall travel and activities and save money while I’m at it: 🍂 Week 1: Clear the summer clutter I’m putting away all my Summer stuff, and making my...
Happy Saturday! Hi Reader, I want to start today's email with some updates from some stuff going on over here at Discovering Hidden Gems. 1️⃣ For starters, we are in the process of merging our Timeshares, Resorts, and More review blog with Discovering Hidden Gems. So basically, the 60 or so hotel and resort reviews we have on that site will all be moved over to this blog and interconnected with all the relevant content we already have. That project should be done in about a week, so check out...