Explore a Destination!
Welcome to Wesley Adventures Travel Blog where we share our family’s adventures and money saving tips that makes traveling with kids affordable and fun for your family. Traveling with four kids can be difficult. Brian is an Engineer and Tammy a school teacher and together they explore caverns, rainforest, hotels, restaurants, national parks, beaches, Mayan ruins, and theme parks! The Wesley’s share their family’s adventures and money saving tips that can make traveling and urban exploration affordable and fun for any family with the “go bug”.
Mammoth Cave National Park
Mammoth Cave National Park Mammoth Cave gets its name because it is quite literally miles and miles of caves. It sits in a national park located in Kentucky. The kids enjoyed climbing through the tunnels and hearing some of the history of Mammoth Cave. There are a...
The Field Museum Chciago
The Field Museum is one of the largest natural history museums in the world. Fantastic presentation of gems, on par with the Smithsonian, fantastic dinosaur exhibits, and the animal exhibits are organized by continent. However, one of the best exhibits is the...
Top Family Friendly Activities in New York
Our kids love New York. We've found excuses to visit several times over the years. Here is a video we've compiled highlighting out top family-friendly activities in New York: UPDATE: Yes, this video has the Time's Square Toys R Us in it. It has since closed. My...
New York Bus Tours
If you’re traveling in a small group, there are few better ways to see NY than by a hop-on-hop-off New York Bus Tour. Being in the open air at the top of these buses is a fantastic way to see the city. My mother was along on this trip and her feet got tired. A sales...
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the fourth largest in the world and second only to the Library of Congress here in the US. It is a private collection consisting of 87 branches scattered throughout the Manhatten, Bronx, and Staten Island. The largest branch is located...
New York’s Grand Central Terminal
A trip to Midtown Manhattan wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Grand Central Terminal. But, since the late 1800’s everyone calls it Grand Central Station even though the station was replaced by this remarkable building. Grand Central Terminal is the largest rail...
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Explore Destinations
We have hundreds of videos, articles, reviews, and galleries from our adventures. But there are some places that we’ve spent more time exploring. We’ve combined those items into a single place called a Destination. Choose a destination below to begin exploring!
Urban Exploration
Our family has always enjoyed exploring the world around us. Tammy and I grew up in Mississippi and spent much of our youth under the shade of pecan and pine trees. When we moved to UT we were excited to have Salt Lake City and the surrounding suburbs to explore. There’s so much to do from hiking, children’s museums, photography classes, old mills, and pioneer history. Tourism, generally speaking, is when you’re visiting a city while traveling. But what do you call tourism in the city you’re living?
We like to call “tourism in your own city” Urban Exploration. Sure, Urban Exploration usually means sneaking into an old abandoned building or trespassing and taking photos of something most people don’t see.
I guess we could always call it “A Detailed Analysis of Your Indigenous Urban Anthropology”…. But I think “Urban Exploration” will work just as well even if we’re not trespassing or sneaking into an old building that’s about to fall down. From museums, parks, hikes, and activities; get out and do some Urban Exploration in your own neighborhood!
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.”
Oak Alley Plantation
When you think of the Antebellum South with sugar cane fields and large homes with wrap around columns, Oak Alley is usually the home that comes to mind. After a half-hour drive from downtown New Orleans, you’ll turn off of the interstate onto sleepy southern roads....
Minuteman Missile
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is a piece of history not to be skipped or missed. I honestly didn’t think neither the kids nor I would be interested in a missile, but I was surprisingly wrong. We all REALLY enjoyed it and the kids were eager to share their...
John Pennekamp Coral Reef Florida State Park
When you think of coral reefs there aren’t many in the US. In fact, the Florida Reef is the only living coral reef in the continental US (and the third largest in the world – next to the Great Barrier Reef and the Belize Barrier Reef). While the reef is rather long,...
Martins Cove
As a kid, I heard a story about a pioneer handcart company that was so beaten and worn from their winter handcart journey that they couldn’t finish the last leg of their trip to the Salt Lake Valley. What makes this story different from the Donner party was the rescue...
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is seriously one of the most amazing museums we’ve ever seen! The layout is unique and it’s interesting to all who walk through the gates. It was refreshing to see how much fun the kids were having while...
Biosphere 2
Located about 30-45 minutes from the heart of Tucson, it is nestled in Oracle, AZ, among desert and mountain peaks. Don’t let the distance deter you though. It’s worth the drive! Biosphere 2 University of Arizona Biosphere 2 32540 S. Biosphere Road, Oracle, Arizona...
Meteor Crater
There’s so much to see and do in Arizona. Among those is a hidden gem located just outside of Winslow, AZ. It’s not every day that you can say you’ve been to a meteor crater. If you’re in the area, take the short drive (approximately 30-45 minutes) to the site-...
4 Places to Eat in Moab
If you are looking for a great places to eat in Moab, we recommend a few hotspots that are family-friendly, affordable, and very tasty. They’re popular and highly favored among tourists and locals. While there are a number of bakeries and cafes in Moab, we recommend...
Christmas in Disneyland
Christmas in Disneyland Disneyland has always been a magical place for our family. But seeing it at Christmas time just brings that magic to a whole new level. With that said, we would like to share some of our favorite aspects about Disneyland around Christmas. The...
Catalina Island
Catalina Island, located about 20-25 miles west of Los Angeles, California, is full of adventure and class. It is a famous landmark for the Chicago Cubs’ practice field (which was owned by the candyman William Wrigley, Jr. himself). There have been a number of...
Downtown Gatlinburg
Growing up, Brian and I had the opportunity to go to Gatlinburg occasionally and it was always a treat to walk in downtown Gatlinburg. Since then, the kids have had the opportunity to make their own memories walking the streets of downtown. Strolling through The...
Vizcaya
If you’re in the Miami area and looking for something to do, book a tour to go through Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. Our kids were so impressed and loved it so much that they still talk about earning enough money to one day buy Vizcaya! 😉 It’s truly a historic...
Biltmore Estate
Like big homes? Touring mansions? Then Ashville, North Carolina has something for you to see. Built at the end of the 19th century (completed in 1896), the Biltmore estate is the largest privately owned home in the United States. This place is huge…. And by huge I...
Chicago Museum of Science and Industry
Originally built over 120 years ago to house fine art for the World’s Fair; the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry is our top pick for Chicago! Sure, it’s important to see the Bean (Cloud Gate), Willis Tower (aka Sears Tower), and get a slice of pizza. However,...
The Congress Hotel
The Congress Plaza hotel is very popular for conventions and history buffs. It was built in 1893 to show that Chicago couldn’t be beat down by the 1871 fire. This large hotel has some fantastic views of the lake and the park. It was one of the only hotels I could...
