This was supposed to be an amazing road trip.
And honestly?
For a minute there, it was. 😂
In 2023, we were heading north for Thanksgiving. The real purpose of the trip was family—we were going “home” to the Pennsylvania/Ohio area to see everyone, celebrate my grandmother’s birthday and spend Thanksgiving together.
But if we were going to drive all the way from Georgia to Pennsylvania…
Obviously I was going to turn the drive into a vacation.
Our caravan included our family, my sister’s family and my mom. Altogether, we had five kids and four adults heading north.
And I had plans.
So. Many. Plans.
We would start in Bryson City, North Carolina with The Polar Express.
Continue north with an overnight stop in Virginia.
Spend a couple of nights in Pittsburgh.
Visit family around the Sharon/Warren area.
Celebrate Thanksgiving and my grandmother’s birthday.
Then continue exploring.
Amish Country.
Lake Erie.
Niagara Falls.
It was going to be one of those trips where the journey was just as much a part of the vacation as the destination.
Spoiler alert:
We did not make it to Niagara Falls. 😂
But let’s start at the beginning.
Because the beginning?
The beginning was magical.
First Stop: Bryson City & The Polar Express 🚆🎄
One of the main reasons we decided to drive this particular trip instead of simply finding the fastest way north was because I wanted to stop in Bryson City.
Specifically, I wanted to ride The Polar Express.
And I am SO glad we did.
We arrived in matching Christmas pajamas because if you’re going to board the Polar Express, you commit.
We committed. 😂
The train itself added so much to the experience. The cars had that vintage train feel, with our seats facing each other and a table in the middle—almost like sitting in a little restaurant booth.
Our family was seated across the aisle from one another, which made it feel cozy instead of everyone sitting in rows staring at the backs of each other’s heads.
And then the whole thing started.
Hot Cocoa, Cookies & a Punched Train Ticket ☕🎟️
This wasn’t just a train ride with some Christmas decorations thrown up.
They leaned into it.
We had hot cocoa and cookies.
We received our own train tickets—and yes, they were punched right in front of us.
There was singing and dancing inspired by the movie, and the staff were dressed for the experience.
The cars were enclosed and temperature controlled, so we could sit comfortably in our Christmas pajamas while watching everything outside through the windows.
And then we headed for the North Pole.
I Don’t Care How Old You Are—Do This Once ❤️
I know something like the Polar Express can sound like an activity you do for your kids.
I completely disagree.
Our kids were younger when we went, and watching them experience it was obviously part of the magic.
But I was a grown woman sitting on that train in matching Christmas pajamas, drinking hot cocoa and waiting to see Santa…
and I was completely into it. 😂
When we arrived at the “North Pole,” everything outside was lit and decorated like this little Christmas village.
It was beautiful.
Santa came aboard, and everyone received a silver sleigh bell.
And yes…
I heard it ring. 🔔❤️
If you know, you know.
I genuinely think everyone should experience the Polar Express at least once in their life.
Kids.
Teenagers.
Adults.
Grandparents.
There’s something about everybody collectively agreeing to believe in the story for a little while that lets you feel like a kid again.
And those silver bells?
We still have them.
Every Christmas, they go on our tree.
Three years later, something we were handed on a train in Bryson City has become part of Christmas at our house.
That’s exactly the kind of souvenir I love.
Not something expensive.
Something that carries a memory.
Planning It Today 🚆
If you’re considering the Polar Express now, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad is still running it from the Bryson City Depot for the 2026 holiday season. The current experience is about 1¼ hours round trip and still includes cocoa, a treat, music/story elements, the North Pole, Santa and silver sleigh bells. The railroad says it’s designed for all ages. Great Smoky Mountains Railroad
And book early.
As I’m writing this in October 2026, some November and December departures are already sold out. Great Smoky Mountains Railroad
Back in the Cars We Go 🚗
After Bryson City, we continued north.
We stopped overnight in Virginia, but this was purely a sleep-and-drive stop.
I know it was a Hilton-family hotel.
I also remember it being close enough to the highway that the road noise made sure we were all fully aware of its convenient location. 😂
I don’t remember it well enough to recommend it, and frankly, I wouldn’t.
Sometimes a hotel is part of the vacation.
Sometimes it’s just where you sleep before you get back on I-Whatever in the morning.
This was definitely the latter.
The Foodie Portion of This Trip Was…Fast Food 😂
I had restaurants picked out for this trip.
Of course I did.
Then we started caravanning across multiple states with five kids and four adults.
Reality won.
Instead of carefully researched local restaurants, meals became:
“What can eight people agree on that’s near the interstate?”
Fast food.
I’m normally the person who wants the local restaurant, something I haven’t tried before and dessert afterward.
But there are trips where food is part of the experience.
And there are trips where you’re feeding a small army while trying to get everybody to Pennsylvania.
This was the second kind.
Don’t worry.
I eventually found candy. 😂
Pittsburgh at Christmas 🎄🏙️
The next afternoon, we made it to Pittsburgh.
And this time, the hotel absolutely was part of the experience.
We stayed two nights at Etage Executive Living, and this place helped establish what I now consider an ideal hotel for a longer family trip if we decide against an AirBnb.
We had a three-bedroom suite.
When you’re traveling with a large group, SPACE MATTERS.
Our suite had these huge floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking downtown Pittsburgh, which was already decorated for Christmas.
At night, looking out over the city with all the holiday lights was beautiful.
There was also a game room, rooftop lounge and entertainment space, and even an area for dogs—which mattered because two of our pups had made the trip with us.
This wasn’t somewhere we were rushing to leave every morning.
The hotel became part of the vacation.
Would I Stay Here Again? 🏨
Absolutely.
There are one-night road-trip hotels where I primarily need three things:
Clean.
Safe.
Bed.
Then there are hotels where we’re staying multiple nights and I want room to spread out, a kitchen or living space, comfortable beds and things for everyone to do.
Etage was that second kind of hotel.
It actually contributed to the trip instead of simply housing us during it.
And I have basically been chasing that standard ever since. 😂
I seriously think they have some of the most comfortable beds I have ever slept in away from home.
Going “Home” ❤️
Pennsylvania wasn’t just another destination on this trip.
We have family in the Pennsylvania/Ohio area around Sharon and Warren, so this part of the trip was about going home.
We were there to see family.
Spend Thanksgiving together.
Celebrate my grandmother’s birthday.
And introduce our kids to some of the places that had been part of my own childhood.
One of those places is Daffin’s.
You Can’t Take Me Home Without Taking Me to Daffin’s 🍫
Some families have a restaurant they have to visit every time they go home.
We have candy. 😂
I’ve been going to Daffin’s since I was a kid, and their candy is still absolutely delicious.
There is something especially fun about taking your own children somewhere that exists in your childhood memories.
It’s one of those weird little moments where you suddenly realize:
Wait. I’m the parent now.
How did THAT happen?
Christmas All Year at Kraynak’s 🎄
We also went to Kraynak’s, which is basically Christmas overload in the best possible way.
Their Santa’s Christmasland is this huge indoor Christmas display filled with decorated trees, lights, scenery and animated characters. The current display stretches about 300 feet, and admission is still free. Kraynaks
The kids each picked out an ornament for the little Christmas trees they keep in their bedrooms.
Another souvenir.
Another memory that comes back out every December.
Between those ornaments and our Polar Express bells, this trip basically lives in our Christmas decorations now.
Which turned out to be especially meaningful because…
And This Is Where the Itinerary Died 🤒
Sean got sick.
Not “I don’t feel great but let’s power through” sick.
Sick sick.
He ended up at urgent care in Pennsylvania.
Diagnosis?
The flu AND a double ear infection.
Because apparently influenza alone wasn’t dramatic enough.
And once one person in a giant family travel group gets the flu, you start looking at everyone else like:
👀
Then our son got sick.
The girls and I somehow escaped with maybe some mild congestion, but at that point, the trip had changed.
And the hardest part wasn’t losing Niagara Falls.
Sometimes Canceling Is the Right Thing ❤️
We had traveled north specifically to see family for Thanksgiving and celebrate my grandmother’s birthday.
And then we couldn’t.
Once we knew we had influenza moving through our family, showing up to a big family Thanksgiving—especially around my grandmother—wasn’t something we were willing to do.
So we missed Thanksgiving.
We missed her birthday celebration.
That hurt.
Amish Country could wait.
Lake Erie could wait.
Niagara Falls could wait.
Missing the family we had traveled all that way to see was the part that really disappointed me.
But sometimes the right decision is still the disappointing one.
By Day Two, We Just Wanted Home
There’s something about being sick away from home.
You don’t want another hotel.
You don’t want another activity.
You don’t care about the itinerary anymore.
You want your bed.
By the second day, we were packing.
The trip was over.
Now we just had to get everybody back to Georgia.
The Drive Home Wasn’t Part of the Vacation 🌨️
The drive north had been intentional.
We had stopped for the Polar Express.
We’d broken up the drive.
We’d made the journey part of the experience.
The trip home?
Nope.
We had roughly 13 hours of driving ahead of us with sick people in the car.
And because apparently we hadn’t suffered enough, the weather was terrible.
Cold.
Sleety.
Miserable.
There were no fun detours.
No cute restaurants.
No “Let’s see what’s over there!”
It was weather watching, interstate driving, fast food and trying to get everyone home as quickly and safely as possible.
Sometimes the journey is part of the vacation.
And sometimes?
You just need the journey to get you home.
So…Was This Trip a Failure?
I struggled with this one.
Because this trip could have been amazing.
Polar Express.
Pittsburgh.
Thanksgiving.
My grandmother’s birthday.
Amish Country.
Lake Erie.
Niagara Falls.
It had all the ingredients for one of those giant family trips we’d talk about forever.
And then it completely fell apart.
But looking back?
The trip wasn’t bad.
The flu was bad. 😂
The Polar Express was amazing.
Pittsburgh at Christmas was beautiful.
Our hotel was fantastic.
We went back to places from my childhood.
Our kids got Christmas ornaments.
We ate Daffin’s candy.
We made memories with my mom and my sister’s family.
And every December, those little silver bells still come out of the Christmas boxes and go onto our tree.
We didn’t get the trip I planned.
But we still got a trip worth remembering.
Would I Attempt This Trip Again?
Absolutely.
In fact, I think we have to.
Because there’s unfinished business up there.
Amish Country.
Lake Erie.
Niagara Falls.
We didn’t decide those places weren’t worth visiting.
We just didn’t make it there.
There’s a difference.
A Pin Left in the Map 📍
I wish I could tell you everybody woke up feeling better.
That we rallied.
That we made it to Thanksgiving.
That we celebrated my grandmother.
That we continued through Amish Country, stood beside Lake Erie and eventually boarded the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls.
We didn’t.
Instead, somewhere between Pennsylvania and Georgia, with sleet hitting the windshield and everyone desperately wanting their own beds, my carefully planned itinerary became a list of places we’d have to visit another time.
But here’s the thing I’ve learned about travel:
You don’t have to finish every trip for it to matter.
I remember five kids climbing aboard the Polar Express.
I remember matching Christmas pajamas.
I remember hot cocoa and punched train tickets.
I remember the North Pole glowing outside our window.
I remember Santa.
I remember Pittsburgh lit up for Christmas.
I remember taking my children to places I’d visited as a child.
And I remember those silver bells.
They’re hanging on our Christmas tree every year, reminding us of the Thanksgiving road trip we never finished.
Amish Country is still there.
Lake Erie is still there.
Niagara Falls is definitely still there.
Family is still there.
So I’m not crossing this trip off the list because we will be back.
I’m leaving a pin in the map. 📍
One day, we’ll pick up where we left off.
And hopefully…
without the flu this time. 😂❤️
Tiny traveler. Big adventures. No airplanes required. 🚆
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