About our Families

Road Trips for Families is brought to you by real families who love to take road trips. Every chance we get, we load up and find somewhere to go.

Julie Henning, Editor and Owner

My love affair with road trips began at a young age. Civil War enthusiasts, my parents packed up our Dodge minivan and hauled me and my little sister between Michigan and every conceivable battle site above and below the Mason-Dixon line. One summer we took the back roads to Colorado and I still have the rock I plucked from the Continental Divide.

In a country with relative lack of mass public transportation, travel by personal vehicle really is the only option for exploring our expanse of land that runs between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Often less expensive than airline travel, road trips offer the opportunity to slow down and take the beaten path. From adventure to misadventure, people always remember their family vacation and the stops they made along the way.

I began writing for RoadTripsForFamilies.com in January of 2010 and have driven countless miles on hundreds of road trips. Contributing to this website has provided me with the opportunity to expose my three children to different regions, cultures, and climates. I’ve made countless friends and acquaintances along the way and have challenged myself as a writer and storyteller.

I consider myself a journalist, as I have secured press passes with the following organizations: Midwest Travel Writers Association, Association for Great Lakes Outdoor Writers, and the Society of American Travel Writers.

My work has appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers, radio broadcasts, and now a book.  This job is both my passion and my past time, and I hope you find some ideas that inspire you to travel and make your own road trip memories.

Happy Trails!

Vanessa Salvia, Editor

I grew up in a family that rarely traveled. My grandmother, a mother of two, was the really adventurous one in our family. My grandmother broke her arm while skiing on a trip she took to Hawaii with her cousin, and didn’t tell anyone in her immediate family until she came back home. I was about 6 years old when she came back from Hawaii on that trip, gushing about how much she loved it despite not being able to swim with a broken arm. That set me up for a great desire to visit Hawaii and a love for traveling in general. Here I am in this picture on Makena Beach in Maui.

I’ve tried to raise my own two children with a love of exploration and travel. Whether it’s taking a picnic to the lake for the day or traveling three days in a car to see new scenery, I’ll do it, and my family is (usually) up for it. Our family adventures are filled with day trips, camping, hiking (there are often bribes involved for this) and the longer trips when we can. I look forward to sharing these adventures with you and finding out all about where you and your family love to go.