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United States Trip 2026
  • Elisa Gatti
  • Elisa Gatti

United States Trip 2026

84 days traveling across the United States Read more
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  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Watkins Glen State Park

    June 15 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Normally when we camp we don’t do much, we sit and chat and depending on location to weather, use the water near us. I was totally happy to do nothing, but Jackie and Kathy had some ideas of local things to do.

    Before lunch we headed not far, into the little town and walked the Watkins Glen. As it was off season, the shuttle bus hadn’t started yet, so we all drove to the Eastern entrance, let everyone off, Jackie drove her cat to the main entrance, and then I drove Jackie back with me, back to the main entrance, so that if anyone wanted to do just the one way, they can.

    We walked down the stairs into the gorge and then walked along the man made walkway, a 1.5 mile(2.4 km) walk. It was the coldest day of our trip yet and it was perfect for the “casual stroll”. That walk was supposed to have 19 waterfalls. We saw a bunch, but not sure if there was 19. It was beautiful though and so glad to get out and sweat a bit. We made it to the main entrance, checked out the gift store, had winery tasting and then myself, Josh and Mike did the last 1.5 miles back and walked around the North rim.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Second half of the day

    June 15 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    The walk was great and the rest of the afternoon consisted of the fire, s’mores, naps on the hammock and just a lovely night.

    Brandon over the few days got to cut wood, cut food, fish and learned life skills.

    The KOA was mostly RV and cabins. You could hear the speedway not far away and the zing of the cars speeding around it, practicing.

    My friends burn wood all day so there was always a chance for s’mores :). They also cooked the meat and food over the fire which was a good experience as we usually use a grill.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti
    Got a quick hello with Doug

    Seneca lake wine region

    June 16 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    It was a cold morning and even tried to turn on the heater but couldn’t figure out how to, but the sun came out and it was a beautiful day.

    Our first thing on the agenda was mini golf at the KOA while the others got ready for wine tasting.

    Our first stop was “either Ore wine, whisky and cheese”. I did a dry white flight with cheese, while Josh did a whiskey and cheese flight. Kathy got a wine slushie, and Mike got a dry white flight, different than mine.

    The kids had a no screen day so they did school work while we tasted.

    The best wine was the Cabernet Franc, which is a local grape here in NY.

    The second winery was Hazlitt. It was great and good for our group. They had popcorn for kids, and out back was a called the Oasis where they serve food and games outside.

    The last winery we went to was Atwater, a suggestion that my friend Doug gave as he moved to the area a few years ago and now owns a caravan park. I didn’t learn this till yesterday.

    This was a newer winery than the other two (or it at least looked like it) and was beautifully built for the view. Doug came and met us for one drink and it was good to see him.

    We headed back and Kathy was back making the fire right away :) .

    We unfortunately had to leave the next day, but we had had a relaxing amazing time with Jackie, Kathy and Mike.

    We drove from Watkins Glen to Union town, Ohio and got to Joe and Carols house about 4pm. We were here 8 years ago and it’s a nice feeling to have the same place to go back to and the kids to remember it.

    States: New York and Ohio    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti
    11

    Cedar Point, Sandusky Ohio

    June 18 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 22 °C

    Our plan when visiting Joe and Carol was to head to Cedar Point one of the days, but we didn’t care which one. Based off the World Cup game and heading off on the boat, the days were limited and we choose today.

    The weather was predicted to be partly cloudy but windy so there would be a chance that some or the rides would be closed.

    It was a hour 45 min drive so we got there about 11am. Luckily we didn’t arrive at opening at 10am as it was pouring then. When we got there it was sprinkling and some of the rides were open.

    Cedar Point is on Lake Erie and was opened in 1870, being the 2nd oldest operating amusement park in the United States. It is now known to be the “ Roller Coaster capital of the world”. Today it has 18 operating roller coasters.

    My favourite was Millennium force which is a the 8th tallest and fastest at 310 feet in the world. Brandon went on Top Thrill 2 at the end of the day (as it was closed for most of it) and that is the third tallest and fastest at 420 feet tall and 120mph

    Inara’s favourite was the newest roller coaster Sirens Curse, which is North America's tallest, longest, and fastest tilt coaster, featuring a 160-foot lift, a 90-degree vertical holding tilt, a top speed of 58 mph, and two zero-g barrel roll inversions. It stayed straight up for 5 seconds.

    We weren’t originally going to go on this as last week it had a few issues and was stuck straight up with people on it. Brandon made a good point that the safety mechanisms did what they were supposed to do and didn’t proceed with the roller coaster.

    After riding millennium force and how smooth and fast it was, I needed to see how smooth Sirens curse was as it looked sooo smooth.

    As not all the rides were opened, the lines were super long and it was probably the most we waited out of any of the other amusement parks. We did meet two young adults who just finished first year of college, Tegan and Merli who are season passers. We ended up playing Charades with them on their phone and went on a few different roller coasters with them. They definitely made the waiting go faster.

    At one point we passed a Glass Blowing demonstration and Brandon was immersed in it so Inara and I continued on riding all the roller coasters we could.

    Inara and I attempted a few times to line up for Steel Vengeance but it always seems to have closed for issues. It was supposed to be an awesome roller coaster so at like 9pm I told Inara this is our last chance and we did it, loved it and ran to Magnum for our last roller coaster. That was the worst to end on and made me feel sick.

    While we were running to make Magnum by 10pm line close, Brandon was in line for Top Thrill 2 and 45 min after the line closed he finished up in the front row.

    We rode the following on the 11 hours:
    Blue Streak
    Iron Dragon
    Millennium Force
    Sirens Curse
    Rougaraou
    Magnum Xl
    Maverick
    Steel Vengeance
    Gemini
    Top Thrill 2
    Skyhawk (not a coaster)    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    FIFA World Cup

    June 19 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    The morning was slow, did some laundry and hung out with Joe and Carol.

    Today Australia played against USA at 3pm in Seattle for the World Cup. Joe and Carol’s son Danny and wife Megan invited us to their beautiful home about 15 min away to watch the game.

    We have memories of Danny, Megan, Aria and Logan when we came here 8 years ago. We spent a wonderful day out on their pontoon boat and it’s an experience Brandon remembers.

    Aria is 11, just finished 5th grade and Logan 8 years old, heading into 3rd grade.

    When we arrived Aria and her friend had a lemonade stand and Inara stayed there and helped and was part of the group right away.

    We watched the USA dominate over Australia which was a bit sad to watch, but the US played better. Final score was 2 to 0.

    By the time the game was over, the fire was on, the other TV was moved outside, and friends for both adults and kids arrived and the house was full of noise. Pizza was ordered and bourbon was poured.

    We went their previous house last time and since then they have moved to this gorgeous house on a hill that has beautiful view of the sunset. The people before them must of had an interior designer as the design was weaved throughout the house and was sophisticated and gorgeous.

    The friends were lovely, good conversation and stories and all of us were included and felt a part of their group.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Making memories never to forget

    June 20 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    I think today will be one of the experiences the kids will never forget.

    Danny, Megan, Aria and Logan invited us along in their boat along with Carol, Joe, Jessica, Brad and their 2 little ones Wes and Wyatt.

    The day involved the kids taking turns on the biscuit/tube and I also got to get out and wakeboard as well. We had the combinations of Inara and Aria, Brandon and Logan, and then Brandon, Brad and Wes. Somehow Brandon also got to go alone too.

    After some time, Carol, Joe, Josh and Megan got off the boat and stayed on the beach. There was also a few logistics happening as the beach, marina and boat ramp all had different parking lots and the cars needed to be moved around.

    Joe also has his jet ski so the kids had a turn as well. Joe and Inara, Joe, Brandon and Aria, and then Joe, Brandon and Logan. Brandon was able to drive the jet ski with Joe too.

    Even though the kids only met once 8 years ago, and then yesterday, they had such a great time with each other. It’s so awesome that Inara may have a bestie on the other side of the world. Email, kids messenger, Roblox can have them keep in touch. The girls were so cute together and the boys, even though 4 years apart gelled as they are both very active and enjoyed the rough and tumble.

    After a lovely day on the boat, we all went to Joe and Carols for a bbq. It was a great feeling, just being part of the family for a bit.

    I ended up taking 806 photos of the day. They all had so many facial expressions it was hard to pick the best.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Longest day of the year

    June 21 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    We didn’t have any plans today but based off recommendations from the locals we headed to downtown Cleveland and went to the Rock and Roll Hall of fame.

    We were there for about 4 hours. It wasn’t that crowded which was great, as being Father’s Day, it could go either way.

    There was lots to see, hear, and experience with interactive exhibits. I really enjoyed it overall, and made notes to look into past artists I don’t know much about.

    The kids enjoyed playing drums. Josh enjoyed seeing the memorabilia and outfits. Stevie wonder and 7 sunglasses.

    Brandon learned what an induction was, the eligibility requirements to be nominated and the way a ceremony is organised, with other artists singing tributes.

    Inara liked the beat exhibit and enjoyed making music. There was also pinball machines, band sticker making and of course learning how to play certain instruments.

    We finished our daytrip with a quick basketball volleyball game which we played back in Florida as there was 3 sand volleyball courts in the port of Cleveland park.

    We had a lovely homemade meal that Carol made. Joe had his fire pit turned on, and the fireflies were out.

    We had a surprise visit from Danny, Megan, Aria and Logan. They brought us local ice cream to try which was yummy and so kind. I also think the kids wanted to see our kids again too as they had such a fun time together.

    It was a lovely night and finished the night watching Egypt beat New Zealand in the World Cup!    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Off to Kentucky

    June 22 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    We left Ohio about 1015 saying goodbye to Carol and Joe, thanking them for such a great visit.

    When we were planning our trip Josh really only asked for one area to visit, the Bourbon trails

    We knew we were in Ohio and needed to get to Arkansas, so we landed getting to Kentucky. Since I have been trying also stay in different types of accomodation, I found a tree house that we could stay in for two nights.

    We hit some pretty good rain on our drive, heading into our 20th state. The tree hour was a bit off the bourbon trail, so we decided to hit up Buffalo Trace on the way to the accomodation and then another one on the way out.

    We got to Buffalo Trace about 4pm, heading to the gift shop as they did free tastings thier. We came at a great time as there was no one else in line, so we were able to go right into a large tasting booth. The kids were given their root beer while we had a tasting of 4 different types. Josh ended up buying the Cornel bourbon as it’s hard to find in Australia and almost 3 times the price. When we were in the gift shop section, they also had a tasting for a new product that came out today. Bourbon and lemonade, so we bought a 4 box, to sit out on the treehouse with.

    Our accommodation was in the woods of the Red River Geological area in the Appalachian mountains . We had to park in the loading/ unloading spot as even though we condensed our luggage for the tree house, the stairs were not easy to get up to the house from the parking lot. Luckily we unloaded during a dry patch in the weather.

    We had pasta that was boiled via the microwave as there was no stove. Josh decided tomorrow we will eat out. There was a multi microwave/air fryer/ and toaster but it was small and we couldn’t really figure it out.

    Josh and I slept on the double bed on the floor, on the upstairs loft. The single bed in the kitchen is actually two single beds and we moved the below single bed over when we were ready for bed.

    Under the main house is as a deck that had a few chairs and a swing chair. Brandon spent a good amount of time down there on his headphones. At one point the hook in the ceiling broke and down came the swing.

    We had a family game of Phase 10 but it took so long we had to quit as we needed to go to bed.

    Mileage : 84217
    New state: Kentucky    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Natural bridge Resort State Park

    June 23 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    As the tree house is in the beautiful Red River Gorge geological area, there are tons of walks, hikes and climbs all around us. In my head we would do a walk at the Natural Bridge and then go closer to our tree house there is the Red River Gorge, but we only were able to complete the Natural Bridge track as it took longer than expected.

    We first visited the Red Gorge Visitor Centre and then headed to the one of many parking lots for the trails.

    The main trail was the rock garden all the way to the Natural Bridge. When we were near the top a lovely family of 4 stopped us, asked us questions about the hike and then gave us their return trip down on the skylift as they were going to walk down. Looks like majority take the skylift up and then walk down.

    We took the skylift down but then had to walk back to the car, so had to get back on the trail and walk back. The kids (and Josh) were over the walk by then but had no other way to get to the car. It was super hot and humid.

    After 8km and 3 hours of walking and an elevation of 404 meters we made it back to the car sweaty, tired and hungry. As we didn’t have lunch we had a big late lunch / early dinner (lunner) at the Hungry Hiker. It was a good and needed meal!!

    Our night ended up playing a one of the games on offer at the tree house, “unsolved case files” which took way longer than expected but it was a great game as well all worked together, and there was no winner.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Busy day!!!

    June 24 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    We left the treehouse by 9am and headed about 90 min toward St Louis, hitting the Bourbon trail.

    First stop was Woodford Reserve which was very buegoiuse looking. The clientele there were grey haired and very classy looking. As we were less then 2km away and we are only here once I suggested we make a stop at Castle and Key distillery.

    The grounds were beautiful, with green grass and a riverfront. There was corn hole for kids and even a food truck. I did a gin flight tasting which was ordinary. Josh had a whisky cocktail before we got back in the car to keep going to our final destination, St Louis.

    On our way we ended up driving through Indiana and Illinois to get to Missouri, which I did not realise was going to happen. We also gained an hour as we moved through a time zone.

    We got to our cute little Airbnb in the St Hampton area or St Louis. Ed and Cheryl met us at the door to show us to the back area which we rented out. We had the front porch. Main bedroom and back bedroom with bunks. My misread of the Airbnb description as we didn’t have access to the kitchen, but we did have a small fridge, table and coffee area.

    We didn’t hangout long, dropped our bags in the rooms and headed into the city to catch a MLB baseball game, St Louis Cardinals and Arizona Diamondbacks.

    The whole experience was different than what we expected as it all started with Josh not being able to bring in his backpack as it was too big, but also has he had bug spray and that’s not allowed. While we were working out logistics and tickets and one working phone (as the kids and I were already in the stadium) one of the attendance was questioning what we were doing. She then realised we were tourists from Australia.

    Long story short, once Josh got back in, we moved from our original seats looking over the whole stadium on level three to an upgrade on level 1 not far from 1st base. We were also given Cardinals shirts, and bobble heads and kept on being checked on.

    Not only was the staff amazing at Busch stadium but the people we saw near were also very welcoming. The bi racial lesbian couple in front of us, both named April, gave the kids raw peanuts and a when she went to the bathroom, she came back with a small Basbeall bat and ball for both kids. All she asked in return is for the kids to be kind.

    The whole experience of the evening shows the true American spirit.

    Milage: 84645

    States: Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti
    1

    St Louis Zoo

    June 25 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    At the baseball game we were told we should head to the Zoo because it was free. They didn’t tell us how great the zoo was and I am so glad we went.

    For 5 hours in the heat we walked around one of the best zoos we have been to. The reptile house was huge and had so many reptiles we never heard of or seen before. There was a weird looking soft shell turtle , a salamander called a Siren, and a beautiful Boelens python to name a few.

    Highlights were the very active polar bear, and the sibling grizzly bears who were orphaned. We got to chat with the trainers at the sloth exhibit and watched them “train”. We went to the sea lion show and Robbie is a 25 year old 800 lbs sea lion who was born at the zoo. The prairie dogs were cute but they had a surprise wild ground hog trying to get out of the enclosure. Australia was represented with red kangaroos which Brandon was super excited to see.

    The primate enclosure was awesome and was versatile to move around the different kind of monkeys and lemurs.

    The kids and Josh were too tired and hot so I walked to the Red River Edge on my own to see the African animals. Many weren’t around or hiding as it was so hot , but I got to get close to the three hippo’s.

    Some of the enclosures looked small but all and all the zoo was really good, and really educated and preached conservation.

    We headed back as the rain came in and spent the rest of the night back at our air bnb where we have two rooms in a families house. We had a chat with our hosts who gave us some brownies and then we watched both soccer games, US vs Turkey and Australia vs Paraguay at the same time. Computer and tv.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti
    The building and the rooftopOutside of the buildingFloor 1 and main slideLizard areaView from level 3InsectariumRandom big underwearPlaces to climbThe circus showCan you see Brandon??Sweaty after climbingThe cavesThe ceilingAxolotlFish eating Brandon's hand

    The City Museum

    June 26 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 22 °C

    Kristia told us about City museum and the locals at the baseball game agreed we need to go, so we did and had no idea what to expect.

    The city museum is nothing like we have ever seen before. After three years it was finished in 1997 and is a massive, immersive art installation and architectural playground. Housed in a 600,000-square-foot former shoe warehouse, it is built almost entirely from repurposed industrial objects, salvaged bridges, and urban flotsam.

    It operates as an all-ages adventure park where visitors climb, crawl, and slide through handcrafted caves, multi-story chutes, and hanging airplanes. There is also an aquarium that had axolotls and a insectarium of thousands of insects. One of the 5 levels was a parkour park where the kids can jump, swing and run up ramps. The whole thing was just crazy.

    Everywhere we turn was something to look at and we have more photos than I can add. Level 4 had an area with local artists and there was another area where you can slide down as high as 7 floors.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti
    Sculpture in City GardenThe door to the tram carThe small tram carView of Busch StadiumAt the top of the arch650 feet highWay back down

    The Gateway Arch

    June 26 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

    Brandon was over the craziness by about 3pm, which was good as we needed to head off to the Arch. We walked 20 min or so, to the kids dismay as their feet were killing them.

    Towering at 630 feet, the stainless steel catenary curve was constructed between 1963 and 1965, serving as a symbol of the "Gateway to the West". It’s a tram car in the arch that takes you to the top and then can view the city from there. Due to the arch, the tram car is moved similar to both an escalator and a lift. The tram car is also very small with a max 5 people and hopefully no one is claustrophobic.

    There was tons of information of the Louisiana purchase and the history of the expansion of the west as well as an area on how the arch was built.

    We walked 20,000 steps as we made our way back to the car. Brandon just wanted to go back to the house and about 5 blocks away from the car Inara’s legs just stopped working. I think we pushed the kids to the limit.

    That night we ordered in and watched USA lose against Turkey on the TV while at the same time we watched Australia drew against Paraguay on the laptop.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    To Kristia’s

    June 27 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    We left St Louis, a city that has surprised me and off we went for a 5 hour drive to the other side of Missouri.

    We met Kristia at her house, along with Maverick, charlotte, Freya, Jeremy and the animals - 4 dogs, 3 goats, horse and a pony, and a whole bunch of ducks and geese.

    As like St Louis, it was hot and humid so the day involved just hanging out. This involves getting stuck in a toy car, playing video games together, playing on the trampoline and board games to name a few.

    That night we stayed at motel 8 about 7 min away from her house.

    Milage 85, 100    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    It’s soo hot

    June 28 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    It was decided that as it was a hot day, we would spend the first half of the day in a river in a conservation area. Brandon was very keen to catch fish, craw daddy and tadpoles and even went fly fishing down the river with Jeremy.

    Second half was back at the house, chill’n with the animals and Brandon got to get on the dirt bike. The night ended with the board game gestures.

    I spent some time trying to video fire flies as they are may favourite    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    The home stretch

    Jun 29–Jul 2 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    We packed up our luggage, headed back to Kristia’s and said goodbye before we headed down South back to Moms house just before dinner.

    Mom had all these plans for us but with the extreme heat and humidity, the e-bikes, and a trip to the Eureka Springs were not an option but we still kept busy.

    Over the few days we did lots of things. We dealt with the heat by going to the Rogers Aquatic Center while Josh did school work.

    We had 2 hours at Top Golf, getting gelato (twice for the kids), watched a lot of Wimbledon tennis and World Cup Soccer, including at a Mexican restaurant for $1 taco Tuesday. At night we did music bingo, and another night Josh, mom and Chuck went back to the same bar to listen to a loud Blues band.

    Mom and I went to red light therapy and reformer (twice) which I did the first week here as well followed by smoothies and salads for lunch.

    Chuck and Josh went to breakfast most mornings and one morning I walked 6km around Lake Atalantis near the house and found an awesome bike park, saw a heron and lots of turtles.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti
    Helping clean the house before we leaveFirst time at Sonic

    4th July Weekend/ 250th birthday of the the USA

    Jul 3–4 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    The festivities of the holiday weekend and last weekend of our trip didn’t turn out as planned.

    Friday was spent watching sport, and we watched Australia end their World Cup journey. As it was our last night with no plans, we headed to The Table Orleans at the Hickory Inn. It was a lovely dinner and Brandon and Inara both enjoyed their prime rib dishes.

    Afterwards back at the house, as the weekend of celebrations have started all over the town, the kids got to enjoy a kids pack of fireworks that mom decided to get them.

    In Arkansas you can buy and let off fireworks anywhere. The kids pack had poppers, snakes, sparklers, cherries, chicken, silver fountain snappers, flash bang, smoke grenades and tank. Pretty much there was noise, some sparkling and lots of smoke. The neighbors down the street had a massive party (yearly event) and had an hours worth of massive fire works right in the front yard. It’s very loud and a bit scary so close.

    While we we were doing our fireworks,
    Mom tripped up the garage lip and fell on her knee. The pain was unbearable and we couldn’t move her so the night involved an ambulance, firetruck and emergency room visit.

    I drove behind her, and a few hours later she was sent home with morphine, a brace, and crutches. To get her into her jeep she needed to have her legs hanging out that window.

    While we were at the hospital, the kids and Josh watched the neighbourhood fireworks from the safety of the car.

    Sat, 4th of July was pretty low key as mom can’t do much and needed rest. Mom was originally going to drive Brandon to her friend’s Carlos house (40 min away) as she organised Carlos to take him fishing bright and early, but she couldn’t, so Josh drove him. He had a great time and they caught 12 fish with Brandon catching 2 Bass.

    As like the rest of the week we had tennis and soccer on the TV all day. Kids played on screen, played pool, pinball and whatever they could do to keep them busy.

    The plan was to head to Roger’s old town and go to the Ozark Folk Jamboree as mom got a table for us all but we were all a bit tired from the night before. We weren’t going to go but at last minute after our stop at Sonic for dinner we drove by and stayed for an hour or so and listened to the local music.

    Afterwards we got home and finished the fireworks in the driveway. There were fireworks all over the area being let off. Lighting and thunder joined the noise and lights so it felt we were in a war zone.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti
    Enjoying mango smoothieFinally getting funnel cake

    The final destination

    Jul 6–8 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

    After saying our goodbye’s to Mom and Chuck, and the Jeep, our only constant in the last 75 days, we headed out in our rental car, heading South to Dallas.

    We had a 5 hour drive to Arlington, Texas , stopping at a DSW shoe warehouse to pick up pre ordered shoes and then dinner at a pizza parlour. At dinner I surprised the kids with tickets to Six flags Hurricane Harbour water park for the next day, as our flight isn’t till 820pm.

    Heading to the water park, meant we needed to pass Dallas AT&T stadium which are hosting World Cup matches and that afternoon was Spain vs Portugal. The line of excited soccer fans to get in was already super long and traffic was slow.

    We got to the waterpark around noon with new information that we aren’t flying out till 1115pm so we literally had all day at the park. It was a good way to end the trip. It was already super hot and was only getting hotter over the day. The lazy river was the best, and there was so many slides on offer, all different types.

    We finally made it to the Dallas Fort Worth airport after stopping at subway for the Monday sub deal, dropped off rental car and then checked in. Our flight didn’t actually get up in the air till about midnight as there was more delays on the tarmac. The only good news was that our 17 hour 40 min flight would only be 17 hours due to the good headwind.

    With a long day in the sun (Josh even got burnt), and a late departure, meant we were all tired. Brandon was asleep before dinner was served. The food service was fast and then shut off all the lights. When I woke up there was only 6 hours left in the flight.
    It was one of the better flights I have been on.

    The process of getting through immigration, customs, and baggage was fairly uneventful other than it took about 40 min to wait for our final bag. We finally got into our pre booked car, taking in the cold air which felt great.    Read more

  • Elisa GattiUnited States Trip 2026Elisa Gatti

    Back in Australia

    July 8 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    As I write this we have been back at home for a few days now.

    Wed July 8th we didn’t get home till about 1030am and to have the least effect of jet lag I kept myself busy and didn’t nap. The dogs were happy to see us and tequila the blue tongue lizard was still alive!!

    Inara went to a friend’s house, Brandon played fortnight with a friend all day online, and I mowed the lawn, cleaned the house ,did laundry and then finally crashed. Josh didn’t sleep much on the plane so he took a nap, and then went food shopping and made dinner.

    We are back into the swing of life with Brandon back at footy practice on Thurs night and Inara had gymnastics on Friday. Today, Sat we have soccer games for both kids and footy game tomorrow. I have been back at the gym twice now and the house is still being deep cleaned and reorganised.

    Our trip was 80 days, and we drove approx 8,500 miles or 13,669 km through 25 states.

    We spent approx $35,000 aud with $2085 of that being petrol/ gas, including our shopping of clothes, and shoes and all the Christmas ornaments we collected.
    Cheapest petrol price was ???
    Highest was in the Tennessee Mountains on way back to Asheville at $4.65 usd??!
    Without borrowing the jeep we would not have been able to afford the trip.

    We also had 3 different house sitters at our house looking after the pets, plants and house in general which were there as a barter and no $ exchange hands. This was an awesome help to be able to travel for so long.

    We stayed 7 nights in Universal Orlando, our longest stint in one spot. It was an average of 3 days in a spot.
    The accomodation varied;
    -Over a barn at a cow farm, 2 single beds on two lofts and King bed
    -A small shelter room at a goat farm with one bed and a floor mat
    -A covered wagon at a KOA with queen and bunks
    -A colourful motel in pan handle of Florida , 2 double beds
    -A RV in a RV community
    -Universal Hotel room with two rooms
    -A tree house with a loft and twin beds in the kitchen
    -A Airbnb attached to a house with bunks
    -A beach house via Stayz and shared rooms with cousins
    -Airbnb deluxe house looking over the Smokey Mts with a hot tub, and kids has built in bunks.
    -KOA cabin with a pull out couch, and a single bunk over the double bed
    -Motel and hotels in little stops like Eldon, Delaware and Dallas all with two double beds booked via qantas or booking.com
    -Numerous houses of friends and family which had different sleeping arrangements, using couches, sharing beds and normally bed hoping to where ever it will be the easiest for the kids to sleep.

    Things we did to keep costs down:
    -Didn’t always order a meal each as portions are big
    -Cooked in the accomodation as much as possible
    -Had subway meal deals, Monday meatball sub being the most popular with the kids
    -Went to Costco to get on the go meals (pizza,smoothies) and cheap liquor
    -Joined Love’s petrol station rewards program to get 10 cents off of petrol as well as points to buy snacks

    We did as many activities as we could, some just for thrills and fun, others like the zoo and aquarium, and museums for learning and experience.

    Top three:
    Elisa
    Swimming with the manatees
    Seeing and spending time with friends and family
    Seeing St Louis and all it had to offer, it was surprise

    Inara
    All theme parks and water parks
    The boat day out in Ohio
    Seeing family , meeting new friends    Read more

    Trip end
    July 8, 2026