2023-03-06 17:25
At what point can you say you’ve visited another country? Read More
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Bhm Travel Dad Blog
bhmtraveldad.com
Family Travel to Europe, from the South. Tips & tricks, destinations and deals. All while keeping kids (and adults) in mind.
2023-02-07 22:44
Contrary to popular belief, Swedes are not perfect Read More
2023-01-29 05:39
And this time it pays off! I mean, not a huge score - not business class, of a coach row all to myself (there were some of those on this flight) but I was able to shift from my middle/middle… Read More
2023-01-28 19:40
When you’re traveling on a budget, you have to a.) be aware of the hidden costs, and b.) leave your shame at the front door Read More
2023-01-28 16:54
TravelDad pop quiz: Read More
2022-08-19 21:15
The part of this road trip that I liked the least, as TravelDad, was having to retrace my original steps for much of the return journey. Out and back on the same road is inefficient, from a… Read More
2022-08-12 20:23
The pace of my write-up has led some folk to believe that this summer has been one perpetual road-trip for the Grays. Nope! It’s just been a perpetual case of writing fatigue on my par… Read More
2022-07-29 21:55
It started as a day like any other Read More
2022-07-13 21:14
If Gettysburg is the King of Civil War battlefield parks, Antietam is the Queen. The qualities you look for in visiting a field: Read More
2022-06-29 22:12
Yes, TravelDad is shockingly behind on his write-up of The Great Gray Family Road Trip, completed almost four weeks ago. But TravelDad will always complete the task, if only for posterity an… Read More
2022-06-10 20:54
“Appomattox Court House” is both the name of the actual courthouse that serviced Appomattox, VA, and the name of the little village that sprung up around it. In that village sits… Read More
2022-06-07 22:04
If you listened closely last Saturday, you may have caught the faint sounds of the opening chords of China Grove, and the gentle easing of my sketcher-clad lead foot onto the gas pedal of ou… Read More
2022-05-26 20:54
I certainly did gush a bit about the beautiful German countryside, didn't I? In fact, driving along the German side of Lake Konstanz, having lunch at a beautiful golf course, and another at… Read More
2022-05-22 20:00
A curious thing I’ve noticed twice now on this trip: Local inhabitants who take the natural beauty of their surroundings for granted Read More
2022-05-20 20:55
Guess which river I’m on. Go ahead! I’ll wait…there, you got it, right. Yes! The Danube! The same stately and majestic river that runs through Budapest also runs through T… Read More
2022-05-17 19:56
Most of my Dear Readers will know that I always like to ask of a city: “why is it here?” There are usually a handful of obvious reasons; occasionally some that are a little burie… Read More
2022-05-16 19:59
My Short notes from Hungary Day 1: No pithy TravelDad observations here, just short notes on a short stay in Hungary: Read More
2022-05-15 08:12
Well, that didn't work Read More
2022-05-14 06:47
Unusual circumstances alert: TravelDad is heading to Europe! Hungary, Germany, Switzerland. Wheels up! Read More
2022-04-28 22:10
By the afternoon of Day 2 we were ready to see the crown jewel of our visit to Nashville, The Hermitage. We’re all fans of or professionals in American History in this family, and seei… Read More
2022-04-22 21:13
Against some long odds, Nashville has established itself as a party city, and especially as a go-to destination for bachelor and bachelorette parties Read More
2022-04-20 20:33
Maybe you think I ragged a bit too much on Nashville for its “Music City” name? You wait, I’m just getting started Read More
2022-04-14 23:01
"What kind of music do you usually have here?" Read More
2022-04-11 21:55
Come along, friends, as The Gray Family continues its tour of local Americana. I know, at this point I desperately need to update my website header – this site still claims, despite th… Read More
2021-11-11 22:51
So: why Memphis? On Travel Man, Richard Ayoade asks this at the beginning of the show, and then spews the Wikifacts on his particular destination – founded in 1819, a population of 663… Read More
2021-11-05 22:47
As a teen I remember being able to buy an all-day ski lift ticket at Seven Springs for something like $10. Thirty-someodd years later you’ll spend an easy $100 for the same. That&rsquo&hell…Read More
2021-10-26 21:19
“Before Elvis, there was nothing.” -John Lennon Read More
2021-10-15 15:26
“Nothing but Blues & Elvis, and somebody else’s favorite song” – Steely Dan, FM Read More
2021-10-01 22:15
Memphis TN is a breezy three and a half hour drive from Birmingham, AL – almost all of it on Interstate 22, a new-ish (in terms of interstates) link between the cities. I’ve been… Read More
2021-09-29 22:26
What did you do all summer? Yeah, us too. Not much Read More
2021-08-10 22:15
My last TravelDad post was aggressively optimistic – we’d turned the COVID corner, travel was back! And I’d envisioned a July and August full of day trips and local overnig… Read More
2021-07-08 21:59
I was in the Post Office yesterday – I know, how archaic, but I had some postcards that I wanted to send, leftovers from our trip to Florence AL where I found a shop still selling them… Read More
2021-06-15 02:10
By design this was a nice, short trip: The beauty of a two hour distance is that you don’t feel like you have to spend more than one night to make it all worth the drive; and, you can… Read More
2021-06-07 01:46
Go to Booking.com and type “Florence” in under Destinations, and you’ll get the following five choices: Read More
2021-05-28 17:07
Clickety-clack, travel’s back! Yes, that sound you hear is the collective of keystrokes and mouseclicks as people book, once again, for summer travel Read More
2020-09-19 15:30
As I was saying – I’m not doing this just for fun. An English Country Squire must have first-hand knowledge of estate management, and on that happy day when I permanently retreat… Read More
2020-09-16 22:29
What, just what, do we do with 20 cubic feet of soil? How about we grow some shi…some stuff Read More
2020-09-11 21:51
Nature amazes me, because seeds drop into the ground and grow new plants, all by themselves. I’ve tried doing this, and had convinced myself that the whole kernel->plant progression… Read More
2020-09-03 18:40
United Kingdom: “Why don’t we combine all our different flags into one?” Read More
2020-09-01 19:25
Listen – I’m nothing if not derivative. So, when COVID hit, and all my travel plans went slowly, then quickly out the window, well…what’s a TravelDad going to do as… Read More
2020-05-26 22:14
I won’t lie. It’s been a tough time for TravelDad, and I don't like posting when I'm feeling down. I shouldn’t complain, after all, I’m healthy and safe, employed and… Read More
2020-03-28 15:32
So last post I said that London wasn’t on the list of cities I’d visit during a shut-down – as if I had an actual list. Really I only had one city in mind, and I suspected… Read More
2020-03-23 01:56
I was watching an old Star Trek episode with my kids (DS9, which I hated at the time it was out but have since come around on); this episode heavily featured Vulcans and their near superiori… Read More
2020-03-09 21:51
So I was taking a walk through downtown Birmingham because it was finally a nice day after so many many days of rain -- and I’m not just talking about a day where it rained at some poi… Read More
2020-03-05 00:00
“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.” Read More
2020-02-17 01:44
Heading into fall of 2019, I had...oh...a bit more than 420,000 Skymiles saved up. It had taken a ridiculously long time to do that, btw, since I'm not a frequent flyer and have to rely on e… Read More
2020-02-11 01:36
Deal Alert! Delta is relaunching it's Skymiles Amex card, with an unusually rich bonus mile sign-on, and if you don't already have this card, then perhaps you want to think about it, just fo… Read More
2020-01-31 23:00
Hey, you know I like to do my summer travel to Europe, it says so in the description of this site. But maybe you don't want to leave the US this year, what with the whole world collapsing al… Read More
2020-01-20 22:00
It is not lost on me that the last/only other time I've been to London was as a result of one of those crazy 70's overseas flight arrangements, the kind a mad scientist travel agent would th… Read More
2020-01-14 00:32
The other day I ran into a Dear Reader, JWT, hadn't seen her since she switched jobs, and we proceeded on a year end recap. I told her my recent tale of woe and she insisted that I create a… Read More
2020-01-11 00:00
Adios and farewell to Frontier Airlines' foray into the Alabama market, they've pulled their routes from Birmingham (and Montgomery) for lack of demand. Some of you will remember that budget… Read More
2020-01-07 07:00
Yeah, sure, it’s my New Years’ (New Year’s?) resolution to blog more, blah blah. Listen, it’s hard to blog over the holidays, or at least it was for me. It’s a… Read More
2019-11-24 23:31
Thomas Edison got around. So much so that there are an easy half-dozen cities that claim him as one of their own, Louisville included. As a young man on the make, Edison worked here for West… Read More
2019-11-22 01:03
Regardless of how you feel about wagering, if you’re in Louisville, you have to see Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. It’s a short drive from downtown, 12 minutes, rig… Read More
2019-11-16 03:51
Famous Bats in History and Fiction, and Were They Louisville Sluggers? Read More
2019-11-14 00:01
Let’s explore! Louisville advertises itself, based on a couple of Forbes blurbs, as “quirky” and “underrated” - you take what you can get, I guess, but those a… Read More
2019-11-13 01:26
Let’s start with the basics. In honor of Louisville’s favorite son, I give you: Read More
2019-10-16 22:56
Hey, let’s go to London! Because London is Awesome! Except flying overseas is such a hassle: it’s either horribly uncomfortable or wildly expensive, or sometimes both Read More
2019-10-08 00:23
Over the last three days my entertainment choices have consisted of: Read More
2019-09-28 15:06
Well, here we go again Read More
2019-07-21 21:04
“The Mississippi Delta is shining like a national guitar. I am following the river down the highway through the cradle of the Civil War.” –Paul Simon, Graceland Read More
2019-05-13 17:35
“I choose violence.” – Cersei Lannister Read More
2019-05-06 17:36
Top 5 Betrayals on S8E4: Read More
2019-04-30 17:46
The few hazy memories from my college days include my erstwhile history professor lecturing about Plato's ideal of happiness. At least I'm pretty sure it was Plato, and not Aristotle -- cert… Read More
2019-04-29 17:31
What's to recap? Night King's gone from Mostly Dead to All Dead. The plan worked as advertised, the only real surprise last night was the low body count of all the major characters Read More
2019-04-22 22:54
I had a dictum, in my younger days, that went as follows: a party doesn't really start until three quarters of the guests have left. The ones with something better to do -- some person to go… Read More
2019-04-15 22:31
"Each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way" -- Tolstoy Read More
2019-04-08 23:53
"Um, oh, this is a fun one. This is an afternoon with me at the California Science Center, where I point out their mistakes.” –Sheldon describing his ‘Cooper Coupons’… Read More
2019-04-05 18:10
Wise folk say that it’s the journey that counts, not the destination. Wise folk have this all wrong Read More
2018-12-14 00:06
Yes, I've managed to bang out another 2,500 words on the Martini. See: Read More
2018-11-25 02:19
We know you expect more from us than your usual slapped-together cocktail blog. Plus, we know you have a stale bottle of apricot brandy in the back of your cabinet Read More
2018-11-06 01:40
You got a long day at work ahead of you tomorrow. Too long, frankly. Go ahead and waste a little time at your desk with my latest Drinkist post. You're welcome! Read More
2018-10-30 00:29
What, one more day left? Fine by us. And since we’re taking a direct flight, this day isn’t completely lost to travel. Our DCA-BHM departs 5:15pm. On a Saturday, with no traffic… Read More
2018-10-26 10:49
Big Day! On the Schedule: Read More
2018-10-22 23:58
If there’s a downside to staying with family, then it’s that there’s a natural level of excitement and conviviality that will tend to keep you up later than is probably goo… Read More
2018-10-19 23:24
What's that? You want more Drinkist? Well, who am I to say no? Read More
2018-10-19 01:15
Have you ever done this – gone to a wedding, and spent a catty couple hours at the reception talking about what you would have done different? No, I’ve never done that. Never. At… Read More
2018-10-10 00:41
I actually heard a complaint that I wasn't posting enough. Can you believe it? I can't: it implies that people are reading this Read More
2018-10-08 00:53
I looked at my blog timeline...and see that my last blog entry was late August. Whoa. Though I note that much of September was taken up by updating the pages in general, including Destinatio… Read More
2018-08-22 22:06
Look, I didn’t design this trip (or blog) as some 14 day metaphor to the stages of life, but it sure seems to have worked out that way. The tumult and confusion of the early days in Pa… Read More
2018-08-20 23:40
I have developed several travel habits over the years. Some for better, some for worse. Among them is that, as the trip goes on, my planned itinerary invariably take us further and further f… Read More
2018-08-16 22:43
Brittany has a lot to do, and a lot to see. Yes, people go for the coasts, but even those are dramatically different, depending on where you are. Simply cross from the northern side of Britt… Read More
2018-08-12 21:28
Just because you don’t have to do anything, doesn’t mean you don’t do anything. I’d say, at this point, we were inclined for some active relaxation Read More
2018-08-05 18:59
Getaway day – time to leave the Loire behind. But can I mention again how much I loved this rental? It checked off all the boxes: cute, convenient, comfortable, updated. Had some rudim… Read More
2018-08-03 18:22
I arrived in the Loire Valley with a long list of to-do's. There are dozens of Chateau, but even beyond that, there are towns big and small, nature trails, sunset boat rides, museums, market… Read More
2018-07-29 00:37
Apologies for the dumb pun. Anyway, it was time for more Chateau. First stop of the day: Azay le Rideau, about an hour Southwest of us Read More
2018-07-26 00:10
I know! Let me repeat this, because it’s critical. On your typical Euro vacation – say, Friday-Sunday next week, Day 7 is your second-last full day. And since you’re packin… Read More
2018-07-18 23:00
We’d done a two-Chateau Monday, so I thought we’d take a break and do a non-Chateau day. In retrospect this was unnecessary, but still, it made sense at the time. Today, we&rsquo&hell…Read More
2018-07-14 12:49
Our first full day in Amboise started as a wash-out: all night rain had flooded the local road into town. Had my rental had a little less ground clearance, I wouldn't have made it to the bak… Read More
2018-07-09 23:05
2018-07-07 13:39
2018-07-04 17:11
OK, people, time to kick the jet-lag and hit some heavy-duty sights. Centre Pompidou to start. Then maybe the Arc de Triomphe before getting on our Bustronome lunch tour. Big day! Read More
2018-07-01 23:58
I’m told that Paris-Orly is preferred, for travelers, over Charles de Gaulle – smaller, easier to get in and out. Possibly. But continuing in the theme of the flight on La Compag… Read More
2018-06-27 02:22
When does your vacation start? Arguably the moment you leave work the day before; or maybe the moment you leave the house to set out on the journey Read More
2018-06-23 00:04
You’re getting ready. You’re packing. You’re excited! Let’s go over the things you’ll need to bring: Read More
2018-06-22 00:34
"Hey! TravelDad! Where ya bin?" I get that a lot from my readers. No posts in weeks Read More
2018-05-27 21:13
You’re going away for a week. Maybe two. Maybe three? Good on ya! Now, let’s talk about your home Read More
2018-05-20 18:44
Summer’s nearly here: and I’ve been spending the last few weeks considering some new sunglasses for our trip. Not just any glasses, of course: I’ve been looking at Snap&rsq&hell…Read More
2018-05-15 00:10
2018-04-29 21:30
I made my commitment to our summer travel plans waaaay back in November: coming up on six months ago. Plenty of time, I told myself, to enrich the travel experience by brushing up, myself an… Read More
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