🎁 The Gift of Adventure: Why 2026 Is the Year to See America — Together

December always nudges us toward nostalgia — twinkle lights glowing, familiar songs humming, family gathering at the table with cheer and cheers.

This year, with an adult child and my nieces no longer truly children, I’m thinking bigger. I’m thinking about the gifts that outlast wrapping paper, shipping deadlines, and the yearly “what do I even buy them?” spiral.

In fact, I really didn’t even have the heart for Black Friday or Cyber Monday which apparently went from 2 days to nearly 2 months of consume, consume, consume. Not a single gift was purchased this year.

Instead, I’m thinking about the gift of adventure.

Not the kind that fits in a box necessarily — the kind that fills a soul and finds togetherness.

With America’s 250th Anniversary right around the corner in 2026, there has never been a more perfect moment to pack a bag, pick a direction, and rediscover the incredible country right under our feet.

If my own 50x50 journey taught me anything — from chasing sunsets and stars across deserts to breathing in the glorious humidity as you cross from desert to swamp, from pure white snow still holding on in an Alaskan summer to tracing my ancestor’s name at Ellis Island — it’s this:

Travel is the gift that defines who you are and who you will be.

The greatest part…it continues! Its not over when the wrapping is torn and the boxes are thrown out. It lives on in pictures, memories, and all the stories told year after year.

America 250: Your Invitation to Explore Your Country

In 2026, the United States turns 250 — a once-in-our-lifetime moment. Across the nation, there will be celebrations, festivals, reenactments, national park events, historical tours, and state-by-state commemorations.

Every mile you travel becomes a page in your own story…
Every state line becomes a chapter…
Every destination becomes a memory your future self will thank you for.

And the best part? You don’t have to travel far to feel far away.

A nearby campground, a weekend road-trip, a state park you’ve never had the time to visit - it all counts.

2026 isn’t just a celebration, its an invitation! Don’t pile up more “stuff.” Instead find:

• Connection - to others, the land, the landscape.

  Its up to you how you connect, but travel gives you options:

  • Road trips create conversations; swap stories with the people you meet at the road side rest or tiny diner you almost drove past

  • Campgrounds create fellowship; gather around a firepit with toasted marshmallows, cheese on toast points, or simply—a toast!

  • National parks create perspective; ask the Ranger your questions, they really do want to tell you more!

• Legacy - Stories to tell, a map that guides your soul!

  Adventure becomes part of your folklore:

  • Don’t forget the time you turned left instead of right, found a trampoline park you didn’t know existed, and promptly twisted your ankle

  • Remember when that squirrel was trying to avoid an oncoming dog, and it ran up your leg, onto your shoulder, then jumped to the nearest tree? I do. (Yep, really happened and their nails are SHARP!)

  • Can you still taste that first ever flight of Bourbon from a small new distillery, opening your sinuses and your world to the Bourbon Trail, a whole new reason for travel?

  “Clark, that's the gift that keeps on giving the whole year.” (If you know what' I’m saying, we’ll be friends)

• Transformation - A new you because you learned something!

  • You stumble across the Capitan Reef which is IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT! Yes, the area surrounding Carlsbad Caverns was once under the Permian Sea.

  • You had a delicious cup of coffee in Kansas and now you’re one of those people that only gets coffee beans roasted in Kansas 😉

  • You “never” eat spicy food, but you found a spice in a small store in Mississippi and its now a part of your regular diet. It gives new meaning to, “I put that Sh*t on Everything.”

• Togetherness or solitude - whatever you crave!

  • Sometimes its companionship, like-mindedness, or simple peace. Either way, its all perspective and travel gives you the choice.

🎆 Start Now. Celebrate Big in 2026

You don’t need to wait for fireworks or a parade to start your own journey.

Pick a destination.
Choose a vehicle.
Plot a route.
Grab your shirt or tote to track your travels and then…?

Go.

Get lost in your own country.
Taste food you’ve never tried.
Stand in landscapes you’ve never imagined.
Let America surprise you — the way it surprises me, again and again.

✨ Discover Your Traveler Type

As a special bonus, we’ve created a way for you to discover your Travel Style. If you need a little boost to discover what type of traveler you are, we’ve got you covered.

Take our Discover Your Traveler Type quiz, and we’ll give you:

• Your Traveler type

• 5 starter destinations

• Why each one is a fit for you.

We have been very intentional in how we built this quiz:

• Its created with our own Google form, so your information is NOT sold or captured by 3rd parties

• We’ll only use your Email address to:

  • Give you your Traveler Style & 5 starter Destinations

  • Enter you into a monthly contest to win 1 free shirt or bag from our collection

  • Let you know (only once a month) when our new blog post is out

That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less. Click the icons below to take the quiz.

✈️🚂🚐

We truly look forward to supporting your US journey, and as always, wish you…

~Safe Travels