Why You Should Explore America

Why You Should Explore America

In this episode of TravelEssary, we’re digging into the heart of why exploring America is so special. From sandy deserts and towering forests to small-town diners and hidden roadside gems, we’re breaking down four big reasons we believe everyone should experience America up close.

We talk about the wildly different landscapes across the country (yes, they really do change every few hours on the road!), the stories tucked into every town, and the simple joy of discovering places you never even knew existed. We also share why road-tripping, whether you’re in an RV, a car, or pitching a tent, gives you the kind of freedom you just can’t get anywhere else.

If you’re craving flexibility, adventure, and that “pack up the family and just go” kind of feeling, this episode is your sign. Exploring America isn’t just travel… it’s a collection of memories waiting to happen.

Transcript

  We are the Essary family and we're exploring America one destination at a time. On today's episode of TravelEssary, we are going to share with you guys all of the reasons that we think you should explore America. Let's chat.

Welcome and thank you for joining us on this episode as we talk about why you should explore America. Now, this is not just for the people that you know don't live in America. Mm-hmm.  yeah. Americans get out and explore your country. There's so many different reasons and going to specifically talk about four major reasons,

. But we're not gonna do that just yet. There are some things that we want to talk about, especially whenever we talk about America and, you know, , the lower 48 all the different reasons, but one of the, really cool things is, even here in the last, oh my goodness, month and a half that we've been full-time traveling, even in Texas, probably within, if you like, had to pinpoint a little radius around.

What, two and a half hour difference? Mm-hmm. From all the different places. So what, a hundred from each stop, 130 miles from each stop. Mm-hmm. Three Totally vast different landscapes. Landscapes, yeah. We went from big oak trees. To mesquite trees, kind of west Texas type vibe mm-hmm. To more central Texas, , cedar trees and small oaks.

Yeah. Right now we are coming at you in the middle of like this tiny little cedar forest right outside of our big window that we love to sit in front of. While we're podcasting, we have this beautiful view of this little. Forest. It's not, I don't know if it's a forest, a little patch, a little, I, I don't know what it is, but it's a beautiful little park and we are enjoying the scene right now.

It's vastly different from where we have been since we've started traveling, and so we're just, we're enjoying the view. I truly feel like I am like immersed into. A campground right now, like I'm immersed into the lake atmosphere , with this vibe we have going on around us. Yes. And some of the walking trails that we get to go on have stunning views of a lake that we've gone to a lot so many times, lot dozens of times.

But looking at it from a different perspective, just it, it kind of opens your eyes a little bit. Yeah. And there, there'll be a YouTube video that's gonna come out that's gonna kind of explain where we are, , and some of the views that we see. So you definitely don't wanna miss that, but probably one of the number one things.

Why you should explore Travel America is, that America offers. Yeah. So even if you're not including the, you know, Alaska and Hawaii, you're just sticking with the lower 48. , It is so incredibly different from coast to coast, from border to border.

It's so. Very different. If you are someone who enjoys the change in scenery, you can drive an hour and a half to two hours and your view out your window is vastly different than it was from when you started. So America has such a great variety in its landscape. We have vast deserts. Especially over in the Arizona Yeah. And then we have redwood forest, like true forest, tall trees, thousands of euros, trees, you know, up there in Yosemite and places like that.

Yeah, we have beautiful beaches, which we have Beautiful talked about many times. On this podcast, we have mountainous areas that are vast. Yep. We have massive national parks that you could get lost in for weeks. Oh, yes. Months. Like people literally get lost in because all the time they're so massive all the time.

We have, you know, the Grand Canyon? Mm-hmm. Which is incredibly different from something like the Redwood Forest. It's just, it's so different and it's so unique because, I mean. You can't find the Grand Canyon anywhere else. Yeah, we have. It's just one of a kind Niagara Falls, you know, you can get one of the world's largest waterfalls.

Definitely not the largest. There's definitely more, but right here in America you can see so much. There's just so much. We have rolling hills, we have the Great Plains. Which is absolutely beautiful. I've actually driven through a lot of the Great Plains during my trips and stuff. I have not been through the planes yet.

I am excited. The closest I've been to the Plains is Oklahoma, which is where the plane starts beginning, but it actually becomes more of a flat planes the further north you get. So I am excited to go through the planes. Yeah, going through Kansas, lot of planes.

. Of course we have driven through a lot of desert. Mm-hmm. , We've driven through a lot of forest. Yeah. , . We've gone, you know, to the beaches . And the crazy thing is, and. I will exclude Texas and California just because of how big they are.

They're so massive. They both have like such a huge variety just within the state. State, yes. Everyone knows that. You know, you're going from desert to straight up huge forest. Mm-hmm. It's gonna happen. But even all the other states. Especially your big ones. Sorry, New Jersey. Sorry. Delaware. Not quite big enough.

But , the normal sized states, , even just traveling in them are totally different. I mean, you, you go from the swamps. Mm-hmm. You know, the Everglades. And then you go up into a beautiful wooded area Yeah. In Florida. I guess it's because just the sheer size of America, there definitely are countries out there that have similar, you know, like China.

Oh yes. I mean China is so massive and it has just as big as the biome differences as America does, and we're not saying America's the best place to travel. We honestly don't know because we haven't traveled in a lot of other places outside of America, but we are giving you reasons of why you definitely should of what makes it so great.

It might not just be one thing that's unique. Like yes, there are other countries that do have best biomes, but compared with every other reason that we're gonna point today, it just shows of like. How, how great and easy it is to travel in America. Yeah. 'cause everyone has a niche. Everyone has what they like to look at.

Mm-hmm., Their scenic views. You know, Misty is definitely beach. You know, she wants to look at the beach all the time. I am a really high heel person. Mm-hmm. Who likes to really tall trees. And I know people that are like, oh, I love the mountains where you can see for miles. And I'm like, but you're not looking at any Anyways.

Everyone has their preference of, you know, what they wanna look at and us. Covers all of it. Yeah. I think it's amazing that on the same day, at the same time in the same country, you have someone who is standing four feet in snow and you have someone who is dipping their toes into warm sand and warm water.

Oh yeah. Literally like right now. Yeah. People are doing that. Yeah. That's happening right now as we speak, and so. I think that's incredible that that can happen in that same instant and in the same country because it's so different between temperatures and biomes, your regions.

Like it's just so incredibly different. And if you're like us and you like to travel, then that means , you enjoy that change in scenery. So much adventure can happen in changing scenery. Yeah. As far as what you look at, as far as how you explore certain areas, you know, you go to the desert, you're looking at sand dunes,

you know, sliding down. What are the, what are the things called, well not sleds, but sand boards. Sand boards, yeah. Or, I mean, that is true with the different regions that you're in. There are different activities and sports and things that you can do within that region. In Texas, you're not gonna find skis or snowboard.

They just don't exist. Maybe in a store for you to take somewhere else because we have zero use for them. Yeah. Like, it's not gonna happen. But then if you're up in, um, you know, Michigan, you're not gonna find a bunch of beach toys

and so , it is unique of what you can do. When it comes to each region, so as you're passing through each region, it gives you something different to do. Another cool thinking about America is you will have the biggest, most modern cities. And then you will have the smallest, most country, most unique type of towns, like something that , you're passed through it and you're like, did we just go through a town? Like, was that it?

You're gonna have population of millions and you're gonna have everything big and new, and then you're gonna have a population of like a hundred and everything's gonna be a hundred years old and it's gonna be flat. . But number two, the great thing about exploring America is no matter how big or small, every town has a story and oh my goodness, this is the one that we could spend.

It's one of the main reasons I feel like we travel. Absolutely. Because we want to experience the history. We want to experience the story. We wanna know why that city was built. I mean, even in central Texas, which is our home base, we know why some of those towns were built. We know that back during certain.

Peak seasons that they had. Um, we grew up where a lot of peanuts were very prominent mm-hmm. In that area. And so, or a lot of cotton was done like, yeah. It's interesting to find like why that town became that town. Like what industry was it built around? Was there a railroad system that went through?

Like, why? Did that town become that town? And then how it grew and you know, the issues that town faced as it grew into what it is today. And it is no matter how big or small, it's fascinating and it's really awesome because, , you go all the way back into American history, and of course you had the 13 colonies, you know, but then it started off even smaller than that and it kind of bloomed in.

And then, you know, you look at the wild West, you look at the gold rush. I mean, all the things of why, uh, you know, America was pushed even further and further west, all the way to the West Coast is, you know, certain events and certain things happened. And then it just kind of grew and grew, but then people started huddling or collecting in certain cities, and why? Why was that a major hub for that city? You know, why Denver? Why la? Why Pittsburgh? You know why? Why some of these places have big populations. Whenever you can literally travel 45 minutes, you know, 30, 40 miles outside those places.

Mm-hmm. And find places that have a couple hundred people. Yeah. Every town. Every community that we stop through, it's like finding a little pocket of culture. Like every town has its own unique little culture of, you know, why it is that way and what has created that culture. And so that has been fascinating.

, We're only a month and a half into this full-time travel life, but , it's been awesome because we've been able to go to so many festivals, , which is part of that town story, no matter what that festival is, we've been able to shop in, um, specialized industries mm-hmm.

From the area we've been able to go and do some shopping. Like we went to that peanut shop, um, outside of Durant because it is an area that specializes in growing peanuts and had a whole big peanut industry. In fact, we saw the world's, world's largest, largest, largest peanut. Yeah. Inside of Durant.

We've been into,, old forts, historical forts. We have went through, , historical village, a frontier village, and so that was pretty nice. But it's just like every single stop that we've been to,. It has a history, it has a story, it has its own unique culture, and it's fascinating how different it is from place to place.

I mean, because you can experience the unique culture, arts, and food of major cities. Oh yeah. The food part is one of my favorites. . The food tells a story. And even if you're not a history buff, which, if you're a history buff, , but if you're someone who just.

Enjoys a good story. So our 18-year-old son, one of his favorite thing about traveling is meeting new people and just hearing their story and how everyone's story is so different yet so familiar. And that's what it's like when you go through every town in America. Every town has its own story, but yet they're all connected and they all have a similarity and a familiarity.

And I think it's just. It's fascinating to me and, and I think most stories are told with either food or music and the vastness of America and the unique aspects of just. The different culture and , the people that have migrated over into certain areas, how they've just kind of leaned in and kind of kept that culture, , going, , oh yeah, because you have, you know, some towns that were really fortified by Germans, or you have some towns that were really fortified by the Spanish, or you have some that were really fortified by the French, and so , it is really unique.

To see like how , in the architecture, in the food, in the language, in the language. Like when you're in Louisiana. Yeah. Like how it affected that area. And so, yeah, it, it's fascinating. Absolutely fascinating. And then of course we do have some world class museums and galleries. Mm-hmm. I mean, some historical sites from our history.

, You can look at all the different museums, all the different history from across. The nation.

It's not just centrally located in one area or you know, a couple towns like it is all the way across. And we were talking about the small towns. Even some of the small towns are like, Hey, here is a museum of our history. One of the places that we used to live, uh, the rodeo used to come through, and so they have a museum.

Based upon the rodeo. Yeah. And just learning that stuff , it doesn't matter if it's a big metropolitan or a well-known city, all the way down to something that it's in the middle of nowhere. Yeah, there's gonna be a story, there's gonna be a history to it. Mm-hmm. And you know, just that vastness is amazing.

Yeah. And speaking of that vastness, you're gonna want to be able to travel from one place to place. Oh, absolutely. And the third reason why we think you should explore America specifically is because it's one of the easiest places easy in the world to take a road trip. , There are a few places that it can come a little difficult if you're not prepared.

. But it is super easy. You know, we have everything from interstates. You have state highways, you have US highways. Yeah. Farm market roads.

Farm market roads. You have routes, you have country roads., You could get in your car whether you're renting a car or it's your own car. You could get in a car and drive and. Not ever stop driving because it's that easy. Until you hit Canada or Mexico, you're not gonna run into borders.

Everything works from state to state. , There's no extra stuff. There's, not anything special that you need to do. Yeah. Your ID works all over the country. There are, um. State parks, national parks, RV parks, freedom to drive and go as far as you want or to, you know, stay close if you wanna stay in one area there, you just, you'd have so much.

Freedom on a road trip in America. Yeah, no, I mean, you definitely have to mine the speed limits because that is also something that vastly differs across , the nation where sometimes, you know, you'll be on a four six lane highway and the speed limit is 55 miles an hour or 60, and then you might go into a two lane highway and the speed limit is 80.

So make sure that you are paying attention to the speed limits. , But the easiness as far as like getting on a road and then going wherever you want to go is super easy.

Yeah. And you know. Everywhere you go, you can take your kids almost everywhere you can go. You can take your pets. America is very pet friendly. In the hotels you can book rooms specifically for pets. Um, most. Parks, have a dog park if you need to stop and let them out, as long as your pets are on a leash, people, you know, take 'em out at the gas stations and let 'em walk around.

It's very pet friendly. Um, if you wanna pack your car full of snacks and just see where the road takes you, it's not an issue. It's so easy to get lost on an American road. Not lost, as in you don't know where you're going, but lost as in you. You want to keep going, you're wanting to wonder and explore and not stop.

So another thing that we've kind of hinted on in some of our past upsells I, I think is prevalent here, is you will not see America in a day. There is no way. I mean, I literally just spoke to someone yesterday who has been traveling. The lower 48 for over 30 years and still haven't seen 'em, and there's still parts of the country that they have not seen and they want to go see. And so just be mindful of that. You're not getting from Florida to California in a day. , It's great just the open roads, the adventure, and the ability to change your plans. Whenever something , wonderful pops up.

It just makes it so easy. Which brings us into our fourth reason because America let you travel on your terms, on your terms. This is so important in my opinion. Maybe this is why, you know, a lot of Americans get a bad rap when they're traveling. Overseas. Um, which granted there are definitely some disruptive Americans.

I think there are a lot of disruptive people and no matter what culture you go to, oh yeah, definitely plenty of disruptive and unruly Americans do not get me wrong. We see them every day here in America, but I think, you know. Another thing that we get, um, made fun of or ridiculed for is because we're too loud, we're too opinionated, and we smile too much.

I, I hear that one all the time. Like, why are you Yeah. Why are friendly? We're too excited. Yes, and well, one of the reasons we are all of those things is because we're so used to doing things on our terms, especially when it comes to travel here in America. It's just too. Easy to do I know that we've talked in some of our episodes about how you need to be flexible whenever you travel. Mm-hmm. And traveling in America lets you be totally flexible. Yeah. , You don't need a perfect plan. You don't even need a huge budget or a timeline. You don't even need reservations.

Yeah. America is set up for detours for. Issues on the road for problems for just random stops because unless something crazy is happening in a town and it's a specific time of the year, you're gonna be able to stop at any hotel and , get something for the night right away, . You don't have to just stay at hotels though. You can stay in RVs. You can stay in ins. You can stay in motels. You can stay in Airbnbs. I'm say you say you can stay in vrbo. I was about to say, you can stay in someone else's house. Yeah, you can stay in a tent on a campground.

Like there you have so many options. Endless. There's endless. Whether you have a high budget and you're , wanting a luxurious vacation, or you're like, listen, we're camping out of our car. Guess what? You can do that here in America. You can do that.

We have public land here in America that you can go camping for free. , There's certain rules and regulations of how you do it. I mean, there are, but you don't have to make reservations. Yeah. Um, you'd be prepared. You're not having hookups. You're, you're gonna be out there in your tent with your own water, no electricity, things like that.

But you can do it. Anytime you want, you can go and camp and there are lots of ways, which we might get into one time about stealthy camping, that you can literally get in your van and explore America and never have to spend money on a hotel or an Airbnb. Yeah, it's a hundred percent possible.

Absolutely. With some research it's a hundred percent possible, so it It is great. You're able to travel. On your own terms in America, which is why we think you should go, because no matter what your pace is, what your budget is, you can do it here in America. And it's so great because, you know, life comes at you from all different angles and you never know what you're gonna run into, especially on vacation.

But you could be on vacation and be like, oh man, I'm super, , exhausted. Or, , you're having some type of medical issue, you know, you don't feel good or something. And you'd be like, oh man, I just wanna pull over. I just need a day. , You can pull over wherever you want to. , There are tons of places that we've already hinted at that you can just walk up and you get to experience, , the open road and your trips on itinerary.

That you want. Mm-hmm. So that you can create yourself and you can break easily. Yeah. With no problems. And you can, you can make up on the go. Yeah. You don't even, which there are people that do that. Oh, I've actually, we're not those kind of people. No. But, but there are people who do that. I have heard of, um, I had , some coworkers that they were like, , Hey, I'm gonna go take two weeks.

He was like, awesome. Where are you? Where are you gonna go on vacation? He was like, I don't know. I'm gonna get on my motorcycle and go. Because you can do it, you can. He just jumped on his motorcycle. It's, it's so easy to do here in America. He, I think he drove a couple of states away. I think he went up into the mountains area.

So he went to like the Colorado area. Mm-hmm. Um. And then he made his way back. He was like, , that was awesome. It was like I had like four days of clothes. I had to do like some laundry or you know, wash it in the bathtub or whatever.

No matter how small that town is, you go somewhere, it's gonna have a laundry mat. Every hotel has a laundry service or some kind. Like you can go into any random town, go sit for an hour and a half, get your laundry done, hit the road again. Yeah. Any of them that have a population of more than 3000 are totally self-sustained.

Yeah. You're gonna find restaurants, you're gonna find laundromats, mats, there's gonna be a hotel or an inn somewhere. They're all gonna be self-sustained. Mm-hmm. Public parks, whatever you need,, it's gonna be available. So, yeah, it's super. Easy. That's the main thing why you should explore America, because it's too easy not to go do it.

Oh, absolutely. If you don't have an excuse. Yeah. If you're from America, you don't have an excuse, go do it. Yeah, go do it. And another great thing is. , The different hidden gems we always talk about them. Mm-hmm. That are out there. Some of them are the things that you're not gonna see in a travel magazine.

Yeah. It's something you will never know about until you go do it. We're actually doing our best to expose those we are and share them to the world. Those little hidden gems. 'cause I think having those hidden jumps just make it a better experience. Yeah. It has been fun.

To discover something and be like, oh, I didn't know that was here. And then go and do it and be like, wow, , in this tiny little town in the middle of nowhere, I had no idea this existed and it just made my entire day. Yes. And so by,, getting , the hidden gems or the unique life experiences, that every individual city holds is so vast because America is so  📍 vast, but it's so easy to get to.

Yeah. And explore. Yeah. So we think you totally should explore America. Whether you're from America or you wanna come visit America, it's absolutely doable and there's just an insane amount of stuff to do and to look at.