About Us
Hi! I'm Christina & We're the Metz Family
We're just a regular family of four (+ two furry friends) from Cleveland, Ohio who love being outdoors, nature, and family adventures. [Adam, Christina, Landon (12) and Miles (10).]
In 2019, we realized we valued experiences and adventures over things. So we sold our dream house and downsized (to a smaller house) in order to support this lifestyle.
Over the past several years, we have roadtripped across the country twice, car/tent camping along the way, visited 27 states, 13 National Parks, and countless sights, monuments, and landmarks. Also, as often as we can, we take weekend or day road trips around Ohio, camping in state parks, hiking, and exploring.
And we are just getting started! It is our dream to visit all the US National Parks, drive to all the continental states, as well as do some international explorations.
With the encouragement of some friends, we started this blog to share our experiences, tips, ideas, etc., so that we may inspire and help other families to get outside to explore more.
We hope you'll join us!
P.S. We don't homeschool, live in a camper van/RV full-time, or work remotely. I have a local private massage therapy practice and Adam works full-time in an office. Our boys play lots of sports and are in clubs at school. We fit in our adventures around life and simply prioritize experiences.
About Me
I'm a runner, Licensed Massage Therapist, and planner of all things. I converted our entire small backyard into a vegetable and flower garden. I love a good checklist, spreadsheet, and organizing project. And I was concerned about the environment long before it was cool.
I grew up in rural southeastern Ohio and attended Ohio University. Adam and I met as friends at OU, but lost touch after graduation. I moved around a bit in my early 20s, but eventually moved back when we reconnected.
I began us on our minimalist journey in 2016, when our boys were very young and I started to feel overwhelmed with stuff. This is an ongoing lifestyle journey and mindset shift we've been on ever since.
I've set two big running goals: 1) to run 50 half marathons before I turn 50 (currently at 27, with 7ish years to go) and 2) to run a race in every state (completed 13 so far, all half marathons). So if I can combine a good weekend family trip with a race, it's happening!
The planner in me loves to do lots of research and preparations before we take any of our road trips.
I look forward to sharing the tips and tricks from the research I've done, as well as firsthand experiences we've had with you.
Denali National Park, Alaska
