Dear Diary,

Recently, many families were singing for the rain to go away in PA. Thunder boomed. Lightening flashed. And rain poured down. Sometimes Mother Nature strikes in the middle of a road trip. Here’s how your family can stay safe and be prepared.

1. Get Travel Insurance: You never know when bad weather will strike, so expect the best and plan for the worse. If road conditions are unsafe, you’re less likely to risk driving if you can get a refund of your hotel accommodations or airline/attraction tickets. If at all possible, keep your kids at home and your car in the garage!

2. Log Online: If the rain falls when you’re already on the road, log onto a discount travel website. Hotwire and Priceline offer drastically reduced rates for hotels along your route. Some selections even offer children’s activities or other great amenities, like swimming pools.

Click here to check out more tips to navigate storms.

About The Author

Vlog Mom/DFTM Creator

Not long ago, Heather Hopson hosted a television show in the Cayman Islands. Today, she's back home writing a different kind of story as a new mom. In her 15 years working as a professional journalist, this by far is her best assignment! Growing up, she dreamed of becoming Oprah Winfrey. She was the features editor for her school’s newspaper and a teen talk show host for her city’s most popular radio station. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Michigan State University. After graduation, she worked as a television producer and reporter at CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates throughout the U.S. Instead of heading to Chicago to join Ms. Winfrey on her set, she bought a plane ticket to the Cayman Islands instead. She arrived five days before a category five hurricane! She lived in paradise for seven years, hosted an award-winning television show and traveled the globe with a government delegation. She also served on the board of directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters and spearheaded a Send a Kid to Camp campaign. Then, she relocated to Washington, D.C. to obtain a teaching certification and instruct 8th grade reading at a high needs middle school. She later returned to her hometown of Pittsburgh, PA to raise her daughter Caitlynn, now 4-years-old. During her 10-month-stint as a stay-at-home mom, Caitlynn inspired her to create this blog, and Diary of a First Time Mom was born on Mother’s Day 2012. Two years later, she expanded the family to include 20+ writers. Currently, Heather serves as the communications director at Allies for Children. In addition, she is the owner of Motor Mouth Multimedia, which ranked #49 in Startup Nation’s Home-Based 100 Competition sponsored by Discover Card and Sam’s Club. Recently, The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments selected Heather to receive an Emerging Black Artist award to develop Diary of a First Time Mom.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.