WHERE ARE REAL FAMILIES TRAVELING IN 2026

Summer Travel, where is everybody going? The internet says a top destination is Sri Lanka, really??? No, let's take a look at where real families with real budgets are traveling this summer in 2026.

Transcript

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Good morning. It's April the 6th, 2026, and straight from the Holly Cafe Studios, this is According to Willie B, and I, yours truly, am your host for the next half hour. Welcome to Episode 1 on video. Uh, this is the very first episode that we're doing uh both audio and video simultaneously, and because we've had a lot of requests for it, and they say that is the future of podcasts. So I don't know. I just try to play by the rules sometimes. So there is that. So this is the very first episode that's coming out on video and audio. So if you catch your audio podcast wherever you catch your favorite podcast, it's still there, it hasn't changed. But now, if you want the video podcast to see yours truly, it is on our YouTube channel and on the uh Spotify. So there you go. Without further ado, let's get into it because I got something that's just burning a hole in my mind today, and that is because it's almost time for family travel for the summer. And it's like, where do you go? Now, some of you may already have your summer travel booked, you already know where you're going, how you're getting there, yada yada yada. But for some, they may not have figured it out yet, and that's okay because that's what this episode is gonna be about. I want to do a four-part series where we divide the country into four parts, and we're going to start. Don't throw things at me, we're going to start with the northeast. Why? Why am I starting with the northeast? Yes, I know I'm from Texas, and I should be starting with the south first, and we're going to get to that next week. The thing about the Northeast is that it offers the whole package, if you will. You remember last week when we talked about packing lists, that when you find a packing list that's made by the internet or some other whatever entity, that's not made for your trip. Just like if you see things on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, whatever, that promises to be the perfect trip, it may be, but is it perfect for your family? Because the typical family of four, everybody's going to have different likes and dislikes, and you want to make sure when you plan the trip for your family that it checks all the boxes for your family. I got a good lesson out of this that I want to share with you because the other day when I started talking thinking about doing this episode, I said, I wonder where the internet says the top 10 destinations. So I thought, well, I'm going to go a little smaller. So I went on to Google and I said, What are the top five destinations for family travel in summer of 2026? Would you like to know what number three was? I hope you're sitting down. Because it was Sri Lanka. How many families do you know that are traveling this summer to Sri Lanka? I'm sorry. I'm not buying that. I don't care if you give me a whole suitcase full of monopoly money, I'm not buying it. The average family is not going to Sri Lanka. That's a bucket list trip. That is not the average family destination trip for 2026. Sorry, not buying it. But again, it's like that packing list. You want to take a couple of bear boot shoes, fine, you follow the packing list. Or you could make your own list that checks off all the boxes for you and your family. So let's talk about why the Northeast. So let's say that there are people in your family that like the nightlife, that like the big city vibe. Okay. So if we go to the Northeast, what are we talking? We're talking New York. Well, what do we have with New York? Well, you got the Statue of Liberty, you got the Empire State Building, you got the 9-11 Memorial, you've got so many things there just besides the busy city. You got 8 million people going in 16 million different ways at 100 miles an hour. But the thing is, is you've also got Central Park. You've also got the Statue of Liberty out going to Staten Island. And until you've stood at the foot of that, the base of that statue and looked up, you've not experienced it. And that's what travel is about. It's about the experience, it's about the journey. Well, let me tell you, standing at the base of Statue of Liberty is a whole different experience than you could get off of the internet or TV or whatever. And I know that's cliche, is like, well, you haven't really experienced it until you've been there. Well, in some cases, that is true. So there's that. So what else does it offer? So you got the big city vibe. If until you've stood, here's another one. Until you've stood in Times Square at night, which incidentally looks like daytime because there's so many lights. It's incredible. The energy, the vibe. And when you talk about food, it's it's on an elite level because they have so many restaurants that are true dining experiences. Yes, dining experiences, not just a meal. You want a hot dog from a street cart? Sure, go for it. That's you know, that's the New York thing to do. But dining experiences. You want to go to Staten Island and go to Innoteca Maria's, it was in the movie Nanna's. The Sunday gravy that they make, I could bathe in that stuff. It's that good. Okay, so maybe you've been to New York, or maybe that's like I not going to New York. Give me another one. Okay, Boston. Boston is very historical, and it is the most walkable city in the US. So there's that. You can walk everywhere. I mean, all over Boston. Nighttime, daytime. We we did it and we never felt unsafe. And we walked all over the place. Trust me. You want to talk about food? Go to the North End in the Italian district. They got a place down there called Carmelinas. Italian food on another level. If you're down there for more than an hour and you don't walk away mumbling phrases in Italian that you don't understand, I don't know how to help you. It's that good. But there's just Boston is just chock full of history. And being able to walk it, that's that's a nice getaway to be able to just walk around a town and really immerse in all of the memories and immerse yourself in all of the experiences that are there because you're at ground level experience experiencing it. You want a third one? Fine, I'll give you a third city. Now don't throw things at me on this one either. Philadelphia, city of brotherly love. It's also the city of cheesesteak sandwiches. I have to make a disclaimer here because I've had being a foodie, I've had cheesesteak sandwiches thrown at me my entire life. You gotta go here, you've gotta go there. No, they're all the same. I'm sorry. Until you go to Philadelphia. Those people do cheesesteak sandwiches on a whole different level. They the bar is here and they just set the bar. I don't even think you can see the bar. It's incredible. The amount of different cheeses and different fresh baked breads and the the way they slice the meat, and and it's crazy. But it's some of the best food you'll ever have. But let me tell you something. If you go to Philadelphia and you leave hungry, that's on you. Because let me tell you, you can go down to the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, and yeah. You can just eat yourself to death down there. I mean, it's it's just cheesesteak and and and and roast pork and roast beef and fish and seafood and this the list goes on. You won't go hungry, and if you do, it's your own fault. But Philadelphia has uh history as well. You got the Liberty Bell, you got, I mean, there's just so many things there. And you want a scenic car ride, you want to let the top down on the rental car and go out for a Sunday drive through the countryside. There's no more beautiful state to do that than in Philadelphia. You go through those rolling hills and the farms and the different scenic um places out there, little towns, is just absolutely incredible. So it offers both, all three of those cities offer the hectic vibe, nightlife, craziness, but then also offer some serenity as well during the day. You just gotta go find it. But you let's say let's say, okay, well, maybe you hit one, two, or three or all those cities, but you have seven days and you want some time away from the hustle bustle. Okay, so you're in the northeast. The northeast defines what summertime really is. What do I mean by that? Well, let's think about it. Picture coastal town, the docks out on the water, all the fishing boats, lobster, like it was created on a whole different level. I've had lobster everywhere all over the United States and outside. You've not had lobster until you had lobster from Maine in Maine. Whole different animal altogether. It is just unreal. The tenderness, the sweetness, those lobster rolls. Imagine getting up in the morning, you're you're on the coast in Portland, Maine, or or Bar Harbor, any of those areas, and you get up in the morning, you go get you a cup of coffee and a lobster roll, and go sit on the edge of the dock. Ha, you might have to fight a seagull or two, but hey, you know, it's worth fighting for. But imagine sitting there sipping that coffee, watching that sunrise over that water. That's unreal. That's serenity. And then you've got all kinds of small towns to shop in, look around, things to explore, lighthouses, talk about history. There's some lighthouses that date way back before my birthday. Really cool. Something worth checking out. But let's say that you've had all that and you need something even more serene. You really want to veg out, to peace of mind. I got you. You travel a couple hours up to a place called Finger Lakes. So you got the lake life. Quiet, serene. Now I'm gonna put on my Bob Ross shoes because I'm about to paint you a picture in the Finger Lakes region that will make you want to go to the Northeast. It was quiet the night before because there was no sirens blaring up and down the interstate, no loud music, no bright lights. So you had a good night's sleep. And you wake up the next morning without an alarm because your body's rested. So you get up, put on your shoes, you walk out in the morning air, take a stroll, stop by a coffee shop, get you a cup of coffee, get a pastry, pick me one up too, and go sit on the edge of that water, whether it be on the dock or just on the bank or whatever. And look out across that water at a sunrise. And you know what's going through your mind at that point? Nothing. Your brain has a chance to take it all in. Your brain has a chance to breathe. All the memories, all the the the good times that you've had in the hectic city life, hustle bustle, that's still in there. But now your mind has a chance to process all of these highlight reels that you've made over the last few days. Because you've given your mind a chance to breathe, your mind a chance to rest, which is what you need at the end of a vacation. You you need that rest. And then when you come back from your vacation, you're like, oh, we had this maximum time, we did this, and we did this, and we were all over the place. And then we relaxed. I'll tell you another one. When you're on those coastal towns and you go up to see one of those lighthouses, and you're standing on the edge of a cliff, not too close. You're standing up on a cliff, and you're watching the sunset, looking out over that water. You realize at that moment, because you're standing up on that cliff, and you're looking out over the vast horizon, you realize at that moment that the world is so much bigger than you and all of your problems. And it's in that moment that you realize that this is why you travel. This is what you came for. You came for that moment. You came for that moment that you planned. That moment that you're going to take, and you're going to take it all in. The sights, the sounds, the smells, all of that. You're gonna take all of that in, and you're gonna hold on to it, and you're gonna take that back home with you. And that is something that will stay with you as long as your memory will allow. But like in the Finger Lakes region, you've got things like wineries, you could go tour some vineyards, you could just sit on the edge of a chair and read a book. You just you got the scenic water, you got the lake life, same thing in Burlington. You could go to Burlington, have the same thing. But there's a lot of areas up in that region that you just take that moment and relax. But this is what I'm talking about when I say that the Northeast allows you to check off all those boxes for everything that your family, you know, the dislikes and the likes. And everybody would find each of those things enjoyable. But now I'm gonna be real with you for a minute. All right, you knew there was I'm not saying it was a caveat, but I need you to hear me. This is my disclaimer. Because I don't want nobody coming back throwing things at me and screaming at me. When you decide that the Northeast is for you and your family, timing is everything. You hear me? Timing. If you go in August, you're going to come back and you're going to send me all kind of nasty emails and you're going to say things like, Well, that Northeast was not for me and my family at all. That was horrible. Well, let me tell you, if you go in June, or even the first couple of weeks of July, a lot less people. You'll have a much more enjoyable time. But if you go in August, hope you like people, because there's a lot of them. But on the flip side of that, I've noticed here recently there's been a lot of social media uproar over Pigeon Forge, where the lines and the crowds has just have been insane. So it's it's all about timing, and this is what we always stress is to do your planning and do your research. What are the high time? And and nowadays there's so much data out there that you can pull. Hey, what are the busy times for this place? I want to go see this place. What are the busiest times and days for this place? It'll break it down to the the day, the time, everything. So you can plan your time out of the hectic time. Now, if you like people and you like crowds, there there you go. You can just scootle up on our mid-August and we have fun with that. But the most of us were trying to get away from all that, so there's that. But the other part is it's it's expensive. The Northeast is not cheap. Case in point, if you want to go someplace and really feel like you've walked into somebody else's tax bracket, go to Newport. Yachts, mansions, still a cool coastal town. You remember the old uh Hallmart movies where you see somebody riding a bicycle down a sidewalk, salty breeze flowing through their hair, pastel-colored houses in a row down the beach, and they're just riding their bicycles, enjoying life, sunshiny day. That's the Northeast. You get up on the coast, that's what you're gonna see. So that part of the Hallmark movie does actually exist. So you can go check that out. And you can go ride the bicycle down the sidewalk if that's what you choose to do. But whatever you choose to do, just make sure that you plan it and you plan ahead and you plan accordingly so that you know when the best times and the best days are to be there. So to avoid some of the crowds, if that's what you choose to do. But whatever the case may be, plan, plan, plan. You know what they say. If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. Heard that all my life. But when it comes to vacations, as expensive as they are, you gotta plan, you gotta do your homework. But that's why I'm here is to help you out, to kind of guide you along. I hope you've enjoyed this first episode of on the video. Uh, if you were able to join us and watch this on video, I hope you thought this was cool. I've definitely enjoyed it. I can't wait until next week and do it again. But until I see you again next week, I'm gonna remind you of one thing don't forget to caffeinate and conquer because it's very important. And I'll see you again right here behind this big old mic next week. Bye bye.