by: Smart Coos

Family Travel Tales from The Rails

Jeff Wilson, the host for Real Rail TV travels for business, as well as with his family for several months out of each year.

Recently, we had the pleasure to sit down with Jeff to find out some of his favorite vacation spots.

Some of our favorites include:

What are some of you favorite vacation spots? Why?

Trekking on the southwest coast of Portugal on the relatively new Rota Vicentina Fisherman’s Way . Last summer, as part of a car-camping trip through Spain, Portugal, and the French Pyrenees, we spent four days hiking village to village along the rocky cliffs of the Atlantic. In the evenings, we bedded down in campgrounds or B&Bs and ate the local dishes like pork & clams in garlic, lemon, and fresh cilantro, all mopped up with fresh, homemade bread. Or grilled squid and sardines. For us adults, we appreciated the inexpensive yet fantastic wines of the region. We all loved the sunsets and pristine beaches.

Why do you car-camp in Europe?

Car-camping is a great way to get to know Europe, bringing the cost down for families and exposing you to middle-class Europeans (instead of just more American tourists!). Two summers before the trip above, we car-camped from Prague down through Cesky Krumlov in southern Bohemia, then through Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, and back to the Czech Republic on a month-long excursion. Our favorites? A farm  stay with the Stojsic family in the mountain towns of central Istria . . . there we enjoyed the farm’s wine, cheese, prsut (Croatian Prosciutto), and got to know the family and the animals. We were treated to an excellent homemade meal of venison stew, homemade bread and pasta, a mixed salad from the garden, and tiny Istrian donuts with garden strawberries for dessert.

You can learn more about the Stojsic family’s farm here, and check out his family’s video series on that entire trip here.

What do you do when you’re not traveling?

When we’re not traveling abroad, we enjoy spending the summers in our Aliner camper, traveling the west before spending a month camped on the Columbia River at my in-laws’ cattle ranch near Washougal, WA, just up river from Portland, OR. This summer we’ll be spending ten days canoeing the Green River through Canyonlands National Park to the confluence with the Colorado River. Bound to become a family favorite.

 
Do you and your family have a favorite vacation spot? We want to hear about it.