Hey, I’m Sarah.
I love traveling, but honestly? I love the logistical puzzle
of getting there even more. Whether that means a massive multi-day road trip
across a Canadian province or a quick afternoon escape three miles down the
road, I am the person who actually enjoys sorting through the messy details to
make it happen.
The Mindset Behind the Blog
Before I started mapping out national park trails, my daily
reality was the high-speed corporate tech world. Starting out as an employee at
Microsoft, and later as a sales executive for major brands like Lenovo, I spent
my days analyzing hardware specs, managing demanding B2B client accounts, and
navigating massive corporate ecosystems. Later, I opened my own computer
training institute, building complex learning curricula from scratch to guide
over 100 students through technical certifications.
I am the kind of person who uses speed math to calculate
daily fuel costs, currency conversions, and meal budgets in my head while
standing in line at the rental car counter. I build that exact mathematical
precision into every guide on this site.
When you spend years managing high-stakes corporate
operations at companies like Microsoft and running strict educational
pipelines, your brain permanently rewires. You stop seeing a family trip as a
daunting hurdle and start treating it like a tactical rollout. I look at travel
planning exactly like I look at corporate operations. It’s about cutting
through the noise, organizing the chaos, and building a practical framework
that anyone can follow without getting overwhelmed.
How I Approach Travel & Local Excursions
Optimizing your family travel budget and making smart
investments in durable outdoor gear doesn't have to be complicated. I ignore
generic tourist traps and heavily filtered viewpoints. Instead, I focus on the
gritty reality of being out on the ground:
- Real-world
gear tests: Figuring out which technical layers actually hold up when
a sudden rainstorm hits a toddler in the middle of a Cornwall coastal
trail, and which $150 jackets are just clever marketing.
- Logistical
blueprints: Mapping out transit routes, exact parking meter costs, and
sudden weather changes so you don't run out of gas or steam halfway
through the day.
- Energy
management: Creating tight, smart itineraries that keep everyone
moving without leaving the whole family completely spent by Sunday night.
My Rule of Thumb: If a guide doesn't tell you where
the bathrooms are, exactly how much the parking costs, or what happens when it
rains, it isn't actually helping you.
Why I Started Funthingsnearme.com
This site grew directly out of my own annoying search
habits. Whenever I found myself with a free Saturday, I'd spend hours hunting
for something active and outdoorsy to do. Instead of clear directions, I
usually found outdated lists, broken links, or vague pages that offered zero
practical value.
I realized we are all looking for the exact same thing:
straightforward clarity. You just want to find a great regional trail, a solid
neighborhood park, or a local water spot without wasting half your morning
scrolling through bad search results.
That is what I build here. I do the hours of deep research,
verify the current details, and package everything into actionable checklists
so you can just grab your keys and go. Thanks for dropping by. Let's get your
next day out sorted.
Ready to skip the guesswork?
Drop your email below to get my free Family Trip Command
Center spreadsheet. I send out my direct, no-nonsense travel routes, gear
realities, and local spot guides straight to your inbox so you can spend less
time planning and more time outside.
