For the last few years we have spent more on doing things than buying things. We love taking cruises and doing big vacations, but there are also so many smaller things that you can do that are pretty awesome.

The wife was just looking for short road trips we could take and see cool stuff... She came across the Little Grand Canyon which is in Providence State Park in the middle of nowhere in Georgia. It's just over a 5 hour drive, so we packed up the truck, loaded up the kid and the dog and hit the road.

When I tell you it's in the middle of nowhere, I'm not kidding... just before we got to the place we were staying, we drove 30 minutes where the only signs of life were a family of deer that were crossing the street we were on. Finding a hotel in the area was near impossible... the closest hotels were about 40 minutes away... while searching I randomly clicked on a link for Florence Marina State Park... which is just 9 miles away from the Little Grand Canyon... and they had one 2 bedroom cottage left... It was perfect... so much better than being crammed into a hotel... for just about the same price... and it was inside of a state park which was great.

I was a little worried that my kid... who is a great kid... but a teenager... would be bored out of his mind. He actually had a really good time... totally into the road trip aspect... totally into the cottage life... and we was excited to get out and hike the Little Grand Canyon.

Now I have never been to the real Grand Canyon... I assume it's pretty grand... but being a self proclaimed Nature Nerd... I have to say the Little Grand Canyon was pretty grand. We logged 10,000+ steps down to the canyon floor... got a little muddy... saw some really cool stuff that has been around for over 100 years... had a lot of family conversation and laughs... and took tons of photos.

If you're looking to get out and do something different... plan a weekend and head up to middle of nowhere GA... and after an afternoon of hiking check out the Omaha Brewing Company!