Exploring the Unknown: Our Summer of College Tours

I have to say… we’re kind of killing it. So far this summer, we’ve toured 12 colleges. Twelve! Some visits were all three of us together, and others were one-on-one trips with each of my kids — something I’d never done before. Honestly, those one-on-one moments have been the sweetest part of this whole process.

We’ve never traveled solo together before, and it was a big first for all of us — including leaving one of my kids home alone for a night. She had to stay home for work and said she felt so grown up, holding down the fort by herself. Meanwhile, I got rare time to focus completely on her sister, just the two of us exploring a campus and having that special bonding time. We swapped back and forth like that all summer, and it was a gift I didn’t see coming.

The tours we’ve done all together have been fun, too — lots of laughter, snacks in the car, and debates over which school had the best tour guide. But those one-on-one trips felt like these little windows into who my kids are becoming, and I’m so grateful we made time for them.

We’ve also gotten to see parts of our region we’ve never explored before. Every town feels like a new discovery, even the ones we thought we knew well. I’ve started building a rhythm to this process — a formula for the research, the tours, and the follow-ups — and I’ve tried to make sure each trip includes at least one “something fun.” Usually that means a nice lunch or dinner after the tour, but when we’re in a new area, we wander through local shops or stroll downtown, just soaking up the vibe of each place.

It’s a lot, but it’s doable. One foot in front of the other. We have about a month of summer left, and we’re digging in to keep the momentum going. If nothing else, I’m coming out of this summer with a better understanding of not just colleges, but my kids, myself, and the corners of this region I didn’t know existed.