We're EverAdo and We Were Doing This Anyway
We’re a family of four — David (Dad), Abigail (Mom), Avianna (9), and Atreus (3). I (David) am an Army veteran of nine years and learned the run-of-the-mill dark humor and direct candidness one might expect. Abigail is an El Paso, TX native who, even if she didn’t wear her heart on her sleeve, would tell you when something you did bothered her. She’s currently working full-time towards her master’s in Speech Pathology. Avianna is the sweetest girl — naive but always clever. She has a care for others as deep as her laughs. Atreus, when not threatening to discipline me for literally no reason, has a smile you can’t be mad at and a constant drive to play. Together we’re a Hispanic family from Maryland running on a real budget, not a travel fund from brand deals.
Nobody comps our stays. Nobody slides us an upgrade. And none of that from lack of asking.
This project is mostly driven by me. I’m regularly working several professional and personal projects and it’s a cadence I enjoy, but my family often feels wedged from. Something we all enjoy doing is traveling. For years my Abigail would express disdain in my ability to “notice everything.” It’s true, I do. Actually, I’ve never noticed me not noticing everything. Ever. I’ve never once seen her not make a fuss about it.
Besides that, what drives me is I don’t like wasting money. Not (only) because I can be cheap — because we believe every dollar we work for and throw back into the American consumerism culture should be rewarded with something of equal value. We’re a family that doesn’t research obsessively before we book, doesn’t compare before we commit, but we are naive in expecting to get what we were promised when we show up. That’s just how I operate, if not I ever notice.
Money Traps and Scams
I can’t stand money traps — or what I like to call, scams. Businesses that lure you in with a price and then nickel-and-dime you on the other side. Hidden resort fees. Amenities that are advertised as included but cost extra once you arrive. Housekeeping that only exists if you pay for it. These aren’t pricing strategies. They’re traps designed to exploit the fact that by the time you realize what’s happening, you’re already checked in with two kids and no leverage.
The best businesses don’t operate that way. The best businesses find the balance — they make a profit while still respecting the people paying the bill. They set clear expectations and meet them. They don’t hide the real cost behind fine print. Those are the places we want to find and stay at.
Why EverAdo Exists
We were already traveling. Already noticing. Already having opinions nobody asked for. I started (and Abigail named it, naturally) EverAdo because none of what we found online matched what we actually experienced. Everything is either a sponsored post from an influencer who got the royal treatment or a one-paragraph rant on TripAdvisor. Nothing in between. Nothing that matched what we actually live when we book the base room and show up with two kids and a car full of luggage.
So I built what we were looking for — and will probably have to remind Abigail every time for her input, hoping it’ll stick.
What We Notice
I’m upfront about our costs. I like good Wi-Fi. We ask Avianna what she thinks and let her speak for herself. Even Atreus weighs in — he’s 3, so every review is five stars if there’s Goldfish involved.
When a place meets our expectations, we notice. When it exceeds them, we remember it. When it falls short, we remember that too. We’re not here to tear anyone down. We just write down what happened.
Forever a Fuss
Traveling with two kids is forever a fuss. Everything is a production. We live it every trip — and we were going to have opinions about it whether we wrote them down or not. If it helps your family too, that makes us happy too.
Welcome to EverAdo.