From Drexel Hill to the Mediterranean: How Michael Hoover and his wife built a life around travel

Most years, Michael Hoover and his wife pick a country they have never been to and spend a week or two immersing in the country’s culture. Between those bigger trips, they log miles domestically. The habit started before they got married and has only picked up speed since.

Michael Hoover will tell you that both he and his wife are planners by nature when it comes to their travels. Jointly, they build the getaway itinerary, research the main attractions worth seeing, make restaurant reservations, and book the tours and excursions. They handle logistics on the ground, the train schedules, public transportation and rental cars. Between the two of them, their system runs smoothly. It has to. They both work demanding jobs, and the trips they take each year are not spontaneous. They are earned.

When the Hoovers finally board a flight to somewhere new, the trip carries more weight than a typical vacation. It is the release valve for a year of long days and packed schedules. They protect this time because they know how quickly it disappears if they do not.

Spain, Greece, and the Trips That Stuck

Over the past several years, the Hoovers have made their way through Spain, Greece, France, and Italy. Each trip had a different feel. Spain pleasantly surprised them. They spent time in Barcelona, touring La Sagrada Família and Gaudi’s other architectural feats and eating their way through La Boqueria. In Madrid, they enjoyed attending a Real Madrid game and a flamenco show. In Seville, they explored Plaza de España, the Royal Alcazar and a bull fighting arena. Hoover still talks about the delicious tapas tours they did in each city.

Greece slowed them down. They visited three of the 6,000+ islands, specifically Crete, Santorini and Mykonos along with a stop in Athens. The islands operate on a different clock, and the Hoovers leaned into it. Santorini was the postcard version of what everyone expects, but Athens had a rougher, more interesting energy that caught them off guard. They walked through the Plaka neighborhood and toured the Acropolis. In Mykonos, they were taken back by the windmills, while Crete, the largest of the islands in Greece, offered a multitude of excursions and sights.

In France they witnessed the 2024 Olympics in Paris and the conclusion of the Tour de France in Nice. During their time in Nice they enjoyed the beach and day trips to the opulent city of Monaco, the perfume factories and medieval village of Èze and visited other small towns in the French Riviera. Their time in Italy was fueled by pasta, tiramisu, gelato and wine. In Rome, they took in the major sights – Colosseum, Roman Forum, Vatican City, Trevi Fountain. In Florence, they enjoyed the Duomo, wine windows, Ponte Vecchio, sunsets at Piazzale Michelangelo and everything else the city had to offer, while also taking day trips to the wine region of Tuscany, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the cliffside village of Cinque Terra.

The Hoovers have developed a shorthand for how they travel: walk as much as possible, eat where the locals eat, see the sights that excite them and leave room in the schedule for whatever shows up unplanned.

Closer to Home

The international trips get the headlines in conversation, but the Hoovers travel domestically just as often. They have been to Los Angeles, CA, Asheville, NC, Indianapolis, IN, Portland, OR, Texas, Maine, and Florida, among other places. Some of their trips double as race weekends. Hoover has run half marathons in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Nashville, and his wife Amy has completed full marathons in Philadelphia and Chicago. The races give them a reason to go. The rest of the weekend gives them a reason to stay. Others serve as ski getaways such as their long weekends in Park City, Breckenridge, and Killington. Hoover also travels frequently for client meetings and work, having visited New York City, Kansas City, Nantucket, Atlanta, Orlando, Las Vegas and St. Croix.

Charleston has become a repeat destination. The restaurant scene rewards the kind of traveler who would rather walk ten blocks on a tip from a bartender than eat at the place with the longest line. That being said, the Hoovers strongly recommend doing your research and making reservations far in advance while leaving room for spontaneity. Maine was a quiet fall getaway. A lot of hiking, lighthouses, seafood shacks and early bedtimes. It fits the same outdoor rhythm that shapes their weekends back in Drexel Hill.

Frankfurt, Warsaw, and Keeping Family Close

There is also a family thread running through their travel. Hoover’s sister, brother-in-law, and young niece live in Frankfurt, Germany. Before that, they lived in Warsaw, Poland for several years. Visiting them has pulled the Hoovers into corners of Europe they would not have gone to on their own. Frankfurt is not on most tourist itineraries, and that is partly what makes it worthwhile. The trips there are less about sightseeing and more about family time, long dinners and watching their niece grow up in a place that looks nothing like Drexel Hill.

Having a home base in Europe has also made it easier to tack on a few extra days somewhere new. A short train ride from Frankfurt opens up a surprising number of options, and the Hoovers have taken advantage of that flexibility more than once.

What Comes Next

The Hoovers welcomed their first child, a son, in early March 2026. The travel is not stopping, but it is changing shape. Shorter trips are more likely in the near term. Domestic over international, at least for a while. The big overseas trips will take more coordination than they used to.

But the instinct is the same. Hoover grew up in a family that valued getting out of the house and seeing new places, and he married someone who feels the same way. Drexel Hill is home. It is where they run on weekends, volunteer their time and settle back in after every trip. The travel is what keeps the rest of it from getting too familiar.

Ask Hoover about the best trip they have taken, and he will not give you a straight answer. He will mention the architecture in Spain, the beautiful beaches in Greece, the food in Italy, and then circle back to something closer to home. That is how it works when travel is a habit and not just an event. The destinations blur together in the best possible way, and the next trip is already being planned.

Michael Hoover is a Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania resident who has traveled to Spain, Greece, France, Italy, and more than a dozen U.S. cities with his wife.

Originally Published on Travel Daily News