So, the powerjacob family is trying to figure out what we can do for vacation this year (or maybe next year). Normally we go to Panama City Beach, FL. It’s been decided we will not be heading there for a multitude of reasons… Oil spill, the place we normally stay is getting run down, not a whole lot of activities to do with the kids (ages 2 through 8), plus I’m kind of tired of going to the beach. On the last 5 vacations we have taken the destination was on or near a beach.
I want mountains. I want something more exciting than, “OK guys, who wants to go to the beach?”
I’m thinking Ozarks, or Smoky Mountains, or Colorado (not skiing), but I want there to be plenty of activities/things to do/ things to see that will keep the little ones interested. I just don’t know of any specific locations that might fit this need.
Gatlinburg, TN is the third circle of Hell for me, but you might like it. Amusement parks, lots of kiddie stuff, plus mountains. Fall color up there is spectacular, but I dunno when you’re making the trip…
Personally, I’d fly into Boston, see the sites (fun museums, historical stuff galore) rent a car and then drive up through New Hampshire up to Vermont. There’s white water rafting, canoeing, hiking and outdoorsy activities galore.
Late September is maybe about the time of the fall color near Gatlinburg. Think it may peak around mid-October, but I’m not sure.
Another idea–every kid should go to D.C. at least once. Let them oogle the monuments, see the big-ass blue whale suspended from the ceiling in the Smithsonian, that kind of thing.
We just got back from a fast few days in Germany. There is a lot of stuff you can do there, and while it is handy to speak German, many germans actually manage to get along in english or have actual fluency in english.
You could work in reading the various fairy tales into the touring. I think it could be a great chance to get the kids some foreign travel experience while they are still young enough to be less expensive to travel with We rent vehicles instead of using public transport, being a gimp with a wheelchair it is just easier for us to travel this way but if you pack right and are organized you caan certainly do a trip using public transport. Though really, driving in Germany is not that big a deal, you just follow the laws and everything is just fine.
[although I confess there is something viscerally fun about hauling arse down the autobahn with great music playing and exceeding US speeds =)]
A great idea, and one I’m going to hold onto, but I’m worried about the plane ride over with a 2 year old. Sounds like something we’d do when the kids were a little older.
I’d like to keep it in the US.
Gatlinburg does look good. Is there anything like this in Colorado?
I flew over on iceland air, and there were kids on the flight. all of them except for 1 poor 4/5year old travelled beautifully [that poor kid is going to have flight phobia] If your sprout is old enough to blow her/his nose on command, or eat a small piece of something that makes them chew for a few minutes [sandwich works, or fruit bits] then they can clear their ears. The flight we took was over night on the way over and there were some small kids that snoozed all the way [5 hours] from Boston to Rejikavic. Then it was another 3 hour flight to Frankfurt. My parents flew with my brother and I from the time we were a few days old [my first flight was home from the hospital at 3 days old. Mom was feeding me to make my ears clear and dad hit turbulence and I yarped used formula all over the inside of his plane … he got a new plane shortly after that ‘because with 2 kids we need a commanche’ lol]
Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado. Start in Santa Fe and then drive up to the mountains north-east of Taos. Take I-64 west over the Rio Grand to Chama (a beautiful road). There is a steam train trip you can take with the kids in Chama. Then go north and west to Durango (where there is another good steam train). maybe continue to Arches National Park. All over you’ll find great mountains and red-rock desert scenery.
Ozarks/presumably Branson. Don’t do it, not with kids. Nothing but two lame amusement parks, and mile after mile of “shows” Not much in the way of fun, regular kids stuff, like museums and miniature golf. Husband liked the fish hatchery, though…
Gatlingburg - a perfect vacation for a family, IMO. Tons of cheesy museums, mini-golf, and such. Nice downtown for walking, seeing taffy made, panning for “treasure” and candy stores. And then…the Smokey mountains. One of the most “accessible” mountain areas - lots of places to pull over and start crawling on the river bed, really good nature and information centers, trails, etc. Plus, they have tons of places to stay down there, which means good variety and prices. We’ve done both a resort with pool, water park and clubhouse, and a cabin way off in the nowhere. Both were super-awesome.
I would avoid Colonial Williamsburg - kids could care less about it, and honestly, the grown-ups in our party got bored kinda quickly as well. Stay in Virginia Beach, and go to Williamsburg for the day.
How about the Poconos? We did that one year, and it was beautiful. Lots of different stuff to do - we explored Bushkill Falls, state parks, Victorian town of Jim Thorpe, and took a day trip to the Statue of Liberty - it was only about two hours across New Jersey to Liberty Island, and we got to see the Manhattan skyline without having to take our three year old to NYC.
Springfield, Missouri is in the Ozarks. Personally, I hate the place*, but a lot of people love it. If at all possible, try to get there as the leaves turn colors, as the sight is absolutely breathtaking. There are a couple of caverns open for tourists, however, call Fantastic Caverns before you just show up…the last time I went through there, the admission was sky high. However, it’s a ride-through cavern, that is, everyone gets seated on a sort of mini-train rather than taking a walking tour of the place, and it’s great, if you like caverns. Springfield is the largest city in the area, so it’s got some big city adventures as well as mountain and outdoor stuff. Some of the touristy things rely heavily on hillbilly humor, which you might or might not find worthy of eyerolling.
If you come to Fort Worth, Texas, we have a lot to do, but no mountains as such. Our zoo is one of the best, we have the Botanic Gardens, a museum of natural history and science (used to be called the Children’s Museum) which has hands-on exhibits and a planetarium and IMAX theater, and the Log Cabin Village, all of which are extremely child-friendly, but which are also fascinating to adults. If you come here, you MUST take your kids to all of them. We have a cattle drive twice daily, though I’ve never seen it. However, I don’t advise coming here until at least September or October, unless you’re used to frying eggs on the sidewalk. It’s HOT here. But we have great Mexican and TexMex food. If you do come here, drop me a line.
*This has a lot to do with my personality, outlook on life, the fact that I spent some of my miserable adolescence there, and because my dog was poisoned there, so it’s purely MY mileage.
There is some truly gorgeous country around the southern end of Montana that’s all hills and winding rivers. The northern part is the part we drive through as fast as possible. I don’t know what there would be for kids to do around there, though - it looks like hunting and fishing country to me.
Did someone say Yellowstone yet? We loved it. It is a well-known tourist location, of course, but it’s one of those ones that are a destination for so many people because it’s worth it.
If you do to to Mount Rushmore, make sure you stop at the Crazyhorse Monument. As far as we were concerned, we could have spent the whole day there and just glanced at Mt. Rushmore. It is already pretty awesome, and just getting better.
We rent vehicles instead of using public transport, being a gimp with a wheelchair it is just easier for us to travel this way but if you pack right and are organized you caan certainly do a trip using public transport. Though really, driving in Germany is not that big a deal, you just follow the laws and everything is just fine.
I don’t know what there would be for kids to do around there, though - it looks like hunting and fishing country to me.