Vacation Plans??

Good time of year to dream and plan. I am trying to figure out where to go this summer and hopefully hearing from others will help. Please tell where you are planning to go, if you already know. More importantly, please tell us about your favorite vacations and what made them special. If you can recommend something that we can enjoy with our nine and (by then) six year old boys, I would appreciate it. Even if your idea is too far or too expensive for this year, I can keep it in mind for the future.

So far I am leaning toward Bar Harbor / Acadia (was there for only 1 1/2 days before kids). If I go there, I will probably train it to Portland and rent a car. Driving too much really bothers my back. Other possibilities include NH (White Mts.), possibly the upper Midwest - never been there, or Canada - eastern - closer to us.

Some of our favorites include Yellowstone (a must-see!), the Ashville, NC area and Blue Ridge Parkway and the White Mts.

Much harder to plan now that we have young kids.

Lived in NH most of my life. Done just about everything.

If I had to plan a vacation, what I would do.

Pick a place to stay in the middle of the state. Near a Beach. That way in approx. 1hr 1/2 you could hit just about every attraction or location.

http://www.thecog.com/ Mnt Washington - The worst weather in the world.
http://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/bridges/p39.html Longest wooden covered bridge in the US.
http://kid-friendly-travel-destinations.suite101.com/article.cfm/new_hampshire_attractions_for_kids - Story Land, Lost River and Santa’s Village

http://www.nhoutdoors.com/nh_fairs.htm - All the Country fairs.
http://www.nhoutdoors.com/farms.htm#White%20Mountains6 - Farms
http://www.hamptonbeach.com/ - Hampton Beach/Salisbury is in Ma 2 Miles away.

http://www.eventkeeper.com/code/events.cfm?curOrg=STARHOP&curMonth=PASTTOO&setRef=new - Christa McAuliffe Planetarium

http://www.visitwhitemountains.com/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=7 Good Site to look around in.

http://www.polarcaves.com/ The Polar Caves.
http://www.nhliving.com/attractions/budweiserbrewery/index.shtml Budweiser Factory with the clydsdale horses and all.

I know I missed stuff but here is a start.

My vote is for any and all of the National Parks, including Acadia! I have loved every one of them that I've been to. Cape Cod beaches are also lots of fun. Boston has a lot to offer for kids too. Bar Harbour and taking the ferry over to Nova Scotia was fun when my son was 10 and his friend was visiting from NC.

Thanks Sherrie and Louise! We have loved all the national parks we've been to. Just not sure my little guy is up to too much hiking. At least Acadia / BH has other things to do.

I liked this museum in Kent, CT. http://www.cultureandtourism.org/cct/cwp/view.asp?a=2127&q=302262 It is the Sloan Stanley Museum built on the site of a colonial iron foundry with the best collection of tools I have ever seen - and I love old tools.

I agree, Victor. That was a great vacation when we did it. You can't miss......lots to do and it is very beautiful country!

Also, Victor, there are some quaint little inns right in the center of Bar Harbor where you can walk around the town, etc. We stayed in one that was very nice and the boys liked being close to the action.

One problem with BH is it's $$!!

From the Much Too Distant Files, a trip to Thailand ... specifically, the remote island of Ko Chang where life is very very simple, yet utterly gorgeous. The food, made fresh, was inexpensive and delicious. You have young boys traveling with you so my guess is that they might be a bit bored if they are used to Action-Packed vacations(?). Still, I thought it worth mentioning, just the same. :)

We were there at Chinese New Year 1993, so I'm certain that things have changed dramatically since then. I found this - http://www.kochangisland.com/

DH and I are flying in to Vegas, then renting a car and driving to the Joshua Tree NP in CA for a day or 2, back to Vegas for a couple days, then to Bryce Canyon and Zion NP in Utah.

Favorite trips have been all the NP's, Aaska, New Orleans, British Columbia, Ixtapa, Acapulco, Bahamas. Actually anything with pretty countryside has been a favorite. The caves in Kentucky might be fun for the boys. My son did get bored with nature when he was an early teen.

Thanks. Thailand is a bit exotic now but maybe someday...Sounds like fun, Deb. Thank you.

Here's my Recomendation, based on the kiddies comming along...

BVI, It has most beautiful beaches I have ever seen anywhere. We stayed @ Bitter End Yacht Club on Virgin Gorda nestled in a hillside. Lobster Thermidor & bacon wrapped jumbo scallops on the menu every night along with other sinfully decadent dishes. Went to 'The Baths' a Geological treasure, huge boulders on the edge of the shore stacked so high you actually go inside the crannies. The floor is covered with glass beads as if some tremendous heat formed them. Metor impact? - who knows - its just awesome, you typically get lost in them and have to ask someone the way out. also took the trip to Nectar Island & Anegada by catamaran. Deep sea fished and Dived the wreck of the Rhone, held an octopus in my hand in waist deep water. The kiddies can take sailing classes, included in the package.

WaterCan, you sold me on that one!

Wow - sounds great! What time of year did you go?

here's the link http://www.beyc.com/

We went around July. It was the one place I imaged what it would be like to be rich while I was on a hammock at the shoreline drinking cocktails. I came to the conclusion it would be as boring as any other lifestyle, so I went to Figi the next year to prove myself wrong. ☺

lol, I'm signing us up for the romantic/spa package! No clue what the price is yet though. EEK.

BVI still had better beaches, but Figi had the lagoons and the long trip is not cool for the kids. ☺

Victor, my friend stayed in these cabins last summer and she said the price was right. She paid $600.00 for a week and was right in BH. http://www.hutchinscottagesatacadia.com/

Myself, I rented this 1920's home on the ocean....it is 10 minutes away fron Fort Knox and about 45 minutes from BH. It is truely right ON the water. It was very peaceful and beautiful, good place to kayak, has an outdoor shower so you don't bring all the sand in the house, a BBQ grill on the back deck, full bath, washer & dryer, ect...
http://www.cyberrentals.com/rental/p110099

Haha it is funny you brought this topic up because dh and I were just talking about it the other day and we were saying how hard it is to travel now that we have kids. This summer we plan on a little vacation with the kiddos to Santa's Village...it is only about a 3 hour ride from here in Bracebridge.

I would say my favourite trip was to Niagara Falls for our honeymoon! We had so much fun!!!

Dh and I don't really care for the heat so our dream trip would be the Alaskan Cruise believe it or not....

Thanks Celeste for the tips! Thanks Dawn and good luck to you guys with Santa.

We took Emily to Santa's Village 2 years ago and it was awesome!!! She didn't care for Santa but that is okay because there was so much for her to do. Bracebridge is such a scenic place...the town is literally hugged by huge trees and I mean huge. It is really a beautiful place. The down town street is full of cute boutiques and little shops.

Victor on the way to BH there is a wonderful mini golf course the kids might like.
http://www.piratescove.net/

Also a Zoo down the road, Go-Cart racing, Scenic Plane rides all on Rt 3 headed towards BH.

This message was edited Feb 18, 2008 11:38 AM

There's always maho bay camps on St John which has gotten good reviews http://www.maho.org/

- and of course the Beaches chain of all inclusives for which the ones in Turks & Caicos and Aruba are especially known for being family oriented. http://www.beaches.com/
They usually have a circus trapeze set up on the beach and teach the youngsters how to "fly with the greatest of ease", setting up a "show" for the parents toward the end of their stay. ☺

If anyone ever gets the chance to go to Europe, make sure you stop in at the Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands. You will not come away disappointed. It is the most spectacular display of spring bulbs ever!

It is only open mid-March to mid-May because of only spring flowers. I was there before I was a gardener, and it took my breath away!

It's like a park, that you stroll through. There's even a windmill that you can go up onto its deck to view the tulip fields in the town. Stunning! Gorgeous! I want to go back!

Here's the windmill.

And here's a shot of the gardens.

Yes - that's a must-see on my list.

I really like the bold colors.

I've settled on Bar Harbor / Acadia, but please continue! Where are you planning to go? What were your favorite vacations over the years? It could help others choose.

Cool As A Moose!

This is wonderful info from everyone - for future use in my case. Pixie - that cabin in Maine looks and sounds terrific! ....just our kind of place!

That's where we'll be staying - thanks to Celeste!

I wish we were taking a vaca this year but we started our own business and this is the year hubby quits his job and goes full time with our company. I'm both excited and nervous at the same time. The greatest time of my childhood though were the vacations we went on. Every year we went somewhere. The only northeast states I haven't visited are Maine and Vermont(hope to get there some day) I want to see every state before travelling overseas. My favorite places to visit were Aruba(our honeymoon), New Hampshire, Tennessee(Smokey mts), blue ridge parkway trip to GA.(GA is my least favorite vaca spot).Pittsburgh is my favorite city so far. Vancouver(sp?) in Canada was beautiful. I can go on and on and on.......

I would've chosen that spot too Victor! Nice going Celeste!!!

Bummer, Jen, but good luck with the business! Harper, I'm staying at the cottages that Celeste linked, not the house by the lake.

Victor, the house by the 'Lake'.....it's not a lake, it's the OCEAN.

With a private beach front....thats what I mean about "right on the water".

Oh yes, I forgot. Big lake!

Or 'the pond' as the Brits call it.