Vacation Ideas

[Andrea S]

I want to try to plan a vacation for this summer or fall that we can take Andrew (will br 1 year in Aug) with us (I am not ready to leave him yet). We live outside Chicago so we could go toward either coast. Do you have any suggestions? We have family in California I thought about going to visit, but it would be nice to go somewhere with just the three of us. All of our family is scattered around the US so it seems like most of our vacations involve visiting with family. I would love to go to Disney World, but everyone keeps telling me he will be to young.

Andrea
mom to Andrew 8/14/02

[mama2be]

I'm wondering if Hilton Head South Carolina might be a nice place for you. It is posh beaches (not so commercial)...and I suggest it because if you want to enjoy the streets of Charleston South Carolina and Savannah Georgia they are not far enough. So you can get in good food, history, antiques, and all in the same trip. I imagine pushing Tristan down those streets one day :)...

Good luck with your planning!!!

[Andrea S]

Funny you mentioned Charleston. I grew up in Summerville, SC about 30 minutes from Charleston and went to college in Charleston. I love it there and miss it. We rented a beach house on Folly beach (10 min from Chas.) with my family when I was pregnant. I thought about going there I would love to put Andrew's little bare feet in the sand.


Andrea

[egoldber]

Some friends and I went to Folly Beach a few years ago and had a wonderful time there! I loved Charleston, but I wouldn't say it was particularly baby friendly. Espcially not in August! In general, anywhere with old, quaint houses, think lots of stairs, no elevators and lots of carrying your baby!

We took Sarah to Disneyworld when she was 14 months old and she had a FABULOUS time. There was a LOT for her to do there in terms of rides, etc. She also loved meeting the characters. Depending on the baby, a 12 month old would probably also enjoy it, but maybe not too much younger. But I probably wouldn't go to Disneyworld in August either. If you could wait until October (that is when we went), that is a perfect time to go.

Anywhere you travel, try to stay in a hotel with kitchen facilities or renting a house. It makes traveling with a baby SO much easier. I am very fond of Residence Inn. They are a bit more expensive, but in my opinion, you easily make up for it by having a kitchen and not having to eat out every meal. Also, many hotels will provide a small refrigerator for your room. Occasionally there is a small fee, but often it is free.

HTH,

[parkersmama]

I think the beach makes a great vacation when you have a little one. It can be relaxing or stimulating depending on what you do. We love the gulf coast but I think it's because that's where we grew up going. There are usually lots of interesting things to do (cruises, museums, outlets) and also relaxing things (hanging out at the beach or pool, sunsets on your balcony, etc). I highly recommend looking into renting a condo unit or even a house. We have found that condos cost about the same as hotels but they have a lot of pluses such as washing machines & dryers, full kitchens (that full-size fridge comes in handy), often more than one bathroom, and a nice den as well as a bedroom or two. We usually hit the grocery the first day and buy cereal, milk, coffee, sandwich stuff, snacks, etc. and try to eat one or two meals a day at the place. Saves money and it's a lot easier when you have a little one.

If you do decide on a more city environment, be prepared to leave your stroller outside of a lot of historic homes and museums. I'd highly recommend having a baby bjorn or a baby backpack for your ds to ride in on those occasions. A lot easier than holding him in your arms! We usually take some sort of family vacation each summer and about every other year, dh & I go somewhere alone (like NYC, Boston, Charleston). I find that sort of satisfies our need for couple-type vacations and gives us family vacations, too. We went to DisneyWorld last year and had a total blast with the whole family. My sons were 4 1/2 & 2 at the time. My now 5yo talks about it constantly but I think that my younger son doesn't remember it that much. He had fun at the time but wasn't able to ride a lot of the rides and spent a great deal of time in the stroller. I kind of felt sorry for him since the rest of us were having such a blast! We'll definitely be going back but for us that's about an every 3 years vacation because it is so darned expensive!

Denise
mom to:
Parker, 9/1/1997
Wesley, 3/9/2000
and #3 (a girl!) due 4/29/2003

[mama2be]

Andrea My hubby grew up in Goose Creek...and went to that HS, his brother lives in sumerville (I think)...

[Andrea S]

That is too funny. I went to Summerville High School back when our football team was good and Goose Creek was a big rival.

Andrea