Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 1 2 3 LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 29
  1. #11
    bisous is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    .
    Posts
    14,564

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by jgenie View Post
    Some of my favorite memories with my kids are just being outside so I would road trip from where you are. My kids talk most about fun out of the ordinary things. Getting to have ice cream for dinner or going to a local grocery store and checking out the snacks we don’t recognize from home and getting to pick a few to try. Stopping to check out the tide pools or waterfalls without being rushed along to the next thing on the list. Visiting local toy stores and picking something small to take home. You don’t have to spend a fortune to make memories.
    This is the kind of thing that my kids tend to remember. I need to consider this. My kids' ages span ten years. The most memorable thing for my 5 yo might be different than the most memorable thing for my 15yo. Or maybe not? I guess I'm really even trying to get into the psychology of it...I do think that being relaxed is important for forging pleasant family memories! I remember one very stressed out mother and for years I hated the thought of vacationing as a family! I'm trying to avoid that for sure.

    DS1 who is a TOTAL scaredy cat went snorkeling this summer with the Boy Scouts and I would say it was at very least paradigm shifting for him. He didn't want to do it but he LOVED it. Getting outside our comfort zone can be amazing.

  2. #12
    bisous is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    .
    Posts
    14,564

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by nfceagles View Post
    I would go camping in Yellowstone and/or the Grand Tetons. Island Park, Mesa Falls, Earthquake Lake near there are also amazing. Or Yosemite is even closer to you.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Yellowstone is calling my name. I appreciate the recent posts here. I gotta figure out how that would fit in... DS2 wants to grow up and be a vulcanologist. I can see him loving Yellowstone!

  3. #13
    bisous is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    .
    Posts
    14,564

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by nfceagles View Post
    Renting a cabin for a week can be not too bad if you don’t have high expectations. Consider too that you’ll save spending several hundred dollars on camping equipment.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    True. Truth is I don't love camping with kids. I thought maybe it is because I don't have the right gear? I like backpacking, when its really ok to be grungy and sleep on the ground. You have the advantage of solitude and privacy that camping just doesn't have.

    I really think that more than comfortable lodging I require adequate bathroom facilities. I love to be able to shower properly when camping! Something to research!

  4. #14
    bisous is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    .
    Posts
    14,564

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Mommy_Mea View Post
    Definitely national parks. We just rent a low-cost cabin/rent accommodation when we go, dealing with packing camping equipment is expensive and a headache (unless you love camping!)

    We did Yosemite after a family wedding in the area. Stayed at the Housekeeping Camp, rented linens and cooking equipment. We just did Acadia. Because it was last minute we ended up with a VRBO, but didn't spend much money beyond that, just hiking, biking and swimming (ok, and ice cream). We had an amazing vacation at Arches, stayed in an inexpensive hotel in Moab that had a kitchen. My favorite vacations are this way!
    I forgot about the Utah National Parks! DH has a lot of family in the more northern parts of Utah. That could be segued into a really cool trip...

  5. #15
    bisous is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    .
    Posts
    14,564

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by smiles33 View Post
    We were on a very tight budget for the first 10+ years we were married and our only vacation was an annual road trip. Even though we started taking vacations involving flying somewhere, my kids still love our annual houseboat vacation to a nearby lake. I think the novelty of being on the water and staying in a houseboat is memorable, plus the kids have a great time fishing, napping, reading books, inner tubing, etc. We get the cheapest houseboat ( a "6 person" model which is really just 3 beds so perfectly fine for a family of 4. They have high-end "14 person" houseboats with hot tubs, but ours is more bare-bones (has a bathroom with hot water for a shower, a stove, and a fridge, which makes it better than camping in my book!).
    Ooh. Houseboats. Never thought of that. I've stayed in one at Lake Powell and it was fun (I was a teenager--it has been a really long time!) We have been afraid of being that close to the water for so many years. I bet we'd like it now!

  6. #16
    bisous is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    .
    Posts
    14,564

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by SnuggleBuggles View Post
    Would the Disney tickets be free at WDW? If so, road trip it and rent a house when you get there.

    Otherwise, National Parks for sure. But you have to book EARLY for most. Olympic National Park is pretty cool!

    Have you done the drive up the CA coast? Even if you only get to Redwoods National Park, you'll see so much diversity as compared to where you live. We've done Bay Area to San Diego before (with stops in Yosemite, Monterey, Big Sur, Santa Barbara, and Anaheim).
    Yes. Free. When DH and I went there we also had 50% off hotels, and 40% off the dining plan which was TONS of food. If we could just get there.... Maybe a road trip is the answer but it is far from Southern California!

    My sister lives in Vancouver and we have been offered free use of a motorhome once we get there! We've considered doing a long family trip up there. We have stopped at all those places on the CA coast and they are some of our favorites! It might be fun to do that all the way up to visit my sister. My sisters in laws have offered us to use the motorhome to visit the canadian rockies but I think that might be too expensive! Even with free motorhome rental in gas costs, etc. What do you guys think?

    I do need to start thinking about the summer!

  7. #17
    bisous is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    .
    Posts
    14,564

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by sariana View Post
    If you love Yosemite, you will like Sequoia/Kings Canyon, too, and they are less crowded. I think they also are a bit closer to you, but geography is not my strong suit. You can base out of Visalia if you want to avoid the high costs of the in-park hotels.

    If you haven't been to Lassen, I highly recommend it. It's a bit farther (though not as far as Yellowstone!) but well worth the trip. Bumpass' Hell (yes, that's the real name) is unforgettable. We stayed in Red Bluff for our trips there. We were planning to move to a motel in a small town (maybe Susanville? not sure), but there was a fire, and it lost power and shut down. So we stayed the whole time in Red Bluff, which was supposed to be our "on the way" stop. When we went back a couple of years later, we just planned to stay in Red Bluff from the start.
    Ooh. Never thought about Lassens. I have visited Sequoia but it has been a while. Last I checked it wasn't that much closer than Yosemite but we can drive it in a day no problem. We love the big trees so that would be fun!! Starting to get excited here!!

  8. #18
    jgenie is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    13,233

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by bisous View Post
    This is the kind of thing that my kids tend to remember. I need to consider this. My kids' ages span ten years. The most memorable thing for my 5 yo might be different than the most memorable thing for my 15yo. Or maybe not? I guess I'm really even trying to get into the psychology of it...I do think that being relaxed is important for forging pleasant family memories! I remember one very stressed out mother and for years I hated the thought of vacationing as a family! I'm trying to avoid that for sure.

    DS1 who is a TOTAL scaredy cat went snorkeling this summer with the Boy Scouts and I would say it was at very least paradigm shifting for him. He didn't want to do it but he LOVED it. Getting outside our comfort zone can be amazing.
    We were on vacation this summer and we ran across a mom who had just hit her limit. She had two younger kids maybe 5 and 7. She was screaming at them in very colorful language that it was her birthday trip and they were ruining it for her. I felt so awful for those kids. I would have loved to offer to take them off her hands for 2 hours so she could get it together but I couldn’t. I know we all hit our limits at time but all I could think was all the money they spent to get there and those kids would likely remember their mother’s fit more than anything else they did the rest of the trip.

  9. #19
    ahisma is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    .
    Posts
    6,059

    Default

    We have traveled pretty extensively. Our kids' two favorites are super budget friendly:
    - Nova Scotia (we never paid more than $100 / night and stayed in great places!)
    - Custer State Park (combine with Badlands, Mount Rushmore, etc - but Custer is a destination all of it's own). You can rent a camping cabin for $50/night.
    - New Orleans - we stay with friends, but even with hotels it would be really affordable. SO much more than Bourbon Street.

  10. #20
    sariana is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Bay Area, CA
    Posts
    6,250

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by bisous View Post
    Ooh. Never thought about Lassens. I have visited Sequoia but it has been a while. Last I checked it wasn't that much closer than Yosemite but we can drive it in a day no problem. We love the big trees so that would be fun!! Starting to get excited here!!
    I just saw your post about your DS and vulcanology. Put Lassen on your list for sure. It is a VERY active area (they have to redo the road every few years because the mud pots/fumaroles keep eating away at it). When we've gone in the summer, there always have been rangers there to talk about what is going on with the terrain. The visitor centers are really good, too. Check the calendar for special events. We've caught it when they had science stations set up, and my kids loved that. They also have a number of astronomy events. They participate in the Dark Sky initiative (I don't remember its actual name).

    We didn't make it to Lava Beds National Monument, but it is pretty much due north of Lassen and probably worth a visit based on its name.

    You said you've been to Sequoia. Have you driven all the way into the canyon in Kings Canyon? That is the part that gives Yosemite a run for its money with its granite cliffs and glacier-carved valley. We love all of both parks, but they're more than just the trees.
    DS '04 "Boogaboo"
    DD '08 "Lilybear"

Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 1 2 3 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •