Nope, not what I'd call a fun trip.
The last summer vacation hubby & I took was 2 summers ago, to Maine. #1 son was working all summer and daughter wanted to stay home instead, so it was just #2 son and us. Oh, and we took along BIL and the nephew too.
When we vacation, we do it as frugally as possible. Last trip, we rented trailers at a campground and made day trips to do/see stuff.
Here's a photo of #2 son and nephew in front of Steven King's house....
And here they are along the shoreline in a smal inlet near Bar Harbor....
I've told hubby that if we must retire someplace warm, I get to have a small cottage in Maine to escape the heat in the summer....I don't do 'heat' well....
Anyway, I am beginning the planning for this year's escape, er....I mean trip. Because of Band Camp, we only have about a 2 week time frame the latter half of July when we can go.
The only kid who will be accompanying us is #2 son, since both his older siblings will be working all summer at camp.
So I need to take into consideration destinations/activites that a 14 yr. old boy will like. Well, maybe 'like' is too strong a word, since he is sullen and doesn't 'like' anything beyond his guitar, playing online games and texting his friends. 'Tolerate' might be a more appropriate word.....
So can anyone think of some place that isn't too hot & has nice scenery(for me), historical stuff and good food(for hubby)and won't annoy #2 son too badly-especially since he has to be there with his....sigh and eye roll....parents?
I know #2 son would probably enjoy an amusement park....but only if we take a friend of his as well and only if we drop him/them off for the day and don't go in with them.
Oh, and don't even mention disney anything to me....we don't do disney.
It has to be someplace we can drive to, as we don't fly. We are open to driving to a destination that's more than 2 days away if there are things to see/do/stay along the way.
We like oddball stuff as well as going off the beaten path.
Hubby is 'into' native american stuff.
We are not big into shopping on vacation.
We've been to Maine and all of New England various time, Niagara area(both US and Canada), Ontario/Toronto, Maryland/Delaware beach areas, Virginia Beach, NC Outer Banks and the Crystal Coast, Myrtle Beach, Erie PA, a resort outside of St. Louis. I've been to Minneapolis/St. Paul area on pleasure but w/out the family.
Anybody have any thoughts or ideas I can explore?
Please give them to me! ;-)
Sluggy
San Antonio! Come on down! Most likely it will be hot in late July, but we have tons of things to do.
ReplyDelete1. You mentioned Native American stuff. We just attended a big All Nations Pow Wow a couple weeks ago.
2. Oddball stuff? Hell Yeah! We got oddball. We have the Toilet Seat King, http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/6166 Now how can you possibly miss that? We have ghosts and haunted buildings all over town. You can do a walking ghost tour.
3. We have the historic Spanish missions, of which the Alamo is the most well-known.
If you would like i can send you all sorts of literature. And we have great camping places if you want to camp around the state on your way here. Check out: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/
Good Luck making your decision.
Atlantic Beach NC is beautiful, quiet, and you can rent a trailer, camping spot or condo reasonably.
ReplyDeleteI can't recommend much in Missouri. Although there are historic sites and plenty of other things to do here, it will very likely be HOT here in July.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I'm stumped. Where did you go that was "a resort outside of St. Louis"? I'm not as familiar with the east side of the the state, but the only things that are coming to mind are more toward the center of the state -- assuming you stayed in Missouri, not Illinois.
LisaPie--I would LOVE to do TX and San Anton. since I haven't been back to TX since the family trip to Dallas in '73. Since I don't do heat well, July is out. I'm thinking more like fall or winter for that trip. Thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteVKT--We have done Atlantic Beach twice...once during a hurricane.LOL We stayed at AB proper the first time and on Cedar Island the second time. I love that area so it's on the short list...thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteAnnie J--The resort is Lost Valley Lake....it's in Owensville, about halfway between STL and Jefferson City. I've been there twice..once with a group of collectors at a 'convention' and once with the family. My friend's hubby use to be the GM of the place & they lived there fulltime.
ReplyDeletewww.lostvalleylake.com
It's kind of a cool place.
I'd love to go get some KC BBQ...but alas, it's kind of far to go for 'que...lol
Thanks for stopping by!
"..sigh and eye roll.."-we have the same children!!! At times, I think my kids are have seizures!
ReplyDeleteI'm not so good with the trip planning for others. But I know that a lot of people are having a hard time paying for their time shares and you might be able to get a week just for paying the maintenance fees. I would check and see where they have openings.
But what ever you choose, I'm sure that it will be frugal and interesting. I can't wait to see what you come up with!
As a native Michiganer, I would heartily recommend anywhere up north - Upper or Lower Penninsula. It's all Chippewa country so there's lots of Native American stuff. Up in the UP, there are copper mines to explore (and even mine if you're into prospecting). In the north of the mitten there's the Grand Traverse area, sleeping bear dunes which all kids of all ages love, and millions of other things that I will pull out for you if you actually decide to go. But it's GORGEOUS in the summer - lakes and birch trees and blue skies. I'd go back in a heartbeat... maybe I'll meet you guys up there :)
ReplyDeletechicago!
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