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Vacation suggestions needed
We plan on taking a trip when Brooke is around 1 (May or June of this year), but we're not entirely sure of where we'd like to go. We'd like to stay on the west coast (flying anywhere from Hawaii will be a long flight with a baby, even if Brooke is an easy baby), so we're thinking along the lines of Disneyland or Las Vegas. My mom will be there to 'help' us, so we'll be able to do more-- like go on rides at Disneyland, or gamble a little at Vegas...
So my question is: do you have any suggestions on where we should go? We're pretty open to anywhere (I've looked at Cabo San Lucas, Disneyland, San Fran, Las Vegas, etc)... and if you have a suggestion, could you please tell me why (like what kinds of things there are to do around that area)?
TIA!
Re: Vacation suggestions needed
I'm partial to the Bay Area. You've got great city action in SF (museums, shows, dining, shopping), plus you can take day trips or stay a few nights in gorgeous places up North like Napa or Sonoma or down south in Monterey (great aquarium there), Carmel or Half Moon Bay. There's tons of great outdoor activities to do, too. It's a great place for families.
Maybe Disneyland might be better for when Brooke is older and can enjoy it and remember it, too.
If it were me I'd probably also do the Bay Area or maybe San Diego or Santa Barbara. Disneyland with a baby is not fun, even if someone is there to watch them so the parents can go on rides. We took my niece when she was under 2 and it was miserable. She was hot, cranky, stuck in the stroller all day, etc.
In SF...you guys can do baby-friendly things...aquarium, parks, museums, etc. and then some fun adult things...head to wine country...or a night on the town, etc.
San Diego would be on my list as well. Las Vegas? Not my style. And I cannot imagine it being too baby-friendly with all the smoke, etc.
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Ditto pp - Disneyland is horrible with a baby. And terribly expensive to boot, so I would save that for when she's around 5 or 6. The Bay Area and San Diego are great ideas.
If you do the Bay Area you can take lots of day trips - see Napa/Sonoma, go to Muir Woods if you like to hike, I totally agree with a trip down to the Monterey Aquarium. In addition, just seeing the great stuff that SF has to offer will fill your days. I don't know how long Wicked will be playing at the Orpheum there, but that would be a great thing to see also.
I agree with pp on several things:
SF or Napa or San Diego all sound like great places.
Disneyland and Vegas not so good for babies. (My last trip I met up with a friend who had her toddler and we were always worried about all the smoke everywhere and ridiculous air conditioning inside and sweltering heat outside).
Well, if you do end up doing Disneyland or Vegas we will meet up with you!
You know I love Disney!
What about Seattle? I love it. Not sure what there is to do with a baby but the weather is nice in May/June. Otherwise, I agree with Bay Area or San Diego suggestions.
I like the ideas above, just wanted to chime in about Disneyland. We have season passes and take Sean Patrick at least once a month - he loves it. I def wouldn't rule out Disneyland.
It was difficult when he was an infant. We went when SP was 3 months (we had relatives come for Disney vacation) and that was a total bust...I spent a lot of time in the baby room (they have this cool place that's specially for babies/toddlers with private areas to breastfeed, high chairs, special tiny toilets for kids and they sell diapers, baby food, etc).
But from 6 months on, he's really enjoyed it. There are a bunch of rides he can go on and he LOVES the parades both at Disneyland and California Adventure. He even likes things like Pirates of Caribbean and Haunted Mansion (I thought we would be afraid). It's also just a safe, fun place for him to run around.
When our family visits, they stay at one of the Disney hotels because they get early access to the park (I think an hour earlier than the general public) plus it's easy to go back to the room for naps. We obviously don't do that every time we go, SP just falls asleep in his stroller when he's tuckered out.
He's 15-months now and we're going tomorrow as well as in a couple weeks when our family comes back for their Disney vacation. Can't wait!
Good luck!
SF and Napa (which is less than 1hr away from SF) is a good suggestion. I also like the Seattle idea, although in May, you probably will get some rain so it's something to keep in mind while traveling. Or even Vancouver (Canada) if you don't necessarily want to stay in the US.
San Diego has nice beaches, although I don't know if that's what you're looking for since you're coming from Hawaii and the beaches there are still nicer. I also like the idea of Disneyland since you mentioned that Brooke is an easy baby. If I had a fussy baby though, I might skip it until he/she is older...
Vegas will be pretty hot around May/June and dry. Yeah, I would be concerned about smoke unless you stay in well-ventilated resorts (Bellagio, Wynn, Venetian). I would avoid most others, although Caesar's is pretty well ventilated outside of the gambling areas (since that was built a longer time ago, when they used to have shorter ceilings the resorts). And like pp mentioned, I wouldn't be walking around/in and out of resorts too much with the baby because the adjustment from the outside heat to the freezing cold indoors is quite uncomfortable.
I've never been to Cabo San Lucas before so I can't say much there..but GL and let us know what you choose!
Well I am partial to San Diego (GO CHARGERS!!), but that's because that's where I'm from. From the stand point of a tourist, there are so many things to do other than even seeing the beach. La Jolla is beautiful to walk around, have dinner, Children's Pool (where the seals like to congregate), etc....
Downtown (Gaslamp) is always fun to walk around, shop, sight see, museums, Balboa Park, San Diego Zoo, Seaworld, oh man the list goes on.
However, I will caution you. San Diego is known for May Gray and June Gloom, so keep that in mind, you could end up with some cloudy days. But that still wouldn't stop me!!
Let me know if you need any help with sight seeing if you decide to go there!!
PP all gave great rec's. I would just strongly suggest you go somewhere that you can walk (not always have to drive). The beach is great at that time, so San Diego would be fun. SF and Seattle are both great places to walk around. Lake Tahoe is also fun for hiking, gambling, etc (more naturey). One of my favorite websites to look at before deciding where to travel is trekaroo dot com You can search by cost, age, thing, etc Pretty amazing and lots of rec's for all those areas.
I am in Sacramento and have been to San Fran, Lake Tahoe, Sac (obviously), Reno, etc with Kai at all ages.
I LOOOOOOOOOVE Disneyland, so usually that's where I'd vote for...however, I've been there with a baby before, and I agree that it was NOT fun. At all. For anyone. I'd don't think I'd want to go unless the child was at least 1.5-2 years old. So for that reason, I'm voting for SF.
ETA: Oh, and I agree about no to Vegas - too much smoke, etc.
Thanks for all of the great advice ladies
I'm going to look more into the Bay Area & San Diego... but my hubs is dying to go to Las Vegas. (Las Vegas is huge for Hawaii people, in case you didn't know) We'll see.
I might have to ask MrsNFB for more advice on Disneyland...
Oh, decisions, decisions! & I can't believe one years old is coming up to fast!
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All of the above are great rec's! (Almost anywhere on the west coast would make for a great vacation!) I just wanted to chime in with MrsNFB. We had annual passes and MH (then BF) & I used to take my twin nieces (YUP... I said TWINS!) from the time they were 18months till they were 3 and could no longer get in for free! (haha!) Disneyland is definitely do-able with an little ones and they are def baby friendly (also used those baby rooms to change diapers.) There is so much to see that the twins were always kept busy. Just make sure you bring a good stroller! They loved all the hands on stuff like Toontown and the petting zoo and Fantasyland. I will admit that they did learn at an early age how to wait their turn so they were always fine standing in line. At one year, though Brooke should be fine. It's not too hot here in May/June, either.
Oh! Dunno if you were interested in breaking up the trip to 2 different places....but if you (or YH) wanted to do a little more "adult stuff" like gambling, Pechanga Casino isn't too far a drive from San Diego. I think it's about 60 miles. They also have a lot of vineyards in Temecula (don't know if they're as nice as Napa Valley) so you guys could also go wine tasting if that interests you. Have fun!