I won't have a day off until August, save a few days where people are staying with us (which isn't exactly a "day-off" in my mind as there will be extra cooking, cleaning, etc. involved). I'm going to need a vacation when I get my weekends back.
Confounding things is Sprout. He's going through a *very* wiggly phase. So said vacation would need to be about 2hr plane ride or 4 hour car ride. We'd prefer this to be more of a car-ride-away situation so that we could bring baby crap along w/out feeling like donkeys.
Criteria :
-short distance away
-kid-friendly
-beach OK, but not first choice
-not FL (we go there several times/year to visit family)
-for late August/September
eta: time is anywhere from long weekend to 7 days.
Re: I need a vacation: Local-ish ideas
We loved our long weekend away to Pennsylvania Amish Country (2.5 hour drive) last year. We stayed on a farm where DD got to feed and interact with the animals. Horses and buggies going by the cars was a constant source of amazement and amusement. It was really relaxing. The Cloisters at Ephrata were fascinating for us and DD loved having the grounds to run around in. This year when (if) we go, we will take DD to Dutch Wonderland, but last year at 18 months I thought she was too young. We did take her to Hershey Chocolate World - the free part of Hershey Park, and she loved the ride on how chocolate was made.
I always recommend Williamsburg (2.5 hour drive), it's really a perfectly amazing and magical place. There is so much to see and do and the beach in Yorktown on the York River is really low key and perfect for little kids.
Perhaps next year when Sprout is a little older, but Philadelphia, Sesame Place and Longwood Gardens would make a great vacation as well.DH is from there so we go up a few times a year and we always find more than we can reasonably do to keep us occupied.
If you want fun, NYC (4 hours) is great for little kids and adults. You can stay on the PATH line in Jersey and save a lot of money on hotels. I know it's different for us since we can stay in the city with family, but we've never had a bad weekend in NYC with the kids. You can go to the Jersey shore on the way home to combine a beach and city adventure.
Deep Creek Lake (4 hours) is a lot of fun, especially if you are looking for a relaxing not a doing vacation.
I'd head for the hills :-)
In August it is a bit cooler in the mountains than here. I'd head west to WVA, or MD. Maybe rent a a cabin someplace? What about a ski resort? A lot of those have summer/fall activities. If you rent a house in some place that also has restaurants you can eat some at home if you want, but still have the option ofr eating out (since it IS vacation afterall!)
Cabin in Berkley Springs, WV
Charlottesville - many wineries let you do picnics outside and we saw loads of kids when we were there
Deep Creek Lake
Friends of mine recently rented cabins here and raved about the facility. So, cabin rental + hot showers = "camping." And it's close by, but rural enough that you forget you're not that far from civilization (home).
http://www.stateparks.com/smallwood.html
"What is a week-end?"
We just went to Bavarian Inn in WV for their Sun brunch this weekend. It was a nice trip. The drive was beautiful and the inn looks over the Potomac river. Plus it's close to a lot of hiking, kayaking, battlefields, and Prime Outlets in Hagerstown. Harpers Ferry was close too.
My brother and SIL are going to Cape May next week after July 4th for several days.
I knew I'd get great info from y'all. I can't believe I forgot about Williamsburg...I've got a friend there I've been meaning to visit & WV is a great idea too.
Will discuss with the husband tonight!