Help me with summer trip! Family of difficult travelers

[Anonymous]

I am stumped on summer vacation this year. Our family is full of difficult travelers- one kid has ADHD, the other kid has anxiety and severe picky eating that requires access to a kitchen for stays longer than a few nights, DH has anxiety and does not do well with trips that have a lot of logistics. We try to have reasonable expectations and do easy trips that are close by. Kids will be 7 and 9 this summer. We are trying to stay under 5 hours driving or a less than 2 hour direct flight with no time change. We are considering New England and flying to Burlington, Portland, or Boston- but New England is huge! ; flying to Buffalo and doing Niagara Falls/Ontario; or driving to New River Gorge National Park. Any thoughts or ideas?? Please help!

[Anonymous]

Honestly, this sounds terrible. Don't go on "vacation".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, this sounds terrible. Don't go on "vacation".

AGREE. This sounds awful. Take a solo trip, op.

[Anonymous]

Are you picking those locations for camping/hiking? Is that how you think you’d like to spend time? I ask because I would think a beach house would be a better fit. But if you need to be active once you arrive somewhere, then I get your thinking.
What about a cabin at Nemacolin? Easy drive, lots to do when you’re there, very little logistics since it’s a resort with lots going on but no pressure to do it and you can eat out if you want. Doesn’t sound like a road trip to New England is a match unless you pick 1 place and stay there, but then you have the logistics of day trips every day. I’d think they’d like the consistency of staying in 1 place. I’d still do a beach house unless you’re not beach people.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like your best bet would be to find a lakeside place in NH or VT. Can check out Squam Lake which has a fun science center or Lake Winnipesaukee. Quite a few activities around there and if your kids like arcades, there is a huge one. Then there is a lot of nature things you can drive to and you can do sight seeing without having to do hiking if that's too much for you all.

[Anonymous]

You told us what your family does not like? What do they like?

Niagara Falls has stuff to do for one day. If that.

[Anonymous]

What about the area beaches? I'd look at condos in Bethany. Pricey for what you get but you would fulfill all your requirements. Plus there's plenty to do for those age ranges.

[Anonymous]

I’d look into those family camps where all kids eat dinner together most of the time and where there is a daily schedule posted. Your picky eater kids will disappear when eating next to peers and your husband will have everything planned for him.

[Anonymous]

We rent a lake house at Smith Mountain Lake and rent a boat every summer. The kids swim off the dock. We go tubing and water skiing. We use kayaks and paddle boards to explore. We bring a stack of board games and have move night. We cook yummy family meals. It's a very relaxed week.

We prefer it to a beach because we don't have to deal with salt or sand.

[Anonymous]

This is pretty similar to my family. You really need to plan around what they do like as all their issues will be increased if they are doing things they don’t like but minimized if they are having fun with activities.
We’ve had good luck with cruises because there are lots of food options and my spouse finds them less stressful because things are mostly controlled/managed. But some other people might find them more stressful due to crowds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d look into those family camps where all kids eat dinner together most of the time and where there is a daily schedule posted. Your picky eater kids will disappear when eating next to peers and your husband will have everything planned for him.

This really depends. My “picky eater” just doesn’t eat at camp.

[Anonymous]

Finger Lakes NY? You could get a house on one of the lakes. Lots of outdoor activities and family friendly wineries/breweries. Might be a little more than 5 hours depending on what part of the DMV you're in.

[Anonymous]

Dutch Wonderland / Hershey / Amish country could be an easy option. There's a steam railway and train museum too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We rent a lake house at Smith Mountain Lake and rent a boat every summer. The kids swim off the dock. We go tubing and water skiing. We use kayaks and paddle boards to explore. We bring a stack of board games and have move night. We cook yummy family meals. It's a very relaxed week.

We prefer it to a beach because we don't have to deal with salt or sand.

We’ve done similar with Deep Creek lake in Maryland but we don’t water ski. There’s also some nice hiking near there with two state parks nearby and a nature center with ranger programs at one of the parks. There are a ton of houses to rent at all price points.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d look into those family camps where all kids eat dinner together most of the time and where there is a daily schedule posted. Your picky eater kids will disappear when eating next to peers and your husband will have everything planned for him.

Do any of those family camps cater to families with older kids/teens or is it all young-uns?