Most impressive trip on east coast

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not NYC in the summer. It’s hot and smells like balls.

I've been to NYC in August near Labor Day a bunch of times for vacation

There's lots of wow there.

It can be hot but no more than a beach vacation.

I wouldn't walk too close to dumpsters and trash bags, but it's not memorable different from other times of year regarding stenchiness.

NYC smells like pot and piss in the summer.

Everyplace urban smells like pot now. And ski resort parking lots.

[Anonymous]

You are trying to “impress” your children?

That is sad. How about relax and have fun together?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are trying to “impress” your children?

That is sad. How about relax and have fun together?

It's sad to want to go somewhere new and memorable? 90% of our vacations have been to relax in familiar places with extended family. It's OK to go on different kinds of trips sometimes.

[Anonymous]

I think NYC is always amazing. There's less people and it's not high season in summer there. With kids it's not like you're needing to enjoy the charms of the city v seeing all the activities a big city offers. AC is everywhere as well. As kids, they aren't gonna remember anything adults would - they will only remember the fun

Chicago is another remarkably fun place and it will be high season there. It's such an easy trip from here. Aug has air show on the beach. I wouldn't do UP but I would do Chicago and you do have beach there. That's my hometown so h know it well.

I prefer Wildwood and Jersey shore v OBX personally. I like the food up north

Agree with PP about Boston and NE beaches but Shenandoah is easy too. It depends on how easy you want to make it and your budget. Depends on your family's personality. We are city folks who enjoy the beach but I can't hang out in sand 24/7 for 7 days straight it's just too much sun for me

[Anonymous]

Maine was so beautiful we’re going back again this summer. We’ve been to Wells, Ogunquit, Kennebunk, Bar Harbor, Acadia- it’s such a gorgeous state in the summer

[Anonymous]

A lakefront cottage in/near the Laurentians. Bigger lakes preferable. An hour to Montreal for a cloudy-day trip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Acadia National Park in Maine. Take a couple of days to drive up doing a night or two in Boston on the way. Lots of good hiking and beautiful scenic views right here on the East Coast!

I don't think this is going to be all that different feeling than the finger lakes

You are very wrong about this (diver Ed boat ride, lobsters, blueberries everywhere, Jordan Pond House popovers, hiking to Bubble Rock, Flying Mountain amd more, even short walks/hikes like Ships Harbor and Wonderland that are very different from each other, or being the first people on the east coast to watch the sun come up over Cadallac Mountain or have Rangers do a star gazing talk at Sand Beach, seeing Asticou Gardens, and so much more).

That being said, for a week, you don't have time for that long drive up to Maine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not NYC in the summer. It’s hot and smells like balls.

I've been to NYC in August near Labor Day a bunch of times for vacation

There's lots of wow there.

It can be hot but no more than a beach vacation.

I wouldn't walk too close to dumpsters and trash bags, but it's not memorable different from other times of year regarding stenchiness.

Ok, I live in NYC and I love it all year round, but summer is known to be a stinky time in the city, as the garbage rots in the heat. It shouldn’t stop people from coming but it’s important to be realistic.

OK, but I think I am being realistic. Maybe it is that tourists don't spend as much time in stinky areas. The subway is gross but so what.

The Met and other museums, Central Park, Battery Park, Liberty Island, Broadway theater...anything by the water or air conditioned is fine.

I visited Paris in a March when the trash workers had recently been on strike and the media was full of scary pictures of trash mountains. We saw a few of those and skirted some alleys but it was NBD.

A lot of people, especially parents, don't have the luxury of traveling at the exact right time for decades.

Stinky New York can still be amazing.

I think you’ve visited a few times and don’t really know what you’re talking about. If you are walking the streets of NY, which is an important and fun part of being in the city, you will not avoid the ripeness of the city. But yes, NYC is amazing all year round.

[Anonymous]

West Virginia - one of the cabins at Ace Adventure Resort. Reserve Bridge Walk early because it sells out.

Or

Bethany or Cape May

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are trying to “impress” your children?

That is sad. How about relax and have fun together?

I think they are trying to sound more impressive when people ask, which is just as stupid.
Explains the Delaware beaches.
I hated this period in life, but my kids freaking loved it there and the big stupid waterslide parks. You can VIP all that stuff to the sad extent possible to make it feel like you're "impressive", OP, but kids love this stuff just like they love Disney and Six Flags. So that's where you go to make the kids happy while they are this age.

[Anonymous]

If you're trying to find a memorable but not expensive vacation for your kids (and haven't yet done the DE beaches), then go to Rehoboth Beach, DE.

The beach, Jungle Jim's, and renting the big red family bike. Take the ferry to Cape May for a day trip. Bike trails if that's your thing.

Then the boardwalk is hopping every night with families going to Funland, Zelky's, and ice cream and candy shops. Free concerts at the bandstand Fri, Sat, & Sun at 8 PM. Good kid-friendly restaurants. You can walk everywhere in town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are trying to “impress” your children?

That is sad. How about relax and have fun together?

I think they are trying to sound more impressive when people ask, which is just as stupid.
Explains the Delaware beaches.
I hated this period in life, but my kids freaking loved it there and the big stupid waterslide parks. You can VIP all that stuff to the sad extent possible to make it feel like you're "impressive", OP, but kids love this stuff just like they love Disney and Six Flags. So that's where you go to make the kids happy while they are this age.

This.

I’m a beach person who was born and raised in the dc metro area. While I’ve been to beaches all around the world, I grew up going to the MD/DE beaches at least twice a summer plus a long weekend each year…just like almost everyone I know who was born and raised in the dc metro area.

While I’ve taken my kids to beaches around the world (e.g., we go to the Caribbean at least once a year (and usually twice a year) and they each have their favorite beaches in the Mediterranean having traveled there pretty regularly), I still made a point of taking them to our “local” beaches regularly (which admittedly is easy to do when so many family and friends have places there). The kids still love it (and my oldest is in college).

We’ve also gone to beaches in FL, SC, NC, MA, RI, ME, WA, CA, and both coasts of Canada.

I thought we would love Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, etc. but the kids hated it. One and done was plenty. My spouse’s family grew up going there each summer (old money relatives have summered there in their amazing houses for generations). He warned me that it isn’t as nice as I imagined and that overall it’s pretty boring (which is his assessment of NC beaches as well). I will say this: the people watching in Cape Cod is epic; so many men in tank tops and tattoos acting out in public with booming voices with thick Boston and NY accents! It wasn’t the refined experience I imagined. Quite frankly, it was worse than what posters say about OCMD boardwalk denizens.

Anyway, I appreciate that some parents just aren’t beach people. Or Disney people. Or Minigolf and Go Kart people. But most kids love this stuff, so I’m a bit surprised by parents who only take their kids camping in national parks or to museums in city-based trips. My kids have traveled extensively around the world (including national parks and museums), but they would be disappointed if we didn’t make it to the local beaches at least once a summer. It’s not because it’s the “best” beach in the world. Rather, it’s “our” beach that they’ve gone to since birth, so it’s our “tradition.”

And travel traditions matter to kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shenandoah. It’s beautiful, it’s cooler, it’s great for kids. Stay in a lodge if you don’t like camping. Hit Luray caverns, too.

Beware of ticks, though.

[Anonymous]

Shirlington

[Anonymous]

Sorry to be a dissenter but the Smokey Mtns are not that great. Also it will be very hot.