Will we regret not taking more active vacations?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also -OP, where do you live now and what is it that you like to do in these smaller cities?

Museums, urban parks, historic sites, waterfront views, just walking or driving around seeing old buildings the energy, seeing how the neighborhoods and housing styles look different from the DMV. I love looking at Richmond or Baltimore or Pittsburgh when driving into the city, but I also love that for smaller cities. Labelscars, old industrial buildings, urban revival, just being there really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. This has been really helpful. I think the people suggesting state/national park tours near a city are onto something that will work for us. I do want to see and enjoy some unique nature but not at the expense of more cities.

I can't relate to thinking NY, Chicago, and SF are the only cities worth vacationing in but someone do say that to me in person too. 😊

What about Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Richmond, Philly, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Columbus, Cleveland, Tulsa, Atlanta, LA, Portland OR, St. Louis, Wilmington DE, Charlotte, Greensboro, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, Nashville, etc., etc.? Pretty much the only U.S. city I haven't really enjoyed is San Diego.

Curious, what didn't you like about it?

Maybe it's just that it was so hyped up like everyone loves it and it didn't seem special or like I'd ever want to go back. I did like Old Town and Coronado and the food. Most of those I listed above and others not listed I'd love to go back to.

I actually wonder if your OP is part of why you didn't really like San Diego. It's less city-city, and more nature city... a more active vacation, if you will. So that might point towards your answer about whether or not those vacations are worth it to you.

[Anonymous]

Op, add Omaha to your list! Great zoo and lots of other stuff to do there, Lincoln, and nearby.

[Anonymous]

Do what you like and not worry about what others are doing. When you look back, you will have made plenty of good memories with your family. I personally would not want to spend an entire vacation doing outdoorsy stuff.

[Anonymous]

Op do not worry. Do what you enjoy. FWiW I fell at the peak of one of the National Parks and had to undergo surgery on day one of our trip. Even the hiking vacations can have downsides. I missed everything!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, add Omaha to your list! Great zoo and lots of other stuff to do there, Lincoln, and nearby.

Omaha is on the list!

[Anonymous]

Here’s what you’re missing when you forgo an active/adventurous trip to a national park or similar: natural beauty and amazing views that you don’t have to share with the hoards of tourists who don’t want to be more than 50 feet from their car. You’re also missing amazing fun adventure activities like rappelling down a canyon, ziplining through a rainforest, whitewater rafting, climbing a frozen waterfall, and kayaking through sea caves. You won’t be able to do that when you’re old. If that doesn’t sound appealing to you now, then I guess you’re not missing anything. But we’ve done all of the above with our kids, and they have loved these trips way more than city trips, which they can do any time for the rest of their lives. I don’t enjoy camping (though my kids do). But we all love national parks, nature, and adventure, so we stay in park lodge and cabins and do a ton of hiking and adventure activities for most of our vacations. I did a lot of city travel as a young adult before kids, but I prefer the active outdoorsy vacations with my kids bc that’s what they prefer.

[Anonymous]

Do what you like. I'm more of an adventure vacation person, but wouldn't recommend it for anyone who doesn't really want it.

A few years ago we had two long weekends just a couple weeks apart. We spent one in NYC and one in New River Gorge. Kids were late ES / tweens at the time. At the end of NYC, we were all exhausted. Everyone enjoyed the sites and seeing Hamilton on Broadway, but the constant noise, stress, smell (exhaust and pot smoke everywhere), crowds just wore us down. Kids and adults alike.

NRG was just a busy of a weekend, we had tons of activities including river rafting, hikes, ziplining, rock climbing. But we all agreed that we felt refreshed and energized at the end of the weekend, not exhausted. The activity recharged us rather than wearing us out.

If cities do it for you, keep going with them. They don't for us, so we choose things that we like.

[Anonymous]

Everyone is different. Do what you are comfortable with. I prefer nature and hiking while I can still do it.

I have siblings that enjoy mainly cruises and its excursions. Flying is not practical for them. At some point, they will run out of ideas for cruises and will need to fly somewhere. They also enjoy short lake/mountain getaways. Their 2 kids are 9 and 12. Meanwhile, another sibling prefer anything that is clean. No hiking, no nature, no public transportation. Walking outside on concrete for less than 15 minutes is the way to go, with the exception of Disney World. And no they don't have little kids. They have a teenager. Anything that looks planned is right for them. I also have another sibling that don't travel! They make the most money!

Then, there is me and my family of 3. DH and teen boy can walk forever while 6 miles is my max at one time. I don't mind sleeping in a tent on the ground by the max is 4 days. A meal can be very simple for us. We can mix nature and city in one trip. I am 50 and I would rather hike and do physical activities now while I still can. I will sit on a cruise and sleep on better beds later in my 60s.

[Anonymous]

I think the idea to start close to home is good. Great Falls national park on the VA side has nice hikes or just an easy walk to see the falls.

There are places to rent kayaks or stand up paddles boarding on the Potomac.

I love beautiful scenery. It can be so inspiring for me! Grew up going to all the parks. We camped, but now I prefer a hotel .

Do what you love though.

[Anonymous]

It's a matter of personal preference. There's no reason to do a vacation you're not excited about. There are enormous crowds in national parks without adding people who don't even like them and just have FOMO.

We are a nature/hiking family but we enjoy that locally and hence it's a big focus on vacations. It's also an age/phase thing - cities don't sound appealing to me now with young kids as the focal or of a vacation.

[Anonymous]

OP I know what you are asking and my answer is yes, you should try to mix it up more. I’m a city girl through and through! I could never hike for an entire holiday. I do not camp. For me that’s a kind of torture!

However, there are outdoor adventures I have had with my family incl 2 kids that I’ve loved and they include trips to national parks. The key for us has been going to places with extremely beautiful scenery and where you can do more than just camp or hike.

Palm Springs was one of my favorite trips with the kids in Dec and we combined Joshua Tree not far. We also loved spending time at Rush Creek Lodge to see Yosemite, combined w SF trip. We loved Jackson Hole as we stayed in a beautiful resort there and did white water rafting. Costa Rica is very much an outdoor vacation destination but we loved we could jump off waterfalls, raft, do beaches and enjoy lovely meals. Hawaii, Iceland, AK are all locations very outdoor centric, but offering activities that aren’t what you find in a city. It’s all about finding activities you like to do v. only hiking in the woods LOL Sedona and Santa Fe offer scenes that will take your breath away.

So you see, it’s entirely possible to enjoy an outdoor vacation not in a city if you load it up with activities and if it’s a really beautiful - also west coast resorts are different than what I find here. You get the benefit of exploring the national park with enjoyment of a resort. There’s some amazing gems in Idaho, MT, WY and UT for those.

I will always be a city girl but I have to say that you should look at doing something outdoors esp if you’ve kids