Anonymous wrote:We loved going to the Outer Banks when our kids were those ages. It doesn't have the city option, but your 5-year-old would love flying a kite and running on the sand dunes at Jockey Ridge, or going to Cape Hatteras and learning about pirates and climbing to the top of a lighthouse, or going to the aquarium in Manteo. We'd get a house near the beach in Duck or Southern Shores for a week and take a few day trips.

+1, love Duck for families with kids

The Chicago + lake option sounds really nice, especially since your youngest is still young enough to hang out in a stroller. I think that a city like Chicago would be easier with a 1-year old than a 2-year old.

Another option to consider if Philadelphia + Jersey Shore. Philadelphia is fun with kids (Please Touch, Aquarium, Zoo, city parks). Then head to Cape May area - or slightly north of there.

Chicago option sounds great. But, with the CT trip you could head to NYC for a couple of nights (children's museum, natural history museum and Central Park zoo all good bets for that age plus plenty of kid friendly restaurants and amazing playgrounds). Lots of nice CT beaches (http://traveltips.usatoday.com/nice-connecticut-beaches-59621.html). You could also do the DE beaches. Or, there is always the Jersey shore (ocean city, nj very kid centric). I live in Boston but to be honest never been that impressed with the cape. I like the north shore beaches (Cape Ann area in MA) much better. But, north shore MA might be too long a trek for you.

We loved going to the Outer Banks when our kids were those ages. It doesn't have the city option, but your 5-year-old would love flying a kite and running on the sand dunes at Jockey Ridge, or going to Cape Hatteras and learning about pirates and climbing to the top of a lighthouse, or going to the aquarium in Manteo. We'd get a house near the beach in Duck or Southern Shores for a week and take a few day trips.

We love traveling and had a successful west coast trip with the older child when he was 3, but are now back to square one with our second (who will be 18 mo old by this summer).

Here's what works for us:
--want to stay someplace nice (e.g. rent a nice house on the water).
--options to do nature and city and beach (e.g. a few days in the city, a few days in the country).

On the table now are:
--Chicago for a few days and then a few days at a relatives lake home in Wisconsin.
--Connecticut for a few days (stay with family) and then a few days someplace else....(we've done Cape Cod before)

WWYD? Any recommendations are appreciated.