Question of the Day: Vacations

Now that family life seems to require 2 carseats, double strollers, twice as many diapers, and so on, we have another question for you.  We're trying to figure out what kind of vacation we could plan that would be fun for all.  By July, Pearl will be 28 months, and Carrie will be 8 months.  Are there certain types of situations that might work best for us? {Note: budgetary restraints do apply!} What has been your best vacation with children? 

Comments

[Moxie]

1) Puerto Rico. We only had one at the time (he was 12 months), but PR is just soooo kid-friendly. Everyone loves babies and is happy to see them in public places, the beaches are perfect in the early morning and late afternoon, the rainforest is fun (and easy hiking with Carrie in a backpack), and the food is perfect for kids.

2) Any place with relatives who want to spend a bunch of time with your kids. Last August we spent two weeks in MN and my parents and a bunch of cousins and aunts and uncles were there, and the bigger kids just ran in a pack and everyone else wanted to hold the baby. We could kick back and have a beer while someone else was making our kids laugh for an hour.

3) Seattle. Nice weather, plenty to do with kids, good food.

4) I'd also suggest Austin, but that does you no good.:)

[Leah]

I agree with Moxie...Visiting family! Otherwise, you know I hear Boise,Idaho is a wonderful place to visit and Pearl can play with Nick, while Sam and Carrie can crawl around together! ;)
I have a question...Lately, Nick hasn't been napping...at all! Does Marcia or do you ever have problems with naps? Any ideas?

[tina]

I would recommend Sea World in San Antonio. The place is immaculate. You can get a beer. There is lots of shade. There are interesting splashy places just for little bitty ones and slightly more interesting splashy places for toddlers. The food there is expensive, but surprisingly decent. You can get a beer. You can see the Clydesdales. You can rent excellent, extra comfy double strollers that kids seem to have no trouble sleeping in. You can get a beer. Face painting. And it's only 3.5 hours away. We took 3 trips there last summer. Total blast for all age kids.

[sally]

Since Callan is all about trains these days, we are thinking of doing a long weekend riding this steam train: http://www.texasstaterailroad.com

And also considering a 4/5 day Cozumel trip when the Funjet trips get back to decent pricing...several of the resorts are very kid-friendly.

That San Antonio trip sounds fantastic!

[Kate in Iowa]

Ok, so I don't have kids (yet!), but when I was growing up, our favorite vacations were camping. I recommend most KOA campgrounds, because even if you don't have equipment, you can rent one of their Kamping Kabins. Most campgrounds have pools and playgrounds, and would be incredibly relaxing for you two, and there's usually a lot of kids around who could play with Pearl. Good luck!

[Trista]

well, we don't have the toddler portion, but we just scheduled our vacation, we're renting a beach house in Oregont for a week and inviting some friends/family to come join us on a rotating basis. This way we don't have to pack up and move, we're by plenty of places to walk and play, lots of sensory imput for our baby (she'll be 9 months when we go) and lots of company but not all at once. I think if we had a toddler we'd do the same thing -- lots of things for a toddler to do at the beach, too.

[d]

We always take our kids to Fort Walton beach every summer and get a condo on the beach with a balcony overlooking the beach. Close enough to go back for naps and diaper changes! Very relaxing for all! Only 10 hours from where you are!

[Tracey]

My brother lives in Houston and he and his family like to go to the Hill Country Hyatt. They have disabled kids (including a baby) and they like it because there's no getting in and out of the car.

[Spyderkl]

Most of the vacations we've had since getting Alena have been spent with family. Which works out well with the budget, but doesn't turn out to be too relaxing, at least for us.

We might try the "vacation at home" method this spring; Evil Dad needs a break badly and we're short of cash. Just going out on day trips to all the places you'd go that are either closed or too crowded on the weekends.

If you're needing a trip, Chicago is a great city, with lots and lots of things for kids. That trip's best in the summer, believe me.

[appleturnover]

camping up and down the pacific coast. there are endless gorgeous places. if you had lots of time, spend a couple of days in a bunch of places, right up through canada. we love camping with little ones, all cosy in a tent, napping in the daytime, staying up around the fire.

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[Susan]

We've taken lots of family vacations. The key is to be in a place where everyone will be happy and where there are things to do that will make the kids happy. We vacationed in Anchorage last year (I had a conference there and we all went and stayed for a bit) and we spent a ton of time just hanging out at the B&B we stayed in b/c it had a ton of animals in the stable, and Curious Girl really just wanted to hang out, try to throw frisbees to the dog, talk to the horses and the goats, and run around. ANother day we went to a playground for the afternoon. Partly we thought "we spent all that time and money to fly to Alaska to go to a playground and hang at the B&B?!?!?!" but CG was happy, the mountains were beautiful, and we did a lot of kid-friendly hikes.

It's a pain to move around with all the kid stuff, so a trip where you can plant yourselves and have others come to you is also good.