Hello~
We live in Ohio and usually travel east of here, but would like to explore the west. Where have you traveled in the western part of our country and enjoyed? It would be myself, my husband and my seven year old daughter. Thanks so much for your input!
We took all of the great advice and decided on San Diego! Our activities included: Seaport Village, San Diego Zoo, Science museum in Balboa Park, Old Town for mexican food, Legoland and a stop at La Jolla Cove to see the sea lions. The zoo was definately the highlight of the trip...what an awesome place! My daughter, who is 8, enjoyed Legoland and just the fact that she was in California :) The only day we rented a car was when we went to Legoland and drove back...I kind of wish we had done more driving on our own and exploring, rather than use taxis. Guess we will just have to make another trip back and do that!
San Diego has beaches, Sea World, the Zoo, Legoland, Old Town. We love it and it's affordable if you look for deals online.
Wow! So many places! I grew up in Oklahoma and we almost always headed West. Colorado Springs is a beautiful place for outdoorsey people. The Grand Canyon is also beautiful with lots of things to do. I was about 7 when my mom and dad took me to Bryce and Fairyland Canyon. I was enchanted with Fairyland canyon, which is called that because all the spires in the middle look like cassle turrets made of red rock. St. Louis is lots of fun with the Arch and tons of things to do. Chicago is only four hours away from you and theres TONS of stuff to do there. There is Eureka Springs, Arkansas that is like the best of all worlds. It has Table Rock Lake with all the usual lake stuff like boating, skiing, fishing. It has all the modern stuff, variety shows, and an old timey town full of bed and breakfasts, shops, and beautiful architecture. Branson, MO is a bigger, more modern version of Eureka and has Silver Dollar City just down the road.
For us it was always a "travelling" vacation. We would make stops along the way in other interesting places that we would stay for half a day so that we got to do and see more than one thing. It also kept the ride there from being boring.
Hope this helps and have a ball on your vacay. Also, get on here and tell us where you decide because NOW I'm curious to know what fun place you'll get to go to.
L.
I am always amazed at how many people don't realize that there is a fantastic part of the country between the Mississippi river and the Sierra Mts. Perhaps follow the pioneer wagon routes across the country or visit the many national parks in Wyoming and Utah. Hike in the Uinta Mts or swim in the Great Salt Lake, hunt dinosaurs in southern Utah. Mesa Verde and the grand canyon in CO and AZ. Visit Mt Rushmore and the Custer battlefield. Being from Wyoming, I could go on and on about the beauty of the high desert area. Theme parks are pretty much the same no matter where you go. Let you daughter do some research on what might interest her. Have fun doing something different. Good Luck
Another vote for the San Diego area. I cannot wait until we can go there with our kids (we won't attempt it until we have an entirely diaper-free home for ease of travel).
My hubby and I went there on our honeymoon and there were so many things to do. You can find very reasonable accomodations and you will NOT run out of things to do. One thing that it pretty cheap to do is a bike ride up the coast from Mission Bay, eat in La Jolla, go snorkeling, and ride back to Mission Bay.
You can tour the USS Midway which is docked by Embarcadero park, go to Coronado island for some good food and nice beaches, have some fantastic Mexican food in Old Towne, visit the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Legoland (we haven't been there yet), Loma Point (great ocean views from a high hilltop, lighthouse, walking paths). Oh boy, just remembering what we did there is making me want to go back so badly!!
San Francisco Bay Area! I grew up there and there's so much to do. In addition to the obvious sights in San Francisco (GG Park, bridge, Alcatraz, Pier 39, cable cars, Exploratorium, etc.), if you venture just south to San Jose, there's the Tech Museum, which has three stories of hands-on activities for kids and adults. We were just there on Saturday and spent over three hours there and both our seven-year-old and four-year-old loved it. You're also close to the beach and two large amusement parks -- Great America and Discovery Kingdom. Muir Woods in Marin County, just across the GG Bridge, is beautiful and an easy walk with a child.
We lived in Colorado for 8 years and would move back in a heartbeat. We now live in Indiana. Glenwood Springs, CO, Grand Junction, CO, Durango, CO. Grand Canyon in AZ, Hoover Dam in NV, Lots to do in Denver, Colorado Springs. Yellowstone, Grand Tetons in WY, Moab in UT. SOOOOOO much stuff to do out west!! Enjoy and I would say more than 1 trip is necessary as there is too much for one trip!
We are in North Texas and head out west almost every year, two or three times a year. Most recent visit was Yellowstone, but on our way back we stoped in Steamboat, CO - LOVED it!
Not sure ifyou all are the outdoorsy type or a sight seeing group, but the Grand Canyon offers a little of both. with lodges you can stay in hotel comfort they offer trams that go around, so if you are not a big hiker, you can still see many aspects of the canyon with minimal effort and of course they have RV and Tent camping.
We swung up through Durango, CO as well and with the Mesa Verde cliff dwelings and the silverton train, there is a lot to do there as well.
Santa Fe and Taos are beautiful year round and they have a lot of hiking trails.
My time in CA has been limited to LA and SD. both great, but I always feel more comercial since I visited Disney when I was visiting friends in LA and in SD we just shopped and enjoyed the beach.
Wow! You all have so many options, but hands down, If you had to go one place out west, spend a week at Yellowstone. So worth the trip, but bring your mosquito repellant LOL!
go to california!!! pretty much all the southern california beach cities would be a great vacation place. specially long beach CA you can google it and see it for yourself also try catalina island its an island off long beach really beautifull. in long beach you are only a drive away from disneyland - 15 min.. and a couple other amusement parks. as far as lodging , there are plenty of hotels to choose from. i think your family would love it there
Cali. Tons to do out here. Beaches, Theme parks, aquairums, childrens museums, great shopping, lots of sights. =)
Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Yellowstone! The Black Hills of South Dakota and Mt. Rushmore, Colorado -Steam Boat, Crested Butte, Vail, Aspen -it's all gorgeous summer or winter. Montana is a beautiful state too, and you can do a great driving circle encompassing Yellowstone w/Wyoming and Montana and the Black Hills. Also consider the Grand Canyon and parts of Arizona and into Utah -Moab is amazing. California is a world unto itself with so many amazing places to see. I'm partial to Northern California, the Sierras, Lake Tahoe (straddles into Nevada), San Francisco and the bay area -and north of their, Yosemite and the wine country. Still, I go back to Jackson Hole and the surrounding areas. It's beauty beyond compare! The first time I did that and went to Yellowstone, I was 11 and had a grand time with my parents.
I went to AZ and loved it. You can see the Grand Canyon while you're out there.
