Creative Vacation Ideas (parents, activities, child, crayola)

[brit3218]

I posted this in the travel thread but I wanted some of your input as well because I enjoy hearing what you all have to say. You all sound like amazing parents and I enjoy the discussions here! Anyway, what is the most creative, exciting, inexpensive thing you and your family have done for a vacation? I'm asking because I really want to take a nice inexpensive vacation during spring break. I'm open to all kinds of suggestions! I would love to go camping, whitewater rafting, fishing, etc.

[lexingtongal]

We usually go for 2-3 day trips during spring break. We choose a city within a 3 hour drive and see what there is to do there. We've been to Indianapolis (very family friendly city), Cincinnati, Columbus, and Nashville. We have also gone on 2 -3 night camping trips to the Red River Gorge. When we go to a city of course there is always a hotel involved but a lot of activities are inexpensive or free.
We usually try to go on the Sunday of the first week of break. That way we are wherever we're going for Sun, Mon and Tues and there aren't many crowds. For the remainder of the week we'll just do fun things locally that we don't normally do.

[tangodoodles]

I read there's this really cool underground lake in Tennessee. And I think there's a little town built around it and you can go on a boat on the lake. I think it would be cool to go there. Hopefully someone else remembers the name.

[tangodoodles]

Actually, I found it: Get Ready to Take an Unforgettable Adventure

It's in Sweetwater, Tennessee: http://www.city-data.com/city/Sweetwater-Tennessee.html

Knoxville is approximately 40 miles from Sweetwater so you can go there too, or stay in Knoxville and visit Sweetwater. That sounds like a pretty cool vacation, I really want to go to that underground lake.

[dvcgal]

Originally Posted by brit3218

I posted this in the travel thread but I wanted some of your input as well because I enjoy hearing what you all have to say. You all sound like amazing parents and I enjoy the discussions here! Anyway, what is the most creative, exciting, inexpensive thing you and your family have done for a vacation? I'm asking because I really want to take a nice inexpensive vacation during spring break. I'm open to all kinds of suggestions! I would love to go camping, whitewater rafting, fishing, etc.

Depends on what state you live in and what you are close to. Some of our greatest mini-vacations have been less than 3 hours away. We are close to the beach, mountains, DC. There is a lot to do near us. We have been whitewater rafting, which is an absolute blast! We love to go horseback riding. Sometimes we check out a local lake for the day or go to the beach. We have taken weekend trips to DC. And trust me, my hubby is cheap when it comes to vacations so we do not spend a lot.

[sweetana3]

The ones I remember most were the rustic do it yourself camping vacations. Those where the food was cooked over a fire, we slept in tents, and learned all about being self reliant.

I dont really remember any of the hotel stays, much about that type travel except the bad parts.

But I remember vividly the big fishing trip and almost everything we did.

[DubbleT]

My most memorable vacation as a child was a road trip my dad took us on. The whole point of the trip was to visit as many wacky, tacky, touristy places as we had time for. Think worlds biggest rubber band ball, mystery spots, roadside zoos with two headed snakes, buildings shaped like giant shoes, etc. We had a blast.

[lexingtongal]

OMG-the funniest place we've gone (forgot to mention it in earlier post) is Dino World in Cave City Ky. The area itself has a lot of fun, family things to do. But Dino World has "life size" statues in some pretty interesting colors. We went with 5 other families with kids ranging from 4-11 and they all loved it! Think T-rex in purple and you have the idea. Their point is that no one really knows what colors dinosaurs were.
Anyway, in that same area is Mammoth Cave, Ky Down Under, several small but cute amusement parks and Wig Wam Village. Wig Wam Village is such a step back in time. Google it and you'll see what I mean. Also close by is an underground river with a boat ride available. I can't recall its name but if you google Cave City all of the nearby attractions are listed.

[TouchOfWhimsy]

When we lived in Florida, Miami was a 3-hour drive away, so we went there once to just hang out on the beach with friends. We got up at 6:00 am to watch the sunrise, then that afternoon, watched the sunset from the west coast of Floria (where we lived).

Now that we're in CT, let's see... we've taken daytrips to a lake to go fishing, packed a picnic lunch and spent the day at a park with woods to hike, went to Mystic Seaport...

We've gone into New York City, but that's not really inexpensive....

Next month, we'll be taking a weekend trip to Easton, PA and going to the Crayola Factory one of the days. Not sure what else we'll do while we're there.

[brit3218]

Originally Posted by dvcgal

Depends on what state you live in and what you are close to. Some of our greatest mini-vacations have been less than 3 hours away. We are close to the beach, mountains, DC. There is a lot to do near us. We have been whitewater rafting, which is an absolute blast! We love to go horseback riding. Sometimes we check out a local lake for the day or go to the beach. We have taken weekend trips to DC. And trust me, my hubby is cheap when it comes to vacations so we do not spend a lot.

I will more tan likely be traveling from Memphis, TN. I have always wanted to go Whitewater Rafting, Camping, Fishing, and all that other exciting outdoor stuff. But no one I'm close to seems to be interested in it but me. I don't want to do it alone but I may have to because I don't want someone with me who doesn't want to be there.