Vacation Ideas

[waverly]

I am looking for Spring Break and Summer vacation ideas.

Criteria:  Driveable from the Chicago area, hopefully just 1 day drive.  

We have done KY, and I don't think we want to do that again.  I don't think I am super into TN.  We've done NC and SC, but those are more like 2 day drives.  If we did those, that would be Spring Break and not summer. We did South Dakota, but again that is a 2 day drive. 

If we fly, I would do Boston.     

St. Louis is an option.  We've been before, not super exciting but the City Museum is awesome. We've done Pittsburg before, and liked it.   We've done Minneapolis but not much else in MN. We've done Madison, Wisconsin Dells, Milwaukee.  We could do Toronto.  We've done Cleveland.  We've been everywhere in MI, so that might be a last choice since I am going in July anyway.  

Doesn't have to a city could be a nature area.  Camping is an option for summer.

[librarychica]

I go to Minneapolis a lot for work and enjoy it but my boss, who lives there, LOVES to go to Duluth a few hours north. I haven’t been but he seriously raves about it. Great breweries, lots of scenery and outdoor recreation. His kid is still an infant so no older kid recall there yet.

Chicago is my favorite Midwest city for museums but you’re already there.

I really enjoy Tennessee so I’m going to recommend it here anyway. I prefer Townsend side of the Smoky Mountain National Park, there’s a tubing river there with shuttles, Tuckaleechee caverns tour is amazing, Cades Cove for wildlife viewing in the park itself, and then if you want to drive to Gatlinburg all kinds of tourist crap. Great camping in the park and in/around Townsend. I took my youngest one year while her sister was in sleepaway camp and we went to the best go karting place and did the Gatlinburg art trail. June is absolutely gorgeous and not crowded.

I’ve heard Nashville can be very cool but my one brief time there (grain of salt, I was sick and didn’t explore much) it struck me as a more of a grownup vacation.

[waverly]

librarychica , Duluth is on my list. I frequently forget about it lol. I don't have a problem with TN, per se, more like the Gatlinburg tourist stuff type.

We've never been to Nashville. We were going to go for Spring Break of 2020, and cancelled it. I seems more like a bar scene/ bachelorette type place. Of course, we wouldn't do that with kids, and I am sure there are kid friendly things to do, but I haven't been as excited about going once I realized that.

Dubuque is also on my list.  We have done Quad Cities and just generally the Mississippi River before.  

[orval]

Cincinnati - zoo is great, Kings Island amusement park
Brown County Indiana for nature.

[librarychica]

Sept 26, 2024 15:09:00 GMT -5 waverly said:

librarychica, Duluth is on my list. I frequently forget about it lol. I don't have a problem with TN, per se, more like the Gatlinburg tourist stuff type.

We've never been to Nashville. We were going to go for Spring Break of 2020, and cancelled it. I seems more like a bar scene/ bachelorette type place. Of course, we wouldn't do that with kids, and I am sure there are kid friendly things to do, but I haven't been as excited about going once I realized that.

Yeah I got the same impression of Nashville. I am sure there is something to do for families — my friend who lives there spends a lot of time at local festivals and splashing in rivers with her kids — but that doesn’t seem to be what they’re aiming for.

Oh I totally agree on Gatlinburg. I took DD2 as part of the trip that was just the two of us because it’s tradition! I went on 100 vacations to Gatlinburg as a child — all of Florida and possibly all of the southeast does. It’s a meme at this point.

But Townsend is better if you like nature and want to see the Smokies. Don’t tell anyone, lol.

I had a thought. I visited a cousin in Bloomington when she was in college. We did broke college student cousins things, but a quick google shows me a few cool looking museums. College towns can make fun vacation places. What kinds of things do you all like to do? Are you a nature family, attractions family, museum family?

[waverly]

librarychica, I would say that we travel well (except kids fighting). We enjoy both nature, breweries and attractions. The kids actually do OK at museums as well. I personally wouldn't want to go to every art museum in town, but they did the Louvre and were fine. They have done historical mansions and were fine. DS is a big history buff which is why Boston is on my list. The kids did NYC last fall.

I wouldn't say they LOVE walking around college campuses. We did Notre Dame, and they weren't that excited. I would say their favorite place was maybe New Mexico because we stayed on hills, and they could scramble up and down the hills and rocks all day long. But that was a few years ago. They also really enjoyed Bald Head Island. It was an island where you just get around with a golf cart. Overall, they are pretty chill with whatever except for fighting with each other. And after many years of children museums and playgrounds while on vacation, we can finally do what the adults want to do. So I would definitely say the adults get more say now.

Camping can be hit or miss. It's probably better if we rent a house and they have their own rooms for separation.

[librarychica]

waverly the best city vacation we’ve ever had was Washington DV. My kids LOVED the museums, DD1 loved/DD2 tolerated all the monuments. It’s a long drive from Chicago-ish but not insurmountable.

I’m jealous of the Louvre. H and I were talking about taking the girls to Paris this May i think we need a new roof and IDK that both are happening. TBD.

[waverly]

librarychica , Washington DC is amazing. DS is going for his 8th grade school trip.

I was super jealous of everyone that went to Europe. We were just looking to get on the continent (skipping the UK that trip), and Paris was the cheapest. It ended up being pricier than we thought because every meal is like 100 Euro and most places we didn't have a kitchen. There were a few times that we had breakfast included as it was a BnB, but other than that it was eating out the whole time. We did Paris, Normandy for the history buff, Amsterdam and Cologne. Cologne because my H had studied abroad near there. The last city was a bit much though just because we were tired at that point. Paris is nice, but I love France outside of Paris if that makes sense. Louvre was the first day and DS was dead tired.

No one really sleeps on the plane, but because it was a direct flight it was better than flying to Hawaii, for example.

[sdlaura]

We were in DC last spring break and it was crowded but fun to see the cherry blossoms. I would not choose to go there in summer - too hot and humid. If you end up flying to Boston over summer, we really enjoyed Martha's Vineyard, with Boston sights before and after.

[dglvrk2]

I second Duluth if the weather is not crazy. (great idea, librarychica) I went to college in MN for a year and traveled to Duluth throughout the winter for ski races. It's been nearly 30 years, but I recall some storms in January and February. Hopefully by March/April, it's tamer. I loved the boardwalk, the nature and the breweries!

[rere]

We love Gatlinburg/Townsend. Cades Cove is my Favorite, but everything is so crowded these days avoid fall altogether and weekends if you can. We toured the Biltmore this summer and really enjoyed it, but I am a historic house buff.Ifyou stay on the NC side or Townsend, it's not as far. You can get some pretty bougie cabins with indoor pools and such.

Nashville is something. We avoid Broadway like the plague. Last time I was there, I ended up standing on the corner holding a saltshaker that I swiped from somewhere at 10 pm, because that was the only way to choke down a hot Pabst Blue Ribbon, which was all they had left. And there were lines out of every club with about 500 girls with I'm the Bride veils and their parties. We gave up and ended up at Margaritaville eating nachos.We go to the mall these days, TOP Golf or wineries, but that's about it.

A lot of people go to Brown County Indiana or Indiana Dunes, but not sure if that would be a long trip.

[mae0111]

I can't speak to driving distance things as I'm woefully uneducated about good vacation spots near you... but I'm coming to say that if you decide to fly, spring in Boston is an absolute crap shoot. 5% chance of good weather. 20% chance of snow. 75% chance of some other garbage weather - driving, sideways rain; cold, raw, drizzly weather; sunny with 40mph winds making it feel like it's 20 degrees.

Summer in Boston is the place to be!

[waverly]

mae0111, OK I will skip you for spring lol!

[waverly]

Sept 27, 2024 8:44:34 GMT -5 rere said:

We love Gatlinburg/Townsend. Cades Cove is my Favorite, but everything is so crowded these days avoid fall altogether and weekends if you can. We toured the Biltmore this summer and really enjoyed it, but I am a historic house buff.Ifyou stay on the NC side or Townsend, it's not as far. You can get some pretty bougie cabins with indoor pools and such.

Nashville is something. We avoid Broadway like the plague. Last time I was there, I ended up standing on the corner holding a saltshaker that I swiped from somewhere at 10 pm, because that was the only way to choke down a hot Pabst Blue Ribbon, which was all they had left. And there were lines out of every club with about 500 girls with I'm the Bride veils and their parties. We gave up and ended up at Margaritaville eating nachos.We go to the mall these days, TOP Golf or wineries, but that's about it.

A lot of people go to Brown County Indiana or Indiana Dunes, but not sure if that would be a long trip.

Indiana Dunes is very close.  I have not heard about Brown County, Indiana.  Not sure what is there, but sounds nice.