The Future of (Our) Family Vacations
Musings on Parenting — By Jeff on July 7, 2010 at 2:20 pmWe just got back. And I’m ready to leave again.
I was inspired to compile this list thanks to our just completed, long-weekend road trip across our home state that was extended by 1 day after we discovered unexpected fun in the middle sections of Pennsylvania, namely Del Grosso Amusement Park and Lincoln Caverns. The Mrs. and I make a habit of planning/theorizing about the next several family adventures as the current one is in it’s waning days and moments. But, the real genesis of my ‘dream family vacation’ blog post comes from Chris Singer (@tessasdad) who authored this post about his top 10 places for a family getaway.
So there’s the set up. Now, here are my Top 9 Dream Family Vacations.
International
- Barcelona, Spain – I’ve fallen hard for futbol (soccer) over the past 3 weeks and have adopted FC Barcelona (cherry picking one of the best, I know) as my club to watch and cheer for during this upcoming La Liga season (a feat made easier thanks to Verizon FIOS carrying GolTV and ESPN3.com live streaming of Spanish league games). It’s a city that has intrigued me for some time, but now I’ve been pushed over the edge thanks to Messi, Xavi, and David Villa. Plus, their uniforms rule and the main sponsor isn’t a beer or car company, neither of which interest me – it’s UNICEF! That’s pretty cool.
- Chile - So many climates and landscapes are present – I’m totally fascinated. This would be a backpacking vacation when the girls are around 11 and 8.
- Scandinavia – Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland – all of them have cool cities and plenty of water, fjords, plus so many Detroit Red Wings are from there [Sweden]. So, it’s gotta be awesome, right?
- New Zealand - The ultimate faraway dream. I think of this place like it’s on another planet. Expectations are so freakin’ high, I feel like I’ll be underwhelmed once I finally do arrive. Still, I’d love to get my gang there someday…for about a month-long trip.
DOMESTIC
- Seattle to San Diego – I want a multi-week road trip driving down the west coast, spending as much time as possible on US 1. See Portland, San Fran, Monterey, Big Sur, and so much more.
- Santa Fe, NM - There is something about the colors, the architecture and the vibe I think I get from this old city. I’ve wanted to go for a while now, but the flights from Philly aren’t the easiest or cheapest.
- Midwest Baseball Road Trip - This one has already been mapped out, in theory (home games would need to be lined up in the year we try to do this, of course). Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis. This trip would include a stop in East Lansing to help the Michigan State Bookstore meet their quarterly sales projections.
- Las Vegas/Grand Canyon/Bryce Canyon/Zion National Park – Kinda the All-American vacation, no?
- Charleston, SC - The start of the Civil War, a city that interests me WAY more than the more ‘famous’ Southern plantation town of Savannah, GA.
Where do you want to take your family next?
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Tags: parenting, vacation
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Ah, the baseball road trip. If I could just do that, I would die a happy man.
Camping and caves. Boys especially love the Lava Beds National Monument in Upper CA [http://www.nps.gov/labe/]– it’s a great family adventure. Captain Jack’s Stronghold (nearby) is an interesting walk-though…I’ve always wanted to stay longer to fully absorb the history there, but others always seem to want to speed through to get on to the caves (there are about 700 caves in the area).
Is something of a harsh & hot summer landscape in much of the area– sage brush (smells a bit to me like cat pee) and lava rock… despite this, the kids loved the experience. Toward the end, the boys were as enthusiastic about finding yet another cave as they were at the start of the caving fun… and by that point for me, I remember thinking, “not another cave!” (This from a woman who loves caves and would like to live in one.)
The above is not a fantasy vacation, have visited more than once, just is the first thing I thought of. Camping is at the top of my list for family vacations, even if just for a night or two… I think is a great family bonding experience, creates great memories, and is a great way to unwind and unplug for a period of time… and to remember what’s most important: time together.
Valley of Fire is a nice place for lava beds and not far from White Sands, which is very awesome (if memory serves me — Rob and I visited there before we were married and today is our 15th anniversary).
I’ll have to rethink of my top ten list; here’s the wish list I wrote last year (Stored in google Docs and thankfully not blocked by the Turkish thought police):
2010 Turkey
2011 England – Hadrian’s Wall/London/Stonehenge/etc.
2012 Greece
2013 Machu Picchu
2014 Egypt
2015 Italy
2016 Australia/NZ
2017 China – Great Wall
2018 Kilamanjaro
2019 Vietnam
2020 Brazil
2021 Antarctica
2022 scandinavia
Now that we are in Turkey, Italy and Greece will fall further to the bottom. I know that their ruins will pale in comparison to what we’ve seen here.
I’d really like to get the girls out west camping in the national parks. And to Big Bend — such beauty! We also keep talking about a Vancouver/Seattle/Portland/N. CA trip.