[Ubersmooth]

Hey guys, the families getting ready for a vacation and we need your help! Where should we go/what should we do? It can be up to 6 days long, and we will be driving so we want to stay on the east coast. We were thinking of going to either Hershey, PA and hitting up NYC for a few days while were up there, or going to Hershey and going to Rehobeth or Ocean City on the way back. We are even considering going down to the OBX as we used to go down there yearly. Family has 2 teenage boys, a teenage girl, and a 10 year old girl. Where should we go and what should we do while were there? Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

[tony20009]

Other things I've done within six hours or so driving distance:

• Nemacolin Woods + Falling Water - Pittsburgh-ish
• The Biltmore - Ashville, NC
• Savannah, GA - may be better suited to just you and your wife, but it's a nice place
• South Carolina -- Hilton Head and Kiawah Island
• Various states -- hike part of the Appalachian Trail
• New York - The Hamptons
• Williamsburg, VA - I thought it was good for 1.5 days, but I didn't need a week of it.

One thing that was and remains incredibly popular is horseback riding. Anyplace we can go for a family vacation that allowed us to hire out some steeds so my kids ride like a bat out of hell on the back of a horse was a good place. If your kids haven't ever been on the back of a horse running at a full gallop you absolutely must get them an opportunity to do it at least once!!! There just is nothing like it and it takes no special skill to do.

(Getting the horse to stop does take a little doing, especially if the horse knows damn well the rider hasn't a clue. Horses like to run just like kids do.)

BTW, the first time my kids did it, they thought it was so super fast and thrilling. When they later found out they were only going about 30 mph, they developed a whole new respect for the affects of force, weight, power and speed. I like to think that lesson is why they don't drive like maniacs.

All the best and have a lovely and safe vacation.

[E92Monstah]

The Beachmere Resort in Ogunquit, Maine. Awesome. Just spent my 10th anniversary there. Nice seaside town. Restaurants. Relaxing. Fun. Spend a night in Boston while you are there.

http://www.beachmereinn.com/

[Ubersmooth]

Originally Posted by tony20009

Other things I've done within six hours or so driving distance:

• Nemacolin Woods + Falling Water - Pittsburgh-ish
• The Biltmore - Ashville, NC
• Savannah, GA - may be better suited to just you and your wife, but it's a nice place
• South Carolina -- Hilton Head and Kiawah Island
• Various states -- hike part of the Appalachian Trail
• New York - The Hamptons
• Williamsburg, VA - I thought it was good for 1.5 days, but I didn't need a week of it.

One thing that was and remains incredibly popular is horseback riding. Anyplace we can go for a family vacation that allowed us to hire out some steeds so my kids ride like a bat out of hell on the back of a horse was a good place. If your kids haven't ever been on the back of a horse running at a full gallop you absolutely must get them an opportunity to do it at least once!!! There just is nothing like it and it takes no special skill to do.

(Getting the horse to stop does take a little doing, especially if the horse knows damn well the rider hasn't a clue. Horses like to run just like kids do.)

BTW, the first time my kids did it, they thought it was so super fast and thrilling. When they later found out they were only going about 30 mph, they developed a whole new respect for the affects of force, weight, power and speed. I like to think that lesson is why they don't drive like maniacs.

All the best and have a lovely and safe vacation.

Thanks again for all the help! I've heard many good things about Hilton head.
We actually have a family member who has a horse so whenever we visit we all spend some time horseback riding through the woods and it really is fun.

[Ubersmooth]

Originally Posted by E92Monstah

The Beachmere Resort in Ogunquit, Maine. Awesome. Just spent my 10th anniversary there. Nice seaside town. Restaurants. Relaxing. Fun. Spend a night in Boston while you are there.

http://www.beachmereinn.com/

Just visited the website, WOW! Those are some beautiful beaches. Unfortunately we don't plan on going that far north, but that might be on the table for spring break! Thanks for the help.

[xzibit a]

Getting ready to head down to myrtle beach here myself. If you didnt have kids or if they are homeschooled. September is a really great time to vacation, our 2 bedroom beach front condo in MB is 450/wk. and the weather is still usually amazing around that time.

[Ubersmooth]

Originally Posted by xzibit a

Getting ready to head down to myrtle beach here myself. If you didnt have kids or if they are homeschooled. September is a really great time to vacation, our 2 bedroom beach front condo in MB is 450/wk. and the weather is still usually amazing around that time.

$450 a week is amazing! Enjoy your vacation.

[KL2DC]

Atlantic City!

[KL2DC]

Funny you should mention it, I'm heading up to Hershey, PA myself for my daughter's 3rd birthday. After, I plan to stop by Philadelphia for a foodie stop.

Asheville is a nice drive but its pretty boring once you're there imho. Some good eatin' though (e.g. Tupelo Honey cafe) and the Biltmore is a must visit. Hilton Head is nice but expensive (depends on time of year). NYC is always fun and something for everyone, I go there solely for foodie outings. Yes, I center my outings around food

[PSUSMU]

Originally Posted by tony20009

• South Carolina -- Kiawah Island

I grew up vacationing in Kiawah with my family. We'd usually stop at Busch Gardens on the way to/from as well. Was always a great location for a family vaca.

Myrtle Beach and Ocean City are complete shit holes compared to Kiawah. I don't know why people think those are nice places.

[Ubersmooth]

Originally Posted by PSUSMU

I grew up vacationing in Kiawah with my family. We'd usually stop at Busch Gardens on the way to/from as well. Was always a great location for a family vaca.

Myrtle Beach and Ocean City are complete shit holes compared to Kiawah. I don't know why people think those are nice places.

I'll have to look into that, most likely for next summer. We usually went down to OBX and stayed on Ocracoke island for a little bit and it was always amazing, especially seeing all the wild horses roaming around.

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by PSUSMU

I grew up vacationing in Kiawah with my family. We'd usually stop at Busch Gardens on the way to/from as well. Was always a great location for a family vaca.

Myrtle Beach and Ocean City are complete shit holes compared to Kiawah. I don't know why people think those are nice places.

When I was a kid, my parents preferred to head north for summer vacations. We never really spent much time going to local beaches, other than just to go for a day. As a result, I think the Cape is far nicer than pretty much any other East Coast beach area, even though I'm well aware that south Florida and Gulf Coast states, and plenty between there and DC also make great vacation spots. But I don't let the positive memories and sentimentality spur to me belittle the places others choose.

I can't speak for everyone, but, I can tell you that going to the shore is a very common thing to do in the summer if one lives in the DC Metro area. The most commonly chosen beaches for DC area people are Ocean City (OC), Dewey Beach, DE, Rehoboth, DE, VA Beach. More than any other reason, proximity is why those are the beaches chosen. Some folks might venture to the central and southern NJ beaches, but more typically that is where folks from Philly and NJ would go.

My first atime going to Ocean City (OC) was as a 3rd year high school student. My friends and I rented a place and went for a week, a period called "beach week." We had an absolute blast. I went to OC a few more times after that up until we were 2nd year college students. I don't recall having any great issue with the place. One thing for sure, it was a good place to make up for lost "tail" that may have not been obtainable, available or known of back home in the city. For high schoolers and young collegiate kids, that was ample enough reason to go there.

In our young adult years we gravitated away from OC and went to Dewey and/or Rehoboth instead, but plenty of folks did the same thing in OC. Generally groups of four to six folks would rent a house in one of those towns for the summer. We went to the beach just about every weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the sole exception being if someone went on a real vacation to someplace more distant.

We didn't rent houses in OC mainly because OC is/was so crowded, we had girls in tow, and OC was the place of our younger years. Few working young adults want to hang out in a place they perceive as being "high school." I'm pretty certain that other folks went to Dewey or where ever as high schoolers and may well have chosen OC for the same, but opposite, reasons we didn't.

Later in life, my wife and I bought a summer house in Rehoboth. We'd looked in Dewey and OC as well, but the best property for us at the time was in Rehoboth. We also would go down to the beach nearly every weekend, but this time with kids in tow rather than friends. I am glad we bought what and where we did. I don't, however, feel that there's something wrong with OC if that's what other folks choose for themselves.

Today, I probably still wouldn't pick any place in the contiguous US as a vacation spot, although I would choose any of many spots for a few days to just get away, but that's me. It's hardly my place to be so crass as to deride another's decision in that regard, particularly if they neither my children nor wife, and most especially if my money isn't funding their vacation.

These days, I prefer to "vacation" outside the US, but that hardly makes US vacation spots "sh*t holes." I prefer to ski in the Pyrenees, Alps and Andes, but I'm certainly don't think the Rockies, Appalachians and Coastal Ranges in the US and Canada are crappy places. My favorite beaches aren't in the US either. The world offers an abundance of varied places where one can go and have a wonderful vacation. Families can have a great time in many of them. It's not about where one goes that makes a vacation special or memorable, it's about how one uses one's resources, time being the most valuable of them, when one is there.

All the best.

[tony20009]

Originally Posted by KL2DC

...
Asheville is a nice drive but its pretty boring once you're there imho. Some good eatin' though (e.g. Tupelo Honey cafe) and the Biltmore is a must visit. Hilton Head is nice but expensive (depends on time of year). NYC is always fun and something for everyone, I go there solely for foodie outings. Yes, I center my outings around food

My wife and I had a great time in Asheville, NC. We did some shopping -- art, as you can well imagine, but I have no idea why so many artists are there -- went to the Biltmore, did the tour and partook in the Christmas dinner at the Biltmore Inn. It was great way for a young couple to spend a couple days, if the history and charm appeal. Besides, newlyweds don't need much to have a good time, regardless of where they are. It's probably on the very, very dull side for kids.

[PSUSMU]

Originally Posted by tony20009

When I was a kid, my parents preferred to head north for summer vacations. We never really spent much time going to local beaches, other than just to go for a day. As a result, I think the Cape is far nicer than pretty much any other East Coast beach area, even though I'm well aware that south Florida and Gulf Coast states, and plenty between there and DC also make great vacation spots. But I don't let the positive memories and sentimentality spur to me belittle the places others choose.

I can't speak for everyone, but, I can tell you that going to the shore is a very common thing to do in the summer if one lives in the DC Metro area. The most commonly chosen beaches for DC area people are Ocean City (OC), Dewey Beach, DE, Rehoboth, DE, VA Beach. More than any other reason, proximity is why those are the beaches chosen. Some folks might venture to the central and southern NJ beaches, but more typically that is where folks from Philly and NJ would go.

My first atime going to Ocean City (OC) was as a 3rd year high school student. My friends and I rented a place and went for a week, a period called "beach week." We had an absolute blast. I went to OC a few more times after that up until we were 2nd year college students. I don't recall having any great issue with the place. One thing for sure, it was a good place to make up for lost "tail" that may have not been obtainable, available or known of back home in the city. For high schoolers and young collegiate kids, that was ample enough reason to go there.

In our young adult years we gravitated away from OC and went to Dewey and/or Rehoboth instead, but plenty of folks did the same thing in OC. Generally groups of four to six folks would rent a house in one of those towns for the summer. We went to the beach just about every weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the sole exception being if someone went on a real vacation to someplace more distant.

We didn't rent houses in OC mainly because OC is/was so crowded, we had girls in tow, and OC was the place of our younger years. Few working young adults want to hang out in a place they perceive as being "high school." I'm pretty certain that other folks went to Dewey or where ever as high schoolers and may well have chosen OC for the same, but opposite, reasons we didn't.

Later in life, my wife and I bought a summer house in Rehoboth. We'd looked in Dewey and OC as well, but the best property for us at the time was in Rehoboth. We also would go down to the beach nearly every weekend, but this time with kids in tow rather than friends. I am glad we bought what and where we did. I don't, however, feel that there's something wrong with OC if that's what other folks choose for themselves.

Today, I probably still wouldn't pick any place in the contiguous US as a vacation spot, although I would choose any of many spots for a few days to just get away, but that's me. It's hardly my place to be so crass as to deride another's decision in that regard, particularly if they neither my children nor wife, and most especially if my money isn't funding their vacation.

These days, I prefer to "vacation" outside the US, but that hardly makes US vacation spots "sh*t holes." I prefer to ski in the Pyrenees, Alps and Andes, but I'm certainly don't think the Rockies, Appalachians and Coastal Ranges in the US and Canada are crappy places. My favorite beaches aren't in the US either. The world offers an abundance of varied places where one can go and have a wonderful vacation. Families can have a great time in many of them. It's not about where one goes that makes a vacation special or memorable, it's about how one uses one's resources, time being the most valuable of them, when one is there.

All the best.

I respect that. I go to OCMD for H2Oi every September. I have a fun time because of the cars and people. I don't think it's a nice place though. Same with Myrtle Beach. Will I have a good time at these places for a weekend? Sure, but I wouldn't waste vacation time/money to stay there.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with going there, but I just can't comprehend when people refer to crummy beach towns as "beautiful places." It's hard to not sound a bit stuck up, but I've spent quite a bit of time in truly beautiful places (Hawaii, southeast Asia, some Caribbean, etc.) so the idea of vacationing to a place like OC or Myrtle repulses me. I'm not wealthy, but I regard myself as having good taste, and I save my money to travel to tier 1 destinations rather than do more frequent/cheap/local trips. To each his own/not trying to offend anyone. I just have strong beliefs on travel and food