In two weeks, we’ll be on the road to Yarmouth, Cape Cod. We found a hotel that entertains your kids while you drink by the pool and the beach. We’re really looking forward to it, because this is our first vacation for longer than a weekend that does not involve relatives in ten years. Really psyched. Cape Cod seems to be the perfect combination of beach and non-beach activities (shopping and eating) for tan-challenged redheads. Thanks to Wendy for the Cape Cod suggestions.
Question of the Day: What are your vacation plans for the summer?
16 thoughts on “Question of the Day – Vacation Plans”
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Apt. 11d 
We’re going up north, to the not-quite Great Lake, to spend 11 days with my parents. At least, Lyra and I are. I am REALLY looking forward to it. I haven’t been in two years, and my last visit was very short. I haven’t really been up for a long trip since before Lyra was born (summer four years ago). Now my parents live there full-time, so I expect to spend a lot more time there.
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We did one trip already to North Carolina, followed by the whirlwind tour of the south, which included a dissertation defense, visits with the relatives, and 23 bug bites.
In a couple of weeks, we’re headed to South Carolina to the beach with a stop to see some old friends. Very much looking forward to it.
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Well, we’re off to the weddings of two former students in August: one in Maine, the other in Cleveland. Yep, the latter must be a FABULOUS former student! And also four or five days in Quebec for fun–and food.
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We’re all but done with our summer vacation time. These past two weeks were spent preparing for and getting through the move to our new house. We also had one week in Virginia and another in the Caribbean, so I can hardly complain, except that the moving was exhausting. I think I need some vacation time to recover but, alas!, it’s not on the horizon!
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I took my kids on a trip to the Cape and it was one of the best vacations I ever had. We went to the Whaling Museum, textile factories, Pilgrims Plantation, even a day trip up to Boston to the aquarium. The kids loved the Whaling Museum. I went to the Adirondacks earlier this summer and will spend time with the grandchildren. Enjoy your trip
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Taking the kids to Holland (remember, I live in Israel, so it’s a few hours flight, not trans-atlantic)
Holland has a great reputation among Israelis as a kid-friendly destination. May cross the border into Belgium for a day or two. The kids want the fries and the chocolate.
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Vacation this summer involves relatives, again. Spent what vacation money we had on a spring break trip to Philadelphia to show the boys the historical stuff and do the King Tut exhibit (during the hurricane that went through!). The Cape is indeed great. If you have time, and depending on your route, stop going or coming in Rhode Island — esp. Newport for some very nice shopping, eating, and seeing mansions from the days when America had its own form of nobility. Same goes for Providence, which is a very cool little city with unreal restaurants and is very walkable. You might find that RI is even better for next year and a bit closer. Enjoy! (SPF 50!)
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I’ve had my vacations: 10 days at the end of May, to visit friends in the Bay Area and then my grandson and his parents, then another week over 4th of July to go back to the Bay Area and putter around the house.
Mid-August my grandson and his parents are coming to us for a long weekend. End of August we’ll take a day off to go to the State Fair.
Sometime in there my younger son will visit for a long weekend (will be a high school senior in the fall, lives with his dad, has summer school plus a job).
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I’m coming out of my usual lurking mode to tell you my family is going on it’s fourth year of taking a Cape vacation in a few weeks. It’s an amazing place — it somehow manages to be simultaneously adult and child friendly. You’ll have a great time.
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A family reunion in Utah, beginning in just a couple of weeks. We haven’t spent any significant amount of time in Utah in years, and so there are many relatives and old friends to see, not to mention a couple of new kids to show off. The reunion itself won’t be in Salt Lake (thank goodness), but rather up in the mountains, at a camp called Aspen Grove, with plenty of lake swimming and trail hiking nearby, not to mention Sundance and Park City with their trendy restaurants (Melissa and I plan to get away the night of our anniversary). Should be a lot of fun.
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Ours is getting complicated. Originally we were just going to go to southern Vermont for a week in mid-August. Rent the Amos Brown House from Landmark. Drive down to Williamstown for the Monet at the Clark and see a play or two in the Festival. And maybe spend a day at Saratoga races.
But then our weekend in New York, which was going to be last February got moved to May and now to late August (we’ll get back on the Saturday and our first classes for the Fall semester will be on the Tuesday (for Ellen) and Wednesday (for me)). We’ll catch the end of the Fringe.
And last week, as we slogged our way through summer session, we said to each other wouldn’t it be nicer at the beach. I found a mid-week rental on Craigslist. So we’ll each give our summer final exams this coming Thursday, grade on Friday and Saturday, post final grades on Sunday and on Monday drive to Dewey.
I fear we’re overdoing.
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We go camping in Cape Cod (Wellfleet) every August for 2-3 weeks with our one child, now 6. He’s been camping with us since he was 1. In addition, we take a few shorter camping trips in places like the Catskills, Poconos, Putnam County New York, Litchfield County Connecticut, or the Connecticut shore. I know that camping sounds pretty hard-core, especially for weeks at a time. And it is, but our kid loves it and he’s just just one kid and we love it too. And it’s cheap. We also have the advantage of having family in Harwich so we can go over there if the weather is really nasty and also for some laundry. We tried staying with them once but just once.
The Cape is awesome. We prefer to be able to cook, because it’s hard to find really good affordable restaurants. If the Yarmouthport Inn (on Rt. 6) is still open, it is classic old Cape Cod with lots of old people eathing there but very delicious basic food. Another classic seafood place is Moby Dick’s on Rt. 6 in Wellfleet. Kid-friendly menu and a long wait in line (go early), but the kids love playing on their old boat while you wait. Reasonably priced. And I seem to recall that you can carry in your own bottles of wine.
Sadly Jacks Out Back in Yarmouthport closed a few years ago. If you have an efficiency or fridge, there is a Super Stop & Shop in Orleans and also in Harwich. While there you can go to Sir Cricket in Orleans for great fried clams and other fried stuff, basically a take-out joint but you can eat there.
In town, we adore the Squire in Chatham, eating in the bar not the dining room. Enjoy the New England accent. If it’s too crowded the nearby Impudent Oyster is also good. There is free parking in lots in Chatham, and quite good shopping.
Activities: The whalewatching out of P-town is great, bit it is pricy and anyone prone to sea-sickness should take ginger tablets and be prepared to hurl. On Rt. 28 in Harwich a mellower option is to take a seal cruise that goes out toward Monomoy Island. Brief, not as choppy, and the seals at really cute. You can also get a water taxi in Chatham that will take you out to an island beach. (No lifeguards obviously.) The Audubon center in Wellfleet on Rt. 6 has family programs and is just a great place to hike around especially at low tide, although you’re not allowed to swim there. There is a place called Point of Rocks near Yarmouth(port)? Also a good place to go at low tide. (This place is not an official nature center. You just have to go to the end of a road and walk out to the mud … ask around and check the tide charts. You won’t be sorry.) I hear the fire fighting museum in Brewster is very good. We love the Edward Gorey House museum in Yarmouthport, which has a kids room that will allow you to look at all his funky stuff and also to shop their great gift counter. Long Pond and Sand Pond in Harwich are great places to swim with the kids.
Friday night band concert in Chatham is pretty good but go early and stake out your blanket or lawnchairs on a good spot. The band concerts in Harwich are abominable, but amusing. Depending on when you’re going the minor league baseball will probably be over, but keep your eyes peeled. Maybe you’ll be there in time for the playoffs. Also, check out the Wellfleet Drive-In movies.
What you will find is that you put hundreds of miles on your car driving around while you are out on the Cape, but I guess as a suburbanite you are used to it. And, despite all the complaints about Cape traffic, it’s nothing compared to the Tri-State area. Just think twice before jumping into the car on a rainy day.
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Have a great trip!
We like to go to the White Mountains region in New Hamphire. There are a lot of hokey things to do and the prices are great. The kids are starting to get a bit old for Storybook Land …but it was Disney World for the under 6 age at the fraction of a price.
This year we are going to Williamsburg…they have a 7-4-1 pass that lets your family bop around between Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, Yorktown and Watertown USA for 7 days. The whole trip for a family of 5 for one week should come around $2,000. Maine, though a drive, is also a great family vacation.
Another little known trip is to hit the Hershey region at Christmas. The place is so much fun with a part of the park opened along with Duke’s Wonderland….I think both parks cost $15/pp. The hotels are usually under $99/night. It is a different experience than amusement parks in the summer and since it is heavy with locals it gives the feeling of a local, country fair. It makes a great overnight trip.
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A few other quick notes: Moby Dick’s is amazing, but Arnold’s in Eastham is decent and infinately more child friendly. Second, there is some organization in Orleans that sponsors a cheesy boat ride where the employees pretend they are pirates taking the kids on an adventure. My boys love it. They advertise in the Cape Cod Kids directory, available in most supermarkets. You need to book it a few days in advance. There are multitudes of trampoline, bumper boat and mini-golf places in Yarmouth, Dennis and Harwich. Again, the kids love them. Last, many of the town rec departments sponsor morning camps for the kids at the ponds or playgrounds. It’s a good way for the little ones to make vacation pals.
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we’ve already had our main vacation for the year – 12 days in spain at the end of may/beginning of june. for the rest of the summer we only have 2 small weekend jaunts planned:
ashland (OR) for a weekend of shakespeare plays (we’re bringing a friend who wants to babysit while we’re doing adult activities)
labor day back visiting my family in missoula montana. hopefully the fires will have calmed down by then & we can enjoy my brother’s lakeside cabin w/out chocking on forest fire smoke the whole time.
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We just got back from Provence, which was incredible. The last week in August, I’m taking the kids to visit their grandfather in Western Mass–but my dh doesn’t have enough time off to go. I’m a little intimidated by the single-parenting FIL visit, I confess.
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