What is a good family trip?

Question

I have girl, 11, boy, 6, and my husband, and of course me. We went to Disney World this summer, and we got four free airfare tickets for $1,000 all together. I want to do something in the spring probally.

Answer 1

Chicago-- Great place tons to do The Navy Pier is also way cool lots of fun. They have great shopping and wonderful theaters. A lot of Broadway shows can be seen here. The aquarium is a must and the science center is cool. Check here for more:
www.choosechicago.com
www.chicagotraveler.com
North Dakota has some cool places. I did a driving tour a few years ago and it was great. If you are interested in something like this contact the North Dakota Department of Tourism or the local chamber of commerce of certain cities. Self guided a lot of fun you get to see all the cool things about ND. Here are some sites:
www.ndtourism.com
www.visitgrandforks.com
St. Louis- There are several things to do here. First, the Arch--can't miss it. Next, go see a Cards game. We also have a zoo, science center, and art museum which are FREE. Do not miss the City Museum--a real gem of the city. Depending on when you come they have Live on the Levee which are free concerts at the Arch. There are 2 Frontier league baseball teams.
www.explorestlouis.com
Kentucky also has some really cool places, and if you like to be outdoors it is perfect! Ashland KY is located in the mountains. There are some real pretty drives and parks here. Good for hiking and exploring the outdoors. As old town charm. There are several surrounding smaller towns that are neat to go to and see. Ashland is a good place to stay for cheap will seeking out the other small towns. It is really pretty here!
http://www.visitashlandky.com
Covington KY is also another pretty city with some great towns near by. There is plenty of places to stay good BBQ and some really nice parks.
Owensboro is also a nice place to visit. If you want BBQ and Blues this is a wonderful place. Beautiful surroundings, they also have some really good travel packages to go there!
http://www.visitowensboro.com/
Here is the KY website for more info on the surrounding towns:
http://www.kentuckytourism.com/...
West Virginia also has some really nice places, the mountains and forest are just beautiful and breathtaking!
http://www.wvtourism.com
Okay the Pacific Coast Highway also has some really cool stuff. There is a ton of stuff to do going down the coast. You do not have to do as much research because the route is very cut and dry. If you go be sure to go to the sea lion caves in Florence OR very cool place! If you have never spent time on the West coast this drive is for you gives you a taste of everything! Be sure to allow tons of time for WA and the Olympic National Forest wow! Also OR has some amazing views and great towns along the way. Monterey Bay in CA is one of my favorite places, try kayaking in the bay you can do this cheap and it is sooo cool you get to see whales, sea lions and Otters. Also they have one of the best aquariums in the US. Big Sur is also breathtaking beautiful small town with great views and nature all around. You will also go through Santa Cruz stop at the boardwalk, Tacoma and Everett in WA which are both really cool cities. San Francisco will offer a lot for you all to do, be sure to research you can find cheap hotels with FREE parking. Go to China town! Great place also check out Fisherman’s wharf! Here are some great sites to help you research PCH
http://www.us-101.com/
http://wikitravel.org/en/pacific_coast_h...
www.westcoastroads.com
What about taking a Route 66 road trip? You get to see tons of the real America and see some historic sites!
In IL. There is Lou Mitchell’s in Chicago, Dell Ray’s Chicken Basket in Willowbrook. There is also the Cozy Dog Drive In in Springfield IL. The Polk A Dot drive in which is in Atlanta, Scoty’s in Hamel best Horseshoe on the Route! There is also DeKamp Junction which is cool Al Capone and his guys robbed the place. As for places to see in IL the Atlanta has a great Route 66 Park, there is also the Hall of Fame in Pontiac which is really nice. Henry’s Rabbit ranch is a visitor’s center and museum and yep they have rabbits and lots of them. Funk’s Grove been here before 66 they make real maple Syrip.
Okay MO. My favorite place to stay is the Munger Moss Motel Ted Drews of course has the best custard on the Route located in STL. There is also Route 66 state park which is new pretty nice. Who can forget about Meremac Caverns? You see sings painted on barns for this all over the Route. There is the Skyline Motel in Springfield MO still looks like it did back in the day. The people who work there are really nice. Oh Yeah and Fantastic Caverns is there, a drive through cave how cool is that. In Carthage there is a very cool drive in theater that is still working. The Castle Court in Joplin is also a nice place to stay at.
OK has some of the best parts of Route 66 all over you will find one lane roads, parts of the old brick road and more. I love going to the Blue Whale and the World’s Largest Totem Pole.! There is also Yukon which has a Route 66 Museum. The Rock Café is also a great place to eat at, I believe the girl that owns it was used as a character in the movie “Cars”. In Clinton there is a really nice Route 66 Museum. The Lincoln motel in Chandler has been there forever and it is a great place to stay. The round barn is crazy it is located in Arcadia, there is also the new place POPS which has hundreds of sodas and a huge soda bottle sculpture. They also have a diner on site! El Reno has a Route 66 Museum that is connected to the town museum and it is just cool! Elk City is home the National Route 66 Museum a must stop for all Route 66 Travelers! Love the place!
Shamrock Restaurant in Shamrock has a killer chicken fried steak! You also must go to Amarillo, not only is the Big Texan Steak House home of the 72 oz steak there but also Cadillac Ranch. Wow you get to spray paint on these cars, 10 caddy’s nose in the dirt sticking straight up! One on my favorite places to eat is the Adrian Café in Adrian this is the Midpoint of the route. Glenrio was this wonderful little ghost town on the border, we got some really cool pictures here. The old buildings are very neat to see .NM is cool because if you do your research you can drive parts of Route 66 that are still unpaved.. The other cool thing that I remember as we were driving these parts in some places you could still see marks from the wagon trains and big ruts on the side of the road that were made by them. Blue Swallow. This The blue neon will knock your socks off. It has been restored and you still even have your own little garage now that is cool! There is also the El Rancho Hotel very famous the old movie stars used to stay here and all the rooms are now named after a star. Tee Pee Curios is also in NM an old store still fun to go into! Gallup has the best shopping around and is home to the Native American Nations. I also like Gallup because the El Rancho Kitchen wonderful eats! You also get to see the Continental Divide which runs on the boarder of NM and AR, something you will never forget.
AZ is also a great state for 66 they really have done their best to preserve it and the coolest part of driving Route 66 can be found here. I love the drive to Oatman the drive is very twisty and turny and there is nothing to keep you from falling off the side of the mountain this part of the road is one of the most photographed on Route 66 and is not for the faint of heart. My favorite place to Stay in AZ has got to be at the Wigwams, now how cool is that to sleep in a Tee Pee okay so they are not really but, you do get your own little wigwam made of concreteThe Petrified Forest, Painted Desert and The Meteor Crater are all breath taking. Seligman this whole small town is Route 66 Crazy! I love going to the Snow Cap, great food and a ton of stuff showing the pride of Route 66. Now the funniest part of Seligman has got to be the Roadkill Café.
CA you get to drive through the Joshua Trees and that is really cool. You don’t even have to go to the park they are right outside of your window. Barstow is one of my favorite stops, sorry not because Route 66 runs through it but, this is the first In-N-Out Burger on the Route. Victorville also has another good Route 66 Museum. I really liked it. The Santa Monica Pier is where Route 66 ends, although this was not true back in the day. Still the pier is fun and there is some great food, games and fun. Love ending the trip there. There really is just a ton of cool things to see on the CA drive, you go through LA, and Hollywood. There are a ton of old builds and wonderful restaurants.
www.historic66.com
www.national66.com
St. Augustine!There is a ton of stuff to do here after all it is the oldest city in the US. There is Casa De San Marcos which is one of the oldest forts in the country. Also try out Fort Mantanza you have to take a free boat to get here and it is also free, hear about Pirates, the Spanish and more. Also there is the Tavern of De Gallo which is one of the oldest bars in the US on Fridays and Sats. they have a group of “sailors” that sing their sea shanties. St. Georges Street is just amazing you will feel like you stepped back in time. There. There is also the Alligator Farm. There is also the lighthouse which is haunted they also had pirates storm the beach here. WONDERFUL views of the city and they have a great museum on site. The First Ripley’s Believe It Or Not this is the first one and it is his house! There is also the Fountain Of Youth ok so it is not the real deal but back in the 1500’s when Ponce De Leon landed here he thought it was. Also check out Lightner Museum they have more stuff here! Some of the oldest houses in the country are located here! If you are looking for good food they have several places, the Oasis, Reef, Scarlet O’Hara’s and Saltwater Cowboys are great, they have a ton more but, those are my favorite,. They have a ton of Eco tours, boat tours, and outdoor activities if that is what you are looking for. Marineland gives you the chance to swim with the dolphins been there forever. Another great thing about St. Augustine is that you can find beaches with nobody on them! If you like to surf or want to try check out the Pitt surfshop they have cool stuff and great instructors. There are also a ton of good ghost and Pirate tours here.
http://staugustine.com
www.oldcity.com

Answer 2

Go out of the country like germany or france.

Answer 3

http://www.hollycreek.com/

stay here!! we had friends who rented a house boat and loved it. granted they had almost 10 on a boat... you can rent one of the cabins and have plenty of room and lots to do while there.