Decisions....Decisions....

You mentioned Hershey.Hershey park is a good one day trip if you like rides or entertainment.You are not too far from Gettysburg,another good one day trip.If you haven't been to the Lancaster area,you might enjoy a drive over there.Make sure you hit Shady Maple for breakfast.Strausburg,near Lancaster also has the state train musuem and you can ride on the Strausburg railroad.These are all in the same general area.Don't know what kind of campgrounds you like,but we have some very nice state parks in Pa.Most have electric hookups,water hydrants in each loop,dump stations,showers,beaches or pools.Two in those areas would be Pine Grove Furnace and Gifford Pinchot.

You're making a wise decision. Michigan has a lot to offer. We made our first trip up there last fall and it was great even though we went in the "off" season.

rfryer wrote:
"Actually a two week trip for us would actually be 16 days. I would think a week in Yellowstone would be plenty enough."

I don’t think a week in Yellowstone would be plenty, I’d think of it as sort of a drive by. The park is BIG; I put 400 miles on just inside the park last trip. And it would be a shame not to visit the Tetons since its right next door. Having said that, if the future doesn’t hold longer vacation times you are stuck with limited time and long drives anywhere out west. If you made the trip at least you would get a taste of it and I’m sure want to make more trips to see everything. So I think while you have more “relaxing” options we all have to work with what we have.

Basically kind of my point. While I may accrue more vacation time later on (only a couple more days a year), the amount of time that can be taken at once is two weeks I know there is more out there to see, as you mentioned the Tetons. There also glacier np and many other places. But in order to see everything out there at once, you have to be a full timer. I'm not even 45 yet. My philosophy is to see and do as much as I can while I physically and financially can. I do not know how things will be when I retire in another 18 years. Plus I want my daughter to be able to experience as much as she can. You only live once. I think too many people put too much emphasis on "when I retire". I work with so many people that do not even go on a day trip in our own state. Let alone a trip a few hundred miles away. They think they can't afford to (maybe they can't, but if they are having financial trouble now, then it's not going to change much later for them as they are older than I am). People have mentioned about how GS has been geared towards those that are older and retired. It's true. And I think the younger crowds need to wake up and realize that RVing is not just for old folks.

With that said, I probably won't focus on Yellowstone right now. I was looking at some stuff for upper Michigan last night and it might be our two week trip. Depends on what weeks I get to choose next year and if we decide on just doing one big two week (summer) trip or two one week trips (one week spring break and one week summer).

"Actually a two week trip for us would actually be 16 days. I would think a week in Yellowstone would be plenty enough."

I don’t think a week in Yellowstone would be plenty, I’d think of it as sort of a drive by. The park is BIG; I put 400 miles on just inside the park last trip. And it would be a shame not to visit the Tetons since its right next door. Having said that, if the future doesn’t hold longer vacation times you are stuck with limited time and long drives anywhere out west. If you made the trip at least you would get a taste of it and I’m sure want to make more trips to see everything. So I think while you have more “relaxing” options we all have to work with what we have.

If you are confined to two weeks, then forego the longer trips as that simply is just not enough time...hold that for later.

Phily, Hershey, Williamsburg could be one.
Another could be NYC and the Adirondacks and there are some nice parks in NY state (the facilities are a bit wanting though...old and crusty)...like Watkins Glen State Park, Letchworth (although that is pretty far west).
Key west...well some people really like it. I say spend two days tops there and spend the rest of the time in the Keys. Key West is rather a carnival like atmosphere IMHO.

Have fun!

Some places we would like to go to: Key West, Upper Michigan,
Upstate New York (Adirondacks), New York City (not a destination. maybe a day or two), Philadelphia area (not a destination, but wife wants to look around a day or so), Hershey PA (still not a destination), Williamsburg, DC, Colorado, Yellowstone...and more.

We could do a two week trip or two one week trips. I can't make any reservations anywhere until December, when I will be able to pick my vacation time for next year. Time would have to be either during the summer or one week of it during spring break.

Yellowstone would a stretch. It would have to be a 2 week trip and it would be the destination. That would give us a week of travel back and forth and about a week out there. Colorado would basically be the same thing, but more doable. All the others we could handle with a long week trip. 8-9 days. Any ideas or recommendations?

noe-place wrote:
We did the Yellowstone thing (first time) years ago and I thought a week or so would be enough; including travel time out and back from Kentucky. All the other trips are easily doable with the time you'll have but I'd save that trip out West when I had plenty of time to enjoy everything Yellowstone has to offer.

Another 20 years then...lol

Actually a two week trip for us would actually be 16 days. I would think a week in Yellowstone would be plenty enough. That would leave at least 9 days of travel to there and back. I would think 4.5 days would be enough to cover 2100 miles. That's less than 500 miles of driving a day. We've easily driven 600 miles on our trip to Destin and in a day and a good part of it was back roads. From here to Yellowstone will be majority interstate.

Once again we are destination campers. We choose specific places to go to and then go to them. We don't stop to smell the roses. Might stop to spend the night, but not to stay in an area for a period of time just because. We have to do it that way due to restricted schedules (both of our work and childs school). If we see places along the way that we might wanna see some other time, then we put it on our list. At least it's along the way and not as far as our destination. Oh there are places around Yellowstone that I want to see some time. Jackson Hole, a good bit of montana, and etc...But those will be a different type of trip.

I'm gonna have to investigate the whole michigan thing. So many people are posting about different places. I need to put them all on a map and see where they are. A week just up to mackinaw island there would be enough for us. Once again, a week to us is 9 days +. If I were going to do two weeks, I would go up all the way and around back through Wisconsin. After a couple days in one place, we get bored as we will have seen most everything we want to see in that area.

Lots of great ideas! We have been to most of them and they are virtually all worth the effort to get there.

My 2 cents: 2 weeks would be a bit tight for Yellowstone - lots of long days to get there, or not enough time to fully enjoy the park. Some great things to see on the way, too, which could tempt you for future trips. If you foresee a 3-week vacation in your future, you might want to save Yellowstone for that.

If you want to do the history/city thing, you could easily combine NYC and Philadelphia, or DC & Williamsburg (and don't forget to include a day for Jamestown & Yorktown). We have been to the Newburgh (NY) KOA and it was a beautiful, wooded CG, unlike the KOAs we're used to. Lots of history right in that area, as well as the tour into the city. Our stay in the Williamsburg area was too long ago to recommend a CG; they've all changed since then. :)

If you want to do the countryside thing, northern Michigan is fantastic, and has been the focus of several of our more favorite camping trips. Michigan has nice state parks (most with electric hookups and showerhouses), and roads are pretty good even in the U.P.

Good luck with your decision!

You stated 'upper Michigan'. I would suggest 'northern' Michigan in 'lower Michigan'. Confused?? :)

All along the western part of the state is a gorgeous Lake Michigan lakeshore. Our favorite area in around Traverse City, including Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (early reservation a must) and the Petosky area. You won't believe the beauty up there. Small quaint towns with fun festivals going on all summer. That whole area is very popular so reservations should be made ASAP.

If you have additional time, which I doubt, then cross over the Mackinac Bridge to 'upper' Michigan. You wouldn't have time to do justice to the whole Upper Peninsula on your timeframe. Stop and enjoy the beauty! If you want to do a little of the UP then head to Taquamanon Falls State Park and from there drive up to Whitefish Point and tour the Edmund Fitzgerald Museum. Then it'll be time to head home.

This would definitely be a 2-week trip.

Have fun planning!

We did the Yellowstone thing (first time) years ago and I thought a week or so would be enough; including travel time out and back from Kentucky. All the other trips are easily doable with the time you'll have but I'd save that trip out West when I had plenty of time to enjoy everything Yellowstone has to offer.

a two week wonder of the east coast sounds perfect for you! come up spend 3 nights at Timberlane Campground, it is the closest campground the Philly. I say 3 nights because you pull in in the afternoon, the next day you go to Philly, back to cg, second day in philly, back to cg, then the next day you leave. or you stay another day and explore the Camden waterfront including the Camden Aquarium and the USS New Jersey. Now you are off Liberty Harbor RV Park or the Newburgh, NY KOA. There are other threads on the pros/cons of these campgrounds. 3 nights again to spend 2 days in NYC. Now you are off across northern NJ into PA. You can either go right to Hershey (stay at the Hershey campground, it is worth it...shuttle to the park, discount tickets for the park), or stop at one of the many NJ and PA state parks for a relaxing night, depending what your preferences are. Hershey park/zoo/factory/town/outlets will be at least 3 days. From Hershey you are less then an hour from the Lancaster County, another great PA tourist area. Easily 3 more days can be spent in this area. From hear you can drop down to Gettysburg, PA for a couple days. How much more time do you have, and what else are you interested in. So much more to see between here and home. :)
We tend to plan trips that we spend 3-4 nights in a spot and move on. Occasionally we will spend 5 nights if the location has enough to keep us busy for 6 days. We leave in a week for 11 nights, and will be in WV, VA, and MD before we head back home. For us it is all about what we want to see, and what else we can see between the points.