Northeast Trip Help

agesilaus wrote:
We did something similar. As others have suggested, I'd save Canada for another trip. I'd also skip Philly and add DC. Stay at Cherry Hill RV park in Maryland and ride the metro into the city. The bus comes right to the campground. I'd give that three days minimum to see the National Mall museums and maybe a day trip to the Smithsonian Air and Space Annex at the airport.

One thing, DC and Boston are hotter than Hades in summer. So dress with that in mind and bring water bottles. Wear hats.

Yes and yes!

I was going to suggest that you give up Canada and take the kids to DC instead. Most everything (the mall, museum, statues, memorials and National Zoo) are free. You have already paid for them with your taxes!;)

Our daughters love to go to DC and we try to take them every couple of years since it's about a 7 hr drive from home. Last time we went, it was our first trip to Arlington National Cemetery. They whined about the fact that we were going to a boring old cemetery. The really enjoyed seeing the changing of the guard and seeing all of the grave markers. We were also in the right place when they were conducting a burial and it was awe inspiring. They want to go back.

The zoo can take at least a whole day, the Air and Space Museum can also take a whole day, but you can do a highlights tour in 2-3 hours. The American History Museum is a 3-4 hr do and the Natural History museum is another 3-4 hr tour.

Getting around in DC is easy on the METRO and we have never felt unsafe on there, just be aware of where you are and where you are going. The METRO is very user-friendly.

We love the Old Orchard Beach area of Maine.

4 years ago, we did a 45-day East Coast adventure. We left home, went to Luray, VA for the caverns, then on to Hershey, PA and the park; next stop was Philly for the Liberty Bell and tour of Constitution Hall and Betsy Ross house. Then, off to NYC for 4 days (Liberty Harbor) and then on up the coast to Maine. We started with Old Orchard Beach, then on up the coast to Portland and then Bar Harbour and Acadia. After we had eaten our fill of lobster (there really is no such thing), we headed back south with a few stops whenever something caught our attention. We ended up in Boston and did the Salem area and drove over to Cape Cod, just because I wanted to go. We headed back south and went to Hunting Island, SC, meeting up with friends for a week on the beach. It was a great vacay.