For those of you that have kids or have already raised kids

When I was young we had a place down the Cape (Cape Cod) and I have a ton of great memories. With our kids we tried to do this through camping and other trips. My wife and my first Disney trip was with our kids, been twice. The kids love to cruise so we took them on about 6 cruises. Been to DC 4 times, the last one was camping, just the wife and I. Family time is where it is at. A week camping at the beach is always great. Been camping at the Falls, Bar Harbor ME, the White Mountains many times. Been to the west coast one time by plane and visited the Red Woods while we were there.

Like others have said it is the family time that counts. Been camping 26 years and our kids (27,24,20) still join us from time to time. It is great when all three are with us. It is nice to go certain places but being together is the best.

OOOPS
forgot one, a MUST SEE
is Arches Nat Park/monutment ? in Utah
we the Son and I , enjoyed that one as much as Bryce, so much to see and photograph

before my kids and Calif
Mammoth Cave Ky
Several really nice Parks in Indiana
Spring Mill State park, Ind
Complete pioneer village, with working grist mill (water wheel)
a museum housed on the second and third floors
and More

michigansandzilla wrote:

RedRocket204 wrote:

michigansandzilla wrote:
My list includes:
Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore, Grand Canyon, Everglades and the one city I'd like to get to is DC. There are many more, but these are at the top of the list.

Other must see trips that we've completed include: Statue of Liberty, NYC, Atlantic ocean, Liberty Bell, Smokies, Disney, Niagara Falls, Great Lakes, Mammoth Cave.

Honestly... aside from Yellowstone and the GC, your list is missing out on the best scenic parts of the states, that being the beauty of the west. Call me biased but that would be an extreme shame to only see the eastern areas and not the west. Just driving through areas in the west, you get a sense of the vast expanse and amazing scenery in the west you just can't get back east. And yes, I do extensive travel for work and have been all over this country having been to every state minus about 2. Alaska being my favorite for pure, natural beauty.

Besides, Manhattan/NY area is best served via hotels to really take it in and get the "experience" other than living there.

Yes I'd love to take them west. However, we can only take two weeks of vacation at one time and we're in Michigan. So to get there, we'd have to fly and that's cost prohibitive.

I'm subscribed and following! Hope to get some good ideas.

Regarding the above comments...it is a crime against humanity if a family can't, at least once, take an extended time off to be together. If you thought outside the box, is it at all possible to make it happen once? I'm a teacher, so it is built into my schedule. However, my wife is in a critical position with a company that "doesn't make exceptions". We wrote a letter and met with the owners, explaining that our family is at a point that we will not be able to seize "later". They responded very well and gave their blessings. We weren't sure what to expect, but it was important enough to us to take a risk.

We don't know your personal situation, but I think our culture is lacking in an understanding of family time. Other countries respect it differently.

If limited to two weeks, I agree with another poster...pick one area per year and do the driving! Southern Utah would be an unbelievable 2 week trip. You could catch Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands.

First, & only, RV trip we did with our early teen kids was a 2 week rental out of Denver for a loop which did Pikes Peak, Grand Canyon, Vegas, Bryce & Rocky Mtn NP. Did it with another Bermuda family, also with 2 early teens. Two class Cs.

There were some ups & downs teen mood wise, some scenes from RV, some lack of being impressed with impressive sights at the time, but, over 15 years later there is appreciation for the trip & laughs over it. We are all still good friends.

Get out there & do it. Maybe with another likeminded family.

OutdoorPhotographer wrote:
You don't say your kids ages.....
I love the Smokies and that should be an easier drive for you. Grand Canyon was worth the visit but not in the league of the ones above for us. My dauther's take at five was "It's just a big hole in the ground. We should have stayed at the big trees.

The kids are currently 13, 11, and 7.

Funny you mention the "hole in the ground." While driving through the Smokies, my son was 9 and kept saying to me, "Yeah, great. Another mountain covered with trees." Wow! He was unimpressed for sure until we found a picnic area where he could hop rocks. Then he dubbed it his "happy place."

If I was to recommend a list I wouldn't recommend a list. There's alot of neat things in the country. I couldn't tell you how many times the kids said "THAT'S COOL!". We've seen the small such as "The Rocks" outside of Minneapolis KS to Niagara Falls. Roadtrippers is a great guide for the small stuff. The oldest does want to see Statue of Liberty so we'll do that eventually.

Well this is based on our experience RVing since the 90's and travelling when ours were younger (eldest now 32).

Our children experienced tons of varying destinations on many 10 day, 3 week and even a couple of 6 to 8 week trips we did from kindergarten until youngest rising 25 and still enjoys odd trips with us. They covered from North West down to Fla, everglade airboat rides, Dollywood, six flags at various locations, Oregon, California Coast, Vegas, many national parks and monuments like Grand Canyon, Death Valley, AZ Desert, Wyoming, Dakotas, Kansas, Kentucky etc etc. However, the key thing (most expensive lesson) we took away from every trip was the destination didn't matter - it was the fun, laughter and quality time we had together - oh the laughter and teasing when stuck closer to home ironically on rocks in rafts on 5 different rivers in Colorado; Dry Camping with a huge fire the night before rafting the Kicking Horse BC was wonderful; catapulting off seadoos, wake boarding and tubing, capsizing kayaks, snakes startling us popping up from holes under our steps when parked in California and about to get back into the RV after swimming on horse back in the ocean. Dad picking the girls up and throwing them around in the ocean in California and Hawaii, learning to surf in a fashion, camping in -35 Deg C in Rocky Mountain House Alberta whilst making snow angels, baking up a storm in the RV and smarty pants dad, getting the kids tongues stuck in the freezing temperatures to the metal handle on the hot tub, with mum close at hand to release with warm water whilst he couldn't control his laughter. Mean man, yet in their eyes daddy is their absolute idol and can't do any wrong!

Truly it's about the memories created being together - not the expensive theme parks or long distance destinations, that your children will treasure the most. At the end of the day, it's all about quality not quantity of time with your kids and creating memories and close bond relationships that will last a lifetime for not just you, but them as well.

You really don't have to go very far or spend much money at all, and none of us could ever see it all in a lifetime anyway. Believe me we tried (44 states inc Hawaii & Alaska), and now as we are readying to go FT retired by ourselves, we want to do it all again but at a pace slower than a snail of course. Can't wait to hopefully, one day be sharing similar experiences with our grandchildren and creating tons more memories and forging more ties that bond forever.

michigansandzilla wrote:
Do you have any specific RV trips you'd like to make before the kids leave for college? Rather like a bucket list for raising kids?

What's your top "Must See" destinations for your kids?

My list includes:
Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore, Grand Canyon, Everglades and the one city I'd like to get to is DC. There are many more, but these are at the top of the list.

Other must see trips that we've completed include: Statue of Liberty, NYC, Atlantic ocean, Liberty Bell, Smokies, Disney, Niagara Falls, Great Lakes, Mammoth Cave.

You don't say your kids ages and you've gotten responses that you can't get your kids to cooperate. If the kids are young, they will be more flexible and then be more likely to like the outdoors. We took 5-6 mile hikes when the youngest was 6. You have to have a destination like a waterfall and stop at interesting things along the way.

Cast me as a second vote that Rushmore doesn't belong on the list. It's fine if it's not out of the way but we went out of our way and were dissapointed, perhaps because we had just visited Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Another vote to AVOID Yosemite in the summer. spring is prettiest and best for waterfalls. Fall is nice. Winter with snow is breathtaking. Summer is worst for park's natural scenery and ridiculously crowded.

You can't go wrong with National Parks, particularly the big names. I haven't visited Glacier yet but Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings Canyon are worth the planning and expense to visit if you are planning a decade worth of vacations. I love the Smokies and that should be an easier drive for you. Grand Canyon was worth the visit but not in the league of the ones above for us. My dauther's take at five was "It's just a big hole in the ground. We should have stayed at the big trees.

There are drives worth considering as well. Beartooth Hwy and Pacific Coast Hwy. Not for those who get carsick though.

We hit Disney every few years. It's worth it but we never had to make the big drive you would from MI.

Last, I'll agree to get off interstates. We get online and find something to do in every state we drive through and look for rustic drives. I don't avoid Interstates because when you have limited time, that's not as practical as when retired but I do try to get off Interstate when possible.

I find it interesting that everyone suggests letting the kids choose the trip. I've tried that. Their response is fantastic, "It doesn't matter where we go. We always have a good time."
Out of three kids I can get two responses. They want to visit Yellowstone and a local water park!
Hopefully 2017 for Yellowstone/Tetons and maybe even Glacier; which we could do if we limited our park stays to three days max. We'll see how it goes.

Padlin wrote:
A "must do" list of vacations for your kids, times sure have changed.

When I graduated from high school at 18, the farthest I'd ever been from home was two hours away. I lived at home for college. Being sheltered isn't bad, but it's not necessarily good either.
So yes, I have a list of places I'd like to visit with my children while they are still children. I don't think that's odd at all.