Northeast Vacation

[mymickeyfans]

We love the White Mountains, especially staying in Lincoln, NH! There is so much to do around there... Take the gondola to the top of Loon, Mt., The Basin, The Flume Gorge, Santa's Village, Story Land, Clark's Trading Post. Fun for everyone!!!

 

[Tink9295]

I live in Mystic, CT. It's nice and there is a lot to do. Of course the latest thing is that people are trying to catch a glimpse of Taylor Swift who recently bought a mansion in Watch Hill, RI. Go figure.

I might suggest Hershey, PA. The kids can go to a great amusement part which also includes a waterpark. It has many coasters. Lancaster (Amish Country) is a short drive from Hershey. There are museums and many things to do there. Also, Gettysburg is a short distance away.

 

[TravelMommy]

You could stay in Hyannis and take the Ferry to Martha's Vineyard one day and Nantucket the next. Ferry is a relaxing boat ride itself. Lots to do in Hyannis, excellent beaches around as well as options for boating, whale watches, etc. great restaurants too!

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

I vote for Portsmouth, NH/ Ogunquit, ME...so much to do in this area, and much cheaper than the Cape. I think the Cape is really overrated. The White Mountains are beautiful, and I also love the Stowe/Burlington, VT area.

 

[monarchsfan16]

White Mountains of NH. There's so much more to do than just outlet shopping. Waterfalls, easy hikes, alpine slides, zip lines, gondola to the top of Wildcat or Loon, tram to the top of Cannon Mountain, the Flume, Lost River, etc.

 

[dromio42]

If you are fans of the arts (theater, dance, music, museums) and nature (hiking, botanical gradens) how about the Berkshires?

berkshires.org

 

[Zuzu03]

Vermont! It's beautiful that time of year!!!

 

[Monte Cristo]

Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard.

OP has a family of 4 and $1,000 won't get them a lot his time of year...especially their desired time Labor Day weekend or late August.

I live in Mystic, CT. It's nice and there is a lot to do. Of course the latest thing is that people are trying to catch a glimpse of Taylor Swift who recently bought a mansion in Watch Hill, RI. Go figure..

She's just "a few" doors down from us. The town has been a buzz the few times she's been seen here so far.

Vermont! It's beautiful that time of year!!!

This I completely agree with.

 

[TrulyMadlyDisney]

I could have wrote your post (except for the windfall part ). We've leaning toward staying in Portsmouth, NH with shopping in nearby Kittery, Maine at the outlets there. We also considered the White Mountains (NH) since we haven't been in several years but the kids can do some fall clothes shopping in Kittery. Like you, we're looking to just relax somewhere with a change of scenary.

There are better Tanger Outlets in the White Mountains- exit 19 off 93- and no sales tax.

 

[TrulyMadlyDisney]

Don't come to the Vineyard. Its really crowded here now and with the Prez coming it will be a nightmare!

 

[FLLDYTRKR]

Are your family members history buffs by chance? Upstate Ny has a number of Forts to visit and explore.. Follow along the Erie Canal--visit Ft Stanwicks in Rome, The Oriskany Battle near by, take a boat ride on the Erie Canal and visit the village. Close by are a number of lakes with beach to relax at..Sylvan Beach, Lake Delta Park, Want a night at the Casino?? Turning Stone or at the race track...Check out the enertainment they have..maybe something the older kids would enjoy is playing. Many smaller venues to see also..such as Pixley Falls..venture off the grid and stop and enjoy the smaller rivers and creeks.. Antoher great day can be spent in Herkimer and go diamond hunting..or head down to Howes Caverns and explore..Stop off at Cooperstown for not only the BaseBall Hall of Fame but take in the Farmers Village also for day of fun..there is great lake there also.

For a total differnet idea head to the Finger Lakes--Many wonderful places to take in--great family run places to eat in that area too.

 

[MKCP5]

so many great ideas! thank you! will talk to the fam this weekend and start narrowing things down!

 

[mbf]

I 2nd Washington DC,you can get a decent hotel room right outside the city(on the metro line) and take the train in, museums on the mall are free,zoo is free...I love it there! It would cost less than 1k for the 4 of you....

Any hotels you can recommend? Going to Philly for a ballgame in August (youngest DD lives there) and a quick trip to DC would be something DS8 would just love!

 

[MKCP5]

Any hotels you can recommend? Going to Philly for a ballgame in August (youngest DD lives there) and a quick trip to DC would be something DS8 would just love!

go to www.travelzoo.com it's my fav site for hotel deals. we have never been dissapointed with anything off there and DC usually has some good deals!

 

[mrsboz]

Is the weather crazy hot and humid in Washington DC in August?

 

[Eureka]

Is the weather crazy hot and humid in Washington DC in August?

Yes! This week has been bad too, high 90s with the heat index feeling over 100 degrees. I would stay farther up north during the summer. (though we are from MA and ME and know it's been hot there too). August is always hot, sticky and uncomfortable.

 

[Pigeon]

We just got back from a week on a lake near Lake Placid in the Adirondacks. You can rent a house on or very near a lake for $1000/week. There are lots of fun things to do in Lake Placid. You can watch athletes training, doing ski jumping and free style skiing into pools or down plastic covered slopes. I have two teen girls who loved it. It is less touristy than Lake George. See http://www.adkbyowner.com/search/Vacation-Rentals.html for places to rent and http://www.whiteface.com/facilities/olympic-center for info about stuff to do. If they are into outdoorsy stuff there is good hiking and fishing too.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Another vote for DC or if you don't mind a little further south, Williamsburg, VA. From there is just a 45 min ride to VA Beach so it's easy to squeeze in a beach day too. It's not that much further south but the ocean is so much warmer than here in NJ. Last time we went, AAA sold 7 day passes to Busch Gardens/Water Country USA for around $75 pp. It was a bargain.

We also enjoyed Niagara Falls. We stayed at the Embassy Suites Fallsview. Our room was on the 34 floor with a great view of the falls & fireworks. They're not quite WDW caliber but then again, it's hard to think of any place that is.

Also NYC: Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, Empire State bldg., 9/11 Memorial, Broadway shows.

 

[strmtroopr96]

Are your family members history buffs by chance? Upstate Ny has a number of Forts to visit and explore.. Follow along the Erie Canal--visit Ft Stanwicks in Rome, The Oriskany Battle near by, take a boat ride on the Erie Canal and visit the village. Close by are a number of lakes with beach to relax at..Sylvan Beach, Lake Delta Park, Want a night at the Casino?? Turning Stone or at the race track...Check out the enertainment they have..maybe something the older kids would enjoy is playing. Many smaller venues to see also..such as Pixley Falls..venture off the grid and stop and enjoy the smaller rivers and creeks.. Antoher great day can be spent in Herkimer and go diamond hunting..or head down to Howes Caverns and explore..Stop off at Cooperstown for not only the BaseBall Hall of Fame but take in the Farmers Village also for day of fun..there is great lake there also.

For a total differnet idea head to the Finger Lakes--Many wonderful places to take in--great family run places to eat in that area too.

Just had to comment after seeing a few posts here and this one especially. LOL Being on a Disney board, it is too funny to see all of the above mentioned since they are all everyday places to me since I live in Upstate NY only minutes from some of these places.

I have done just about all of them and any would make for a fun time. You would get to try a little of everything with a new adventure each day. For the gun enthusiasts, right here in my town we have our own popular vacation spot...the Remington Arms Museum. LOL I live just up the street from the company and each summer can't believe how many tourists I see stop there.

If you stayed central enough you could also tie in the Old Forge area (about an hour north of me) and get the Adirondack experience and then travel south for Cooperstown and Fly Creek (30 minutes south) for the Baseball Hall of Fame and an old fashioned cider mill and the Farmer's Museum. Then also nearby, you have the Herkimer Diamond Mines, Turning Stone Casino with yet another expansion that just opened, and the Vernon Downs Racino. If you go a little further down the thruway, you have Destiny USA with all kinds of new stores, restaurants, attractions in Syracuse.

 

[leebee]

LOVE that idea but kids passports just expired I'm pretty sure you need them now to go to Canada

YES you need passports to go to Canada!

$1000 might not go too far in Maine/NH seacoast at this time of year; hotel rooms are around $200 a night in a decent chain (as in, Comfort Inn, Hampton Inn, etc.). We just paid $125 for the Fairfield Inn in Portland last week, and that was with a state government employee discount; otherwise it was $177 plus tax. It killed me to pay for a hotel room within 2 hours of home, but we'd been traveling all day and our flight got into PWM at 1AM. I knew I'd be too tired to drive home safely after all that, so we stayed in Portland.

DD and I did a driving trip a couple of summers ago, when she was 17. We went to Vermont and NH. We drove west from Bangor, spent a couple of nights in the Mt. Washington area (hiked Wildcat, drove up Mt. W), then drove over to VT. We went to Ben and Jerry's factory, Cabot Creamery, von Trapp family lodge, rode an alpine slide (can't think of the name of the mountain), visited a cider mill, etc. We looped down into western Mass to go to Six Flags on the way home. I'd wanted to stop in Sturbridge, too, but we ran out of time. It was fun, and we did lots of different things. Once again, watch the hotel prices- it's summer!