Which would you pick and why??

newtodis

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I'm looking for a place to stop on the way back from visiting family this summer. We'll be driving from MI (near the thumb) to SC (almost to Savannah). Ideally it would be something about half way - doesn't need to be exact or on the direct path home (in the general direction certainly!). Just something fun to stop and check out for a couple of days.

Here's what's on my list right now - what would you choose and why? Would you pick something else altogether?? If it makes a difference, it would likely be a Thursday evening (probably a late evening arrival) and checking out on Saturday to finish driving the rest of the way. I've requested travel info from each of the places but that's about it at this point.

Washington DC - I've been before and LOVE it!! I don't think there's a ton for little ones but when I went I was without kids so it wasn't on my radar. A bonus would be that we'd get to catch up with very good friends (their kids were in our wedding) that we haven't seen for several years.

Louisville, KY - We've driven past on the expressway and I watched the "Southern Belles: Louisville" on some cable channel. That's my limited experience with this town. I've got a friend from high school that lives there that I could get info from if we decided to visit.

Nashville, TN - This one is a bit out of the way but thought it might be cool. I have no idea if they have kid activities or if it's worth a really short trip.

Outer Banks, NC - I so want to see horses on the beach so that's how this one got on the list. :rolleyes1

Wilmington, NC - Again, I've just heard that it's a cool place to visit so it's on the list. A bit out of the way but closer to home so it might be ok??? :confused3

So please let me know what you think or if there's an obvious place that I'm missing. We're not going to do Detroit since that's about two hours from where we're visiting and we've lived in MI for many, many years along with it being way too close to where we're visiting. We also probably wouldn't do anything in SC. We're close enough to home that we'd just drive the other couple of hours to be home at that point.
 
DC for me. It is on my list. I went in 5th grade in 1976.

My dh has been to DC with work many times.

My older dd has been to DC twice. One was for the Presidential Inaugaration.

My younger dd has not been at all. It is on the short list for us of places we want to go.

In fact I want to explore the east coast. And I will be about to do that once I win Powerball on Wed.:rotfl:
 
Not that I'm partial to NC or anything :rolleyes1 but I would pick the Outer Banks....or possibly Wilmington. It looks like you have small children and they'de probably have more fun running on the beach and expending some energy. I couldn't imagine that small children would enjoy DC too much...although it's on my wish list to visit with my kids in the next year or two.
 
If you are coming down 75, you can get on 40 at Knoxville and stop in Gatlinburg. There are some decent hotels right off 40 in Sevierville (sp?) and it's not too long a drive into Gatlinburg. It's beautiful once you get past all the commercial stuff in Pigeon Forge. Just remember that parts of 40 are shut down due to a rock slide, so you have to plan for the detour. You can either take an interstate detour or go through the mountains. We've done both. If the weather is good, the drive through the mountains is lovely.
 

I'd just make a "wrong" turn and end up in Orlando :rolleyes1...
 
Why not have the kids plan it out? Two of my boys have had the same Soc. St. teacher, he has a project that he assigns them. They have to plot a course of travel through eight states and a minimum amount of miles. They have to point out on a map all points of interest, national parks, lakes, museums, etc. This has opened the eyes of my sons to the wonderful things to do outside of amusement parks ( ;) ).
 
OBX BABY!!! There is no place on earth like it!! Just be prepared to spend a little time. It takes a while to travel out there, but after all, it's famous for being secluded! And yes, there are still wild horses, they are still beautiful, and if you don't have a 4WD, you can still rent a jeep!!:goodvibes:goodvibes
 
With a 5 and a 3 year old I don't think I would go to Washington DC. One of the places along the ocean would be good because the kids will have a blast playing in the ocean and in the sand. I would consider St. Louis or Chicago with kids that age. There is a TON of stuff to do in St. Louis with little kids-the Zoo, Grant's Farm, Magic House, CITY MUSEUM!!! Chicago is also good with the 2 zoos, Shedd Aquarium, Lake Michigan, etc.
 
DC for me. It is on my list. I went in 5th grade in 1976.

My dh has been to DC with work many times.

My older dd has been to DC twice. One was for the Presidential Inaugaration.

My younger dd has not been at all. It is on the short list for us of places we want to go.

In fact I want to explore the east coast. And I will be about to do that once I win Powerball on Wed.:rotfl:

Good luck tomorrow! :goodvibes

I went in high school (my 10 year reunion is this summer! :scared1:) and loved it.

Not that I'm partial to NC or anything :rolleyes1 but I would pick the Outer Banks....or possibly Wilmington. It looks like you have small children and they'de probably have more fun running on the beach and expending some energy. I couldn't imagine that small children would enjoy DC too much...although it's on my wish list to visit with my kids in the next year or two.

We live about 15 minutes from the ocean so that wouldn't be a huge draw for us since I can do that at home. I'm also allergic to the sun so I can't be out for long periods of time without breaking out (hopefully getting that "fixed" on Friday at the dr....here's to hoping!). It just started last summer and I so miss being able to be outside with the kids!! :guilty:

If you are coming down 75, you can get on 40 at Knoxville and stop in Gatlinburg. There are some decent hotels right off 40 in Sevierville (sp?) and it's not too long a drive into Gatlinburg. It's beautiful once you get past all the commercial stuff in Pigeon Forge. Just remember that parts of 40 are shut down due to a rock slide, so you have to plan for the detour. You can either take an interstate detour or go through the mountains. We've done both. If the weather is good, the drive through the mountains is lovely.

I don't know how we're going just yet...whatever's the quickest way there as we'll have our two boys and our friend's daughter who will be about 18 months...fun times! :scared: :rotfl: We've heard about the rock slide many times as family visited in January and over Easter :rolleyes1

I'll have to look at Gatlinburg - thanks for the suggestion!! I don't drive in the mountains so that's all on DH. (yup I'm snooty like that...no rain, dark or mountains for me. I literally shake while I'm driving in the moutains or in those darn tunnels....ugh)

I'd just make a "wrong" turn and end up in Orlando :rolleyes1...

I so wish! Soon though for us...when it's less crowded and much cooler!

Why not have the kids plan it out? Two of my boys have had the same Soc. St. teacher, he has a project that he assigns them. They have to plot a course of travel through eight states and a minimum amount of miles. They have to point out on a map all points of interest, national parks, lakes, museums, etc. This has opened the eyes of my sons to the wonderful things to do outside of amusement parks ( ;) ).

My littlest one is only 3 so he wouldn't really "get" it I don't think. Thankfully, neither of my boys care a whole lot - they're pretty flexable which is great! We'll ask their opinions once we figure out a place and how much time we'll have there.

OBX BABY!!! There is no place on earth like it!! Just be prepared to spend a little time. It takes a while to travel out there, but after all, it's famous for being secluded! And yes, there are still wild horses, they are still beautiful, and if you don't have a 4WD, you can still rent a jeep!!:goodvibes:goodvibes

No 4WD for us...minivan mommy :goodvibes We'd have to rent one but I think DH would love that part! We'd only have about a day and a half or two days depending on when we leave the in laws.

With a 5 and a 3 year old I don't think I would go to Washington DC. One of the places along the ocean would be good because the kids will have a blast playing in the ocean and in the sand. I would consider St. Louis or Chicago with kids that age. There is a TON of stuff to do in St. Louis with little kids-the Zoo, Grant's Farm, Magic House, CITY MUSEUM!!! Chicago is also good with the 2 zoos, Shedd Aquarium, Lake Michigan, etc.

Thankfully we live super close to the beach now so that's not a big "treat" for them since we try to go as often as we can. I hadn't thought of St Louis either. Chicago's kind of the opposite way we're wanting to go so I don't think we'll do that one this time.

Thank you all so much for the suggestions! I really appreciate it!
 
WHAT about Cincinnati?

Kings Island, terrific zoo, aquarium.
Check it out.
we were planning a trip there over memorial day until my kids told us that they will not ride any of the rides at Kings island. My DD-9 0nly wantes go go and eat the carnival food. My Ds-11 is too old for the kiddie rides but does not like the extreme rides yet.
 
Your kids are the right ages to like the Boone/Blowing Rock area of NC. You could spend a day at Tweetsie Railroad, which is a wild west theme park with a real steam engine. They have cute rides for the kids, and is just a wholesome family park. We have visited there almost every year since my son was 2. There is also Grandfather Mountain, Linville Caverns, Linville Falls, Blowing Rock... all manner of entertaining things to do in the area. Here is a website to check out the area. www.highcountryhost.com
 
Don't know too much about Louisville,but when my son was in the 8th grade and we did the Mammoth Cave trip, we also went to Louisville and went to the Louisville Slugger factory. Saw how they made the bats, ofcourse there was a gift shop and a small museum.

We also stopped at the aquarium in Cincinnati on the way to Mammoth Cave. That was nice.
 
What about Williamsburg, VA. My DS(4) loves to got to Busch gardens and Water country. They have a great Sesame Street themed area for the little ones.
 
A few years ago we went to Natural Arch bridge state park in Ky. We took the chair lift up and hiked down the mt. My kids were 5 and 8.

Then , we drove over to Cumberland Falls state park and camped for a two days. (they also have a resort. We went horseback riding ($15 for an hour ride). They had a swimming pool we used. We hired a guide and he rafted us under the falls. Normally they can only get close to the falls but, it was during a drought.

We camped at Mammoth Cave National Park. We did a cave tour and some hiking. It is near Kentucky Down under. That place is fantastic. , Dinosaur world?, not so great but the kids were interested in going.

Out side of Mammoth there was a little carnival type park with an Alpine slide, bumper boats, trampolines, etc.
 






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