The kids will be out of school for two weeks in late March-early April, and we are suddenly faced with a dearth of places to go for a holiday.
The big part of it is undoubtedly our “spoiled” attitude after several years in Europe – we simply do not find many destinations in North America all too exciting. Add to that the upper limit of three hours in the air that we are currently willing to entertain, and our lack of enthusiasm for a beach holiday, and, as one of my friends jokes, “it’s Colonial Williamsburg or stay home”.
Where did we go for a spring school break from London? Cotswolds, Tuscany, Wales, Central Europe. Fairly inexpensive, either by air or by car, comparatively short flights when driving was not an option. Ok, one year the girls went all the way to the US for spring break, but while the flights were of the longish variety, the overall travel expense was still quite minimal…
Back in the US, we can’t come up with an option of a nice place that can sustain our collective interest for longer than a couple of days, be relatively near and comparatively inexpensive to get to and spend time at. Preferably, where we haven’t been to yet. Desirably, warmer than Northeast US. Hopefully, not overrun by hordes of vacationers also taking advantage of school break.
I already admitted – spoiled.
Niagara Falls
How about New Mexico? We went there 2 years ago taking an idea from AAA magazine and loved it.
We would be delighted to see you in San Diego and you can stay with us. It was 78 today and we went to the beach. The desert is in full bloom due to a very rainy winter this year.
Tamila, coming out West is probably not workable for us right now; we don’t want to get tied up with long flights.
ND, Niagara Falls, while undoubtedly a fun destination, has several strikes against it: We’ve been there before; I doubt it can captivate us for longer than a couple of days; the weather in early April there is unlikely to be an improvement over New Jersey…
Take te kids out to Disney. Two a half hour flight. Or better yet, there are relatives only two hour flight away. However cold it could be.
Disney it might be, although Becky is not that excited about the prospect, and I am not sure I am up for traveling to a number one kids destination smack in the middle of school break… Chicago gets similar strikes to Niagara Falls; seeing relatives is great, but do you really want to have us over for a week or so? 😉
If Disney is even an option, might I suggest the Disney Cruise Line? My family has been on four of their cruises, and have loved every one of them. They do an excellent job of dividing the ship into “kids” areas/activities and “adults only” areas/activities. The kids’ activities (the “Oceanear’s Club”) runs from before breakfast to well after midnight, so you could literally have an entire vacation and only see the kids when/if you/they want to. There is a teen club for Becky as well, although I’m guessing she’ll probably wind up spending more time with the adults than the kids (unless she’s into Mickey & friends…)
Something to consider…
If you book anywhere into Florida during traditional spring break for the college crowd (March to mid-April), things could be, um, unpredictable. Both crowd-wise as well as price-wise. While Disney is in Central Florida and away from the beach crowds, they do wander over.
Having said that, Orlando is a fun area, I lived there for a few years. Since the rise of the Disney World Empire 30 years ago, the entire regional economy is geared to the tourist industry. There is much more there than just Disney in the area plus you can still day trip to the Kenneday Space Center on the coast and get a beach fix whilest you’re there.