We decided last week where our family vacation would be this year. The family council where we decided this went something like this:
Dad: We need to decide where we are going on vacation this year--it won't be Disney World since we have been on 3 vacations there in the last 2 years.
Caroline: I want to go to Disney World.
Mom: We aren't going to Disney, but we thought that going to Michigan would be fun or maybe Pennsylvania (talk a little about both places).
Carter: I have somewhere that I want to go and it is NOT Disney World--it is really different than where we have gone before.
Mom: Where?
Carter: DisneyLAND!! It is far away from Disney World and I have never been there!!
Dad: We are NOT going to Disney this year--let's talk about some other places. Alex--where would you like to go on vacation.
Alex: See Mickey!!
Mom: Ok...How about Daddy and I decide where to go and we will let you know!
So much for democracy!
So Matt and I started planning both trips--do we go to Michigan (Traverse City, Sleeping Bear sand dunes, Mackinaw, see family, etc) or do we go to PA (Philly, Hershey, Gettysburg, etc).
We finally decided on Pennsylvania this year and save Michigan for another year. So now we are planning our vacation. We will go right after school gets out the end of May.
On our (ever growing) list of things to see are:
Harrisburg Area
- Dinosaur land (a good break on the drive up)
- Hershey (just the chocolate factory--we will skip the theme park
- Dutch Wonderland (a theme park that is kid oriented)
- Lancaster/Amish Farms/Shops (of course some quilt shops in there too)
- Gettysburg (hoping to go there on Memorial Day)
- Independence Hall
- Liberty Bell
- Franklin Court
- Congress Hall
- Betsy Ross House
- The Franklin Institute
- US Mint
- Please touch museum (a childrens museum)
- Valley Forge
- Crayola Factory
As our list keeps growing we are realizing that we probably won't get to do everything, but we can play it a little by ear once we get there.
Saturday we went to the libray and checked out all kinds of books on Pennsylvania, the civil war, and the Declaration of Independance--so the kids can learn a little more about what we are going to see before we get there.
We are all really excited about going (and the kids haven't brought up Disney again). So if anyone has any suggestions we would love to hear them! (and suggestions about surviving a 12 hour car ride with 4 kids--I did make the decision to put off potty training Alex until AFTER the vacation!)
5 comments:
You should really put Herseyworld on your list of things to see. Our kids loved it and keep begging to go back. There is something there for everyone. They even have a waterpark feature to the park. You could really spend 2 days there. We did Crayon Factory. It was neat to see how the crayons are made. You need about 4 hours there if you let them do the craft. A little over priced, but at least we can say we have been there.
We really thought about Hersheyworld--but neither Matt nor I like roller coaster/thrill rides and Caroline is the only one of the kids that would do waterslides. From what I could tell it looked more geared to the thrill rides. Dutch wonderland is much more geared to little kids and it seems to be a better fit.
the Crayola factory is on the list--but will likely be one of the first things to get cut if we start running out of time :)
I am so envious that you are going to Hershey this summer! From an experienced Pennsylvanian and more importantly a former resident of Hershey, I can tell you your list is pretty much perfect for little kids. I don't recommend Hershey park for little ones, but Chocolate World is fantastic, and it's free. Try not to get sucked into spending too much money at the factory (it's a tourist trap!), but you must try the triple chocolate milkshake. It comes in a plastic brown cup that you get to keep (we have about 10 at our house!) and it is yummy! We also loved the Hotel Hershey. It is a big famous old hotel that sits on a hill (you can see it from the factory) and it has beautiful gardens- especially in the summer. It reminds me of the hotel from the movie Somewhere in Time. I love the fact that you went to the library and ckecked out books on Philadelphia and the history there. I don't really miss living on the East Coast, but I do miss all of the neat places to visit with so much history. How fun! I wish we were still there!
Don't forget to run the Rocky steps at the Philly Art Museum and eat a cheesesteak (or several) in Philly!!
How fun to let the kids have a vote - kind of :)
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