Well, if you combine 1 and 3, you come up with Cape Cod!

you know, DH mentioned something about Martha's Vineyard, but I am clueless about that. I'll check out Cape Cod stuff! Thank you!

Cape Cod does offer a lot of family fun and beach without a lot of stress and strain, though lots of traffic, esp getting there and back on long weekends...if you travel mid week you'll be fine. Just don't do 4th of July...they end up closing many of the beaches as they can't accommodate more people. martha's vineyard is small, cute, but small with not much to do.

Jackson hole is wonderful! and a stone's throw from yellowstone so you can do both together and the views and scenery are un-freakin'-believable.

I was talking to my gf whose family has beach homes on the Jersey Shore and there's a lot of room there as no one is booking up houses post-Sandy....but if the house is in good shape, there's enough that's been restored that it should be fine and a relative bargain.

Something New England...think about NH...there is wonderful scenery among Lake Winnipesaukee, Mt Washington where you can drive or take the cog train to the top, Franconia Notch, and lots of hiking. Or you can do an urban vacation in Boston....see harvard, mit, and some of the museums...children's museum, science museum, ride the T, walk the freedom trail, go to bunker hill, see the USS Constitution, hit the north end for the best pizza and italian pastries in the world....

I don't know how easy you need to take it, but the Garden of the Gods in CS can be taken in by car, and the tram ride to Pike's Peak is good. We also loved seeing some Indian caves, which you have to experience by foot, but the entire exhibit is very compact.

What time of year? For how long? Where are you and how far do you want to travel? Special interests/ And how many stars?

I just booked a trip to Jackson Hole over New Year's. We were going to stay at their Aman resort (only two in the US) but only the 4S is ski in ski out, so we chose that.

We are going to Canada and New England for three weeks this summer. Doing rails to trails, Niagara Falls, Quebec, Nova Scotia, also staying in a yurt and a lighthouse. Tons to do.

We did a Southwest trip last year. Phx. Grand Canyon, a boathouse on Lake Powell (FABULOUS), opera in Santa Fe, a dude/bison ranch in So. Col, and then a day trip to Col Springs.

I'm not much help on beaches. I get bored on a beach.

If I was recovering from surgeries and didn't want to overextend myself, I'd go with my family to the beach. Somewhere in Florida. Maybe the Keys, maybe someplace super touristy like Panama City, maybe Destin, depending on what the family likes to do. I'd rent a place where everyone could walk to the beach, restaurants, PuttPutt golf, etc. and I could just sit or lay on the beach with my books.

Is this a summer vacation? Others will differ but I live in MA and I would rather have a root canal than deal with Cape Cod traffic in the summer. I would go to RI instead -- Tiverton/Little Compton area, or Narragansett (depending on where in Narragansett you stay, you'd be 10-20 minutes from Newport).

We went to Jackson Hole, Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone in August 5 years ago and it was one of our all-time best vacations. Even my DD, who is now 12, continually asks when we're going back (and we have been to a lot of great places since then!). I loved the town of Jackson with its shops and restaurants and "real cowboys", and the parks were unreal. Not sure if you have the stamina, after recent surgery, for that? We stayed at Spring Hill Ranch near the Tetons and we went horseback riding there. Awesome. For the second half of our trip, we stayed at the Old Faithful Inn (I think?) in Yellowstone. However, I think to stay in the park this summer, you would need to have reserved your hotel a long time ago.

Another great New England destination is Maine. Ogunquit, Kennebunkport, Portland...up to Camden/Rockport...Bar Harbor. A trip like that could be as "chill" or as active as you want it to be.

I've lived in Florida - in Bradenton near Anna Marie Island. That would be a great place to go for the beach idea. I think you could still find places to stay there. Traffic is tolerable - but if you stay on the island then no problem. There are lots of hotels that have pools for the kids inside as well as outside and that helps due to the unpredicatabble afternoon thunderstorms. Plus there are golfing opps for hubs if he wants. Plus you aren't far from places like Busch Gardens in Tampa or Adventure Island if you want a day away from the beach. Legoland is in Winter Haven about the same distance away. They have a water park as well.

We went to Grand Canyon and the Tetons one summer. Loved the Tetons - and we stayed at Colter Bay but you do have to make reservations about a year in advance. Yellowstone offers so much to see and you can go up into Montana as well to Big Sky. There would be alot of car riding and depending on your recovery, I don't know how much you would be able to walk around.

I'd save New England for the fall. We did this last Oct and it was beautiful. The beaches are much better in Florida - sorry NE people. We went to Acadia National Park and over to the White Mountains.

Just an idea - when my son was 16, he and his dad rode the mules down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and they stayed overnight and came back up the next day. It was a memory that both of them will treasure forever. You do have to make these reservations over a year in advance since they only take a limited number down each day. I stayed up on top and did the bus tours while they were gone. We were staying at the hotel on the rim.

Another vote for NH.... many people think of NE in the fall, but summer is the best, best, best!

What I love about vacationing there is that you have the entire Lakes Region (around Winnepesaukee), which is just immediately south of the White Mountains. The lakes will provide you with true, old-time charm and relaxed days. Go out for the country's best ice-cream, take a tour of Winnepesaukee on the Mt. Washington, canoe or kayak, etc. There are old-time arcades at Weirs Beach on Winnepesaukee. Check vrbo and homeaway for cottage rentals. I'd be happy to recommend particular lakes. There are fantastic trails and hikes in the White Mountains, from easy day hikes of an hour or less, to much more intense all-day 4000 foot peaks. The Basin for example is a great, easy hike, and culminates in a fantastic swimming hole at the end. And the Lakes Region is only an hour or so from the seacoast, so you can also add in the lobster and seafood and beaches with darling towns on the coast of Maine, immediately beside the NH border. York, ME has a great old fashioned arcade, great beaches and a darling town where the kids can watch salf-taffy being made at The Golden Rod. Ogunquit is next door, and a wonderful town as well. Portsmouth NH, a city on the coast, next to York, is a town dating from the 1600's, and enjoyable by kids and adults. I've sent a number of friends to NH for just such a vacation and most come back and tell me it was their best vacation ever.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mt. Washington on Winnepesaukee

This post was edited by bestyears on Fri, Apr 5, 13 at 11:04