Extended Family Vacation (lighthouse, hotel, bridge, reservations)
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There's some great bargains at the NC Outer Banks after Labor Day. Prices start falling pretty fast by the time August rolls around, really. There's giant homes up around Duck/Corolla with pools, hottubs, pool tables, etc. In addition to the beach, theres stuff like lighthouses, giant sand dunes (Jockey's Ridge State Park), wildlife areas (lots of birding at Pea Island), Fort Raleigh/Manteo, the Wright Brothers Memorial, etc. I'm actually partial to Ocracoke, a small island with a smaller village. Rent a golf cart. Bring or rent bikes. If you have a 4WD vehicle, you can drive out onto the beach and park. Lots of good restaurants and shops. Kayaking, standup paddleboarding, deep sea fishing, nature trails, etc.
Along the same lines, there's good beaches near Charleston and Savannah where you can get the beach experience and have the sites in those towns to visit. Jekyll Island, Georgia, is a cool place with it's millionaires village history, driftwood beach, bike trails, golf courses and such.
Maine has a ton of great places. A rental near Bar Harbor is something I plan to do again soon. The carriage trails are so fun on bikes. The views along the rocky coast in Acadia are outstanding. Great hiking. Lobster.
If driving is a realistic option, how about the US Southwest.
I mean the deep stuff.. like Grand Canyon, Monument Valley (Gouldings), Mexican Hat, Second Mesa (Hopi Cultural Center), etc., out of Phoenix ..+ Sedona?
.. or Santa Fe/Taos/Durango/Mesa Verde out of Albuquerque?
Lots of driving, but really not uber touristy (ok, except for the GC) if you go shoulder, i.e. not summer.
Weather s/b great, culture and landscapes exceptional.
Yes, it IS a wonderful experience to drive to and visit these areas. HOWEVER, I would guess that MIL is thinking that the entire family will be spending time together. Which means not is separate cars.
I'm not a parent, but I wonder how interested the two younger kids would be. And traveling in the car with kids - not exactly a vacation for the parents, is it.
Yes, it IS a wonderful experience to drive to and visit these areas. HOWEVER, I would guess that MIL is thinking that the entire family will be spending time together. Which means not is separate cars.
I'm not a parent, but I wonder how interested the two younger kids would be. And traveling in the car with kids - not exactly a vacation for the parents, is it.
I was hoping they'd select two or three main places ..and stay for a few days to enjoy and explore at leisure.
But I get it.. cars can become a drag after awhile.
I think the beach house idea sounds like a good possibility.
Say, do they still rent houseboats on Lake Mead or Lake Powell?
That might work too.
I was hoping they'd select two or three main places ..and stay for a few days to enjoy and explore at leisure.
But I get it.. cars can become a drag after awhile.
I think the beach house idea sounds like a good possibility.
Say, do they still rent houseboats on Lake Mead or Lake Powell?
That might work too.
Hahahaha! I think that might be TOO much family togetherness!
a lifetime ago, when much younger, my wife, young son and parents stayed at a wonderful vacation home inside Disney World. Several bedrooms, kitchen, bathrooms and living room. Special discount tickets to the parks, and lots of things to do with the kids. they even had sitters and childrens activities to give us alone times.
Now the other family rarely leaves their home county. Kids have never flown. They have virtually no budget. We're hoping if we can start planning early there will be more time to save.
Don't you think if they could save up for a vacation, they would have before this? If they have virtually no budget, then they have no wiggle room for a vacation.
Quote:
Reasonably affordable. We're hoping for a budget of <$5k per family
Sorry, for many people, this probably isn't reasonably affordable, putting aside an extra $500 per month for a year.
Your in-law should pay. The easiest way is to rent a house (or two). MIL can go food shopping and everyone can take turns making dinner.
Hyannis, Cape Cod MA or Cape May, NJ. Both have walkable downtown areas so the kids can have a little bit of freedom. Both have go carts, mini golf, ice cream boardwalks - stuff that kids like.
I like Maine - the islands by Portland are gorgeous - but the water is too cold to swim and not a lot of kids friendly stuff.
So everyone here thinks it's fair or normal for mom to pay for one kid's family to vacation but not the other? Plus cater all the vacation planning to his family? We're trying to find a middle ground.
When you don't have any money for a vacation, there is no middle ground.
What about renting a few 2-3 bedroom condos in St Croix? That's what we did as a group and had a blast! Nice beach and a beautiful pool. The only downside is that you either have to take a taxi, or rent a car/van and learn how to drive on the "other" side of the road. We did it with no problems.
Look up Pellican Cove Condos. This is an example of one of the condos you can rent, but a lot of them are for rent.
The downside to St. Croix is the cost of airfare. Depending upon where they are in the Midwest, it would be possible to drive to the East Coast or Gulf Coast beaches.
I agree, 5K/family is too much for the family that's financially strapped, no matter how long you give them to save up for it. And I'm sure that they have expenses that are much higher priority than a grand family vacation, like necessities, and activities for the children.
A beach vacation, if Grandma pays for the house, would only entail driving and food.
Better yet, if you're in the Midwest, how about a lake vacation? There must be some closer by beautiful areas with huge lake houses that you could rent, maybe even rent some toys for the week, like a Sunfish, learn to water ski, rent jet skis. Unless you guys already have a lake house and all that, it would be heaven for the kids. And you'd get new experiences, family togetherness, and outdoorsy, without big travel expenses.
We did family vacations for several years. My parents would rent a house at the beach (NC), the adult children would buy the groceries and take turns cooking. Most of us didn't have $5K to blow on a vacation. My parents could afford to rent the house, though at one point all of us adult kids (5 of us) pitched in $500 towards the rental cost.
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