Recently in Day Trips with Kids Category

People always ask me for summer family vacation ideas and I have plenty but many might not fit what they are looking for.  It's important to ask yourself what you are looking for in a family vacation.

For instance, does your family love action adventure?  If so, consider white water rafting - you can choose your rapids according to challenge and it is a great "family building" activity.  You might also like zip lining which is offered at many resorts in the US and abroad. 

Across the aisle from me is a mom with her 4-year-old twins. One is sleeping on her. The other is kicking the seatback in front of him, irritating the passenger in 10F. Meanwhile, the dad sits calmly in the next row, working on his laptop.

Periodically, the mom asks for something from the overhead bin. She can't get up because of the sleeping child. Still, Dad's face shows his irritation as he maneuvers the laptop aside and gets up to dig around for the bag she needs.

My daughter is now a teenager.  I have hung on to every single second of her sweet elementary school personality that I could and now I have to let that go and embrace her journey to adolescence.  OK maybe not embrace, how about reluctantly accept?

I have heard horror stories of the drama to come and had a few of my own as a teen so I am more than a little anxious about the years ahead.   I see glimpses of the dark side already - the emphasis on friends, the eye rolling, the "you just don't understand" retort.  And I also see how important it is that we get to spend time together - just us.  That goes for each of my kids. 

When I say I am planning a staycation, I feel a little depressed.

Not because I don't like the idea of a family vacation at or near home but because it reminds me of the recession. 

The term staycation came out of a time of economic crisis.  It was supposed to make us all feel better about staying home because we could not afford our usual vacation.   It's like trying to dress up Brussels sprouts by calling them little cabbages.  Then again, "staycation" sounds a heck of a lot better than "no-cation."