Travels with Children

While I’ve been planning for our own upcoming vacation, I’ve gotten behind on seeing what others have been doing.  This will be the final roundup of 2008 and I’ll resume when we return from our holiday travels.

• Tips for attending the Holidazzle Parade in Minneapolis at Best Kid Friendly Travel.  I wish I’d seen this post before we went downtown last Friday.  We chickened out and didn’t stay for the parade
• Need to get out of the house in the winter? Try a Home Depot kids’ workshop, held every Saturday, as described at Uptake Attractions.
• Debbie at DeliciousBaby recommends 7 Gifts to Inspire Your Little Traveler.  She also hosted a guest post on 10 Family Friendly Hiking Trails in Colorado.
• Family Adventure Guidebooks has some good family-roadtrip travel planning tips, including a link to a good winter-survival-kit site.
• TravelSavvy Mom had some fun on a San Francisco Ducks tour.  She also features some of her favorite websites for planning family adventures.
• Family Travelogue featured the Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco, TX.
• Need some new travel ideas? Read Five Family Travel Books to Get You Going at Have Kids Will Travel.  Want the kids to enjoy the trip and planning? Read Travel Guide Books for the Kids in Your Life.
• Not a family-travel article, but there’s a good explanation of ice fishing in Minnesota from the LA Times. (Seems ironic to me that the article is from California!)
• Winter Travel Ideas for Kids at New York Traveler.
• This one’s on the itinerary for our upcoming trip:  A Longwood Gardens Christmas at Suite101.

Merry Christmas!

Here are some family travel ideas from the past week, west to east, and some travel tips to keep in mind.

• Visiting the Vancouver Aquarium at Suite101.
• Stretch Your Family Vacation Dollars in San Diego at Travels with Baby Tips.
• 10 Activities Near Disneyland and Disneyland on the Spur of the Moment at DeliciousBaby, and Disney’s California Adventure at Uptake Vacations.
• Top 10 Free Attractions in Las Vegas at Cheapo Air, and Las Vegas Aquariums at Uptake Vacations.
• Firefighters Hall and Museum in Minneapolis at Uptake Attractions.
• 24 Hours in St. Louis with Kids at TravelMuse.
• Chicago for Families at Uptake Vacations.
• Miller’s Country Gardens in Delaware, OH, at Uptake Vacations.
• 15 Best Places to Get Scientific with Kids at Mommy Poppins.
• Belvedere Plantation in Fredericksburg, VA, at Uptake Vacations.
• Family Attractions and Things to Do in Atlanta at Suite101.
• Downtown Disney at Uptake Attractions.
• Free Things to do in Atlanta, Tucson, Disney World, San Francisco, New York City, Seattle, and Minneapolis-St. Paul at We Just Got Back.
• Family Adventures without Wheels at Family Adventure Guidebooks.
• Family River Rafting at CNN.
• Ski Resorts for an Affordable Family Vacation at Cheapo Air.
• Surviving Long-Haul Flights with Kids at TravelBlogs.
• Tips for Taking Kid- and Travel-Worthy Photos at Travel Savvy Mom.
• 8 Things Every Traveling Parent Should Know at Boots’n'all.
• Navigating Airport Security with Kids at Jet With Kids.
• The Low-Down on Flying with Children of All Ages at Wanderlust and Lipstick.
• Infant Travel at TravelMuse.
• Thanksgiving Parades at Suite101.

Here’s this week’s edition of tips for traveling with kids and places that look interesting to visit. There are even a few cheap and free deals this time around!

• Are you a Bank of America cardholder? Less than a Shoestring has the lowdown on free museum admission this weekend.
• WeJustGotBack has details on a new whale exhibit at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C.
• Debbie from Delicious Baby wrote a guest post at Freebies 4 Mom on 10 Tips for Finding Travel Freebies.
• MV On the Spot spelled out some kid-friendly restaurants on Martha’s Vineyard.
• Mother of All Trips has some great photos from the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia.
• The Q Family Adventure had fun at a Pumpkin Patch Farm.
• The Bon Bon Gazette’s family went to the Popcorn Park zoo in Forked River, New Jersey.
• The Vacationer presented A Kid’s Guide to LA.
• You Must Be Trippin has some favorite corn mazes.
• Mommy Poppins has tips for getting around New York City with kids on the subway, and free times at NYC museums.
• Savvy Star Baby wrote about some ups and downs of a trip with toddlers.
• And finally, TravelBlogs discusses Why Travel with Kids is Worthwhile.

Here’s this week’s list of places I’d love to go with my kids, and ideas for traveling with kids that I find useful:

• Looking for Halloween ideas?  Read about the Monster Splash Nighttime Halloween Bash at the Miami Seaquarium and the Ascarium at the Aquarium in Brooklyn at FlyAway Cafe.  Mommy Poppins knows about 15 FREE Halloween Events for Children in New York City.  CNN Travel has a list of spooky fun and games for the whole family.  For some family Halloween fun, see if your local zoo has a Boo at the Zoo program, like these reported by CBS.
• Thanksgiving?  See Frommer’s post on Thanksgiving at U.S. National Parks for some family-friendly ideas.
• These are right up my alley:  Twenty Ways to Soak Up the Season at Divine Caroline offers simple ideas for spending family time together, and Midwest Guest shows us the road less traveled.
• BackPack to Buggy has suggestions for five super low-budget, family destinations for fall.
• Michelle Tripp wrote about a Family Day at Bodega Bay.
• Fall ideas: Read about a mother & son trip to Highland Orchards at The Mother of All Trips, the fun some cousins had at a hayride at BagMomma, and Bizzie Mommy’s trip to a pumpkin festival in L.A.
• On the Go with Amy discusses Exposing Kids to Democracy in Washington, D.C.
• The Q Family Adventure headed to Six Flags over Georgia.
• Travels with Baby gives information on family stops in Long Beach, California, and Salem, Oregon.
• TravelMuse provides ideas for a Tampa and St. Pete Family Vacation, How to Pack for Road Trips with Infants, Top U.S. Aquariums, and a Sarasota Family Vacation.
• Families who need a break in New York City can head to the Bryant Park Reading Room, as reported by FamilyTravelLogue.  And if you’re planning to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, see TravelingMamas’ tips.
• Travels with Child wrote about a trip to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia.
• Kid-Friendly Travel shares its picks for Downtown Chicago with Kids,  Day-Tripping Downtown Minneapolis, Washington, D.C.-Virginia area, Washington, D.C. with Kids, and  Kid-Friendly San Diego.
• Frommer’s recommended family-friendly travel locations in Rappahannock County, Virginia; describes fall fun at several United States children’s museums; and offers tips for traveling with toddlers by car.

As much as I’d like to, I can’t possible see every great place with my kids. But if I were going to try, I’d look at these sites:

• CNN Travel offers tips for Kid-Friendly Exploration in San Francisco
• On the Go with Amy has a list of 9 Things to Do with Kids in Philly.
• Because of weather concerns, Debbie at DeliciousBaby had to change her plans and spent a lot more time at Chicago’s Notebaert Nature Museum than we did.
• Take Me to the Zoo: Travel Savvy Mom describes some great zoos from around the world. The U.S. entry is the San Diego Wild Animal Park.
• WeJustGotBack.com describes the new day-pass program at Orlando’s Nickelodeon Family Suites for an alternative to a day at Disney.
• Rookiemoms.com offers tips for a week’s stay in Austin, TX, with little ones.
• Michelle Tripp writes about a great family stay at Gateway Canyons.
• Just Go! describes the Vatican Splendors exhibit at the Minnesota History Center.  This one we’ll probably get to see.
• Midwest Guest found a town that time forgot.
• Mommy Poppins recommends some toddler-friendly New York City-area apple orchards.  If you’re looking for orchards in Minnesota, see my post on orchard visits at Uptake.com.
• MomAdvice’s Amy Clark found a great pumpkin patch in Michigan.
• Traveling Mamas have some Recommended Family-Friendly Halloween Events in LA.
• Backpack to Buggy knows Five Budget Friendly Ways to Make Any Trip Feel Like a Vacation.
• Vicki at Where the FuhKaui? found some great back roads in Colorado.
• USA Today tells about America’s Prettiest Towns.
• I haven’t flown with my kids yet, but if I ever do, I’ll keep in mind AirfareWatchdog’s Top Tips for Flying with Tots.

Do you know of any other recent posts on family travel in the U.S.? Add them to the comments!