Friday, February 25, 2011

Weigh in!

By the way, that's weigh in, not weigh in.   
No need to share your weight in the comments, you know, unless you want to.

We have a free night in a hotel expiring in the near future, where should we go?  

Now, before you go crazy, let me throw out our requirements.

1) Driving distance from DC.  This does not mean, one can get there in a car, but rather that the destination is a reasonable distance away from DC to qualify as a weekend getaway.  Eg. Boston is 8 hours away, that's probably too far to drive to spend one night. 

2) Must have kid-friendly attractions.  I use kid-friendly loosely.  Eg.  I thought the Parthenon was very kid-friendly and so did my kids.

3) We have to go in the next month.  That's from now, until late March.  So if the main attractions are outdoors, it can't be too cold -- I like climate control and my kids don't have snow boots.  Of course, for the right suggestion, snow boots could be acquired so don't be put off by my protests about weather.

4) Visiting you is not a bad suggestion.  We'll just stay in a hotel at night and play together during the day!

So, what are your thoughts, suggestions, ideas, must-sees, brilliant epiphanies?  I want to hear 'em.  Really.  I do.  
So, hit me with them!

I've got a long, long list of things to do in DC and the greater Washington metropolitan area, but beyond the beltway is not my area of expertise.

I can't wait to make our plans! 

13 comments:

MBusse said...

Williamsburg / Jamestown. Richmond has a great children's museum, art museum (freakishly phenomenal for the size of the city) and a lots of history (is the little church where Patrick Henry gave his famous "give liberty or give me death" speech and tons of civil war stuff.

jesse said...

How far is Hershey? Dad

jesse said...

If you do go to Richmond, you can stop at Petersburg on the way and see the lovely Blandford Church with its 15--yes, count 'em, 15--Tiffany windows, one for each state in the Confederacy and a couple of extra. This is where Memorial/Decoration Day began. There is also a tour of a tobacco factory and I think of a brewery--nor Mormonesque but interesting, nonetheless. Dad again.

treen said...

Hershey is about an hour and a half so it's totally doable - we did it as a day trip. However, we were not particularly impressed. Hersheyland, or whatever it was called, was just a HUGE STORE. Buy buy buy. Bleh. There is a rollercoaster park there, if that's your thing - our kids were too small at the time, so we skipped it.

Continuing north - Philly is also doable for a overnight/weekend distance, and there's quite a bit there with the Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, etc.

Going south - we've never been to Richmond, but LOVE LOVE LOVE Williamsburg and Jamestown. There's so much down there that you could take a week or more to see it all. South in a different direction - Charlottesville is also beautiful with lots to see/do.

So many choices!

Julie said...

I agree--definitely Williamsburg or Jamestown.

Cecily said...

Have you been to Gettysburg? Lots of old guns, and wide open spaces. Definitely worth seeing.

Anonymous said...

Harper's Ferry's probably a bit chilly in March, but I love it. There's natural sights, historic sites, and some "adventuring" to be done nearby. I also concur with the Williamsburg vote, similar attractions, but colonial instead of frontier/civil war, and the added bonus of shopping (if that's attractive to any of you). Baltimore's got the aquarium and science/children's museums. You don't NEED a hotel stay there, but you could do a whole lot more there with one, even a late afternoon pirate boat ride. If you're up for a long haul of 4 hours, you might consider the Raleigh area, also full of historic things, museums and the like. Plus barbeque!

Anonymous said...

Harper's Ferry's probably a bit chilly in March, but I love it. There's natural sights, historic sites, and some "adventuring" to be done nearby. I also concur with the Williamsburg vote, similar attractions, but colonial instead of frontier/civil war, and the added bonus of shopping (if that's attractive to any of you). Baltimore's got the aquarium and science/children's museums. You don't NEED a hotel stay there, but you could do a whole lot more there with one, even a late afternoon pirate boat ride. If you're up for a long haul of 4 hours, you might consider the Raleigh area, also full of historic things, museums and the like. Plus barbeque!

Donna said...

Williamsburg is fun - and would be better when it isn't hot and humid, so next month could be good. Maybe St. Michael's - it's beautiful along the water, but it could be too cold next month.

Sorry, haven't spent much time in DC so I don't know too many good kid places.

Lauren in GA said...

I'd go to Williamsburg. Lots of amazing history at Colonial Williamsburg and you can spend some time at Busch Gardens. It has some great things for kiddos to do.

Stephanie said...

Philadelphia and Camden Aquarium. Baltimore. Gettysburg. Annapolis. Charlottesville (although all I know there is UVA and Thomas Jefferson's house; don't know what's indoors or for the kiddos).

Have fun!

Nate and Sina said...

Depends on the hotel you will be staying at. If it's Omni, I'd head out to Bedford, PA and stay at the Bedford Springs Resort. The Seotember 11 Flight 93 memorial site isn't too far away (15-20 minutes) and really feels like hallowed ground. There are a few mountain/ski resorts out that way that have a bunch of family friendly activities available. But the resort itself, is simply not to be missed. I'd also consider Baltimore for a weekend trip, especially if you all haven't done the aquarium recently.

The Songer said...

Lucky you, what awesome options.... one of the perks of the states and getting to drive cool places!

So before i quit the airlines our family took a trip into Charleston (Yeager) wv, One day we set aside to just drive and see the country.. and we drove right into a Chocolate lovers festival. we paid like 3 bucks a person and ate chocolate all day.. then as we walked out, we found out that there was a chocolate festival the next day a little further up on the border of Pa.. and then a the next day a little further up.. for 3 days we went to chocolate festivals, paid a couple bucks and ate every kind of chocolate imaginable! Besides Myrtle beach, that is my favorite memory of the east coast (with kids). If you havent done it, I suggest you take a couple days.. map out the chocolate festivals and take advantage at eating chocolate for pennies!

 

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