USA East

I’ve spent a lot of time exploring the east side of the Hudson River, but haven’t spent a lot of time on the west side since I was a kid. I recently had the opportunity to get reacquainted with the area between the Shawangunks and the Catskills, an area that’s …

Cooperstown, New York, is home to the Baseball Hall of Fame. But the museum brings enough people to town every year to support hotels, restaurants, breweries and a fair number of other activities to keep visitors busy.  You can’t avoid baseball during a visit, but you’d be mistaken to believe it’s …

The Finger Lakes region of New York offers an ideal combination of museums, outdoor activities, and yummy local food, wine and beer. For a family that enjoys hitting a museum in the morning and hiking in the afternoon—with lunch at a microbrewery in between—it’s the perfect destination. We recommend a …

Alabama is not the first place I think of for a family beach getaway. In my mind U.S. beaches are on the Atlantic or Pacific coasts, period. But after five days exploring Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, Alabama, I can tell you I would absolutely choose Alabama for a beach …

I really liked St. Augustine, Florida. It’s a city that predates both Jamestown and Plymouth. Its lesser know history, outdoor activities and great local food blend very nicely to create a fun family destination that’s about more than just the beach. Consider a typical vacation day: In the morning you …

People visit Savannah, Georgia to explore the genteel, antique-filled homes during the day and sip Southern cocktails in the evening . If you’re visiting this southern city with small children, that’s not going to happen. The city presents its challenges for older kids, too. They might be less likely to …

In the spring, Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley Virginia is impossibly green and in the fall its leaves burst into color.  The historic town of *Staunton, at the valley’s southern end, is the perfect base for a romantic couple getaway at any time of year, but it’s particularly appealing in these two …

Hershey, Pennsylvania is a no brainer for an easy summer weekend getaway with kids if you live anywhere between Washington, DC and Connecticut. What you might not realize is that if you take into account the many things there are to do in Hershey, Harrisburg and Lancaster—plus a detour over …

Updated March 2020 One of the challenges to visiting a New York City is finding fun, authentic, kid-friendly things to do, that every other tourist isn’t also doing.  Here’s one good tip to help you avoid the crowds: The Big Apple has more than 100 museums, many of them are …

One of the easiest and most fun weekends with kids that you can do in Hudson Valley is a winter ski getaway. Catskill Mountain ski resorts like Belleayre, Windham or Hunter are close to the New York City metro area, offering a much shorter drive and far less expensive family …

Hotel Review: Nemacolin Woodlands Resort for Families & Couples Where: Farmington, PA The Vibe: *Nemacolin Woodlands, a luxury resort  in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands, doesn’t have a single vibe. The type of vacation you have depends on where you stay—one of three hotels or on-property vacation homes—who you’re traveling with and …

We booked a cruise out of Miami over winter break. Since we’d never been to this famously colorful Florida beach city, we decided to spend 48 hours exploring. Planning our 2-night itinerary was a challenge. Miami doesn’t market itself as a family destination. There are plenty of fun and unique …

Updated October 2020 Tween Traveler headed off on a two-night camping adventure with her scout troop trip in early June, leaving Rich and I free to take our own 36-hour kid-free getaway. This year we chose New Hope in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. New Hope has the combination of quaint inns, …

The Berkshires are one of those regions that looms in my mind as a summer vacation paradise.  The region stretches along the spine of Route 7 up the length of Western Massachusetts. And it offers a bounty of things for families to do on a weekend getaway or weeklong vacation. …

It’s a challenge for a city or region to develop a new tourist zone from the ground up. It’s even more unusual to develop one that is interesting enough to be a destination all by itself. But Maryland has done exactly that with the *National Harbor, a great base for …

The Hotel: Woodloch Pines Resort Where: Hawley, Eastern Pennsylvania The Location: *Woodloch Pines is an all-inclusive resort that sits on the rural edge of the Poconos.  Rather than one large hotel, the resort has a series of small buildings and cabins that dot a woodsy campus on the shore of a picture-perfect …

Updated February 2020. A lot of people use Gettysburg as a stopover en route to other Pennsylvania destinations, like Pittsburgh or Hershey and Lancaster. And this is a shame because you need at least 48 hours to see the main attractions horoughly and without rushing. And you could easily fill …

The Top attractions in Washington, D.C. are well documented: the zoo, the monuments, the capitol, the museum with Dorothy’s ruby slippers. But let’s face it, the heat and huge crowds keep the zoo’s animals well hidden in summer. Kids have limited interest in monuments and with tough security in place it can …

If you’re planning to visit NYC on a family vacation you’ll quickly learn that Midtown East is not known for being the neighborhood that’s most cool (that’s Brooklyn), glamorous (SoHo), or exciting (Times Square). But it is close to some several classic NYC experiences that kids, tweens and teens will …

The *Blue Man Group first started banging on paint-laden drums in 1991 and it now has permanent shows in five US cities and Berlin, plus a touring version of the show. It’s clearly as popular as it is hard to sum up and it many parents wonder, can you take …

Updated February 2020 Tiny Traveler headed off on a group camping trip recently, leaving Rich and I with 48 hours of treasured grown-up time. We were overdue for a couples vacation but couldn’t stray too far. So we headed to Dutchess County, two hours from home in the Hudson Valley. …

We went to Williamsburg, VA to take a walk through American history. Within a few square miles, Williamsburg offers up a historic triangle: the first successful English colony in North America, the battlefield where we won the Revolution and the town that was Virginia’s capital until 1780. We wondered if it would …

Lake Placid, NY is one of our favorite winter wonderlands. We’ve traveled there for a few winter breaks and even Christmas. As long as you pack clothes that will keep you warm outside and the weather remains cold and snowy, there is a lot of fun packed into this Adirondack town. …

One of the things that brings us back to Lake Placid year after year is that the town has a lot of dining for its small size and much of it is very enjoyable. There is plenty of standard ski-town fare–pizza, pasta,chili, steaks and burgers–but quite a few places rise above …

You might also read  10 More Things To Do in Washington DC With Kids Wow, what a great #MOMtravelchat Twitter party we had with the Smithsonian, our first ever paid sponsor. Washington DC was the topic of the evening. Local parents and travel experts chimed in with advice on taking kids to …

New York City means different things to different people. At Christmastime it often means shopping. Lots of shopping. If you happen to find yourself in NYC after Thanksgiving with a shopping list— perhaps a tween or teen who loves to shop— here are a few stores you’ll definitely want to …

I’ve always just assumed the Christmas song “Silver Bells” was written about New York City. New York is a vibrant—if somewhat crowded—place to get into the holiday spirit, which is why so many people do.  As a lifelong New Yorker there are things our family makes sure to do year after …

Updated November 2020 The Christmas season can get chaotic. Taking a time-out from all the planning, shopping, wrapping, cooking to visit a city full of holiday lights and sounds gives you quality time with your partner and your kids. It magically changes this time of year from hectic to happy—even …

Hershey, Pennsylvania calls itself the “Sweetest Place on Earth.” Visiting at any time of year is a chocolate-filled, family centered experience. So you can imagine that this is a place where they really get into the holiday spirit in a big way. I’ve learned that taking my family to Hershey …

Updated August 2020 Fall is a great time of year to for quick weekend getaways. It’s cool, but not cold, places tend to be less crowded. In many parts of the U.S. the fall foliage is the main attraction. But even the brightest red maple leaves will only interest kids …