Vacations Blog

If you’re undertaking the great American road trip you will soon realize that much of the United States is intersected by water.  It’s wet. Possible exceptions include the lower portions of Arizona and some counties in Utah and Texas, which are varying degrees of dry, respectively.

The point?  Man, you don’t need a point.  You see some water on a summer day, you need to stop and swim, surf, sit, ski and skip stones upon it.  Please obey all safety regulations, wear a flotation device (an airplane seat works nicely) and don’t stick your toes in unless you’ve waited the appropriate amount of time since eating.

Get wet.

For more family-friendly travel photos visit DeliciousBaby’s Photo Fridays.

Photo by W. Honea

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Big Bear Lake, CA

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Sebago Lake is the second-largest lake in Maine (the largest is Moosehead Lake). It is located in the south-western area of the state, about 20 miles away from Portland and the airport. “Sebago” is the Penobscot Indian word meaning “beautiful water,” and it truly is one of the most picturesque bodies of water in New England.

When I was little, summer vacation in Maine meant spending as many weeks as I could wheedle, at my Aunt and Uncle’s “camp”, or cabin, on Sebago. My Uncle had a boat, naturally, and we begged on a daily basis for him to pull us (”us” being me and my cousins) behind the boat on the “torpedo” float. We’d line up on the thing, hang on for dear life, and scream our fool heads off as he dragged us along, playing crack the whip or occasionally swerving into his own wake so we could “jump” the torpedo over the waves. Inevitably, one (or all) of us would fall off, and we’d sit there, floating and waiting for him to come back around to us, wondering what could be eyeing our toes from a depth of 300 feet.

Them snapping turtles are vicious, after all.

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Cape Disappointment. Not exactly a promising name for a place you’re planning to vacation. However, my wife, two-year-old son and I just returned from a long weekend at Cape Disappointment State Park where we vacationed with friends and had a wonderful time.

Located in Washington State’s southwestern most corner, Cape Disappointment is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the mighty Columbia River to the South.  The park offers 27 miles of ocean beach, two lighthouses, an interpretive center and hiking trails.

Cape Disappointment, discovered and named by English fur trader John Meares on July 6th, 1788 was so named because at the time Meares was disappointed that he had not discovered the mouth of the Columbia River. A storm forced him to give up his search just north of the river’s mouth.  I’m sure he was truly disappointed when he later realized precisely how close he was. Sometimes the breaks just don’t fall your way.

It’s one of the foggiest places in the country with the equivalent of 106 days of the misty white stuff hanging around to greet you - not unusual in Washington State.  Fog notwithstanding, this park is a beautiful place.  Majestic vistas abound with views of the vast Pacific Ocean to the west, the mighty Columbia River to the south, and acres of lush green forest to the east and north.  As mentioned the park has multiple hiking trails of varying difficulty.  One such hike led our families to the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse.  The trail began at the Lewis and Clark interpretive Center, down a ravine past a beautiful hidden cove appropriately named Dead Man’s Cove, and back up the other side to the lighthouse.

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I’ve written four entries over the past couple of weeks that detailed the experience I had planning our Epic Summer Road Trip. During the course of my planning I learned some things that I’d like to pass on to you, gentle readers.

1. Plan your route. That may seem a bit obvious, but while a favorite saying of my home state of Maine is, “You can’t get there from here,” there are actually a LOT of ways to get EVERYWHERE. So know which way you want to go. And consider taking a different route coming home than you took getting to your destination.
2. Buy an actual physical map, or a road atlas, so you can see both ends of your route at once. GPS is all well and good, MapQuest and Google Maps will get you there (usually), but it’s always best to have an actual map of the state you’re travelling through. Especially for taking scenic detours.
3. When on-line reservations fail you, try picking up an actual phone and talking to a real, live person. As was the case for my Old Faithful Inn reservations, even if the on-line system says the place is fully booked, often times you can still reserve rooms directly with the reservations representative.
4. Consider renting a car instead of driving your own. If your vacation budget allows for it, renting a car can save a road-tripper a lot of anxiety. If a rental car breaks down, the rental company obliges with a Brand! New! Vehicle! And you can continue on your merry way, with the merest inconvenience to your plans. If your own car breaks down on you, well, you’re stuck with trying to get a tow, get a repair, and/or get an alternate means of transportation SMACK in the middle of your much-anticipated vacation. Said vacation may be derailed entirely, even. Another thing to consider is gas mileage and gas prices. My personal vehicle requires premium gasoline and gets MAYBE eighteen miles to the gallon (no Green lectures, please!). The one we’re renting for our road trip gets 25 miles to the gallon and takes regular unleaded. I’m thinking the expense will be a wash, in the end.

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Tags: Family Vacations, Just Getaway, road trip planning

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This photo taken from a dockside restaurant near the Rhode Island-Connecticut border is a typical scene in seaside towns along the coasts of Rhode Island and Southeast Connecticut. If only the sunsets were always this beautiful.

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I just spent a 3 day weekend in Lexington, Kentucky.

The locals were fantastic.  The service at my hotel was phenomenal.  My traveling companions were wonderful to hang out with.

And I could not wait to get out of Lexington.

I absolutely love experiencing new places.  Before I leave, I always do a quick google search for “things to do in INSERT CITY NAME HERE” to get an idea of the must see attractions in the area that will give me a sense of the local culture.  When I arrive, I immediately ask the hotel concierge what tourist (and not so touristy) attractions they recommend.

All of my attempts to discover “things to do in Lexington” lead me to the same response.

Bourbon and Horses.

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I let my wife do the planning for my recent 40th birthday party; she suggested a local weekend getaway, sans kids. (I would have suggested a Chuck E. Cheese party, or perhaps a trip to the local indoor go-kart track - this is why she puts together our Social Calendar.) The thought of hanging out by a pool and drinking for two days was appealing. And the in-laws would provide babysitting services for the kids and the dog. And we’d be back in time for Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Done and done.

Where to go? For a 40th b-day, it seemed fitting that we kick it Old School, as the kids say (do they still say that?) The destination hotel would have to answer the question WWDDD - What Would Don Draper Do? I tell you what he’d do. He’d go to Palm Springs. And he’d stay at The Riviera.

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