I had never heard of Hocking Hills, Ohio until I received a few tweets from @MyHockingHills.

Hocking Hills isn’t a town, but a county and a region of Southeast Ohio known among outdoorsy types as a great place to “get away from it all.” Specifically, visitors here will be getting away from:

• Traffic
• Internet
• Cell reception
• Chain restaurants
• Light pollution
• Honking horns and other noise pollution
• TV
• Starbucks

What do you get in exchange? Peace and quite and natural beauty, of course.

Without a TV or the Internet, the modern family might fear getting bored. Fortunately, there are plenty of activities in the area – all of which are about a 20 minute drive from each other. Our family got to:

Ride horses at The Spotted Horse Ranch:

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The thing about the great outdoors is that they are everywhere! Also, great.

Whether you are enjoying a family vacation or an extended staycation, there is almost always a hiking area close by.  It doesn’t have to be the wilderness — parks, neighborhood walking trails and the urban jungle all have a path to offer, and if kids are involved the adventure is sure to follow. I speak from experience.

Hiking is not only a nice way to spend quality time with those you care about, but a perfect way to get the exercise that most of us so desperately need. It’s a win-win!

This post is part of our Friday Family Series.

Photo: W. Honea

A rental lodge on Sebago Lake, Maine.

One of the best things you can do for your family is to spend a week in the summer on Sebago Lake in Maine. I guarantee you that you will have the best family vacation you’ve ever experienced, and you will create memories that you will cherish for your entire lifetime. Indeed, I pretty much guarantee that once you visit, you’ll find yourself going back again year after year.

Sebago Lake (also known as “Big Sebago,” and yes there is a “Little Sebago”) is the second largest, and the deepest, lake in Maine. It’s located just a half-hour from Portland, making it a very convenient location to many tourist destinations and activities. It is a very popular spot in the summertime, which means you need to plan in advance to find a camp that suits your needs.

In Maine, a “camp” refers to a cottage or cabin on or near the lake. Accommodations range from the truly rustic to the truly luxurious. Many camps are not “winterized”, meaning they do not posses the construction or the insulation to be inhabited in the winter. Some camps have only the basics – a loft with bunks for sleeping, simple furnishings, and no television or internet. Other camps are really decked out with luxurious bedrooms, gourmet kitchens, television and cable and internet.

I ask you, though, who the heck wants to spend all their time indoors watching TV or on the computer when they have a lake, fireflies, campfires, canoeing, and loons beckoning outside the door?

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The Ferris Wheel at Palace Playland in Old Orchard Beach.

The Amtrak Downeaster Rail begins in Portland, Maine and ends in Boston, Massachusetts. In between there are stops in Old Orchard Beach ME, Saco ME, Wells ME, Dover NH, Durham NH, Exeter NH, Haverhill MA, and Woburn MA. For this series of articles I will expound upon the merits of each stop along the Downeaster Amtrak tour.

Old Orchard Beach is a fantastic destination for vacationing families. Indeed, it’s one of the top tourist destinations in the state and hosts a regular influx of Canadian visitors every summer. OOB, as the natives call it, is one of those places that becomes a traditional, yearly destination for visitors and locals alike.

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