One more mod post here at Pitstops for Kids!, then it will be back to normal in January! Mara over at Mother of all Trips has inspired me to write up my travel goals for the new year, and I thought I’d share them with you (with the promise that I’ll be looking for good pitstops everywhere I go!).
In 2010, we plan to travel as a family to:
1. Death Valley National Park
Zabriskie Point, Death Valley
We’ll fly to Las Vegas, then drive the rest of the way through the desert. The Furnace Creek Ranch and Inn Resort offers two locations (one significantly more upscale than the other, but both great for families).
This national park is underappreciated, in my opinion. The hiking, exploring, and learning opportunities are wonderful…and the weather in March can’t be beat! Take the kids to run up and down the sand dunes, and they’ll be tired out the rest of the day!
2. Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park
I’ve never visited this park with kids. I drove through on one whirlwind college roadtrip, and haven’t been back! We plan to drive to the park after our annual visit to Spokane, Washington, and stay to explore for 2-3 days. It’ll be a long car trip there and back, so I’ll be sure to find pitstops along the way!
3. Amtrak rail travel
Amtrak travel (from Rustic Girls website)
This goal is still tentative, but we really hope to make it a reality. After Glacier National Park in June, it would be wonderful to continue across the continental U.S. toward my sister’s house in Springfield, MA. Maybe we could do so in a combination of planes, trains, and automobiles? There are some logistical challenges to this plan, so I wonder…can we orchestrate such an itinerary between now and then? I hope so! I’d love to write up a significant review on Amtrak travel with kids; there’s very little to read about it!
4. Nantucket, MA
Nantucket, Massachusetts
If we do attempt the cross-country trek, we may well end up on beautiful Nantucket, where we haven’t visited since 2006. It would be lovely to see the Jetties beach again, the cobbled town, and feed some sea turtles (random trivia: they like chicken drumsticks!).
While in the Northeast, I’d love to show the kids Boston and maybe even some of eastern Canada.
I also hope to spend time this winter at several ski resorts across the Northwest, plan to drive from Oregon to Southern California as we do annually in late July, and hope to explore more of the Oregon coast’s camping opportunities. I also plan to make it to the Oregon Caves National Monument, because it’s right in our backyard and a shame we haven’t explored it!
Someday, I’ll get to tropical waters and back overseas (and back to Disney World!), but today, that’s still a dream!
Now you know where I’m headed! Where are you planning to take your family in 2010? Wherever you go, happy planning! Be sure to return to Pitstops for Kids! to share your reviews, and most importantly, have a wonderful time traveling!
For more travel dreaming and planning ideas, visit Mondays are for Dreaming at Mother of all Trips!
I’ve always wanted to go to Glacier too – someday I will get my western national parks tour…some day.
I’m curious about the train idea and am almost wondering if you could sell writing about it to someone. Can it be done? I’d like to know. And if you are heading that way, you’ll pass right through my territory if you want to make a pitstop there.
And Nantucket is the best.
Thanks for sharing your travel plans! Sounds exciting!
I’d love to hear about Amtrak with kids. My daughter loves trains, so it’s something I’d like to do in the future when she’s a little older.
Wow that’s an ambitious itinerary. I’m impressed! Look forward to reading all about it.
I’m looking forward to writing about it all! Thanks for stopping by!
Writing a review of Amtrak sparked my interest because in researching it, I found very little about it! I’d love to do an extensive review so other parents have more to go on when deciding whether train travel is right for them!
I’ll be sure to let you know if we end up near you! I’ll need some pitstop ideas! I’ve contacted Amtrak about writing a review, because I’ve found very little in the way of train travel reviews and would love to shed some light on it! We’ll see if they’re interested! We’re trying to see as many of the western National Parks as possible, but I really want to see some East Coast attractions someday! My kids have never seen the eastern cities. I hope to take them to at least Boston this summer.