Holly IN Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Well Florida vacation is OUT OUT OUT for this year. We have a major vehicle repairs to be made that will break our budget for this year of 2012. :rolleyes: We live in Indiana. Willing to travel and visit historical sites. Criterias: 1) numerous places to visit in one area 2) either hotels or condos (condos are our preference) 3) need to be relaxing but fun stuff like biking or something 4) maybe an amusement park on the way or in area to visit for one day (maybe not amusemnet park but interactive museum is possible) I hope we didn't narrow it down too much. Just need some ideas. East, West, South or North....it doesn't matter. We did think about visiting Pennsylvania to visit Civil War stuff. Anything goes really at this point. Proabably no more than 12 hour drive for us due to cost in gas. We will be gone for one week so would love to spend less time on road travel if possible. Thanks!! Holly (this vehicle repair will also prevent me from going to Cincy convention this year...boo hoo!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwjx2khsmj Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 You've got all that in Indiana. The Indianapolis area and Turkey Run State Park are great vacation destinations. Jeffersonville, Indiana/Louisville, Kentucky would be another great choice. Both areas have lots of everything you are looking for and close to home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsmama Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Williamsburg, VA has all of what you requested -- but it would be a long drive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted January 1, 2012 Author Share Posted January 1, 2012 I know Indianapolis has all of this. We live 30 min away from Indy. We want to visit someplace new. We already been to Turkey Run. :) Also been to Kentucky....My relatives live there. We visited Louisville numerous times. Williamsburg: We never been there. Will put that on our list to consider. :) It is a long drive so will have to see if it fits our budget. Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwjx2khsmj Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 I kind of thought you might have seen it but you never know what people overlook in their own backyards. What about the Chicago area and Wisconsin Dells? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 We live in Southern Indiana too and Williamsburg was my thought for your criteria. For us it was less than a day's drive--maybe 10 hours and interstate all the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 (edited) I'd look on VRBO for condos near Williamsburg, VA - can drive to Monticello, Jamestown, Yorktown, more of a haul to Mt. Vernon, D.C. perhaps - and of course Williamsburg. I think anywhere in the East is going to be near tons of historical stuff! There is a Busch Gardens by Williamsburg, too, I believe (we didn't let the kids know about it so they didn't ask ;-) since we already have Six Flags norht of Chicago. Or - Nashville, TN. Lots to see/do there, too. We have done both areas from Illinois. If you did the Dells (bleah - I dislike them but the kids love a good waterpark) there is also Old World Wisconsin, which is cool, and Baraboo for Circus stuff. And you could hit Chicago on the way coming or going. With Six Flags in Gurnee, of course. Edited January 1, 2012 by JFSinIL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennsmile Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 (edited) You said historical places, somewhere to relax. I would head over to Nauvoo, IL. It isn't a giant bustling city but there are tons of historical sites that explain what life was like in 1840's. There are bike trails and the other things as well. No amusement park there but there is Six Flags 4 hours away in St. Louis. I know there are are sorts of places to stay, private homes, condos, camping and motels and bed and breakfasts. Most of the places to shop dine are local. So don't expect McDonald or anything of that nature unless things have changed. ;) Did I mention the cost of visiting all the sites is free? So you would only have to pay for lodging and dining. There is one small grocery store in town or you can drive across the river to Keokuk and they have larger stores. Edited January 1, 2012 by jennsmile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 How about West Michigan? Grand Rapids has several nice museums--art, public, and Ford museum. There is the Fredrick Meijer gardens and sculpture park. Holland has a very nice beach and lighthouse. Grand Haven has a wonderful beach and waterfront boardwalk, the musical fountain at night, trolleys that take you from place to place, etc. Then Muskegon has Michigan's Adventure which is an amusement park with water park all in 1 that is not too expensive. No big huge historical things but lots more calm, relaxing historical things, state parks to explore, etc. If you stayed in the Grand Haven area you could easily hit Grand Rapids (about 45 minute drive), Holland (about 30 minutes), Michigan's Adventure (about 40 minutes) and even head up to Silver Lake (about an hour) do to the dune rides, etc. We are in this area so if you decide to head this way we can help steer you to lots of fun little local things to do that are lower cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted January 1, 2012 Author Share Posted January 1, 2012 Wow!! What great suggestions!! We will have to check these suggestions out. Thanks!! Keep them coming... Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 . If you did the Dells (bleah - I dislike them but the kids love a good waterpark) there is also Old World Wisconsin, which is cool, and Baraboo for Circus stuff. And you could hit Chicago on the way coming or going. With Six Flags in Gurnee, of course. Where would you stay at the Dells? What do you recommend doing there? btw I did find the tourism site for the Dells...just want word of mouth recommendation here. ;) Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 I would head over to Nauvoo, IL. It isn't a giant bustling city but there are tons of historical sites that explain what life was like in 1840's. There are bike trails and the other things as well. No amusement park there but there is Six Flags 4 hours away in St. Louis. Sounds heavenly!!!! Wow! I know there are are sorts of places to stay, private homes, condos, camping and motels and bed and breakfasts. Most of the places to shop dine are local. So don't expect McDonald or anything of that nature unless things have changed. ;) Exactly what we would want...more of a mom/pop feel than the McD stuff....LOL Did I mention the cost of visiting all the sites is free? Major PLUS!!! So you would only have to pay for lodging and dining. There is one small grocery store in town or you can drive across the river to Keokuk and they have larger stores. Could you recommend a place to stay that you know of??We are considering even bed and breakfast places. Could you post a link to a website? I did find one but not sure if it is it here is the one we found via search http://www.beautifulnauvoo.com/ ... Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) How about West Michigan? Grand Rapids has several nice museums--art, public, and Ford museum. There is the Fredrick Meijer gardens and sculpture park. Holland has a very nice beach and lighthouse.Hubby would love this!! He loves lighthouses!! Grand Haven has a wonderful beach and waterfront boardwalk, the musical fountain at night, trolleys that take you from place to place, etc.trolleys would be a big plus for us Then Muskegon has Michigan's Adventure which is an amusement park with water park all in 1 that is not too expensive. No big huge historical things but lots more calm, relaxing historical things, state parks to explore, etc. If you stayed in the Grand Haven area you could easily hit Grand Rapids (about 45 minute drive), Holland (about 30 minutes), Michigan's Adventure (about 40 minutes) and even head up to Silver Lake (about an hour) do to the dune rides, etc. We are in this area so if you decide to head this way we can help steer you to lots of fun little local things to do that are lower cost. Are there websites to help us explore this option? It seems the best thing is to stay at Grand haven then travel to the surrounding cities.... Will have to check this option out... Thanks! Holly who is off to search for websites of your suggestions. ETA: When is the best time to go here? We have a 10 week time frame from June 1st to Aug 1st sadly. However we probably won't swim in the water due to high drowning incidents there. (kid I graduated with drowned there so it brings bad vibe to me...:) ) Edited January 2, 2012 by Holly IN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angel marie Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 we did a revolutionary war tour in spring of 2010 and had a fantastic time. we flew into boston and did all the stuff around there. then took train to philadelphia and did all that stuff. it was great. i rent off of vrbo and don't stay in hotels anymore. we stayed in great places. good luck deciding! angel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 we did a revolutionary war tour in spring of 2010 and had a fantastic time. we flew into boston and did all the stuff around there. then took train to philadelphia and did all that stuff. it was great. i rent off of vrbo and don't stay in hotels anymore. we stayed in great places. good luck deciding! angel Thanks!! :) I have a very hard time going with vrbo. I know so many of you recommend this. Still scary though. I do not like hotels either. I prefer either Bed/Breakfast run by mom/pop or Condos. :) Will have to check into the vrbo more and research this more. How do you tell it is safe and it is really what it is?? Holly (who has watched too many scary movies growing up...LOL) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Here are a few websites. Grand Rapids area: http://www.meijergardens.org/ Meijer Gardens and sculpture park http://www.grmuseum.org/ Public Museum http://www.ford.utexas.edu/museum/aboutmus.asp Ford Museum There are also lots of other cultural things to do in the area depending on your interest. Also a zoo downtown. Michigan Adventure http://www.miadventure.com/ http://www.dnr.state.mi.us/parksandtrails/images/parknav/muskegonarea.htm Local state parks/beaches....Holland and Grand Haven have lighthouses. Hoffmaster has nice hiking trails. Holland and Grand Haven have some of the nicest beaches around. Grand Haven area http://www.visitgrandhaven.com/ http://www.visitgrandhaven.com/top-10-15/ shows the top 10 things to do I would say that Grand Haven would be quite central to most things, esp. if you don't want to change hotel/lodging during your vacation. I could point you to some great local eateries, tips on where to go, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmvaughan4 Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 I'm about 20 minutes from Indianapolis. We went to Charleston/Savannah on our honeymoon. We've also visited New Orleans. I went to college in Philadelphia and loved it. I can't wait to take DS there. Hershey Park is close to Philadelphia, I'm not sure about amusement parks near the other two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennsmile Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) Could you recommend a place to stay that you know of??We are considering even bed and breakfast places. Could you post a link to a website? I did find one but not sure if it is it here is the one we found via search http://www.beautifulnauvoo.com/ ... Holly That is one site. Here is another site. http://www.historicnauvoo.net/ As for lodging. When I was younger we would drive from St. Louis up so we never spent the night in town. Sometimes we would stay in a hotel in Keokuk, IA. When we were older we were in the evening show and spent 2 weeks there in cabins (very rustic, think plywood and bunks, walking to a shower house) at http://www.campnauvoo.org. But we were with most of the cast so it was a blast. I loved it as it was a little off the beaten path but still walking distance if we wanted to town. My friends family used to own the http://www.nauvoofamilyinn.com/. It is closer to town and nice. These are new cabins but I have never seen or stayed there. http://www.nauvoologcabins.com/ There is a state park if you want to Camp or RV. One of my friends stayed here one year. http://www.hotelnauvoo.com/ I would try to stick to places closer to town if you want to bike around. Here is a map with other places. http://www.seenauvoo.com/?page_id=28 Bikes are a blast in Nauvoo as most everything is within biking distance and pretty flat, except for the hill up to the temple and the modern town. But then it flattens out again. The one trail I have never taken takes you to Carthage jail. Edited January 2, 2012 by jennsmile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) Where would you stay at the Dells? What do you recommend doing there?btw I did find the tourism site for the Dells...just want word of mouth recommendation here. ;) Holly We only ever stay at the Kalahari - huge indoor and massive outdoor pool complexes. A couple days is all we need there. We just go for the swimming. Otherwise Dells not our cuppa tea (we did Ducks once and they stopped the vehicle in the middle of nowhere to try and sell postcards, etc. Annoying.) Edited January 2, 2012 by JFSinIL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Just chiming in on the Williamsburg idea. We went in 2010--had to fly there from OR but were able to stay in a relative's timeshare. In our 7 days there, we saw Williamsburg, Yorktown, Jamestown (historic triangle pass gets you in to all three at any time for 1 week), Washington D.C. (drive plus metro), Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania (1-day--these are all close together with a shared park service map. Fantastic park rangers explain the battles), and Richmond. It was a fabulous trip. We're all history buffs, so that was enough for us, but there is also an amusement park in Williamsburg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 On the Williamsburg idea: How much are the passes for the triangle parks that Ali in Or mentioned? I can see we can hit certain spots on the way there. Does it take one week to get through all three spots (Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown)? Are there any condos worth looking into in this area or even Bed Breakfast? We are Revolutionary War buff. We do love Civil War stuff but Revolutionary War is our thing. Are there any lighthouse areas we can visit in that area? Hubby loves light houses!! Just worried about the budget on the Williamsburg idea. I am sure we can do it cheaper by staying in hotels. It would mean we have to eat out more. Which brings the food up... In this area, are there any mom/pop restaurants or all fast food stuff? Thanks!! Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 Another question: Any spots in the west?? beyond Illinois?? Just trying to get variety of suggestions. :D Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 We like all the caves in the southeastern corner of Indiana. They are all within about an hour of each other and some are on or near state parks where you could camp, as well. Falls of the Ohio, right across the river from Louisville, has terrific geological formations and information, too. (George Rogers Clark lived in that area, too....) In the same little town with the Falls is Schimpf's Candy Store - a place where candy is still made by hand the old fashioned way. They do tours with notice and have a ton of old candy-making paraphenalia around the store to look at. There's also a small Steamboat museum in a nice old house just a mile down the road from the candy shop (and it's across from the shipyards, so you can see them working there).... Cross the river and go visit the U.S. army corp's locks that were built to bypass the falls. In the same area, on main street in downtown Louisville, is an area with so many museums that it has been dubbed "museum row". There's the Louisville Science Center, The Frazier International History Museum, The Louisville Slugger Museum, Glassworks (featuring both types of blown as well as architectural glass), and I believe there's also a craft museum (which I've never managed to go to yet), and perhaps one or two more in that same couple of blocks.... Just a short distance away from there is Louisville's "Edison House". This is a small house where Edison lived while he was in Louisville. It is filled with many of his inventions and they run numerous films about him and created by him (he was one of the first to invent movies).... Close to there is a place that still makes pottery by hand (Hadley). I don't know if they will still do tours, or not.... Of course, you can also tour the Kentucky Derby museum, etc. if interested in that.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farouk Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Here are a few websites. Grand Rapids area: http://www.meijergardens.org/ Meijer Gardens and sculpture park http://www.grmuseum.org/ Public Museum http://www.ford.utexas.edu/museum/aboutmus.asp Ford Museum There are also lots of other cultural things to do in the area depending on your interest. Also a zoo downtown. Michigan Adventure http://www.miadventure.com/ http://www.dnr.state.mi.us/parksandtrails/images/parknav/muskegonarea.htm Local state parks/beaches....Holland and Grand Haven have lighthouses. Hoffmaster has nice hiking trails. Holland and Grand Haven have some of the nicest beaches around. Grand Haven area http://www.visitgrandhaven.com/ http://www.visitgrandhaven.com/top-10-15/ shows the top 10 things to do I would say that Grand Haven would be quite central to most things, esp. if you don't want to change hotel/lodging during your vacation. I could point you to some great local eateries, tips on where to go, etc. Ottakee: Isn't the Gerald Ford historic residence in Grand Rapids, as well? would be interesting, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angel marie Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Thanks!! :) I have a very hard time going with vrbo. I know so many of you recommend this. Still scary though. I do not like hotels either. I prefer either Bed/Breakfast run by mom/pop or Condos. :) Will have to check into the vrbo more and research this more. How do you tell it is safe and it is really what it is?? Holly (who has watched too many scary movies growing up...LOL) i know what you are saying about the scariness of renting on internet, BUT we have probably rented places on vrbo about 16 times, and i have never had a bad experience. the places were awesome. we even rented a place in jamaica for christmas last year. omg, it was so great. i look at the regular red flags....broken up english in the description, misspells, too good to be true pricing. i look at reviews too, and see the billing system. most of time, i just pay a small reserve fee, and pay balance when i arrive. the places in nyc that been awesome. i have also stayed in florida. if you ever decide to do a revolution trip, i would be happy to let you know where we stayed, and tour companies we used. we had private tour guides that picked us up from our apartments, condos, etc... angel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farouk Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 We like all the caves in the southeastern corner of Indiana. They are all within about an hour of each other and some are on or near state parks where you could camp, as well. Falls of the Ohio, right across the river from Louisville, has terrific geological formations and information, too. (George Rogers Clark lived in that area, too....) In the same little town with the Falls is Schimpf's Candy Store - a place where candy is still made by hand the old fashioned way. They do tours with notice and have a ton of old candy-making paraphenalia around the store to look at. There's also a small Steamboat museum in a nice old house just a mile down the road from the candy shop (and it's across from the shipyards, so you can see them working there).... Cross the river and go visit the U.S. army corp's locks that were built to bypass the falls. In the same area, on main street in downtown Louisville, is an area with so many museums that it has been dubbed "museum row". There's the Louisville Science Center, The Frazier International History Museum, The Louisville Slugger Museum, Glassworks (featuring both types of blown as well as architectural glass), and I believe there's also a craft museum (which I've never managed to go to yet), and perhaps one or two more in that same couple of blocks.... Just a short distance away from there is Louisville's "Edison House". This is a small house where Edison lived while he was in Louisville. It is filled with many of his inventions and they run numerous films about him and created by him (he was one of the first to invent movies).... Close to there is a place that still makes pottery by hand (Hadley). I don't know if they will still do tours, or not.... Of course, you can also tour the Kentucky Derby museum, etc. if interested in that.... In Indiana someplace there's the Dan Quayle Vice Presidential Museum, too (if you're actually interested, that is). Also the Michigan National Lakeshore, in the north of Indiana. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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