What was your best vacation in the U.S. ....

[Kitty 34]

San Antonio, TX

 

[Mom2DDs]

Trip to the SW a couple of years ago, we started in Denver, Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde, 5 Corners, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Arches, Canyonlands, Aspen and any state park we passed on the way to those National Parks (we had explored Rocky Mountain National Park on an earlier trip). It took us 15 days, drove over 2,500 miles with 2 teenage daughters and it was a great trip - we went rock climbing, hiking, white-water rafting, saw a rodeo (my then 14 year old DD favorite), ate at hole-in-wall places as well as some 4 to 5 star restaurants. It was worth every mile since we talked throughout the drive with the girls!

 

[Shanti]

Hawaii and Mount Desert Island, Maine

 

[Tikitoi]

When I was younger, my parents packed up our camping trailer and took us on a tour of National Parks. We saw *lots* of parks -- everything from the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, the Rockies, etc. Some days were a lot of driving (one day we drove 21 hours) with not much to do, but some days were amazing. I think we were gone for 2-1/2 weeks.

One day after a hot morning of hiking and sightseeing in Zion National Park, my dad let us stop for milk shakes (that was a treat!). And our campsite there had a creek running next to it and my sister and I got to play in the creek. And nobody was particularly hungry for dinner (which my mom usually cooked in the camper), so we made Jiffy Pop popcorn over the campfire. It was *the best* afternoon. My sister and I still talk about it 30+ years later. "Remember that time we got to have milkshakes and popcorn for dinner!?!"

I'm taking my own kids/husband out there this summer. None of them have ever been west of St. Louis. We're not camping (we're flying out an hoteling it -- my husband is not a 'roughing it' kind of guy) but hopefully we'll be able to make some great memories anyhow. I'm excited.

Those definitely sound like awesome memories.

Alaska. It was amazing and beautiful.

Would love to see some of Alaska someday. But probably be by cruise ship for me. Just to at least walk one of the suspension bridge there..lol

 

[Planogirl]

San Diego, Colorado Rockies and the Arkansas Ozarks are all great. We like San Antonio but it was so crowded last time that I will search for a quieter time of year in the future.

 

[rastahomie]

In 2004 Les and I flew out to California to spend a week with some family out there. Besides spending time with my aunt, uncle, cousin, and her kids, we also had incredible food at Sweet Fanny Ann's in Old Sac, traipsed all over San Francisco and saw Alcatraz, and checked out Yosemite (which is freaking amazing). My uncle also introduced me to a form of recreation that I had never tried before, but that made me regret all those years of being too afraid to try it.

 

[Kimberly9701]

Would love to do the FL Keys one day.



Have been to N.O. for Mardi Gras and enjoyed that as well. I see lots of votes for Hawaii so far. Will put that on my list.

Definitely do the Keys, specifically Key West! There's so much more to do there than what most people even realize! It's like my second home

 

[Kimberly9701]

Trip to the SW a couple of years ago, we started in Denver, Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde, 5 Corners, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Arches, Canyonlands, Aspen and any state park we passed on the way to those National Parks (we had explored Rocky Mountain National Park on an earlier trip). It took us 15 days, drove over 2,500 miles with 2 teenage daughters and it was a great trip - we went rock climbing, hiking, white-water rafting, saw a rodeo (my then 14 year old DD favorite), ate at hole-in-wall places as well as some 4 to 5 star restaurants. It was worth every mile since we talked throughout the drive with the girls!

That sounds great!

 

[dotfurio]

My favorite trip was a road trip we did through AZ, CO, UT, and NV. We visited Lake Powell, Grand Canyon, Four Corners, Mesa Verde, Goblin Valley, Arches, and Bryce Canyon. We were supposed to see Zion but there was huge fire in the park so we skipped it. Ended up with a couple days in Vegas. That's a trip I'd love to do again when YDD is older and calmer.

 

[Tikitoi]

Definitely do the Keys, specifically Key West! There's so much more to do there than what most people even realize! It's like my second home

Yes! I would actually like to do Key West and Miami...

 

[Mirielle]

Charleston

 

[sk!mom]

Hawaii, hands down best trip. Maybe ever- not just US.

We also loved NYC with the family and Vegas as a couple. SoCal was fun too. San Antonio is a favorite for quick weekend get aways.

We enjoy Colorado but it isn't on par with the others.

 

[lesliekatya]

Best couples trip - New Orleans
Best family trip - Road trip to Mount Rushmore

 

[KNJWDW]

Without kids - Maui

With kids - Gulf Shores, AL

 

[JavaDuck]

My favorite vacation would be the one that took almost 10 years to learn the destination. When the post-office issued the series of US state stamps, we kept the list of the state names that were listed on the back. We decided that we would start crossing of names of states that we saw on car license plates and we would visit the state that we found last. Since we live in Washington, we quickly found the states on the west coast. Over the years, we would slowly eliminate a state or two. We finally narrowed the list down to three: Delaware, West Virginia, and Maryland. At about 9 years of searching, we finally saw Delaware. Then the following year, we saw West Virginia. At that time we decided that summer we would do a 3 day trip through Maryland followed by a few days in DC. So that summer, we visited Baltimore, Ocean City, and Annapolis. Maryland was a state we both would have never have visited, but we are both glad we did. We loved the trip so much, we have started the list again and now are down to about 8 states. Interestingly, the first state we found when we started the new list was Maryland.

 

[Tikitoi]

Just to say Thanks everyone for your responses. I love reading about travel experiences as well as getting ideas for places to visit. I certainly love Disney as much as the next person on this board but I also love going to see other places.

 

[aprilgail]

The only place we went on our road trip that we really didn't care for at all was San Antonio and Dallas- actually we didn't care much for Texas at all.

 

[antmaril]

Can't really choose just one. I have enjoyed all of my vacations.

Top three

Family trip to San Diego
30th Anniversary trip to Vail, Colorado
Cruise to Alaska with my cousin

 

[ronandannette]

Um, if it has to be 100% non-Disney related I guess I'll say the few days we spent driving down the Keys before a cruise. We've been to Hawaii and Alaska too and enjoyed them, but weren't as wowed by either destination as many seem to be.

 

[barkley]

hands down-Alaska.

just the most stunning place to see, and I highly recommend if anyone considers a visit there they budget in a helicopter ride-just amazing.