Five Ideas Of Great American Family Friendly Getaways

Lower Yellowstone Falls closeup. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Looking for something fun to do with your family? Getaways are always a great treat. Seeing the world, learning something new – it draws families closer and builds memories that your children will tell their children. There are many places in the United States that you can take an excursion to, whether driving for a short trip, renting an RV and driving cross-country, or flying for a weekend stay.

The sights and sounds of the United States are varied and dynamic. Our rich history, local specialties, and down home charm are sure to keep even the most seasoned travel guessing what’s next. Here are some ideas for family friendly getaways right here in the United States:

Yellowstone Park
Yellowstone National Park is the very first national park in the United States. With 2,219,789 acres to explore, you could easily spend days seeing the incredible natural displays. The wildlife alone will captivate you: several species of bear, elk, bison, and wolf call this park home. Waterfalls and hot springs are abundant in Yellowstone Park. Grand Prismatic, the third largest hot spring in the world, is particularly interesting because of its coloration, which mirrors that of a rainbow. Perhaps the biggest attraction at Yellowstone Park is the geysers. With 6 grand geysers that shoot water up to 100 feet in the air, it is easy to see why these are one of the most visited thermal features at the park. Old Faithful, the most famous geyser at Yellowstone, erupts every 45-90 minutes.

Washington DC
Museums, theater, art galleries, monuments, restaurants… the list goes on and on. Our nation’s capital offers something for everyone. Immerse yourself in history or take a scenic walk by the tidal basin. Revel in the beauty of the city’s architecture or enjoy one of the trendy restaurants that line downtown. Whatever you fancy, Washington DC can provide it in abundance.

San Francisco
From cable cars to Alcatraz, San Francisco offers unique attractions that you won’t see together anywhere else in the world. Bustling Pier 39, cobblestone roads, and some of the steepest streets in the United States round out the San Francisco experience. Tour Alcatraz, where hardened criminals like Al Capone were housed, or ride a cable car just like the ones that were in operation in the late 1800s. Interact with history.

Turner Falls
Chickasaw County, OK has something to offer every type of traveler. Outdoor activities abound, as do indoor recreation centers for family fun. Perhaps the most scenic of all attractions in Chickasaw County is Turner Falls. The water feeding into the falls forms Honey Creek just before dropping 77 feet to a natural pool. As the state’s oldest park, Turner Falls has served as a family gathering location since 1868.

The Arches
Natural wonders like you have never seen before fill this national park. With over 2,000 arches and countless other rock formations, this national park is a wonder to behold. Beautiful colors surround you as you feast your eyes rock that has been in place for thousands of years.
There are many hours to be spent traveling in the Unites States. Whether touching rock that dinosaurs saw around them, swimming in natural springs, or celebrating technology in one of the world’s cultural epicenters, treating your family to a getaway should be on your bucket list.

As a mom of 3 young boys, Shelley Warner enjoys finding fun family friendly vacations to go on annually. She recommends thefamilywithoutborders.com as a great source of inspiration that has helped her when deciding on her next travel destination.

Travel Fail

Do you ever let your kids skip school to go have a fun day? We decided to keep our kindergartner home from school one Monday and take him skiing up on Mt. Hood. It would be an opportunity to spend some quality time with him one on one. He's the youngest of three. 

We got all suited up and loaded the car and proceeded to drive an hour up to the mountain with him. When we got there the parking lot was empty. There wasn't a person in site. Ski Bowl was completely empty. We made a few phone calls and found out that they didn't open until 3 PM. We had to be one the road back home by 2 PM, so there was no way we were going to get to ski at Ski Bowl.

We drove on towards Summit ski area only to find out that they are closed all day on Mondays. Who would have thought in the middle of February during ski season there would be no where to actually ski.

We didn't drive all that way for nothing so, we went to a store in Government Camp and bought a sled and took him sledding. It turned out to be a great day, but it will be the last time we head out without checking the hours of operation. 

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• Ski Bowl - Mt. Hood

Navy Sea Cadets ages 10- 13

The Naval Sea Cadet Corps (NSCC) is a federally chartered non-profit civilian youth training organization for young people, ages 13 through graduation from high school, sponsored by the Navy League of the United States (NLUS) and supported by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. Included under the NSCC umbrella is the Navy League Cadet Corps (NLUS), a junior program for youth ages 10 to 13.


The goals of both the Cadet programs are:

-To develop an interest and ability in basic seamanship and seagoing skills;

-To instill the virtues of good citizenship and strong moral principles in each Cadet;

-To demonstrate the value of an alcohol-free, drug-free, and gang-free lifestyle

-To make each Cadet aware of the prestige of a military career and increase the advancement potential of those that serve.

Cadets attend local meetings (drills) one weekend a month, complete the same Navy Correspondence courses that regular Navy personnel take as homework, and attend two week trainings (during non school periods –fall –winter –spring –summer breaks), the first being Recruit Training Indoctrination, to advance in rate. Cadets and leaders can wear Navy style uniforms, appropriately modified with Sea Cadet insignia. Cadets can advance from E-1 (Recruit) through E-7 (Chief Petty Officer). AfterRecruit Training, there are hundreds of other training opportunities each year covering, Aviation (basic, advanced, ground and flight schools, and air traffic control), Seamanship (amphibious, port operations, special boats, search and rescue), SpecialOperations (homeland security, MAA [police sciences], mine warfare, naval intelligence, scuba, EOD/Diving, SEAL, and special operations), just to name a few.

We currently have units within the Central Gulf Coast Region (Alabama –Montgomery and south, Florida Panhandle –I-75 west and Mississippi) in Coffee Springs, AL. (Community Center), Gulfport, MS. (CBC Gulfport), Milton, FL. (NAS Whiting Field), Panama City, FL. (NSA Panama City) and Pensacola, FL. (NAS Pensacola). We also have units in Mobile, AL. (USCG Aviation Training Center), and Tallahassee, FL. (NOSC Tallahassee), that currently are inactive, and in need of unit leaders.

To learn more about these units and the Naval Sea Cadet Corps/Navy League Cadet Corps, please go to http://www.seacadets.org/.

If you are interested in helping out with one of these units, starting a unit in your area, getting a youth into the program,please contact the Sea Cadet Regional Director: LCDR Thomas Klomps, NSCC, Region63@juno.com, (850) 890 -6792