<p>We live on the west coast. One of my kids is attending a summer program in New York city. We are thinking we might fly out to meet him at the end of his program and go somewhere from there.
Any ideas?</p>
<p>Cape Cod. Coastal Maine. The Lakes Region of New Hampshire.</p>
<p>This is all assuming you like water. More info about what you like would help.</p>
<p>I’d stay in NYC - you can live a lifetime in Manhattan and still not take everything in.</p>
<p>Boston, Philadelphia, New York…</p>
<p>Montauk, Sag Harbour, Cooperstown (BBall Hall of fame)</p>
<p>The White Mountains in NH, the Green Mountains in VT, or Washington DC and the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah N.P. in Virginia (after seeing Manhattan of course). Maybe you can tell that our family likes mountains more than water!</p>
<p>Go out to the Hamptons (LI),or go (5 hrs.) to Nantucket Island, Ma.</p>
<p>I second (third?) the Maine coast. Some of the cities like Boston and DC are likely to be quite muggy in the summer.</p>
<p>Go north!</p>
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<p>I’m with Katlia…it depends entirely on how much time you have, but if you haven’t already done so, spending a few days in NYC is very entertaining…you can stand in the half-price ticket lines each day in Times Square to get 1/2-price Broadway tickets, do the Empire State thing, do a boat-tour of the city (including going by Ellis Island), go to Central Park…</p>
<p>I also recommend spending all if not most of the time in NYC. There’s just an overwhelming amount of things to see and do. </p>
<p>You might want to consider going to Washington from there, but, it’s three to five hours on Amtrak depending on if you take the Acela, and, it might be boring if you go when congress is on recess. Boston would be very interesting and fun though regardless of when you go.</p>
<p>There is a lot to see and do in Washington DC that has nothing to do with whether Congress is in session or not, and almost all of it is FREE! The Smithsonian, the National Zoo, the monuments, the Capitol building, the White House, and many others!</p>
<p>How about a couple of days in NYC, and then continue either to Washington DC, or Cape Cod. I just love Cape Cod in the summer. Warning, walking between the sights in DC during the summer can slow you down–it’s hot. You could also go to Hershey, PA and the Lancaster area (PA Dutch Country). I guess it boils down to what type a vacation you might prefer. That part of PA would be about a 3 hour drive (maybe 3.5) from NYC.</p>
<p>You are getting a combination of city/culture suggestions, beach suggestions, and scenic area suggestions. </p>
<p>If you tell us what kind of vacation you are thinking of, it will help us as far as providing ideas.</p>
<p>The Hamptons out on LI are nice but the drive from NYC out there can be outrageous especially during summer weekends. Agree of Mof2, give us a clue.</p>
<p>I am not sure what we want. Taking into account 3 kids plus my husband it is hard to come up with something that they can all agree on.
I know my husband has no desire to do NYC with 2 girls who love shopping. Plus the heat is a turn off.
I am concerned about the heat. Otherwise DC sounds great. We have been to Boston.
How crowded will Cape Cod or Maine be? Would it be best to rent a car and drive?
We live at the beach but I would think that the beaches would be different. A combo of scenic/beach might fit the bill.
We have a week or two of time available. It would be the first week of August.</p>
<p>I found that Manchester, NH was a great place to fly into to rent a car and get out of Dodge and into some beautiful countryside: Maine, NH and Vermont.</p>
<p>If you are into nature and scenery, the scenery (mountains and forests) of the Northeast are quite different from the West, so you might enjoy the White Mountains in NH or the Green Mountains in Vermont. And Acadia National Park in Maine is really beautiful (in good weather).</p>
<p>Western Mass Berkshire region (Lenox, Stockbridge, etc.): Tanglewood (summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchest.), Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival, Regional professional summerTheaters, Williamstown Clark Museum and Theater festival, Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, misc art museums. Day trip to Dutchess County NY - Franklin Roosevelt Home, Culinary Institute of America. Sunday NY Times Real Estate section often lists homes available in the Berkshires for weekly rental. Also, many nice B&B’s as well as standard hotels.</p>
<p>Cooperstown - Leatherstocking Region. Baseball Hall of Fame, Glimmerglass Opera, regional professional theater. If money is no object, Otesaga Resort in Cooperstown is very nice. Hall of Fame induction is late July…so, while early August will be busy, should be able to find a place to stay.</p>
<p>Long Beach Island or Atlantic City + Philadelphia. Philly is closer to NYC than DC, and can be hot…but shouldn’t be quite as bad as DC, and not as hustle-bustle as NYC. New Constitution museum is excellent. Also Franklin Institute (“practical” science museum), Art Museum (steps made famous by Rocky movie!), Rodin Museum, Independence Hall etc. Most are air conditioned. Maybe the Philly’s will be playing at home when you’re in town. If your family likes amusement parks, there is a Six Flags and Sesame Place, each within an hour of Philly…nothing special in terms of amusement parks, though.</p>
<p>If you don’t don’t like crowds Vermont is lovely in the summer. You can hike the Long Trail and if the weather is warm swimming holes in the Mad River are lovely. DC is tops for museums, both in quality and variety. The Gloucester/Cape Ann area north of Boston aren’t quite as crowded as Cape Cod. Water can be rather chilly though.</p>
<p>Mom60 said she thought beaches would be different on the East coast than in California, and might like to go to the beach. She is correct - New Jersey and surrounding states have beautiful wide sandy beaches and warmer water than California. So a day or more at the Jersey shore (or Delaware, etc.) would be a good idea. There are many different places to go depending on the atmosphere you want.</p>