Nursing Fun!

Congrats on finishing your education! First year is always stressful.

For the winter, I have found Gatlinburg TN to be very nice. We stay in a cabin with a fireplace, hot tub, TV and games such as fooseball and pool for the kids. It usually runs about $110 per night and many of the rental agencies offer specials such as three nights for the price of two or seven for the price of six. Plus, you can save money by cooking your own meals.

Go to the Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce website to check out special offers and for links to rental agency websites.

If you want snow, come to the Northeast. Particularly New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. We have lots of ski resorts, bed and breakfasts, etc. New England winters can be tough (really cold!) but it really is quite beautiful here.

Im from Canada, Edmonton, alberta. Its probably much farther north than you want to go, but I would recomend going to Banff. If you fly into Calgary, Banff is only 1 hr away by driving. Theres quite few ski resorts there in the mountains, the scenery is beautiful, there is quite a bit to do. You can ski, take a gondola up to scenic points on some mountains, you can take a tour onto a glacier, go to the hotsprings. Lots of wildlife. You will usually see mountain goats, on the side of the road when you drive in to the mountains. I recomend the area because i live near there and we go frequently, whether its skiing in the winter, or camping in summer. Garunteed to see snow in winter. The hotels are more pricey in Banff national park, but the town Canmore, is just outside the park and is much more reasonable. I know you live far away, but since I live in this area, I thought I would put in my 2 cents.

Vacation? What's that?

Joking aside...

I'm trying to plan a trip to either Galveston area (depending on what kind of damage is caused there by hurricanes) in the next several years; I want to take the kids to the ocean but want to wait until the baby is old enough that he'll have some memory of the trip (he's two now). My husband and I both have horror stories about family road trips and want a chance to inflict the damage on our kids as well.

I'm thinking about trying to take the kids to Branson either this summer or next...it'd be a few hours in the car to get there, but I figure with all the attractions they'd enjoy it there.

We go camping every summer about 1 1/2 hours away from us. The kids love it and usually start asking how much longer to wait around February! It's like a mini family reunion, most of hubby's family goes and we usually have around 30 people down there.

We live near Missouri wine country, so for our anniversary this year (it'll be five years, how time has flown!) I'm toying around with the idea of schlepping the kids off to grandma's house and having hubby and I have a romantic weekend in a B&B at or near a winery.

I have a few dream vacations I daydream about taking with hubby... I'd like to go to New Orleans for our tenth anniversary (it's where we honeymooned). For foreign travel, I drool about going to Ireland and to the UK...I went to London when in high school and would love to go back and share it with my husband.

I have found that the best family vacations we have are always the most simple---the ones that stress out mom and dad the least. Doing something close enough that there are no killer road trips and not over-planning. Disneyland, while fun, is always stressful with the crowds and the unexpected expenses. The simple camping, beach, mountain, etc. vacations where we all just hung out together, had fun, played games and enjoyed some stress free family time are the ones my kids remember with the most pleasure and nostalgia.

I think next year will be a lake vacation in Idaho with a one day trip to Silverwood Theme Park then back on the water ski's!!! :)

OK. So I have finished school and I have vowed to make this Christmas a special one for myself, husband and the kids.

As a new grad on my floor, it has been very challenging and stressful. But on this thread, I'd rather talk about the good stuff. I want to know where do you all go for vacation? winter and summer? How did you enjoy it? I live in Georgia and my kids have yet to see real snow. I was thinking of going to the north Georgia Mountains, but its not guarenteed to snow. There are no ski resorts here. I have no idea what I am doing in planning this. I have never flew on a plane or went any further than Alabama and Tennesee. I just want my family to relax and have fun. All the websites I google just confuse me. I thought about going to Disney next summer, but I just don't know the first thing to ensure that my family will have a great time. Any suggestions. I heard about timeshares, but I don't understand those either. Help! I don't know if we could upload pic's but that would be nice.:wink2:

My family has gone to the Pocono Mountains in Pa in the winter-check out the Great Wold Lodge.It isn't cheap but I have heard it's a blast.It's got a huge indoor water park and themed rooms and suites.When you have had enough of the cold you can go in and play.If you can't ski you can snow tube-it's a blast. We have also been to Disney World many times-I recommend the website allearsnet.com. You register for free and can plan your trip-lots of tips,up dated schedules and things (the best days of the week to visit each park,deals,etc) I stay away from Disney in the summer-can't take that heat.We go in Jan or Feb.It's a busy trip and you have to remind yourself that you don't need to see everything at once because you'll all be exhausted and cranky.You can save alot of money if you really do your research on the net but my advice-work and save and don't scimp because you will make memories for a life time (sounds cheesy,I know but it really is my Happy Place) It's easy with the internet to research and plan trips and even tips for first time flyers are out there for you...When our son was younger we took short trips (like long weekends or midweek) and went to places like NYC,Washington DC or Baltimore Md..Every city has a website detailing the area and the activites it's known for.We have never had a problem with online reservations -just remember to print out and save every thing. have fun!

OK. So I have finished school and I have vowed to make this Christmas a special one for myself, husband and the kids.

As a new grad on my floor, it has been very challenging and stressful. But on this thread, I'd rather talk about the good stuff. I want to know where do you all go for vacation? winter and summer? How did you enjoy it? I live in Georgia and my kids have yet to see real snow. I was thinking of going to the north Georgia Mountains, but its not guarenteed to snow. There are no ski resorts here. I have no idea what I am doing in planning this. I have never flew on a plane or went any further than Alabama and Tennesee. I just want my family to relax and have fun. All the websites I google just confuse me. I thought about going to Disney next summer, but I just don't know the first thing to ensure that my family will have a great time. Any suggestions. I heard about timeshares, but I don't understand those either. Help! I don't know if we could upload pic's but that would be nice.:wink2:

I just got back from a wonderful vacation that spanned Phoenix, San Diego, and Los Angeles. The weather in those areas is awesome at this time of the year. My favorite places in the US are the southwest (native of Arizona) and the northeast. If you want snow, I'd go to Boston or Denver myself.

Travel around, now that you're not tied to the demands of nursing school. If I could afford it, I'd buy a truck and an Airstream trailer and just live on the great freeways of America myself.

Vacations don't have to be expensive either. I had a fine time in California on a limited budget - I went to Universal Studios, Knott's Berry Farm, and Disneyland. Ask around your neighborhood to get some suggestions, or maybe ask people in the area if they can make some recommendations.

I went to Disney world and I planned the trip using Expedia.com we got everything included with the exception of food. You may want to see about just getting discount tickets to the parks. We got the park hopper which allowed us to go to all the disney parks, their water parks and mini golf and such. We also added on universal studios and sea world. We had a plast.

With kids you gotta do Disney! ! ! Stay inside the park, use park transportation (bus, tram, boat, whatever is available), go early (one park opens early each day to people who are staying in the park) and come back to your room and rest in the afternoons then go again and stay until the park closes.

Expensive YES! but one of our best vacations ever. As far as crowds and unexpected expenses... Keep this as your mantra... "It's all part of the experience!"

Whatever you do... have fun. Those kids will be grown and gone before you know it.

we always went to the catskills or lake george NY or hunter mountain in NY for christmas... i still wished we lived back in upstate NY , i really miss it...

i would love to live in the Capital district again...

keep us posted on your plans... hard to believe christmas is so close.. we are just putting up our hollween decorations now... time flies fast

Thank you all for your comments and information. I cannot go to the mountains this Christmas because all of the cabins are booked already. I was researching and finally made up my mind and they are booked. Its not even Thanksgiving yet. I am definitely going to do Disney this summer. And with this winter experience, I had better get a head start with the plans. I researched Gatlinberg, Tn. It looks so fun out there, its a lot for the kids to do, and its not that far from home. So, I am still thining about that for this winter.:loveya: