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When Halloween is over, you can repurpose your ZizzyBee bags for a number of other things. Use them to store stuff in diaper bags, back packs, luggage and more. Because they have a loop on them, you can even hang them from hooks in your home. I think they’re great for storing tub toys too. The mesh bag lets the toys dry, and since they’re washable, you can keep the toys and the bag clean.
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We want to send out a special thank you to Zizzy Bee Bags for their generous donation to us of their reusable bags.
Zizzy Bags are reusable, washable mesh travel or storage bags that come in trendy and modern designs with a zipper and easy hang or hold loop. Check them out for yourself!
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Youth Charity League is founded on the idea of easy, accessible family-friendly volunteer opportunities for everyone – regardless of socio-economic circumstances, race, or gender. We believe planting the seed of compassion and community service in young people is the hope for raising future generations of kind, collaborative, and civic-minded adults. Ones that will lead our societies in peace, prosperity, and civility. To that end, becoming a member of YCL should be affordable to all. By contributing to our scholarship fund, you ensure every family can raise the next generation of changemakers.
Hoppity Hop. The Easter Bunny is coming soon! Check out our top 10 Easter Basket gifts that are not candy. Why limit the sugary treats in your kids Easter Basket? Check this out:
Adults are advised by the WHO to only have 6 teaspoons of sugar per day:
8-16 years 5 teaspoons per day
5-8 years 4 teaspoon per day
2-5 years 3 teaspoons per day
0-2 years none
As reference, 4 grams of sugar is equal to one teaspoon of sugar.
“Just to highlight that on average kids will probably get 3 Easter eggs.
In our kid’s Easter Basket we do add the dark chocolate Dove Easter Eggs which have less sugar. In 9 eggs there are 13 grams of sugars so that’s 3.25 teaspoons of sugar.
Based on research there are links between kids’ high-sugar diets and problems with sleep, learning and emotional health, not to mention serious conditions like diabetes and fatty liver disease.” (Source: children’s health expert Michael Goran)
1 in 6 kids are obese. As parents we have a responsibility to ensure our children are healthy and learn healthy eating habits. If not, it could be a lifelong struggle for them. Of course having a treat on Easter is a must. Just watch how many treats and remember there is always the next day to have another treat.
Anyway they always say – a moment on the lips, forever on the hips. So try these Easter Treats instead of sweets:
Chanteur Kids is the best kids jewelry company with cute earrings for kids, necklaces, bracelets and more. We love Chanteur because their jewelry is non-toxic and uses no icky materials like heavy metals or carcinogens like cadmium (manufacturers could no longer use lead so they switched to cadmium which is just as dangerous!).
Chanteur has mermaids, unicorns, ballerinas, butterflies, hearts, birthstones, turtles, llamas, and many more cute jewelry for kids.
$28 regular price – sale – FREE with orders $40+ (use code EASTER) – click to shop cute earrings for kids.
EASTER SALE: Spend $40 get a free pair of bunny earrings for kids! Make sure you add at least $40 in jewelry to your cart, then add the bunny earrings you want, enter code EASTER at checkout, and $28 will be taken off your order.
For bunny Easter earrings for kids, they have two designs:
Looking for a beautiful way to connect to your child? Slumberkins is our favorite educational emotional learning products for children. Slumberkins provides resources to help you and your child connect, building confidence and tools for life. Each “comfy creature” comes with a board book and affirmation card. Their stuffed animals are stuffed with hypoallergenic fiberfill and have adorable names like Hammerhead Kin (promotes conflict resolution), Honey Bear kin (promotes gratitude), Unicorn Kin (promotes authenticity), and many more.
Our Easter pick is the Sloth Kin, which encourages healthy routine skills in children. When children realize the importance of routines, they see their day is full of structure and fun. Tools that can be continued into a successful adulthood, full of self care, routine, and independence.
$45 (Slumberkin, Board Book, & Affirmation Card)
Click to shop best stuffed animals for Easter Baskets.
I love adding useful gifts to my kid’s Easter basket and what is more useful than a cozy, warm hooded bath towel? BabyMori offers our favorite organic bunny hooded towel for toddlers. This towel is 100% organic cotton, soft and fluffy, and even has an option for personalization. Absorbs 250x more water than regular cotton! Geared toward ages 1-3, this bunny hooded towel offers a great alternative to those Easter sugary treats.
$44 – Bunny Hooded Towel for Kids
Including a craft is a perfect Easter gift. We love the paint your own wooden bunnies kid craft by Mondo Llama. This 3pk Easter Wood Bunny with Paints comes with three wooden bunnies to paint and six different pain colors. Suitable for kids age 3 and up.
If you haven’t heard or seen by now, Mondo Llama is one of Target’s own brands focused on arts and crafts products for kids and adults alike. We love that they collaborated with a diverse group of global artists to create over 70 pieces of artwork for the items’ labels – they certainly will pop from an Easter Basket!
Best part – affordable.
$4.50 – wooden bunnies with paint for kids Easter
I love adding activity books in my son’s Easter Basket so when we go out for Easter Brunch at the restaurant he has some fun things to keep him entertained at the table. This Easter Activity Book for kids is perfect for kids ages 4-8. It has a variety of activities such as mazes, dot to dot, word search, and coloring. Best of all, it’s all Easter themed.
$7.97 – Easter Activity Book for Kids
Wow, 68 pages of a downloadable completely free activity book for Easter! This free Easter activity printables book from Just Family Fun offers so much Easter fun for your kids and they will be learning at the same exact time. Math, art, and comprehension are some of the skills that are incorporated; learned through stenciling, tracing, math problems, and even an activity of “I spy.”
FREE – Easter Activity Book Printables
For younger kids, check out this personalized wooden Easter puzzle – how adorable! You can personalize, customize, and just have fun designing a perfect gift for you little one.
Sale Price: $18.44 – Personalized Name Easter Puzzle for Kids
Does your little girl just love painting those little piggies, but the thought of those chemicals make you think twice? In fact, the inventor of Piggy Paint was painting her little girl’s nails over a Styrofoam plate and the nail polish that dripped on the plate ate a hole right through it! She thought, what is this doing to kids who put their hands in their mouths often? So she invented a non-toxic, natural nail polish for kids called Piggy Paint.
This completely natural and safe nail polish for kids come in fun gift sets. The Piggy Paint Funny Bunny Gift set is an amazing Easter gift for that princess of yours. Comes with:
We love the fun names of the colors!
$19.99 – Natural Nail Polish for Kids
Listed as number one on MomLovesBest, this kid gardening set is a great gift for Easter. The set is suitable for ages 3 and up, with parts that are completely safe for kids. It includes an apron that is washable, gloves, a spray bottle, shovel, sun hat, rake, and even a bag for gardening. Perfect opportunity to show your child the beauties of nature and how to care for flowers, food, and plants.
$29.95 – Best Kids Gardening Set
We love our annual Easter egg hunt. The first thing my son does is look out in the backyard to see if the Easter Bunny has hidden any eggs.
Instead of filling the eggs with candy, we have a prize for finding all the eggs. So there’s a note from the Easter bunny that says something like:
“Hop, hop, hop! I hid a bunch of Easter eggs in your yard while you were sleeping. Hopefully you weren’t peeping!
Find 15 SMALL eggs = PRIZE #1
Find 10 LARGE eggs = PRIZE #2
I left the prizes with your parents to give to you.
Have fun!”
In our family prize one could be an Easter activity book and prize #2 could be a mini Easter Bunny LEGO set.
And we found these eco-friendly Easter eggs that open and close – and love them!
Made from non toxic materials, these eggs are designed with a material completely safe for your child, and you can choose exactly what you want to put in them; healthy candy or prizes. The Eco Friendly Easter eggs securely close, keeping that little secret of who loaded those eggs. Best part is, these eggs can be used all year round.
$10.99 – Eco Easter Eggs that open and close
We love using Zizzy Bags to collect all the eggs and even better, to store all the eggs afterwards until next year.
These reusable storage bags instead of using plastic are AMAZING! We use them daily in our home and it saves us from using 1000+ plastic bags a year!
Awarded top 10 best eco gift, ZizzyBee makes it easy to organize life’s clutter.
ENDLESS uses such as:
$22.95 – 3-pack Large Reusable Storage Bags instead of plastic
The best kids reusable water bottle that is mold resistant is from Yeti. A perfect useful gift for the Easter basket. This water bottle actually withstands the adventures of little kids, and is extremely durable. Keeping their water ice cold, Yeti water bottle designs feature a straw and prevent leakage. Both the bottle and cap are dishwasher safe, and completely BPA free. Not only that, but you know those annoying bottles where your hands get wet from the condensation? Not this Eco Water Bottle, its sweat resistant!
$25.49 – best kids reusable water bottle no mold
Aside from fun treats in the Easter basket and egg hunt, remember to get outside and play! Spring weather is so nice after a cold winter — especially where we live in the Northeast.
One more tradition at our home is we love doing an Easter themed scavenger hunt and at the end is an Easter basket that Grammy ships from out of state. I create rhyming clues and it’s super fun. Gets the kids thinking!
Above all, remember the meaning of Easter and make beautiful memories with family and friends.
If you enjoyed this round up list, please share! It helps all the small businesses that we featured in this article. Thank you.
Happy Memorial Day! The unofficial start of Summer is here — the kids are almost out of school, travel plans are on the calendar, and trips to the beach or pool will be starting. Here’s our top 10 all-time summer essentials round-up:
Remember the days of putting baby oil on to tan – I remember my mom doing this?! I’m relieved that we are being more careful when out in the sun by wearing good sunscreen, but think twice before putting your favorite sunscreen on your kids! Many sunscreens have toxic chemicals that leach right into your kids skin and bloodstream. TheEveryGirl just released a great article of the best non-toxic sunscreens of 2019.
All three of my go-to sunscreens I put on my 3 year old made the list!
#1 Goddess Garden Baby Sunscreen – SPF 50
This makes it SUPER easy to apply to my kid’s face, neck, ears and I even use it on his body if I’m out and about and need to apply sunscreen quickly without any mess on my hands.
I use Babo Botanicals Daily Sheet Tinted Sunscreen on my face and I love it!
It’s annoying to always be asking, “Where’s the sunscreen?” or digging in the beach bag trying to find it every time.
ZizzyBee Bags are the perfect solution to hold all your swim gear – sunscreen, goggles, arm swimmies, change of dry clothes, and I even put my son’s wet bathing suit in a ZizzyBee Bag when I leave the beach.
ZizzyBee Bags are awesome to use year-round:
And there’s one more thing you can do and is another reason why I love ZizzyBee Bags because they launched this amazing initiative. You can Take The Plastic Pledge here to help save our oceans.
#3 Protective SwimwearSnapperrock UPF 50+ Protection Swimwear for kids and adults are my all-time favorite.
I love the designs plus they are fast drying, lightweight, and blocks 98% of the suns harmful rays.
Starting at $46 at Snapperrock.com
I also came across another company called Otterwings and they have UPF50+ swim shirts made of soft material that have a pair of connectable, fabric covered water wings.
Regular $49.95 – SALE $29.95 at otterwings.com
This is awesome! How many times do you lay on a beach towel and grab for your clothes, bunch them up and use as a pillow?
This beach towel has a built in pillow – hence the name Tillow (towel + pillow).
• Large Towel
• Removable Beach Chair Strap so towel does not fly off.
• Removable Orthopedic Foam Pillow
• Touchscreen Pocket and Headphone Hole
• Turns into a Bag to carry
• Water-resistant storage pocket
Starting at $19.95 at TheTillow.com.
Lack of beach bags that could suit a family’s needs sparked the creation of the Bogg Bag. Needs were simple: a bag large enough to carry everything, that wouldn’t fall over and spill, and that could be rinsed at the end of the day. After coming up short, the founders decided to make their own.
#6 Eco Water BottleDitch the plastic whenever you go to the beach so make sure to bring eco water bottles for all.
For kids we LOVE Pacific Baby eco water bottles.
This water bottle is produced from food-grade stainless steel and reduces by 98% the amount of plastic in your child’s drinking bottle.
For adults we love Hydroflask eco water bottles.
32 oz Tumbler – Hydroflask is $39.95.
22 oz Tumbler – Hydroflask is $29.95.
We love Life Factory bottles because they are reusable glass instead of plastic.
Starting at $14.99 at Lifefactory.com
What are your favorite summer essentials?
My mom LOVES QVC so I often get surprise packages in the mail and the most recent one was this awesome cooler! We bought a couple soft coolers at the grocery store and one was too small and the other one leaks when ice melted, but this one is AWESOME!
It’s very roomy, yet still lightweight and compact enough to lug to the beach, pool, or on the boat. Fits a whole bag of ice in there easily and can fit a ton of foods and drinks too.
Here’s my husband holding it in the boat marina over the 4th of July:
Wouldn’t it be so much more relaxing to not have to worry about valuables getting taken or wet/sandy when at the beach?
The Beach Vault by Two Elephants is an amazing gadget that is a must for summer. This unique, cork-screw safe holds your phone, wallet, keys and other valuables with an air-tight, water proof lid. Once closed, just screw into the sand and cover with your towel!
These are genius! Turtlebacks all-terrain drink holders prevent drink spills and dirty drink bottoms at the beach, picnics, camping, tailgating, backyards and everywhere else.
They speak for themselves and are so awesome.
Summer is the perfect time to paint those little piggies and where some adorable non-toxic jewelry!
Did you know regular nail polish eats a hole right through a Styrofoam plate within minutes? Say bye-bye to toxic nail polish and use Piggy Paint this summer instead!
Did you also know that most kids jewelry has toxic chemicals like lead? We wouldn’t let our kids play with lead paint, so ditch the lead jewelry too!
Chanteur Designs not only has adorable summer jewelry for kids, but that have an amazing mission.
As a father of two daughters in the age of likes; selfies; and technology, Chanteur is a family where we remind our girls that beauty starts from within and radiates out. Chanteur is on a mission to teach young kids to embrace their unique differences and authentic selves (which builds confidence!) and to be kind every day (especially when no one is looking). If we are all beautiful on the inside, then we can shine bright on the outside.
Here are some of our summer kids jewelry favorites:
Crystal Ice Cream Leverback Earrings
$28
Type : Leverback Earring
Material : Sterling Silver with Rhodium
Stone : made with Swarovski elements
Heart Size : 8mm
Age : young child-teen
Use code SUMMER to get a free necklace with your order of $50+.
Crystal Strawberry Leverback Earring
$28
Use code SUMMER to get a free necklace with your order of $50+.
Tory Johnson has exclusive “GMA” Deals and Steals on products that will make your life more convenient and your home that much more wonderful.
Score big savings on everything from laundry bags to paint kits, innovative drain stoppers and more.
The deals start at just $4.50 and are all 50% off or more.
Life is out of the norm right now – usually families would be jet setting to different destinations around the world, kids in summer camp, pools open, beaches packed, fairs and festivals, and more summer fun but many of this has come to a screeching halt leaving parents at home with their kids.
Instead of one or two big trips like families may usually do that cost thousands of dollars, enjoy the rest of August and even September doing smaller 2 day getaways nearby where you can drive to.
Here are 10 ideas for cheap, getaways with kids this summer 2020:
Groupon has some amazing travel deals right now. With many pools closed kids right now would be happy with a hotel with a pool they can use.
Some deals on 7.21.20:
$123/night at The Villages at Ocean Edge in The Cape. Beautiful resort-style hotel with restaurants, pool, and more.
The Glen House near Mount Washington in New Hampshire is only $84/night. Beautiful rooms, pool, gym, and outside seating with fire pits. North Conway has amazing hiking trails and swimming holes with waterfalls – safe enough for kids (and most swimming holes are FREE!). One has a $3 Parking Fee but that’s cheap. Here are some of the best swimming holes:
The Ramada by Wyndham near Niagra Falls is only $36/night!
Crown Reef Beach Resort and Waterpark in Myrtle Beach is only $69 per night.
Camping is super affordable and we were able to find openings just two weeks before going. You can even choose an RV or cabin in case you don’t have tent equipment. Odetah Camping Resort in Connecticut has cabins for $96 a night.
There are a ton of seaside towns that have the ocean beach only a mile or two away and the inns have outside pools. Bring the kids between the beach and the pool for a fun and relaxing getaway.
Pick a place where there are hiking trails, lakes to swim in and other outdoor fun and then search on Air b n b for a place to stay. You can find really great deals in lesser visited areas but still just as much fun – perhaps more fun with less crowds!
Riding a bunch of tubes down the river tied together is very fun. Make sure the river is calm and safe for your kiddos. Bring tents to camp or book motels at the end of the river once done to make a night of it. Floating the Saco River in Maine is iconic.
There’s this amazing place called Saco River Tubing that provides life jackets, your tubes, floating coolers, and more for your float down the river. You park your car there, the shuttle brings you and your gear up the river, and you float back down to your car. Along the way stop at sandy beaches with rope swings – the crystal clear water is beautiful and about 3 feet deep depending on river levels. The 1.5 mile float is calm and great for kids.
A two night, three day trip really is the perfect getaway. It’s long enough to feel like a vacation yet short enough to not spend a ton of time or money. Have fun!
We recently went camping and it was super fun! Instead of flying to a destination this year, we are planning fun roadtrips. Check out these 12 roadtrip ideas with kids for summer.
Now, I don’t mind roughing it a bit, but I do like my camping to have comforts like a pool and/or a lake for swimming, clean bathrooms, and a cabin instead of a tent. My husband is from Europe and it was his first time going camping in America. As we pulled up to the campground he said, “This is like a resort! Nothing like camping where I’m from.” So yeah, Americans are guilty of glamping but when you’re more comfortable and have a variety of activities to do, it’s much more fun and easier when you have kids.
It was also our four year old’s first time camping and he loved it! Everything went smoothly except for the one time we just had showered in the bathhouse 100 feet from our cabin and as I was holding all the toiletries — in our ZizzyBee Bag of course (best eco travel bag to hold toiletries and more) — my son dropped his towel, booked it out the door, and ran butt naked all the way up the hill to our campsite. I freaked out at first but then as I looked up towards our cabin I saw a naked toddler running to Papa so I had to laugh about it after. All that quarantine hiking truly paid off!
We ended up packing everything we needed and did not forget anything so here’s the ultimate camping packing list for families if you are staying in an RV or Cabin like we did. If you are tenting it, of course you would need to bring your tent and inflatable mattress for comfort.
Keep in mind, this was also for two nights only so adjust the items according to how long you will stay:
So our menu consisted of blueberry muffins and fruit for breakfast (one day we ate at the diner close by), and for lunch hot dogs or burgers, and for dinner we had chicken with potato salad; pork kebobs with fresh cut up veggies; and burgers to choose from. Plus snacks and s’mores (guilt-free because of the healthy substitutions).
Even though we had a cabin we had to walk to the bathroom – not too far away and the facilities were clean enough. Next time however, we will go camping at a place that has cabins with bathrooms and kitchens inside. The cabin we stayed in was $96 a night and the cabins at other places with a bathroom and kitchen inside are only $140 to $150 a night so it’s worth the extra luxury.
ZizzyBee Bags are eco-friendly, reusable storage bags that can be used for all purposes, making them perfect for school organization. You can use them to pack school supplies, art supplies, snacks, hair clips, sports gear, and much more. Having a few different ZizzyBee bags with labels on them to organize what gets kept in your child’s backpack can be a huge help. They’ll know exactly where to find their school supplies so they’re never without a pen or pencil again. Kids can even keep these in their desks or lockers at school for easy access.
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Want to avoid flying in 2020 but still want to travel with the kids? Pack up the car and hit the road to these fun destinations around the United States instead!
There’s something special about going on a road trip. Playing games in the car, eating snacks on the way, singing songs, simply looking at the world pass by, and it’s especially exciting to arrive at your destination. Roadtrips are more adventurous for kids compared to long airport lines, stuffy airplanes, crowds of people, and perfectly manicured resorts.
Where ever the summer takes you, remember to pack ZizzyBee Bags! Our reusable bags replace 1000+ plastic ziplock style bags a year.
Use for:
$5 BAG SUMMER SALE – NO CODE REQUIRED.
Tip: If any of these are too far to drive to, just search for the same type of activity in your area!
Camping when I grew up meant sleeping in a tent, but nowadays “glamping” definitely has its perks. Glamping is a combination or camping and luxury – aka “glam.”
Strawberry Park is an award-winning 160-acre campground nestled in the heart of southeastern Connecticut, just minutes from Mystic Seaport, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun Casinos. Three huge swimming pool, showers with electricity, RV Trailers, log cabins, themed weekends, tons of fun activities throughout the
Click to view best campground in Connecticut.
Asheville, NC is a magnificent place to visit. It held the title of Beer Capital of America for having the most breweries per capita – remember, most breweries and family-friendly.
“Most glamping sites include the basics: weatherproof shelter, chairs, fire ring and picnic table. Stay in tents on platforms, yurts and more. Inside, find comfortable beds – often with sheets and towels. Not all glampsites are created equal, so amenities vary greatly. While some glamping communities offer resort-like packages, others keep it simple.” (Romanticasheville.com – glamping in Asheville, NC)
Here’s a glamping tent in Asheville that sleeps 8 and even has a slide for kids!
Try a private, luxury log cabin camping in Waterbury, Vermont at the Moose Meadow Lodge. Nestled on 86 secluded acres in the Green Mountains, this glamping site offers four luxury guest rooms and a treehouse for rent. Just minutes from many Vermont attractions including skiing, hiking, biking, hunting, fishing, antiquing, and fine dining. Click for more info – Moose Meadow Lodge in Vermont.
Vermont made the list again with their indoor waterpark resort, the Pump House Indoor Waterpark. With slides, rapids where you float through, Flowrider surfing, indoor and outdoor pools, hot tubs, and even snacks and drinks at the poolside bar, this waterpark has a little something for everyone. Kids will love it!
Check out this amazing blog by Mommy Gearest – Things to Do at Pump House Indoor Waterpark in Jay, Vermont.
Epic Waters Indoor Water Park in Grand Prairie, Texas is the largest indoor water park in Texas – they do say everything is bigger in Texas! This park is 80,000 square feet and has 11 water slides, 300-gallon tipping bucket, lazy river, sprinklers, pools, and much more. They even have a retractable roof to enjoy the real sunshine!
Click for more – biggest indoor water park in Texas and check out this fabulous blog by Little Feet Big Adventures to see a review of Epic Waters Indoor Water Park in Texas.
Swimming holes are one of my favorite memories of a child up at the Kancamangus Highway in North Conway, NH.
Swimming holes are places where water collects in pools deep enough to swim from rivers (usually with waterfalls too). The entire family can have a dip to cool off. Most are free too. I love the ones that you have to hike a little bit to get to. The water is always so clean and refreshing.
Stay at a B&B near the White Mountains in North Conway, NH and spend your days visiting swimming holes. Pack a lunch or enjoy the plenty of local restaurants in the area.
A stay at the Old Red Inn & Cottages are around $150 a night during peak season. They even have a beautiful pool to swim in and each morning breakfast is served B&B style. The owners are so lovely and make you feel instantly at home.
Here are some of the many swimming holes to visit in the area:
The Daily Adventures of Me Blog wrote about some great hiking trails and captured beautiful waterfalls to visit near North Conway, NH.
In the afternoon light, Emerald Cave is gorgeous. A great place to picnic and kayak to the cave. There are Emerald Cave Kayak Tours you can buy tours. Live Like Pete is a great blog – check out his review of kayaking the Black Canyon which includes Emerald Cave.
BONUS: this is only 1.5 hours from downtown Las Vegas, Nevada!
Formed from sulfuric acid erosion of underground limestone deposits, the Carlsbad Caverns are tucked into the Chihuahuan Desert and include 119 known caves. “Carlsbad Cavern includes a large cave chamber, the Big Room, a natural limestone chamber which is almost 4,000 feet (1,220 m) long, 625 feet (191 m) wide, and 255 feet (78 m) high at the highest point. It is the third largest chamber in North America and the seventh largest in the world.” (www.newmexico.org – visitor information New Mexico)Visitors are free to take a self-guided tour or sign up for a guided tour.
There’s a really interesting blog called Inspired Imperfection that has a blog review of Carlsbad Cave.
Skip renting a house on land, what about sleeping on the water? Houseboats are literally floating houses. Everything you need to live and sleep comfortably is provided except you are floating on the water.
Houseboating.org has 29 houseboating destinations to choose from with a variety of rentals to choose.
Dale Hollow Lake is known for being a party spot where nearly every marina rents out houseboats. “Lined with evergreen trees and sandy beaches, Dale Hollow Lake is a gorgeous body of water in Northern Tennessee.” (Rent a houseboat on Dale Hollow Lake – Houseboating.org). Also famous for their small-mouthed bass if your family likes fishing!
“Lake Billy Chinook is a canyon lake in Oregon, its clear waters flowing between the deep carved banks of the Crooked, Deschutes, and Metolius Rivers. The dam has made this convergence a reservoir instead of a three-in-one river, but the lake is unusually narrow. The unique width of Lake Billy Chinook however makes houseboating that much more interesting. Boating between the intense cliffs in the bright summer or in the cooler spring isn’t quite like boating anywhere else.” (Rent a Houseboat on Lake Billy Chinook)
I was at a conference once and heard the story of the guy who started Airbnb. It started with him meeting a stranger one night at a bar – another guy. The guy was sharing a story on how the hotel he booked did not have a room for him when he arrived. He had no place to stay. The guy invited him to stay on his couch. So the idea popped in his head to book your home to travelers. For four years they tried to get funding and kept hearing, no. Then one day they finally got funding and now it’s a $38 billion dollar business.
It’s fun to look at rentals on Air b n b. For the summer filter your search to include beachfront or a pool so you and the kids can have a way to cool off without having to go far from the rental – or leave at all!
Start searching for summer house rentals in your favorite areas.
Ever want to spend a night in a tiny house? Well now you can and the best ones are emerged in nature like this Tiny House Resort in the Cat Skill Mountains. They have multiple tiny houses to choose from all equipped with everything you need – just like a mini house! With nature all around you, the kids will love playing in the babbling creek and seeing the beautiful waterfall.
Click to see this Tiny House Resort in Nature.
Want to feel like you are in the Caribbean without flying? Florida is a great place to book a hotel and enjoy the sunny days and palms swaying in the wind while you sip a drink and the kids play in the pool. Oh and by the way the turquoise, warm ocean and white sandy beach is only steps away, too! This hotel has the best service and the Blackened Grouper Sandwich is the best I’ve eaten EVER!
This seaside, colonial-style hotel is a block from Duval Street’s boutiques and eateries, a 3-minute walk from the southernmost point in the continental U.S. and an 11-minute walk to the Ernest Hemingway House and Museum. Book today and check prices for Florida Keys hotel resorts here.
Sometimes driving in and of itself is a great trip! There are a ton of famous highways to drive and explore. Map out your trip and make stops along the way to swim, see landmarks, hike, eat, camp, shop, and more.
Driving Rt. 100 in the Florida Keys is GORGEOUS. The National Geographic did a great story on this highway and says, “Embrace the laid-back Keys life on a classic drive down the Florida Keys Overseas Highway (U.S. 1). The roughly 100-mile (one-way) route island-hops along the southern rim of the Everglades and Florida Bay from Key Largo south to Key West. Featured stops celebrate all things Keys: fresh-caught seafood, old-school roadside attractions, and unspoiled state and national parks.” (The Ultimate Florida Keys Roadtrip)
“The amazing thing about the Pacific Coast is that it is still mostly wild, open, and astoundingly beautiful country, where you can drive for miles and miles and have the scenery all to yourself.” (Plan a Pacific Coast Highway Trip – Road Trip USA)
Road Trip USA listed all the great stops on the Pacific Coast Highway:
(Plan a Pacific Coast Highway Trip – Road Trip USA)
Take a look at Big Sur – wow, this is worth it alone!
National Parks are great for family roadtrips. Metalfloss.com gave 15 reasons why to visit a national park this summer – some of which are:
Located in Newhalem, Washington (110 miles north-east of Seattle), the North Cascades National Park has an alpine landscape including jagged peaks, glaciers, waterways, and forested valleys. It even has 300 glaciers! There are a ton of family-friendly hiking trails and things to do in North Cascades National Park.
VisitAdirondack.com says it best, “The Adirondack Regions feature over 100 welcoming communities, mountains, lakes, verdant valleys and steep cliffs. Spanning more than six million acres, the Adirondack Mountains are home to the largest protected natural area in the lower 48 of the United States. Like a patchwork quilt, the Adirondacks are made up of twelve distinct regional destinations, each offering their own brand of Adirondack adventure. From the endless canoeing and kayaking in the Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake regions, to the extensive hiking trails of the High Peaks Wilderness in the Lake Placid Region – discover an area as diverse in geography as it is in activities and events. Bicycle between wineries on the Adirondack Coast, or dive to sunken shipwrecks in the Adirondack Seaway near the Canadian Border. You’re invited to explore the Lake George Region’s family-friendly attractions and discover the Adirondack Tug Hill Plateau’s one-of-a-kind recreation opportunities…
Discover why the Adirondack Mountains are like no other place on earth. There are no park fees to enter, no gates that close at night, just a boundless natural preserve and the promise of adventure. Explore the hiking trails of the famed Adirondack High Peaks. Choose your own camping adventure under the stars. Unwind on the pristine lakes of an Adirondack paradise.
To make planning your visit to the Adirondacks easier, we offer a variety of FREE brochures available for download, with information about hiking across the region, scenic drives that include easy access to shopping and restaurants, as well as information about the best fishing spots and paddling.”
How fun!
Just because we are not hopping on a plane to visit the Bahamas or Aruba, doesn’t mean we cannot do a roadtrip to an island in the United States! You may have to take a ferry, but that’s all part of the fun.
Block Island is special in so many ways. They say it’s unlike anywhere you have ever visited. Enjoy a beach day, bike ride around the island, kayak adventure, paddleboarding, or exploring the island, Block Island should make your list of summer destinations.
It’s actually pretty easy to get on the island. The island is only 12 miles off the Rhode Island coast so you can take a 15-minute plane ride from Westerly, Rhode Island; a half hour on the high speed ferry from Point Judith, Rhode Island; or just over an hour on the ferry from New London, Connecticut. There’s even a ferry from Montauk that brings visitors from Long Island and New York to this unique island. There’s also a new high speed ferry too that comes from Newport, RI.
On the island there is no traffic lights or big chain businesses. The landscape is breathtaking with pristine beaches. There are a ton of restaurants, music, art, and much more fun to enjoy on Block Island. Make it a day trip or overnight – there are a ton of B&B inns and air b n b rentals.
Click to get more information about visiting Block Island and where to stay / what to do.
This is not technically an island, but is on a strip of land off the coast of North Carolina so it feel like an island. They call it the Outer Banks (there’s a great Netflix show too called The Outer Banks!).
According to the Town of Duck website, “The Town of Duck, North Carolina, is a thriving coastal community. We respect and value our delicate yet dynamic barrier island environment – clean waters and beaches, maritime forests, wetlands, and dunescapes. With an eclectic mix of independent businesses and the Duck Town Park and Boardwalk, Duck Village is a source of pride and the heart of Duck. Whether you are a resident, a first-time visitor, or someone who feels that Duck is your home away from home, we welcome you to explore the Town of Duck.”
DuckNCguide.com says: “Visitors and locals can roam 7 miles of beaches that are wide and uncrowded. A soundfront boardwalk makes getting around to Duck’s many shops and restaurants very pleasant, not to mention safe. Duck is one of those places where you can ditch the car and get around on bike or foot. Duck consistently ranks high on the Travel Channel’s annual America’s Best Beaches list and has been somewhere on the best beaches list since 2000. This is what the Travel Channel has to say about Duck. ‘Duck’s relative solitude and its vast array of neatly constructed rental homes make it ideal for families. That is, unless your family likes to go bar hopping until the wee hours, in which case you may be out of luck. … Still, while we admit Duck would never make the list for top spring break party spots, boredom is hardly a threat here.’
Duck may be our next stop this summer – sounds like a little slice of heaven if you ask me!
Growing up in the country riding dirtbikes and fourwheelers (not called quads by the kids) was the thing to do and SO FUN. I love to give my kids a chance to experience the same things I did as a kid so renting ATVs is a great way to do this if you don’t own any or have the land to ride on.
The Poconos Mountains – often referred to as “the Poconos” are a beautiful place to visit. There are a ton of ATV rental places in the Poconos.
Poconomountains.com says, “The four-county region is famous for its resorts, natural scenic beauty, 150 lakes including Lake Wallenpaupack, and quaint, historic towns. The varied landscape inspires a range of experiences, from the private and peaceful to the bold and exhilarating. Cottages & condos and hotels promote restful mountain moments while waterparks and adventure courses, offer excitement around every turn.” Click to learn more about what to do and where to stay in the Poconos.
FAT DADDY’S ATV PARK is 500 acres in Waycross, Georgia on the beautiful Satilla River. With miles of ATV trails and UTV trails, both sand and mud for riding, this park is fun for the whole family. There are even some sand hills for those who like more of an adrenaline rush. ATVs not your thing? Instead you can enjoy a relaxing day on the Satilla River. There is private camping available with bathroom and shower facilities. Now this may not be glamping, but a day of down and dirty muddin’ will keep a smile on everyone’s face. Learn more about this ATV rental park in Georgia.
What would you to add to this ultimate list of summer roadtrip ideas with kids?
