Family Bonding Abounds with These US Vacation Destinations
San Diego, CA
The second largest city in California calls to mind towering bridges, skyscraper-scored skylines and the United States Navy — but not necessarily great family getaway places. It’s time to change that.
U.S. News & World Report has named San Diego one of the best places to enjoy an affordable family vacation, and a quick survey at all of its publicly available diversions makes it easy to see why.
To start with, the world-renowned San Diego Zoo boasts nearly 4,000 rare and/or endangered animals on its 1,000-acre grounds and even offers guided bus tours, while the San Diego Automobile Museum and the San Diego Air and Space Museum let little eyes see man-made wonders of land, sea and sky.
Coronado Beach offers an oasis of relative calm where vacationers can soak up the sun, and those who like a little adventure travel within the US should venture into the Sunny Jim Sea Cave, a cavern accessible from both land and water. The truly brave can even try their hand at paragliding or falconry at Torrey Pines Gliderport.
Want a more memorable Thanksgiving this year? These Thanksgiving weekend getaways are full of great food and plenty of fun activities.
Pigeon Forge, TN
Miniature steam engines and massive water parks. Dinner theater and idiosyncratic museums. Outdoor exploits and beautiful scenic drives.
Sevier County, TN, might have made news in 2016 for the terrible fires that ravaged the area, but fortunately the conflagrations left Pigeon Forge itself mostly untouched.
That’s good news for families, because the town and surrounding area are positively jam-packed with interesting attractions for all age groups.
Dollywood, the brainchild of the chart-dominating country music sensation Dolly Parton, combines an amusement park with water park and throws in a downhome-themed dinner variety show called Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede for good measure.
The Hollywood Wax Museum rivals London’s famed Madame Tussauds for realistic mannequins of public personae, and kids will love the aquatic life on display at Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies and the tropical critters that live in the Rainforest Adventures Zoo.
When you’re ready to soar high above all your cares, pop over to Smoky Mountain Ziplines, which offers speedy treetop traversals at up to 40 miles per hour!
