Ideas for getaways with my kids in August

amother

Thu, May 09 2024, 6:11 pm

I'd love to take my girls, ages 7-13 on a trip in August. I know a family trip is not really a vacation, but given my kids' ages, I think it can somehow also serve as a vacation for dh and myself. We live in Lakewood and don't mind to drive a couple of hours or fly. We need to have access to kosher food, otherwise it's not a vacation for me, plus we would like to stay for at least a week. We enjoy beaches, nature, hiking, science, etc. We did new Hampshire and Niagara falls and we all loved it. We've already been to DC, the Poconos, and Amish town. I'm considering Orlando since I can do a combo of a park or two, we don't like rides but would love Epcot or universal studios, and also be in a resort with a pool etc and maybe drive down to Miami for the weekend. But I'm told we won't like it because of the heat. Any suggestions?

lulugann

Thu, May 09 2024, 6:37 pm

California - Not even a question to me. Weather is gorgeous. Scenery makes the east coast look ugly and you have kosher food.

amother

Bronze

Thu, May 09 2024, 6:50 pm

lulugann wrote:

California - Not even a question to me. Weather is gorgeous. Scenery makes the east coast look ugly and you have kosher food.

What’s cali weather in summer?

amother

Thu, May 09 2024, 6:52 pm

lulugann wrote:

California - Not even a question to me. Weather is gorgeous. Scenery makes the east coast look ugly and you have kosher food.

I was considering California but afraid it'll end up costing us much more than staying in the East Coast, Orlando seemed more within our budget. Is it possible to do California on a budget?

amother

Pink

Thu, May 09 2024, 9:10 pm

I second Colorado. It's not so far and beautiful!
Between Denver, Vail and Colorado Springs you have so many options within so many price brackets. There is so much to see and do. Myrtle beach is also an option.

amother

Sunflower

Thu, May 09 2024, 9:13 pm

Montreal and the laurentians (mont tremblant)
Lots of kosher food in Montreal and lots to do
About an hour out of the city is gorg country, hikes etc.
Weather will be a drop cooler than NJ

amother

Sunflower

Thu, May 09 2024, 9:23 pm

sweet wrote:

I was in orlando in august with kids and it really wasn't much hotter or more humid then lakewood summers.

We must’ve been there different years! We went in August once and it was 110 degrees, too hot to wait on lines at parks!

California weather is not going to be as hot, especially if u do Northern California (San Francisco) and drive the PCH. Gorgeous!
Yosemite, sequoia, Muir Woods…scenery and hiking is endless there.
U might be able to find cheap ish tickets. Food is going to be easier once in LA area but there are some options in Palo Alto and San Francisco (Izzy’s bagels, a sushi place and an Israeli grill place in SF) If you’re ok with DIY, there’s Trader Joe’s and many of them have kosher chicken in the area.

amother

Fri, May 10 2024, 11:22 am

Thanks we will look into California. If anyone has other suggestions I'd appreciate it. In terms of food, we want some where that we can order ready food or sit in to eat. I've traveled a lot and used to take my own food or buy kosher ingredients at the destination and cook on a hot plate. But I realized if I want a real vacation I need ready food, so that's a must for this trip.

lulugann

Fri, May 10 2024, 6:36 pm

amother Bronze wrote:

What’s cali weather in summer?

California is huge so it depends where, but in general is gorgeous.

lulugann

Fri, May 10 2024, 6:39 pm

amother OP wrote:

California has a ton of that.
Re budget, we've done it a bunch of times. Tickets can be found at decent prices because of the amount of airports near LA. California is expensive in general, but if your scenery people like us, that doesn't have to be the case because there is so much scenery related that won't cost you/ cost little. We've been to many places and at the end of the day, we end up back in California.

amother

Poinsettia

Fri, May 10 2024, 6:42 pm

Chicago!

We love going there in the summers

There's so much to to there and great food, beautiful scenery, beaches. It is a hidden gem.

amother

Fri, May 10 2024, 6:45 pm

lulugann wrote:

Do you mind sharing more details of where you stayed and activities you have done?
Did you go to Disney? My 7 year old dreams of going to Disney, but I think overall my kids will enjoy more like Epcot style Park vs rides or magic Kingdom, which I'm not sure they have on the West Coast. I've been to Orlando but never to Disney in Cali