the family vacation debate. (a giveaway sponsored by Radisson)

Posted bycasey coombsPosted inToo lazy to label.

We have a few different ideas when it comes to what makes for a good vacation in this family.

Cody: “LET’S DRIVE SOUTH AND TOUR HISTORICAL CIVIL WAR SIGHTS!”

Addie and Me: zzzzzzz…..

Addie: “LET’S GO BACK TO HO-HI-OH AND YOU CAN ALL WATCH ME ZIPLINE FOR HOURS!”

Vivi: Graaargggpppffbbththttt!

Me: “SAN FRANCISCO! PIER 39! EXPLORATORIUM! HAIGHT ASHBURY!”

Cody: “Who’s going to hold the baby on the 5 hour flight?”

Me: “Touché.”

Vivi: “BYE! BYYYEEEE!!!”

Cody: “LET’S GO BACK TO NEW YORK AND EAT PIZZA!”

Me: “PHILLY! CHEESESTEAKS!”

Addie: “UTAH! McDONALDS!”

Vivi: “CHEEEEEEESEEEEEE!”

Guess what? Deciding on family vacations around these parts is a little…tricky.

I really want to go to New Orleans, so does Cody, but for entirely different reasons than me. I still need to go back to Austin and really spend a good amount of time there. We all want to go to Philly and DC, well, the girls probably don’t but we’re the boss and we’ll make them like it whether they want to or not. San Francisco holds a very special place in my heart and I haven’t been to Seattle in YEARS. But what about all the smaller towns in North America? Had you told me “SOUTHEASTERN OHIO! BEST TRIP EVER!” I would have rolled my eyes at you when you weren’t looking. Turns out, Southeastern Ohio? BEST TRIP EVER!

We all really like Kansas City too. We’ve never done anything but drive through Omaha and St. Louis and I’ll bet even Oklahoma City could show us a good time.

We’ve romped around Cincy, had way too much fun in Chicago and even had a night to remember in Louisville. Heck, if you’ve never been to Indianapolis, you should really put it on your list. We’re super friendly and have an awful lot for you to do while your here.

Basically what I’m saying is while we may not all agree on which city is the best, we’ll make the best of any place we end up. It’s our gift as a family and it makes for awfully fun time together.

We're all in one picture! It's a miracle!

Radisson has been hosting travelers for 50 years, and to celebrate they’re giving away 50 rooms in 50 days. Guess who’s the giver-awayer today? (Me, it’s me!)

I want to know is where was the best family vacation in North America that you’ve ever had? For me it would be a toss up between my first trip to San Francisco when I was eight and our most recent trip to Ohio. Our trip to Disneyworld was pretty amazing too, then there was that time I got stuck in DC. Or the weekend in Chicago with Addie! Oy. I love to travel. I love to travel with my family, I want you to tell us where to go next!

Leave a comment below answering where the best family vacation you’ve had in North America is and you’ll be entered to win a voucher for a free night at any North American Radisson or Radisson Blu.

Fine Print: One free night voucher is valid for a standard room, double occupancy at any North American Radisson Blu or Radisson hotel of the winner’s choice. The voucher expires one year after issue date. Winner will be chosen at random from eligible entries, contacted by email and have 24 hours to confirm prize acceptance before another winner will be chosen. Giveaway ends at 9 p.m. EST on Sunday December 16, 2012. Disclosure: For participating in this giveaway we will receive three vouchers for stays at a Radisson Hotel in North America of our choice.

 

232 thoughts on “the family vacation debate. (a giveaway sponsored by Radisson)”

  2. My favorite vacation so far was in San Francisco with my boyfriend (now husband). We were only there for a long weekend, but we had so much fun!

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  3. Jackson Hole WY! Seriously, cowboys, herds of elk, the mountains, etc… it was gorgeous and your girls (and Cody!) would LOVE it.

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  4. Yellowstone – somehow, getting into nature with our kids was such a memorable experience for them! Moreso than other vacations I’d probably have chosen.

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  7. Ft. Walton Beach, FL has been our favorite (& only!) family vacation. Beautiful white sand beaches and blue water. Ahh…

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  8. Burlington, VT is wonderful! I’ve been there six times in the summer months but not in the winter. Beautiful and full of things to do.

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  11. We had a wonderful time in Myrtle Beach. One Republic’s “Good Life” kept playing, so my kids call it the Myrtle Beach song!

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  14. Oh my gosh there are so many to choose from. My family went on a vacation every year when I was a kid, and while we haven’t been able to completely do that with our family there are some great memories. My favorite vacation experiences as a child was Yellowstone and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Then again, salmon fishing in Alaska was something that will forever remind me of family (my mom and I were the only women in a fish camp with no plumbing). The best vacation I’ve taken as an adult with my family? It has to be the Grand Canyon. My son truly appreciated the beauty and loved every minute of it! Right now we are planning a trip for his 13th birthday and the where to go question is a big one. I will definitely be reading the comments on here for ideas!

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  16. Easy! We did a whirlwind trip around California back in September. We flew into San Diego, went to the zoo, ate fresh seafood, then on to Anaheim and Disneyland, then up to Yosemite National Park, and then to SAN FRANCISCO! Then we drove back to down along the PCH (which, if that’s not on your bucket list then you need to get on that NOW, wow!) and stayed in Laguna Beach then back down to San Diego for our flight home. California stole my heart, and I’m so thankful that we got to take our family on such an amazing adventure. I love to travel, and I’m so happy that I get to share these experiences with my kids. Next up? I’m turning 30 in four months, and I’m trying to decide between NYC again and Portland or Colorado. Suggestions?

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  17. my best family trip was my mom surprising me with a trip to disney world for my 16th birthday. my older sister was living in flordia at he time and I was so excited to see her!

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  18. Hilton Head Island. It is awesome eachttime we go no matter what month. It’s very hurricane safe (they rarely make direct landfall) and all of the store are camouflaged ao you basically see the islands beauty. Love it!
    Also my hubby and I are honeymooners there at the end of January!!

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    1. @karyn, We LOVE HHI! We go every year..sometimes twice a year. Where do you stay? We usually stay right outside of Sea Pines It is amazing. Congrats on your marriage and honeymoon!!

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      1. @JMH, we have stayed a few places depending on how many of us go. We”ve stayed at Bradley beach rd, night herons in sea pines in a villa, and we are trying waterside this time thru my aunts timeshare.
        Love the biking and everything about it!
        Thanks!!!

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  19. It’s hard to narrow down. Edisto Beach, South Carolina was a fabulous time with extended family. The 3 day road trip from Montana to Seattle to Mt. Rainier and back was a bit insane, in a good way. We’re a road trip type of family, a free hotel stay along the way would be wonderful!

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  20. Growing up we went to the Grand Canyon, twice and that was a lot of fun. But my sweet family of 3 spent a great week back in October in Panama City Beach! Nothing beats the beach in October!

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  21. Bar Harbor Maine. My husband and I had just been dating for a few months and it was our first trip together. We planned an overnight in Boston but the hotel room was horrible! There were no other rooms available on such short notice that we figured we would drive up as far as we could and then sleep over in a cute town. We visited information center after information center looking for somewhere else to stay. No rooms available. A cute old man heckled Mike for not being prepared. I thought it was funny! We finally decided to call a old friend in the backwoods of Maine. I still remember the popovers we had for breakfast.
    We finally got to Maine and it was the most beautiful place ever!! So peaceful and a great place to make first trip memories. We can’t wait til the boys are old enough to make the long drive. Thanks for bringing me back to those special days!

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  24. It is hard to decide we always try to do a family vaca once a year. We all have liked Disney World, Chicago, Michigan, Ohio and St Louis. I think I have to St Louis is one of the all time favorites. There is a wide variety of things to do and lots of it is free and very kid friendly.

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  25. The outdoorsy trips are always my favorites… Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain National park, or the Grand Canyon! There are so many places on my bucket list, I’m never sure where to go next!

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  26. The first vacation my husband and I ever took together, just the two of us, was to DC, and it was AWESOME! I drove cross country by myself several years ago, and there are so many places I want to take him, but we’re working our way through the list verrrrry slooooowly.

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  27. That’s a hard one…but I think if I had to choose a North American destination (that I’ve been to so far…) I’d have to say that I loved going to Halifax with the family. East coast hospitality. Big city fun. Small city charm. Lots of fun and laughs, adventures and OMG THE SEAFOOD!

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  30. We had a great time exploring California traveling from LA to San Francisco on the Pacific Coast Highway. It was the perfect blend of nature and city for us.

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  33. As a kid it was a two week trip to Maui. With my kids, it was a trip to Northern California three years ago. We did San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Monterrey. You can’t go wrong with those three places.

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  34. Hands down our best vacation ever was to Disney World! Then Myrtle Beach, then Hershey, Pennsylvania (Hello! Chocolate!) and Sesame Place.

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  35. Tie between the time we rented an RV and drove cross-country and back, and the 2 weeks we spent traveling around Alaska!

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  36. We LOVE South Carolina..specifically Hilton Head Island and Charleston. However, Disney was pretty incredible too!

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  38. Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, OH. I know it’s not as glamorous as some but we had an absolute blast and there was no arguing!! LOL!

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  41. Best vacation ever was our honeymoon in Maui!

    P.S. I went to school in Southeast Ohio and it is one of my very favorite parts of the whole country. LOVE IT there. 🙂

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  43. This past summer, my fiancee and I took a road trip out to South Dakota. It was amazing and beautiful and we are both excited to do it again!

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  44. I love Hilton Head Island. We grew up vacationing there and I love everything about it! We would ride bikes every place we would go and spent countless hours at Harbor Town. Such a great place!

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  46. So hard to choose. I love love love New York City, but have had fantastic vacations in Seattle, San Diego, and all over Florida. I’d love to go to Austin and San Antonio Texas!

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  47. Colorado! I grew up going to the mountains in Colorado and liked it so much that I moved here last year! Denver has lots of fun stuff (aquarium, US Mint, etc) and of course there are tons of things to do in the mountains (zip lines, hiking, skiing, white water rafting, horseback riding).

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  48. I really loved the state of Ohio. We went to several different towns so I couldn’t tell you just one.

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  49. For me, it’s a tossup between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Gatlinburg, TN and Acadia National Park in Maine.

    Absolutely love the hiking, streams and mountains of GSM but Maine has great hiking and mountains too plus it’s got the ocean. 🙂

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  50. Yosemite. We used to go there as a family when we were kids. There is nowhere on Earth like it.

    Oh, and Alaska is pretty darned beautiful, too.

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