[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

You guys have probably spent time in the Rockies, but the summers there are hard to best.

When my Dad lived in Monument, we would vacation out of there: Pikes Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park, etc. It will be crowded, but there are some really neat off the main path places.

I did a quick search on Estes Park, CO for hotels and the rates were reasonable...not off the path but just a quick example.

I love CO in the summer, every summer in high school I spent time with family friends in Summit County. We did Breckenridge and Denver a few years ago, unfortunately the national park visits were tempered by forest fires around Colorado Springs.

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Outer Banks of North Carolina. Rent a shack on the beach (waves wash up under your deck at high tide) in or near Kitty Hawk. Do a seafood boil on your back deck, drink beer, play in the ocean, watch the sea turtles hatch/boil late July/Aug, do a dune buggy ride to see the wild horses in Duck, fly stunt kites on the beach with your kids, and on and on.

We do it every year and can't imagine a more relaxing vacation...as busy or sedate as you want. No high rises, no miniature golf...just light houses, sunken ships and sunshine.

Oak Island for us this year...a bit south of the Outer Banks, but very similar.

This actually sounds really fun. Could you give me more info as far as lodging, places to go, etc?

Originally Posted by john70t

Five people?
My suggestion would be to travel on the "off-season".
1). Prices will be about half.
This equals more money for better restaurants, treats, and all the side excursions you can handle.

2). Temperatures will be more moderate.
That could be good or bad, depending.
You don't want to do mountain-climbing with kids at the top of AZ summers.

Unfortunately not an option. My kids have summer vacation from mid-May until mid-August. My oldest has baseball until 4th of July, and football normally starts the last week of July. Our window is pretty small, just gotta make the most of it.