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Where should I take my wife and 3 month old son for a week in June?


Spoosner

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We will be flying out of New York (after a wedding) on June 10th, and need to be back home in Dallas on June 17 or 18th.

This will be our first real trip with our son that will be just over 3 months old.  My thought is that we would want easily accessible daytime activities like hiking, walkable town/downtown, and good food and drink is a must.  I imagine there's a chance we'll end up hanging out at the hotel for a full day to truly relax, so a nice pool with good service and on site food would be good.

Willing to move once, but having the kiddo means we don't want to packing/unpacking too much.

Initial thoughts with outdoorsy type options: 

  • Lake Louise/Banff/Calgary
  • Bozeman/Big Sky/Yellowstone (I'm a bit wary of Yellowstone because I'm assuming it will be super crowded and quality lodging will be hard to come by)
  • Jackson Hole/Yellowstone/Grand Teton
  • Lake Tahoe

City type:

  • Portland/Seattle/Vancouver (I'm aware Portland is not that close to the others and a flight might be involved)
  • Oaxaca

As you can see my initial thoughts are focused more in the North and West (aside from Oaxaca) as I haven't spent much time in the region.  We're pretty well traveled otherwise.  Go to Nola all the time, did Zion/Grand Canyon/Sedona a couple years ago, lived in NYC for 10 years so East Coast is pretty well covered, Texas/New Mexico/Colorado well covered, have been all over California.

What say the Surly?  Where would you stay? 

 

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14 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

I wouldn't take a 3 month old to the grocery store. 

Do you have a passport for the kid or one in the works?  If not, you'll need one for travel to Canada or Mexico.   

Good point on the passport.  I think if I get that in the works by early next week we should be fine.  Might have to pay the minimum expedite fee.

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Back home and enjoy your week off where the baby can be back on a schedule. 

I would not want to go cross country with a 3 month old although you’re pretty well covering that with Dallas/NYC. Charleston and the areas in the South/East would be decent although it may be a little warm. The other areas mentioned would work, but what about the upper Michigan area like Mackinack or somewhere through there? You have outdoors, stuff to see/do, decent weather, etc. and it’s not too far outside your flight path home.

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Monarch Beach.  We took our 6-month-old in June last year and was a great experience.  Easy flight to John Wayne and the hotel offers enough options for eating that you don't have to leave once on property.  Has great pools and large private beach that is cool enough to let your kid take a nap in beach tent.   Get a pool view room so you can people watch on the balcony when you put the kid down to bed.

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I know you said west coast but that’s going to be a ton of travel with an infant. 

Some ideas closer to NYC/East Coast that you may not have done. 

-Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park

-Quebec City 

-Mount Washington Valley, NH 

-Mackinac Island, MI

 

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Mackinac is a terrible suggestion, no offense Rice Owl. Overpriced hotel rooms, super touristy, have to take a 30+ minute boat ride to get on or off the island....bikes only. No. 

Traverse City, MI or Petoskey wouldn't be a bad spot. Beautiful places, lots of outdoorsy shit to do, neat small downtown areas. But I'm thinking you could do better elsewhere. 

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Sorry I’m old school.  Leave the kid with grandma and take your wife to any of those places, only if she’s willing.   If she insists on dragging a basic fetus all over the country you might want to reconsider your marriage. The kid ain’t gonna remember shit and will scream, shit and cry the whole time, and you will get blamed for it when he is in prison.  

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7 hours ago, Spoosner said:

We will be flying out of New York (after a wedding) on June 10th, and need to be back home in Dallas on June 17 or 18th.

This will be our first real trip with our son that will be just over 3 months old.  My thought is that we would want easily accessible daytime activities like hiking, walkable town/downtown, and good food and drink is a must.  I imagine there's a chance we'll end up hanging out at the hotel for a full day to truly relax, so a nice pool with good service and on site food would be good.

Willing to move once, but having the kiddo means we don't want to packing/unpacking too much.

Initial thoughts with outdoorsy type options: 

  • Lake Louise/Banff/Calgary
  • Bozeman/Big Sky/Yellowstone (I'm a bit wary of Yellowstone because I'm assuming it will be super crowded and quality lodging will be hard to come by)
  • Jackson Hole/Yellowstone/Grand Teton
  • Lake Tahoe

City type:

  • Portland/Seattle/Vancouver (I'm aware Portland is not that close to the others and a flight might be involved)
  • Oaxaca

As you can see my initial thoughts are focused more in the North and West (aside from Oaxaca) as I haven't spent much time in the region.  We're pretty well traveled otherwise.  Go to Nola all the time, did Zion/Grand Canyon/Sedona a couple years ago, lived in NYC for 10 years so East Coast is pretty well covered, Texas/New Mexico/Colorado well covered, have been all over California.

What say the Surly?  Where would you stay? 

 

I’m thinking that you neglected to mention that you were bringing a nanny with you.  If not...

 mj-laughing.gif

Taking care of a baby as a couple and on the road is a full time gig.  No home field advantage at all.  You’re not going to be hiking, be ‘outdoorsy,’ enjoying fine dining and drinks, etc.  You’re gonna be on Baby’s schedule. Why spend a ton of money to do the exact same thing in a hotel room that you’d be doing at home?  I already learned the hard way that the others above are right - spend that time at home and relax when you can.

 

Edited by solamente73
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10 hours ago, Baboontyme said:

Mackinac is a terrible suggestion, no offense Rice Owl. Overpriced hotel rooms, super touristy, have to take a 30+ minute boat ride to get on or off the island....bikes only. No. 

Traverse City, MI or Petoskey wouldn't be a bad spot. Beautiful places, lots of outdoorsy shit to do, neat small downtown areas. But I'm thinking you could do better elsewhere. 

Haha, funny you say that... It's the one place on that list that I haven't actually been. Had just heard good things... But serves me right for suggesting a place I haven't been.

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1 hour ago, RiceOwl said:

Haha, funny you say that... It's the one place on that list that I haven't actually been. Had just heard good things... But serves me right for suggesting a place I haven't been.

It's a cool place to visit but depending on what you're into I think it's a day trip, especially in the summer when the crowds would be up. 

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All of you saying not to go are full of shit.  You can absolutely do it without the baby being a huge hindrance.  Wife and I went to Red River, NM with a 1 month old before.  Then went to Lake Tahoe with a 6 month old.  Baby slept on hikes in a Tula carrier, it was no big deal.  Yeah you won't be going out drinking late at night or anything like that but it doesn't mean you can't have a nice trip.  Baby also probably has to go if mom is still breast feeding.

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Yes - exactly.  I do agree a beach is the way to go.  While I'm not an all-inclusives person typically, with a young baby, they are perfect.  Food is easy, pools o plenty, beach, etc.  Pick a place that allows you to upgrade to a privilege section or whatever they call it and you have access to private lounges and quieter pools.  Worth it.

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A 10(ish)-day trip with three long flights and a 3-month-old is going to suck. You're either delirious from the lack of sleep or still in denial about the fact that you have a baby.

If you are dead-set on doing something that the baby won't remember, either stay in the Northeast, or staycation in a nice hotel/resort when you get back to Dallas.

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7 hours ago, txhorns said:

All of you saying not to go are full of shit.  You can absolutely do it without the baby being a huge hindrance.  Wife and I went to Red River, NM with a 1 month old before.  Then went to Lake Tahoe with a 6 month old.  Baby slept on hikes in a Tula carrier, it was no big deal.  Yeah you won't be going out drinking late at night or anything like that but it doesn't mean you can't have a nice trip.  Baby also probably has to go if mom is still breast feeding.

Maybe so.  I wasn’t trying to be a dick, but in my experience hauling an infant around can be a beating. On the flip side, when my wife was pregnant we took some extended trips to the west coast and other cool places, and when my daughter turned 18 one of her presents was to buy her and her mom that same itinerary to take together. They loved it.  And I got a week and a half of peace and quiet with my son.

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From NYC, may as well fly to Iceland.  Stay at the Blue Lagoon for a few days, then head into Reykjavik for a few days.  Weather should be great.  Lots of tours and outdoor things you can do during the day.  

There's availability at the Blue Lagoon during the week you're on vacation.

https://www.bluelagoon.com/blue-lagoon-spa/accommodation/

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17 hours ago, Jive Turkey said:

From NYC, may as well fly to Iceland.  Stay at the Blue Lagoon for a few days, then head into Reykjavik for a few days.  Weather should be great.  Lots of tours and outdoor things you can do during the day.  

There's availability at the Blue Lagoon during the week you're on vacation.

https://www.bluelagoon.com/blue-lagoon-spa/accommodation/

I was going to say this or Ireland since you're in New York to start with. Flights wouldn't be much worse than traveling to the west coast.

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Thanks for the input.  I think we've narrowed in on flying to Seattle to stay for a few nights.  Will take the train down to Portland on Wednesday or Thursday where some friends with a youngin' live.  Do some winery tours and hiking with them.  Head home on Sunday.

I considered Iceland, but the whole all day sunlight thing made me shy away a bit.  Yellowstone and Banff type lodgings are sub par for absorbent prices for our dates.

For those that think I'm crazy, perhaps I am.  This trip is way more for us than him as he obviously won't remember it.  I'm on paternity leave for all of June, so we want to take advantage.  Seems to me that travel is easier at this stage in his life when all he does is sleep, eat, and poop, especially while we only have 1.  I'm well aware our plans will need to be fluid and we may end up spending a day or 2 tethered to the hotel more than expected, but I don't see anything wrong with that.  Definitely sounds better than sitting around the house like we can do any regular weekend.  I'll report back.

Moving to the Portland and Seattle threads for further advice.

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Sounds like a lot of fun.  That's a great place to go.  You probably already have one but if not definitely get a baby carrier before the trip.  The thing about infants is that they love the jostling around feeling at that age so staying on the move may be better than sitting around on a beach or something.  Have fun and enjoy your trip.

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