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Teen-Friendly US Cities
By Meryl Pearlstein
Once your kids move past the compliant pre-teen ages, it becomes more challenging to find ways to engage them without hearing that they'd prefer to "chill" with their friends, play on their game systems, or spend endless hours on Myspace or Facebook.
These teen-tried trips will hopefully motivate you to convince your teens that there's a world out there with lots of interesting things, and that it's really worthwhile to give up some personal time to be with your parents (ugh!), doing something that your parents (again ugh!) have suggested.
My teenage sons, Elias and Evan, aged 12 and 16, have become world travelers with definite tastes and preferences. Here is Part One listing some of our favorite travel destinations in the USA. Part Two will take us to Europe and South America.
A Trip to Cali- That's what my kids call going to California. For them, California is another country. LA is the country of the Lakers and the beach; San Francisco is cable cars and the Golden Gate Bridge. Anything in between is just pretty and filled with expensive cars.
To visit both, book the Fairmont Hotel in each city: the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica and the Fairmont in San Francisco. Both are great with kids, as well as with adults, and both have wonderful locations.
In Santa Monica, you're right across from the beach and within a reasonable drive of pretty much everywhere you need to go (although you'll spend lots and lots of time in your car here- there's no subway to help you out). While you might crave some of LA's finer cuisine, the kids will love the kitschy In-n-Out Burger or Fatburger drive-ins. For a dose of fun history, include a visit to the La Brea Tar Pits (with interesting indoor and outdoor exhibits about the animals and fossils stuck in the tar here).
Heading back to the beach, the Santa Monica Pier and its rides are favorites, as is watching people rollerblade and play basketball in Venice. If you can, take a ride up Pacific Coast Highway towards Malibu to see the sunset.
If your kids give you a lot of grief about the enormously steep hills in San Francisco, they'll love the cable cars that climb and descend with people hanging off the sides. The city has put into service a number of cars from cities in the US and Europe, and you might find yourself staring at real ads in Italian instead of English.
Be sure to go to the Presidio to see the Golden Gate Bridge, but also find someone who can show you how to drive underneath the bridge- my kids though it was amazingly cool (so did I). And the kids' hands-down favorite? Crooked Lombard Street, still one of the "wonders of the world," according to the teen set. They also appreciated some of the architecture in the city, particularly the Painted Ladies with their creatively mixed palette of Victorian confection.
Terrific Tupelo (Mississippi)- Do you have kids who love music? Even if they haven't heard too much of Elvis Presley's music, they'll come to love it as they understand how he influenced the entire rock 'n roll world. Tupelo is where Elvis was born. It's hard not to get caught up in the infectiousness of Elvis here. When you visit the Tupelo Hardware Company, where Elvis bought his first guitar, and you see Elvis pictures all over; when you eat a crispy, fried hamburger at Johnnie's Drive-in and sit in Elvis's bench, again with photos of the King everywhere; when you go to Elvis's birthplace and marvel that he grew up in a two-room house- that's when you start to "get it:" this town is a shrine. If you're lucky, as we were, you'll see singing Elvis impersonators, too. Combined with a trip to Memphis to visit Graceland, you can create a musical vacation that's a rich cultural immersion.
If your kids like the outdoors, Tupelo's Natchez Trace Parkway is a wonderful place to hike, throw a football, and visit the nearby Buffalo Farm. There you'll see the world's only albino buffalo, other animals like zebras and lions, plus you'll be entertained by an authentic Native American guide who seems to be a veritable giraffe "whisperer." For the car fan, the Tupelo Automobile Museum has a knockout collection of Dusenbergs, Corvettes, Packards, and a car originally purchased by Elvis himself. The collection is so big that the displays change frequently.
For adventurous eaters, Tupelo has its intrigue: there are fried green tomatoes, fried peach pie, cheese grits, and some of the best waffles we've ever tasted.
The family-friendly Quality Inn has an indoor swimming pool and a convenient breakfast buffet with biscuits and gravy, eggs, and other teen-friendly fare.
American History Brought to Life
Philadelphia is rich in both tradition and intriguing activities. Particularly inviting as kids learn more about the signing of the Declaration of Independence and other Patriotic events, Philadelphia's Liberty Bell promenade and Independence Mall offer a walking introduction to American history. When my kids got tired (or were lazy, as teens sometimes are), we hired a horse and carriage to take us around Philadelphia's cobbled Center City before heading North to the city's beautifully zoned museum area. Here the wonderful, enlightening Franklin Institute and its rocket, airplanes and other scientific paraphernalia provided hours of educational amusement for everyone. Our favorite hotel, The Rittenhouse Hotel on Rittenhouse Square, is a serene, kid-friendly European-style hotel on a quiet Philadelphia square.
More history waits in Boston, home of the Boston Tea Party and the Freedom Trail, a walking tour that links many of the important landmarks in revolutionary history. Add to that the Museum of Science and the Hayden Planetarium with its IMAX dome theater, and you have a city that entertains kids 365 days a year. During the warmer months, Boston's offbeat Duck Tours got everybody laughing as this World War II amphibious vehicle, sometimes painted to look like a Red Sox advertisement, cruised along the Charles River after meandering through the city's narrow streets. For a room with a view that kids will love, book the Fenway Suite at the wonderful Commonwealth Hotel in Kenmore Square. On game days, you'll swear that you can hear the crowds sing "Sweet Caroline" when Big Papi (David Ortiz) gets up to bat. The hotel also has two comfortable restaurants and is seconds away from a T-stop (the subway).
Now That We've Outgrown Disney
Teens never seem to tire of Las Vegas, no many how many times we visit. Las Vegas has a skyline that invites both kids and adults alike to play. With fountains that dance to music, indoor "skies" that change according to the weather, and a scaled-down replica of New York City with an outdoor roller coaster that skirts among the buildings, Las Vegas is arguably a playground limited only by your imagination. For nighttime activity, Cirque du Soleil offers kid-priced tickets to Mystere and O, two shows that my kids absolutely adored.
In happy juxtaposition with Las Vegas's man-made attractions lie the wonders of the desert, the product of billions of years of nature. Hiking through Red Rock Canyon or rock scrambling in the Valley of Fire provide a panorama of color to perfectly complement the colors of the city's neon-infused architecture. Nearby Hoover Dam was also a mind-boggler for the kids and an easy day trip from the city.
Of all the hotels that we've visited, the kids' two favorites are the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay. Both have great swimming pools, and Mandalay Bay even has a beach and wave pool. Both also have a long variety of restaurants, and the endless walks through the casino to the guestrooms gave the kids some real glimpses into what very grown-up life could be. Mon Ami Gabi at Paris Las Vegas was a great place to savor French cuisine while watching the steady stream of people cruise the Strip. We also liked P.F. Chang's China Bistro when we wanted to get away from the hotel scene and mingle with some of the locals.
Once your kids move past the compliant pre-teen ages, it becomes more challenging to find ways to engage them without hearing that they'd prefer to "chill" with their friends, play on their game systems, or spend endless hours on Myspace or Facebook.
These teen-tried trips will hopefully motivate you to convince your teens that there's a world out there with lots of interesting things, and that it's really worthwhile to give up some personal time to be with your parents (ugh!), doing something that your parents (again ugh!) have suggested.
My teenage sons, Elias and Evan, aged 12 and 16, have become world travelers with definite tastes and preferences. Here is Part One listing some of our favorite travel destinations in the USA. Part Two will take us to Europe and South America.
A Trip to Cali- That's what my kids call going to California. For them, California is another country. LA is the country of the Lakers and the beach; San Francisco is cable cars and the Golden Gate Bridge. Anything in between is just pretty and filled with expensive cars.
To visit both, book the Fairmont Hotel in each city: the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica and the Fairmont in San Francisco. Both are great with kids, as well as with adults, and both have wonderful locations.
In Santa Monica, you're right across from the beach and within a reasonable drive of pretty much everywhere you need to go (although you'll spend lots and lots of time in your car here- there's no subway to help you out). While you might crave some of LA's finer cuisine, the kids will love the kitschy In-n-Out Burger or Fatburger drive-ins. For a dose of fun history, include a visit to the La Brea Tar Pits (with interesting indoor and outdoor exhibits about the animals and fossils stuck in the tar here).
Heading back to the beach, the Santa Monica Pier and its rides are favorites, as is watching people rollerblade and play basketball in Venice. If you can, take a ride up Pacific Coast Highway towards Malibu to see the sunset.
If your kids give you a lot of grief about the enormously steep hills in San Francisco, they'll love the cable cars that climb and descend with people hanging off the sides. The city has put into service a number of cars from cities in the US and Europe, and you might find yourself staring at real ads in Italian instead of English.
Be sure to go to the Presidio to see the Golden Gate Bridge, but also find someone who can show you how to drive underneath the bridge- my kids though it was amazingly cool (so did I). And the kids' hands-down favorite? Crooked Lombard Street, still one of the "wonders of the world," according to the teen set. They also appreciated some of the architecture in the city, particularly the Painted Ladies with their creatively mixed palette of Victorian confection.
Terrific Tupelo (Mississippi)- Do you have kids who love music? Even if they haven't heard too much of Elvis Presley's music, they'll come to love it as they understand how he influenced the entire rock 'n roll world. Tupelo is where Elvis was born. It's hard not to get caught up in the infectiousness of Elvis here. When you visit the Tupelo Hardware Company, where Elvis bought his first guitar, and you see Elvis pictures all over; when you eat a crispy, fried hamburger at Johnnie's Drive-in and sit in Elvis's bench, again with photos of the King everywhere; when you go to Elvis's birthplace and marvel that he grew up in a two-room house- that's when you start to "get it:" this town is a shrine. If you're lucky, as we were, you'll see singing Elvis impersonators, too. Combined with a trip to Memphis to visit Graceland, you can create a musical vacation that's a rich cultural immersion.
If your kids like the outdoors, Tupelo's Natchez Trace Parkway is a wonderful place to hike, throw a football, and visit the nearby Buffalo Farm. There you'll see the world's only albino buffalo, other animals like zebras and lions, plus you'll be entertained by an authentic Native American guide who seems to be a veritable giraffe "whisperer." For the car fan, the Tupelo Automobile Museum has a knockout collection of Dusenbergs, Corvettes, Packards, and a car originally purchased by Elvis himself. The collection is so big that the displays change frequently.
For adventurous eaters, Tupelo has its intrigue: there are fried green tomatoes, fried peach pie, cheese grits, and some of the best waffles we've ever tasted.
The family-friendly Quality Inn has an indoor swimming pool and a convenient breakfast buffet with biscuits and gravy, eggs, and other teen-friendly fare.
American History Brought to Life
Philadelphia is rich in both tradition and intriguing activities. Particularly inviting as kids learn more about the signing of the Declaration of Independence and other Patriotic events, Philadelphia's Liberty Bell promenade and Independence Mall offer a walking introduction to American history. When my kids got tired (or were lazy, as teens sometimes are), we hired a horse and carriage to take us around Philadelphia's cobbled Center City before heading North to the city's beautifully zoned museum area. Here the wonderful, enlightening Franklin Institute and its rocket, airplanes and other scientific paraphernalia provided hours of educational amusement for everyone. Our favorite hotel, The Rittenhouse Hotel on Rittenhouse Square, is a serene, kid-friendly European-style hotel on a quiet Philadelphia square.
More history waits in Boston, home of the Boston Tea Party and the Freedom Trail, a walking tour that links many of the important landmarks in revolutionary history. Add to that the Museum of Science and the Hayden Planetarium with its IMAX dome theater, and you have a city that entertains kids 365 days a year. During the warmer months, Boston's offbeat Duck Tours got everybody laughing as this World War II amphibious vehicle, sometimes painted to look like a Red Sox advertisement, cruised along the Charles River after meandering through the city's narrow streets. For a room with a view that kids will love, book the Fenway Suite at the wonderful Commonwealth Hotel in Kenmore Square. On game days, you'll swear that you can hear the crowds sing "Sweet Caroline" when Big Papi (David Ortiz) gets up to bat. The hotel also has two comfortable restaurants and is seconds away from a T-stop (the subway).
Now That We've Outgrown Disney
Teens never seem to tire of Las Vegas, no many how many times we visit. Las Vegas has a skyline that invites both kids and adults alike to play. With fountains that dance to music, indoor "skies" that change according to the weather, and a scaled-down replica of New York City with an outdoor roller coaster that skirts among the buildings, Las Vegas is arguably a playground limited only by your imagination. For nighttime activity, Cirque du Soleil offers kid-priced tickets to Mystere and O, two shows that my kids absolutely adored.
In happy juxtaposition with Las Vegas's man-made attractions lie the wonders of the desert, the product of billions of years of nature. Hiking through Red Rock Canyon or rock scrambling in the Valley of Fire provide a panorama of color to perfectly complement the colors of the city's neon-infused architecture. Nearby Hoover Dam was also a mind-boggler for the kids and an easy day trip from the city.
Of all the hotels that we've visited, the kids' two favorites are the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay. Both have great swimming pools, and Mandalay Bay even has a beach and wave pool. Both also have a long variety of restaurants, and the endless walks through the casino to the guestrooms gave the kids some real glimpses into what very grown-up life could be. Mon Ami Gabi at Paris Las Vegas was a great place to savor French cuisine while watching the steady stream of people cruise the Strip. We also liked P.F. Chang's China Bistro when we wanted to get away from the hotel scene and mingle with some of the locals.
