I vote for a stay in a cabin on a lake in Northern Vernont. I think it would be relaxing and it's good to be out in the middle of nowhere where the kids can run wild if they choose.
My only other vacation ideas revolve around visits to botanical gardens and that sort of stuff bores other people to death. Probably not so good for hubby and kids.

Mike

haha yea i would be totally into visiting a botanical garden, but they might not be that into it... i have been keeping my eye out for botanical gardens where we have been looking, and if they dont wanna go i can always go myself! a cabin would be so lovely, but it might get to be too much having the kiddos there for a week with nothing much more to do... my son will be 4 1/2 and my daughter will be 2 1/2.... so we have been trying to maybe look into places where they have child themed parks... such as sesame street play place, or busch gardens or some sort of theme park or something that they could have fun doing for a day... a few years ago we went to new jersey for a week and it was aweseom!!!! we were in a hotel right on the beach, we could see the pier from our hotel window... we cant go back there now because that stupid "Jersey Shore" show was made there and im sure its now full of drunkin' kids.... there are so many ideas swimming around in our heads right now. ill definatly bring up staying in a cabin to my hubby, even if its only for a few days. i think more than anything we are gonna be looking for something to do... we live in the country now, so my son gets to run and play as he pleases... so a cabin in the woods is really not far off from how we live every day!

I agree with Mike's proposition. I have good memories of cabin style vacations when I was a kid. Because it's great to run around and shriek to your heart's content without being herded or scolded or otherwise told you are misbehaving and embarrassing them. Which is what usually seems to happen on vacations.

I stayed at a beautiful bed and breakfast in New Hampshire, somewhere near Dartmouth. It was an old farmhouse that had been remodeled using lots of eccentrically lavish touches. Cute bunks and cubbyholes for kids to sleep, and the great outdoors encroaching on all sides, horses if you're into that sort of thing. But I would have no idea what it was called now. But, still, the right type of bed and breakfast can be quite a idyllic getaway too. Maybe you could go to one of those "work on a farm" getaways and it would be just like when I hang out with my parents... >_>

Stay in Philadelphia. :D Sightsee in one of America's oldest cities.

Or my home state of New Jersey. Everyone dumps on it but we're called the GARDEN STATE for a reason. South Jersey has tons of lovely beaches and not all of them are linked to Jersey Shore! FYI, most of those boneheads are from New York. Jersey people are usually pretty nice.

What are you looking for -sightseeing? A beach vacation? A total nature getaway?

im really thinking a beach vacation... ive been to jersey a few times and LOVED it every time, the few times we went we always stayed in seaside heights and at a hotel that was almost on top of the pier there. we loved it, but i wouldnt wanna go back to that area now, because of all the "jersey shore" stuff that has happened since then... obviously the last time we went was before that show came out... i know that most jersey is not like that but because now everyone knows where that show was filmed im sure theres a ton of drunk kids hanging out around there... honestly we would LOVE to go to jersey again!!! do you by any chance know of any beaches with hotels close by that arent a hot bed for tourism? i hate being in crowded areas on vacation and i always like to find a nice quiet place to be. i know there was a very nice state park that was DESERTED!!! so we went and spent a good part of the day there where it was quiet and you could just enjoy everything. if you could recommend some spots in jersey that would be wonderful... since its at the top of our list at No.1... number two is probably virginia since ive never been there besides driving through.

goddess... sorry, i also wanna say that im sorry that those 'boneheads' have given jersey such a bad rep. its the people like them that have also given the rest of new york a bad rep. and its because of them that any time i tell someone im from new york they immediatly think im from the city or something and ask what part im from... when i tell them near binghamton they ask where in the city that is? lol. i tell them that its HOURS away from the city in upstate new york, where we are surrounded by beautiful country side, rolling hills and hundreds of small time farms and farmers... and as im writing to you right now, a tractor full of cow manure just drove by, lol. i know what its like to have someone look at one group of people and say "those damn New Yorkers" or "those damn Jersey people!" i just wanted to make sure i was clear when refrencing jersey that i know the whole state in no where near that... i was just saying that now that 'jersey shore' was filmed at seaside heights that im sure thats now a mecca for annoying drunk kids... lol

Well I was gonna say there's lots more to the Jersey Shore than just where they filmed that show. I'm not from Jersey, but know this to be true.

I had grandparents in upper NYS (near Glens Falls) & loved upstate. Studied for a time in Buffalo, have had friends, family in Utica, Ithica, Clinton, know there's LOTS more to NYS than many folks know.

Ausable Chasm was some upstate place w/ caves, stalagmites & stalagtites, such was very cool when I was in my teens. Anything appealing around the Lake George area, maybe camping?

Just on a lark, try Googling NYS travel or 'I love NYS' & see what comes up.

Also Delaware Water Gap (near NY, PA borders) is beautiful country, just as pretty as upper NYS, you may some some camping sites there too.

thank you pirate_girl for mentioning Ausable Chasm... ive never been there but it would certiantly be a awesome day trip... we are actually packing our bags right now to go stay in ithaca for the weekend. my husbands uncle owns a house up there right on Cayuga Lake, and a little beach house where a few people can fall asleep looking at the water... thats where we had our honeymoon when we got married, and we just found out that at the end of this year his uncle will be selling the house due to not being able to afford the taxes after he retires. when you were up near buffalo did you ever go to Letchworth State Park? they call it the grand canyon of the east, its AMAZING! ill definatly look into lake george too, the only lakes ive been to around here is Cayuga, Senaca, Keuka and Skaneateles...

Amber, I meant more so the people from Manhattan and the islands. The people from NY state are usually less...crazy.

Wildwood is nice. I went there last year and it was a bit crowded but the beaches are pretty nice. The area near the tip of New Jersey (like Cape May) are usually less hectic. However, the beaches are all very popular during the summer so you can expect crowds.

I hear OC Maryland is also very nice.

Yes Ocean City is a wonderfully nice place to vacation. They have a great little boardwalk! Spring break around mid April is the only time I would not recommend it. It was very peaceful and tranquil beach! It ranks very close to my all time favorite if Destin Beach. However I don't think you want to venture that far South!