Alamo and Socialmoms.com have come together in honor of Alamo’s new Insider program and are asking moms what they believe are 5 summer getaways every kid should experience.
Since summer is almost upon us and we’ve been cooped up in our house all winter long we’re anxious to get away and have a little fun as a family, even if only for the weekend. Because we’re somewhat new to this, and we have a new member of the family this summer we’re going to be taking it easy and just getting the feel of things around town and in our home state of Michigan. So here they are, in no specific order, 5 summer getaways every kid should experience.
The Beach
What’s summer without the beach? Living in a state surrounded by the Great Lakes I don’t think I’ve ever had a summer that didn’t involve the water somehow. My husband and I used to love to hop in the car and drive up the coast of Lake Huron. We’d find a cheap seasonal motel or cottage and stop for the night. In the morning we’d wake up and check out the small towns and find a beach and just enjoy the view. I can’t wait to go this year with both of my boys! It will be Aidan’s first time experiencing the water.
Here’s Vincent walking in the water of Lake Huron for the first time at 16 months.
The Zoo
The zoo is the one place that I feel I have to see every summer without fail. Luckily for us we only live about 3 miles from the Detroit Zoo so we are able to go anytime we want. I used to go almost every year with my Grandma. She’d always let me bring a friend. I have a lot of great memories there and hope that my boys will be able to make great memories there as well. Once again this year will be the first year for Aidan experiencing the zoo.
Vincent visiting the Sea Lions in 2009 at 14 months and then again in 2010 at 2 years old. I can’t believe how much he’s grown!
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Independence Day
One of the things I look forward to most in the summer is celebrating Independence Day. We live in one of the greatest countries in the world and I love celebrating it with my family every year! When I was younger there were times that we went “up north” to my stepfathers families “cottage” (no matter what type of house/trailer/cave you have in Michigan we call it a cottage) and watched the fireworks off the pier in the tiny little town nearby. It was always great memories because my Grandfather was actually born in that area and so it was fun to imagine him living there with his family when he was young. I’m hoping sometime in the next few years when the boys are a little older we can get our own cottage and go up north for the holiday each year. Until then we’ll make a day of it enjoying the fireworks near our house. Here are a few from last year.
Museums
I have such great memories of visiting museums. I have always been really big on Science and I have to credit my grandparents for that. When I was younger we traveled A LOT and we seen many amazing things. Some of my family live in Memphis and while we were there one year my Grandmother took me to see the mummy of Ramses III. Now that is something you can never forget! As a kid it really opened up the world to me and made the things in my school books a lot more real. I hope to do this for my son’s. I really want to get them involved in a lot of educational trips, so this year we had our first trip to Cranbrook Institute of Science. When I was much younger I actually did my career day there! I visited with the curator and got to see the basement where they keep all the artifacts not available to the public. It’s still one of the most memorable museum visits of my life.
Here is Vincent digging for fossils and sizing up a really old tree
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Camping
When my husband and I were first married one of the very first places we vacationed was in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We call it the U.P. (YOU P). Michigan has some amazing waterfalls, along with an ancient mountain range, sand dunes and awesome miles and miles of shoreline, some of it very much like what can be found in Oregon. Camping is a very big thing here naturally and I can’t wait to take my boys camping! Even though Aidan is only 8 months we’re going to go this year. However, I won’t be going anywhere near any waterfalls with a 3 yr old who can’t sit still! We’ll take it slow and go somewhere on flat land 
Maybe we’ll go visit a few lighthouses
A photo from our camping trip at Tahquamenon Falls in Michigan’s U.P.
Whatever you decide to do as a family this summer I wish you tons of fun and wonderful memories!
Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Alamo blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here
