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Family Vacations: Ideas by region -  Travel with Kids

Top 10: Best Spring Festivals for Families 2010 - Road Trips for Families

Boise: an Affordable Family Vacation - Traveling Mom

Disney ends free ticket program after 1 million volunteers sign up - Gadling

Big Families Can Enjoy Georgia’s 48 State Parks with Great Lodging Rates for Cottages Up to 3 Bedrooms. - Big Family Vacations

KIDS LOVE I-75 – Michigan – Detroit Zoo – Spring Break -  Kids Love Travel

Passive Aggressive Notes: Suburban Turmoil Edition - Suburban Turmoil

Family Travel Growth on the Web - Ciao Bambino

Top 6 Big Family Friendly Destinations

Need ideas to help plan your next vacation?  Need hotels that can accommodate your big family?

Check out these great cities with the most hotels on SixSuitcaseTravel that can accommodate families of 5, 6, 7, or 8.

1. Orlando – 39
2. Anaheim – 34
3. Tampa – 24
4. Houston – 19
5. San Diego – 19
6. Dallas – 18

St Patrick’s Day Parades

Next week is St Patrick’s Day.  Round up the children and go to a parade!   

According to Wikipedia these are the oldest and longest running parades in the US:

• Boston, Massachusetts, since 1737
• New York City, since 1762
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1771
• Morristown, New Jersey, since 1780
• New Orleans, Louisiana, since 1809
• Buffalo, New York, since 1811
• Savannah, Georgia, since 1813
• Carbondale, Pennsylvania, since 1833
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin, since 1843 
• Chicago, Illinois, since 1843
• New Haven, Connecticut, since 1842
• Saint Paul, Minnesota, since 1851
• San Francisco, California, since 1852
• Scranton, Pennsylvania, since 1862
• Cleveland, Ohio, since 1867
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, since 1869
• Kansas City, Missouri, since 1873
• Butte, Montana, since 1882
• Rolla, Missouri, since 1908

Want to go to a parade near you?  Check out St Patrick’s Day parades by state on this great site.

Bring disinfectant wipes to wipe down your rental car.

Recently on the Today Show- Secret Filth Exposed, they examined how many germs rental cars carry. 

The team rented 6 cars from the Miami International airport.  The cars were sent to a certified lab where the radio knobs, steering wheel, climate control buttons, window switches, gear shift, navigation system, floor mats, and car seats were swabbed.

The results?  Two of the six cars tested clean.  However in the other four, bacteria that included stomach and flu viruses and even strep throat were found.

How is this happening?  The car rental companies have downsized their cleaning staff so not every car is sanitized or fully cleaned before being rented again. There isn’t any law or regulation agencies to oversee the cleanliness of rental cars.

The Today Show warns that even though the car may look clean, germs can lurk on the most dirtiest locations of the steering wheel, handles, window switches and gear shift.

So bring those wipes and give your car a good wipe down.  No one wants to be sick on vacation!

Thanks to my friend Lanette for this travel tip.

Most of us with big families couldn’t afford these “great value vacations” even in a good year.

I know that many of you are one income families.  Many of us have had to tighten an already tight belt.  If a vacation is taken this year, it has to be realistic and cheap.

That’s why you should periodically check out our travel specials page.  I comb through our affiliate specials to highlight deals I think will help your family go on vacation.

Know of a gret deal?  Let me know.   Took a vacation on the cheap?  Let us know, be a guest blogger.

Follow me to new, stories, and blogs about travel, family and mothering.

New details emerge on Six Flags’ Texas Giant renovation - Theme Park Insider

Announcing: Peeps in Places - Intelligent Travel Blog

Fake Airline Pilot Arrested, Flew Passenger Jets for 13 Years - RickSeaney

Exploring San Francisco’s Exploratorium with Kids - Travels with Baby Tips

Best Travel Camera Bag for Women – Review of Jill-e Bag Plus Giveaway - Traveling Mamas

Hey Families! Don’t you love Museum / Factory Tours that include Food? - Family Travel Blog

Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C.: Travel tips, parade, fireworks, bloom watch - Daily Travel & Deal Blog

Door to Door Fundraising Sales - The Meanest Mom

Thanks for Noticing Me - Momalom

Bad Trips

As I think about planning a Summer vacation, I remember a family vacation I took as a kid that bombed.

I remember the five of us driving for what seemed forever on a hot summer day.  We didn’t have air conditioning in the car and back then I don’t think I knew that cars had such a feature. 

We drove and drove and when we finally arrived at our destination it wasn’t exactly a kid pleaser. We had arrived at a museum that housed hundreds of antiques. 

Or as they proudly put it, “the largest private collection of Americana anywhere.”

Now when you’re a kid you look forward to amusement parks, adventure, or fascinating places.  This was none of the above.

We spent hours perusing the collections of this and that,  the three of us girls bored out of our minds.  Sure some items were interesting but were they worth the long car drive to see it?  Um, no.

Then to top it off at the end of the night when we found a hotel….  Found a hotel, as in we didn’t make reservations before we left on our trip.  As in my father walked in and asked for a room.  Can you tell that drove me crazy as a kid?  I always wondered what we would do if the hotels were full.

Anyways, at the end of the night as we got ready for bed, there was a roach on the pillow on my sister’s and my bed. A roach.  My father killed it but I was appalled and made my sister sleep on that side.

I don’t mean to sound like a spoiled brat.  We were lucky back then to be able to take a vacation.  Those were rough times.

But I still tease my Dad that he owes me a vacation.

Tell me about your bad trips or trips that bombed below.

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Over at Traveling Mamas, Cajun Mama posted the Top 10 Summer Travel Destinations in the US according to the American Society of Travel Agents. Hop on over to check it out. 

Want to take your big family to one of these destinations?  We got you covered!  Find your hotel for your big family at SixSuitcaseTravel.

Orlando – 41 hotels for big families

Las Vegas – 7 hotels for big families

San Francisco - 6 hotels for big families

Miami - 12 hotels for big families

Los Angeles - 3 hotels for big families

New York City - 8 hotels for big families

San Diego - 19 hotels for big families

Honolulu - 8 hotels for big families

Seattle - 9 hotels for big families

Washington, DC - 4 hotels for big families

Thanks to Traveling Mamas for this great article to help give us some summer vacation ideas.

So enjoy this picture of my youngest taken at Saturday’s three school TaeKwonDo competition.

She earned a 3rd place in board breaking, a 1st in creative one step punch defense, a 1st in sparring, and she earned a 2nd in her age group over all.

Whoohoo!

Only 8 more weeks of training before black belt testing.

Tomorrow we’ll go back to your regularly scheduled updates, tips, ideas, travel, and hotels for big families.