The girls have a lot to say in where we go and they have already said the obvious Disneyland, Las Vegas (Honey I Blew Up the Kid), Kansas (have had to tell them that there will be no Yellow Brick Road to follow!) Niagara Falls, New York! My 9 year old would love to go to Houston and Cape Canaveral and she is a space girl. The 6 year old wants to go to Atlanta and Charleston..........a Gone with the Wind Girl!!! I have told her that Tara and Twelve Oaks are not real buildings but there will be other thing to see. Including Margaret Mitchells House. They also wanted to see Richie Rich's Monument. When I said that isn't real, but there is one called Mt Rushmore, they thought that was pretty cool as well. And they want to go to every amusement park possible. (Ah no, that wont be happening!)

For the adults it is all of the above plus definitely most of the NP, San Fran, San Diego, New Orleans, Miami, plus for me Gettysberg and other sites from the Civil War (another Gone with the Wind fan!)Washington DC, My husband would like to see the big sports fields.
Disneyland is about a 2-to-3 day deal, depending on whether you've been before, or not. To do it reasonably, I'd recommend that you stay off-site. If you're in an RV, there are a couple of places not far away, and a shuttle that can take you back and forth. If doing a motel, there are some that are actually closer than the 3 Disney-run motels and certainly more affordable.

In Liberal, KS, there is Dorothy's House and Museum. No, no Yellow Brick Road though.

Houston's Space Center is worth at least 5 hours of your time. There are two tours, the Red Tram Tour and the Blue Tram Tour. One takes you to the Rocket Park and Center, and Historic Mission Control. The other also takes you to the Rocket Park and Center, and the Astronaut Training Center. Then there is the big museum there. We were there in summer 2013 (we're space fans, too) and didn't regret anything. While there is food there at a Cafe', it is easy to stop at the grocery store and throw some sandwich makings in the cooler.

NASA Cape Canaveral in Florida is equally interesting. We allowed 5 hours and honestly, wish we'd allowed the whole day. We took the bus tour which takes you to 3 stops. The last stop is at the Apollo Building, which is where we spent the vast majority of our time in summer 2012 trip. Bear in mind, because of the cost of the bus tour, it costs over $40 per day per adult for the Cape, where Houston is about half that price.

The one thing about amusement parks here in the USA: they are definitely not budget friendly. When our girls wanted us to stop at every one they saw advertised, we always claimed the budget.

Gettysburg was another stop on our 2013 summer trip. We allowed 2 days, wanting to do 3 but were running into lodging issues. We spent one day on the museum and the first half of the 13 mile drive, and finished it out the 2nd day, but did not do anything like the David Wills house. If you want to do the Haunted tours, I suggest booking ahead, as we could not make a reservation for one when we got there as they were already booked. We really enjoyed Gettysburg, and are now looking forward to seeing Antietam, Manassas, and a few others, on future trips.

Click here for San Diego information. If you have any questions about San Diego, feel free to ask, as I've lived here for over 20 years.

Donna