Need Travel Suggestions for end of June!

[vc10um]

Oh helpful PSers, DH and I are in need of suggestions!

We were originally planning to spend our first anniversary at a B&B on Mackinac Island, MI, along with a few days in Traverse City. While we would still love to visit, the prospect of spending 4 out of our 9 days of vacation in the car is making me go .

Because we're planning on buying a house this year, we intend to keep to a reasonable budget but would like to take a week-long trip. Something within a 1-day drive (up to 10 hours in-car is fine), train ride, or short-ish (8 hours max on-plane time) flight from DC. We're looking mostly for relaxation, with some stuff to do...we both enjoy the outdoors (light hiking, for example, but NOT camping ), eco-tourism, sight-seeing, and FOOD (must.have.good.food.), and we don't mind high temps if the humidity isn't awful. DH dislikes crowds...so off-the-beaten-path suggestions or places that may be slightly off-season are welcome!

We booked our honeymoon based off the suggestions of a PSer, so hopefully we have the same luck with our anniversary!

 

[tuffyluvr]

My friend goes to Pawleys Island SC with her family every year around that time, and she absolutely adores it. I have never been, but it looks beautiful, it's a bit more "off the beaten path" than, say, Hilton Head or Myrtle Beach, and it's a lot closer than MI!

 

[zoebartlett]

Come to Boston! It has great sightseeing and food, and there are many day trips you could take.

There's always the Cape, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard, too (although that's the beginning of their busy tourist season, so I'd look into booking soon if the Cape and the islands interest you). The coast of Maine is great, too, but again, book early if interested.

If you're thinking about heading to the mountains, Asheville, NC is beautiful. The Biltmore estate is there, which is fun to visit. There's a restaurant on the property that's really, really good, but the name escapes me at the moment. I can look it up for you if you might be headed that way. The White Mountains in northern NH are gorgeous and there's tons of outdoor things to do. Not sure about the food though. It's a little remote.

Colorado is fun to visit and the mountains are gorgeous. Have you been to the Rockies? There's so much to do, especially for those who love to spend time outdoors. We went last summer (early July) and had so much fun. We divided our time between visiting family in Denver and the surrounding areas and Breckenridge. Boulder is a lot of fun, too.

 

[vc10um]

tuffy, I've never heard of Pawleys Island...which bodes well for it not being crowded. I will certainly look into it!

Zoe, Boston/Maine is also on our list of potentials...I haven't been since I was looking at colleges and we didn't get to do much "touristy" stuff. I hadn't thought of Colorado, but DH went frequently as a kid and really loved it...and I've never been. So thanks for the reminder (especially since Frontier flies direct from DCA to DEN)!

Keep 'em comin', folks!

 

[stephbolt]

I was going to say Maine too! I know it's at the high end of how far you are willing to drive from DC, but I have friends who went up there last summer and had an incredible time.

 

[lulu]

Well, you don't have to give up on Mackinac/Traverse. You could fly into Saginaw and rent a car.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Well I personally think you should listen to the same PS'er who recommended your honeymoon destination...

come to RI or Boston I have a particularly fetching young tour guide I can put you in contact with. He accepts payment in goldfish crackers and kisses.

 

[vc10um]

Well I personally think you should listen to the same PS'er who recommended your honeymoon destination...

come to RI or Boston I have a particularly fetching young tour guide I can put you in contact with. He accepts payment in goldfish crackers and kisses.

Tehehe. She DOES offer EXCELLENT suggestions! If we don't come for our anniversary, I think at least myself, if not DH, would be interested in a long weekend this summer. I will come armed with goldfishies and smooches. And a camera.

 

[zoebartlett]

I was going to say Maine too! I know it's at the high end of how far you are willing to drive from DC, but I have friends who went up there last summer and had an incredible time.

I feel like Maine is often underrated, so I had to give it a plug. It's one of my very favorite places. We live fairly close so we can easily do day trips. We're going for almost a week over the summer and I can't wait.

 

[vc10um]

I was going to say Maine too! I know it's at the high end of how far you are willing to drive from DC, but I have friends who went up there last summer and had an incredible time.

I feel like Maine is often underrated, so I had to give it a plug. It's one of my very favorite places. We live fairly close so we can easily do day trips. We're going for almost a week over the summer and I can't wait.

This reminded me! Friends of mine went to Maine last summer and had a fabulous time...Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, IIRC. I'll plug them for some information as well!

lulu, we checked flights awhile back and they were cost-prohibitive, but I just checked flights to Traverse City today and they're back to reasonable...so that's also another option.

Thanks again for the help, everyone!

 

[sillyberry]

I was going to say Maine too! I know it's at the high end of how far you are willing to drive from DC, but I have friends who went up there last summer and had an incredible time.

I feel like Maine is often underrated, so I had to give it a plug. It's one of my very favorite places. We live fairly close so we can easily do day trips. We're going for almost a week over the summer and I can't wait.

This reminded me! Friends of mine went to Maine last summer and had a fabulous time...Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, IIRC. I'll plug them for some information as well!

lulu, we checked flights awhile back and they were cost-prohibitive, but I just checked flights to Traverse City today and they're back to reasonable...so that's also another option.

Thanks again for the help, everyone!

As for Maine, it's really beautiful. Particularly good if you enjoy the outdoors (I, um, don't). Portland is supposed to have a really good food scene these days, too. I know WaPo has covered it.

Burlington, VT is lovely. I was only there for a weekend and it was some years ago, but some really great eats and lots of charm.

 

[Burberrygirl]

I'm from Michigan so I'm completely biased and think you should spend your anniversary there lol. I have the best memories of being Up North in the summers. If you decided to fly into Traverse City and rent a car you could check out Charlevoix and Harbor Springs. Mackinac Island is lovely, and I know they have a lilac festival sometime in June.

I see Sillyberry mentioned Portland. I think that is a great suggestion because you mentioned you love food. I actually live in Portland now. There are amazing restaurants here. There are also some great microbreweries and wineries around here. Seattle is also close so there'd be lots to do. I moved to Portland in June and the weather was absolutely beautiful. Portland is a pretty cool place.

Everyone has given you really great suggestions. I don't think you could go wrong with any of those places!

 

[sillyberry]

I'm from Michigan so I'm completely biased and think you should spend your anniversary there lol. I have the best memories of being Up North in the summers. If you decided to fly into Traverse City and rent a car you could check out Charlevoix and Harbor Springs. Mackinac Island is lovely, and I know they have a lilac festival sometime in June.

I see Sillyberry mentioned Portland. I think that is a great suggestion because you mentioned you love food. I actually live in Portland now. There are amazing restaurants here. There are also some great microbreweries and wineries around here. Seattle is also close so there'd be lots to do. I moved to Portland in June and the weather was absolutely beautiful. Portland is a pretty cool place.

Everyone has given you really great suggestions. I don't think you could go wrong with any of those places!

Just for clarity, I meant Portland Maine. But Portland Oregon is probably lovely, too!

 

[vc10um]

I'm from Michigan so I'm completely biased and think you should spend your anniversary there lol. I have the best memories of being Up North in the summers. If you decided to fly into Traverse City and rent a car you could check out Charlevoix and Harbor Springs. Mackinac Island is lovely, and I know they have a lilac festival sometime in June.

I see Sillyberry mentioned Portland. I think that is a great suggestion because you mentioned you love food. I actually live in Portland now. There are amazing restaurants here. There are also some great microbreweries and wineries around here. Seattle is also close so there'd be lots to do. I moved to Portland in June and the weather was absolutely beautiful. Portland is a pretty cool place.

Everyone has given you really great suggestions. I don't think you could go wrong with any of those places!

Just for clarity, I meant Portland Maine. But Portland Oregon is probably lovely, too!

Thanks SB and BBG!

BBG, I'm also from Michigan (well, sorta...I went to UofM for my Bachelor's and Master's Degrees, and it just feels like "home" to me) but, believe it or not, I never made it "up North"...and DH has wanted to go to Mackinac Island since he saw it on "Dirty Jobs" of all things, LOL! Portland, Oregon is also on our list of places to visit sometime down the road, for sure!

SB...I'll have to dig up some info from the WaPo about Portland, Maine!

After a lot of talking with DH, we decided to put the decision on the back burner until we figure out where we'll be moving. That decision will happen at the end of February-ish. We're deciding between two locations...if we end up with location A, then we'll go to Mackinac, since it will be even MORE inconvenient to get to in the future...but if we move to location B, we'll only be a half-day's drive from Mackinac, permanently, so we'll cancel the B&B there and move to plan B, which is looking like either a week in Boston/Maine, or a week at a nice all-inclusive in the Caribbean if we can snag a good deal (since we're both suckers for reading in a hammock listening to the sounds of the waves).

 

[Burberrygirl]

I'm from Michigan so I'm completely biased and think you should spend your anniversary there lol. I have the best memories of being Up North in the summers. If you decided to fly into Traverse City and rent a car you could check out Charlevoix and Harbor Springs. Mackinac Island is lovely, and I know they have a lilac festival sometime in June.

I see Sillyberry mentioned Portland. I think that is a great suggestion because you mentioned you love food. I actually live in Portland now. There are amazing restaurants here. There are also some great microbreweries and wineries around here. Seattle is also close so there'd be lots to do. I moved to Portland in June and the weather was absolutely beautiful. Portland is a pretty cool place.

Everyone has given you really great suggestions. I don't think you could go wrong with any of those places!

Just for clarity, I meant Portland Maine. But Portland Oregon is probably lovely, too!

Sorry, Sillyberry! I should have realized you meant Portland, Maine! I was tired when I posted, looking back it's obvious you meant Maine, lol. It's funny, my mom is in town right now and I was searching for things to do with her. I came across all these food, beer, and wine tours. I read your post right after that and just assumed you meant Oregon.

 

[Burberrygirl]

Thanks SB and BBG!

BBG, I'm also from Michigan (well, sorta...I went to UofM for my Bachelor's and Master's Degrees, and it just feels like "home" to me) but, believe it or not, I never made it "up North"...and DH has wanted to go to Mackinac Island since he saw it on "Dirty Jobs" of all things, LOL! Portland, Oregon is also on our list of places to visit sometime down the road, for sure!

SB...I'll have to dig up some info from the WaPo about Portland, Maine!

After a lot of talking with DH, we decided to put the decision on the back burner until we figure out where we'll be moving. That decision will happen at the end of February-ish. We're deciding between two locations...if we end up with location A, then we'll go to Mackinac, since it will be even MORE inconvenient to get to in the future...but if we move to location B, we'll only be a half-day's drive from Mackinac, permanently, so we'll cancel the B&B there and move to plan B, which is looking like either a week in Boston/Maine, or a week at a nice all-inclusive in the Caribbean if we can snag a good deal (since we're both suckers for reading in a hammock listening to the sounds of the waves).

Haha, I didn't know they showed Mackinac Island on an episode of Dirty Jobs! Let me guess, did it have something to do with horse manure? Good luck with your move, and I'm sure you guys will have a lovely anniversary where ever you decide.