Below are short summer destinations for your children and grandchildren. My goal is to help you get the wheels rolling. I have chosen places to visit in the USA. Many of the places of interest represent our country’s history, creating fun and educational trips for all!

Washington, DC

• Plan an afternoon to Mount Vernon Plantation, home of Martha and George Washington.
• Experience the Ford Theatre, the theatre where Abraham Lincoln was shot.
• Venture to the Albert Einstein Planetarium, which tells the history of America’s outer space journey.
• Take your grands to Arlington National Cemetery, where John F. Kennedy, other United States presidents and our military men who protected our country rest.
• Visit Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in North America.

New York, New York

• Ride in a horse-drawn carriage through Central Park. Central Park is one of the most beautiful parks in the world in the center of Manhattan.
• Tour the New York Stock Exchange. Learn about investing in money!
• Attend a Broadway show or two and prepare to be impressed by the impeccable talent.
• Arrange a private tour of the United Nations. It’s great for your grands to learn about world organizations so they have a global perspective.
• Tour the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The Statue is an icon of freedom and a welcoming symbol to our land. Ellis Island was the gateway for millions of immigrants and our nation’s inspection station
• Take a helicopter ride over Manhattan: home of the United Nations, Wall Street and one of the largest cities in the world. This is a must experience for your children and grandchildren.
• Schedule a private tour of West Point, the United States Military Academy.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

• The Grand Canyon encompasses nearly 2 billion years of Earth’s geological history. President Theodore Roosevelt was a proponent of preserving the Grand Canyon. Take a week raft trip with your grandchildren and expose them to family togetherness and our beautiful America.

Honolulu, Hawaii

• Visit Pearl Harbor by taking the military boat ride out to the Arizona Memorial. Wiew the site where the Empire of Japan attacked the United States Pacific Feet that forced the United States into World War II.
• Hike Diamond Head and see the lookouts where our USA military positioned themselves during WWII.
• Snorkel with your family and see hundreds of fish will swarm around you at Hanauma Bay. It’s a fabulous fun-filled day and an experience for all, I promise.
• Drive the island in bathing suits with your family to the North Shore. Watch the surfers and have lunch or dinner at Haleiwa Beach House.
• Learn the history of the islands with your children and grandchildren through an all-day excursion to the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Memphis, Tennessee

• Experience Elvis Presley’s Graceland, a wonderful afternoon for both adults and children.
• Attend one of Sun Studios’ guided tours so you can learn the insider stories of countless musicians and stand in the same spot Elvis did when he recorded.
• National Civil Rights Museum
• Take a tour of Gibson’s Guitar Factory and learn the complex steps in creating the musical instrument.
• Stay at the Peabody Hotel, a landmark hotel in Memphis.

Awaken The Adventure Within

I could go on and on with places to visit. Adventure is key. You don’t have to travel to the other side of the world to find numerous spots to nurture curiosity. On every trip, I have had serendipitous experiences with people who make up the landscape of every city in the world.

I suggest talking to people. Meeting people from different cities and countries adds emotional flavor to your grandchildren’s trip. The United States is by far the greatest country in the world because of our people. We are the heroes and heroines that made this country great.

My Recent Experiences

My interest when I travel is in the human spirit as opposed to material possessions. Here are a few of my recent experiences that have broadened my thinking.

Last winter in Bali I became close to a married young woman who was a concierge at our resort. Her name is Parmini and she is a Buddhist. The lesson she taught me was worth my entire trip, “Be kind. You never know when you might need your next door neighbor.”

In Malaysia, I met John, who is Chinese. He took me into bookstores to introduce me to books on Feng Shui when I showed an interest. Feng Shui is a  Chinese system that directs you in the placement of your furniture, colors and fabrics you choose in your home and office. If you follow the Feng Shui principle, you will feel a steady flow of positive energy. I know this is true.

On a mountain hike at a spa in California, I was not in a mood to walk through a Labyrinth maze. If I had not met an interesting woman on the hike, she never would have pushed me to take the walk. When I finished, I came out with the answer to the most important question I was seeking!