Search Results for: art museum

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    10 Things Kids Will Want to Do at Hancock Shaker Village

    ByJennRecord

    Traveling during a still present pandemic: If you’ve been following our adventures this summer, you know that our family has taken precautions to stay safe. We’ve limited our exploration to nearby states with lower COVID cases and to mainly outdoor spaces that take proper precautions to keep staff and visitors safe. Hancock Shaker Village was an easy choice- tons of open space to socially distance, only one family in a building structure at a time (with all doors and windows open to allow for better ventilation), and absolutely nothing to touch. While Hancock Shaker Village is a great place to visit anytime, it’s a very safe bet for family fun during these uncertain times.

    Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2020, the Hancock Shaker Village is the oldest working farm in the Berkshires part of western Massachusetts. The Village was originally home to the Shaker community from the late 1700s until 1959, when it was turned into a museum that includes over 22,000 original artifacts and a research library. The 750 acre complex has a 20 acre working farm, 20 buildings with live interpreters, a massive garden with a very popular Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), and tons of hiking trails, meadows, and woodlands that abut the Pittsfield State Forest.

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    10 Tips for a First Visit to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA

    ByJennRecord

    We visited Busch Gardens Williamsburg in August of 2019. I saved the following post, hoping to share it at the start of the 2020 season. Unfortunately, the COVID 19 pandemic hit and I didn’t feel it appropriate to post when the amusement park was closed. Busch Gardens is scheduled to open in late July and I am sharing the following observations and tips for families choosing to visit the park this summer. I also believe most of these tips will be relevant in future years as well. For the latest updates on Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s schedule check here and for updates on regulations, check here.

    Busch Gardens Williamsburg is an almost 400 aces amusement park in James City County, near the popular “Historic Triangle” of Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg. The complex is organized by European countries and includes over 50 rides, with 9 rollercoasters and 3 water rides, and plenty of family fun. The park is closed in January, February, and parts of March, with select hours and dates for early spring and later fall. Check the full calendar here. On a research trip to Busch Gardens, I learned quite a few tips for saving time and money and for maximizing family fun while visiting the park.

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    Ocean Edge Resort on Cape Cod in Massachusetts

    ByJennRecord

    I grew up less than an hour from Cape Cod, which is located south of Boston- it’s the “flexed arm” in the Massachusetts state outline. We often took day trips to various villages and beaches on the Cape but rarely stayed on site overnight. I didn’t know what I was missing out on until our recent visit to the Ocean Edge Resort.

    Located in Brewster, Massachusetts, in the middle of the Cape, Ocean Edge Resort is a world class resort spread over 400+ acres with its own private beach, 18 hole golf course, 9 tennis courts, 5 pools, and endless amounts of family fun. During the popular summer season, the resort offers daily programming in sports, fitness, dining, and kid friendly activities. There’s a seasonal shuttle throughout the complex so guests can simply “pahk the cah” (you are in Massachusetts, of course) and immediately get into vacation mode.

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    Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine

    ByJennRecord

    Rockport, Maine’s Samoset Resort, known for its stunning views of Penobscot Bay and Camden Hills, award winning 18 hole golf course, and first class service, has been welcoming guests from around the world since 1889. Over the past 130 years, the resort has expanded and renovated many times to include additional hotel suites, meeting and convention spaces, timeshare condominiums, and amenities such as recreational sports, a spa, and several dining options.

    While the resort is most popular in the warmer months, there is still plenty to do during the winter. Check here for information about the popular Glacier Ice Bar Lounge that is created each winter and other popular winter activities. We chose to visit Samoset recently because we knew the resort would have plenty of outdoor activities and plenty of family fun. Samoset more than delivered and we highly recommend a visit.

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    10 Tips for Traveling with Kids

    ByJennRecord

    Who’s ready to get out and start exploring again? ME ME ME ME ME!!! I have been dreaming about road trips since March 11th when I was first quarantined at home. It’s been a looong time. So long, that once I started thinking about getting out and about again, I had to remind myself of some tips I have learned (usually, the hard way) over the past 12 years of traveling with kids. Some of these tips are repeated in my posts here and here and here. Here are 10 tips for traveling with kids:

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    Coast2Coast’s 3rd Birthday!

    ByJennRecord

    The first week in June is our little blog’s 3rd birthday! We’ve come a long way from our first post on the opening of the Dr. Seuss Museum in Springfield, Massachusetts. Since that adventure, we estimate we’ve explored about 20 new-to-us cities, about 15 states, and driven over 30,000 miles adventuring (that’s NOT counting our regular schedule mileage!)

    We’re getting ready to hit the road again soon. We postponed a pretty amazing, pretty epic, almost cross country trip that we had been planning for 2+ years. I’ve been moping about it for a couple of months now, but believe we’ll make our way there next summer. I’m hoping we can reschedule some shorter trips that were planned for the spring, including exploring the Berkshires in Massachusetts parts of Vermont, and Scranton, Pennsylvania. I’m also hoping to revisit some of our favorite New England resorts and share in depth guides for them.

    This week, I’m recapping some of my most popular posts and sharing some stats for the blog. If you haven’t had a chance to read them, here’s a great index: