Family Vacation in July

I think the beach is the way to go. If you are staying in Michigan one of my favorite places to go is Petoskey/ Harbor Springs area. It is about 4 hours north and it is beautiful! There is so much to do for a young family. The Petoskey State Park has the best beach in Michigan. Your little one will love it. There are lots of condos available in that area for about the same price as a hotel. It is hard to eat out all three meals, especially breakfast. My parents have a condo in Trout Creek- in Harbor Springs. They have three pools, swingsets, tennis courts, and lots of nature trails. Their website is : troutcreek.com
I highly recommend it!

S.

Have you considered renting or borrowing a small camper and heading west towards Ludington & the dunes or to the U.P.? There's lots to do for all ages - the lakes & beaches, state parks & forests, etc. The Meijer butterfly garden in Grand Rapids may still be open. It's a lot less expensive than hotels and eating out every day.

Hi J.,

I haven't tried this yet myself (I only found out about it about 4 months ago) but if you stay at FDR in Jamaica you get a vacation nanny with the cost of your lodging. She is there for you from 9 - 4 and after hours for $3/hourif you would like. She will even shop and cook meals for you. You can do a search for FDR in Jamaica and you can find out costs and read reviews (the ones I have read are awesome). My daughter is 4 now and we have taken her everywhere with us since she was born (about twice a year we go somewhere). We have several timeshares so we usually travel to them or trade for other destinations but I wish I had heard about FDR sooner. My daughter is just about old now to attend kids programs (which is awesome) so we finally feel like we are on vacation! Good luck and I hope this helps.

B.

Try the Traverse City/Glen Arbor Area. The drive isn't too bad and there is lots to do. We stayed in a condo at the Homestead last year. Lots of pools and several restaurants on site. The condo was a bit difficult to get to though and the resort is hilly so it was hard to push the stroller- however there are condos for rent closer to the pool and dinning areas. We have also stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge in T.C. Brendan was 14 months at the time and loved it. It is a bit pricy- but is great for a night or two.

Good luck!!