Family Resort
Steinhatchee Landing Resort
If Tarzan took a vacation, he'd feel right at home in Florida's Panhandle. Thanks to the down-home luxuriousness of Steinhatchee Landing, however, families can enjoy the area's tropical features--untamed jungles teeming with wildlife and strands of century-old moss oaks and silver palms--in comfort. Located in tiny Steinhatchee (about three miles from the Gulf of Mexico), the 12-year-old resort resembles a 1920s Florida village. Its 32 vacation homes feature tin roofs and front porches plus modern amenities such as laundry facilities and refrigerators. Families can spend their days hiking, cycling, and canoeing (rentals available), splashing in the pool, cruising on the Steinhatchee River (extra fee), or fishing for crabs and catfish from the dock. What's more, free passes let guests visit numerous area state parks at no charge (favorites include Peacock Springs and Manatee Springs, where millions of gallons of warm water burble up every day). In summer (peak season), nightly rates range from $180 to $253 for one- and two-bedroom units. Call (352) 498-3513 or go to Steinhatchee Landing.
Nature Escape
Billie Swamp Safari
Sleep under the stars in the Florida Everglades at Billie Swamp Safari, a cultural eco-attraction run by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Billie Swamp's chickees, sable palm thatch and cypress log frame structures, offer rustic nature escapes (no TVS or private baths) in the heart of the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation, about 50 miles west of Fort Lauderdale. To learn about the Seminoles, families can visit the on-site Ah Tah Thi Ki Museum, which portrays Seminole life through exhibits, films, and an outdoor boardwalk and village. Additional attractions include guided swamp tours, airboat rides, a snake and alligator show, and a restaurant serving Seminole delicacies such as Indian fry bread and gator tail alongside burgers and chicken nuggets. Admission prices vary; nightly rates are $65 for a chickee that sleeps up to 12. Call (800) 949-6101 or go to Seminole Tribe.
Monumental
Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier
Even children went to battle during the Civil War, and at the 422-acre Pamplin Historical Park in Petersburg, Virginia, families can hear their stories. Unlike most Civil War museums, the park's National Museum of the Civil War Soldier focuses on the lives of the common soldier. (One audio tour even incorporates the words of a 13-year-old drummer boy.) Kids can stuff a virtual knapsack to learn how few socks, shirts, and pants fit into a 16-pound bag while leaving room for a skillet and plate, listen to tales of slave life at the Field Quarter cabin, and meet costumed interpreters mending uniforms and cleaning muskets at the outdoor military encampment. In summer, kids ages seven to 12 are invited to learn about farming and soldiering at the facility's day camp. Admission is $13.50 for adults and $7.50 for kids ages 6 through 11. Call (877) pamplin or go to Pamplin Park.
Nature Escape
Cacapon Resort State Park
Nestled in the shadows of West Virginia's scenic Cacapon Mountain, 6,000-acre Cacapon Resort State Park offers the perks of a resort vacation--horseback riding, golf, and water sports--without the high prices. Here, families can hike on 20 miles of trails, play tennis and volleyball, enjoy boating, swimming, and fishing in the trout-stocked lake, and take in multi-state views (Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania) from the park's panoramic overlooks. Nightly summer rates for a family of four in the modern, 48-room Cacapon Lodge start at $78; cabins, which sleep up to 12 and have kitchens and stone fireplaces, start at $102; park admission is free; activity prices vary. Call (800) CALL WVA or go to Cacapon Resort. Berkeley Springs, a small resort town boasting a public pool, mineral baths, and the funky Star Theatre movie house (call (304) 258-1404), is only ten miles away.
Cultural Attraction
Glen Echo Park
Just a few miles from Washington, D.C., Glen Echo Park in Glen Echo, Maryland, beckons families with old-fashioned fun. This local treasure began as a Victorian-era Chautauqua facility, bloomed as a popular amusement park, then morphed into an arts center in 1971 under the stewardship of the National Park Service. Amid the remnants of Art Deco buildings, towers, and yurts (Mongolian style huts), kids can ride the horses, ostriches, and other critters of the historic Dentzel carousel, open May 1 to September 30. Year-round attractions include children's performances by the Adventure Theatre (watch actors perform "Mother Goose on the Loose," June 14 through July 20) and the Puppet Company (see "Jack and the Beanstalk," May 28 through July 13) and the Discovery Creek Children's Museum, which offers hands-on nature activities and traveling exhibits geared towards kids ages two to 11. The park also offers more than 150 classes for kids throughout the year. Call (301) 492-6229 or go to Glen Echo Park.
Monumental Museum
Greensboro Children's Museum
Just when you were beginning to think all children's museums were the same, along comes North Carolina's Greensboro Children's Museum to knock your socks off. Designed around an "our town" theme, the museum delights kids (especially ages ten and under) with hands-on fun. Imagine an ATM machine that dispenses play cash, a music room where wanna-be maestros can "conduct" a symphony, and a transportation area where kids can board a DC-9 jet, get behind the wheel of a Nascar race car, and chase "bad guys" in an authentic police car. Call (336) 574-2898 or go to Greensboro Children's Museum.
Great Eats
Jim Neely's Interstate Bar-B-Que
You know how it is with oysters? They're gritty and, well, pretty much ugly on the outside, but inside there's that treasure. Make the leap to a Tennessee barbecue joint and you've got the picture. The shabby exterior of Jim Neely's Interstate Bar-B-Que in Memphis belies what waits within: barbecue heaven in a city with no shortage of out-of-this-world barbecue. And while the ambience may be vintage Formica and fluorescence, the service is five-star--just like the food: slabs of ribs, pork, chicken, turkey, and beef slow-cooked over hickory to fall-off-the-bone perfection. Get it dry (liberally rubbed with a smoky spice blend), wet (slathered in Neely's own sweet-smoky sauce), or chopped and piled on sandwiches. They even serve barbecue spaghetti. Call (901) 775-2304 or go to Jim Neely's Interstate Bar-B-Que.Please keep in mind that phone numbers, addresses, and prices are subject to change. Updated June 2005.
