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Short Family Trips

TIPical Mary Ellen : Episode TIP-765 -- More Projects »
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Grab a map of your state and draw a circle around your city encompassing a 25- or 50-mile radius. Do a little research to find out the interesting attractions or activities that lie within your circle.

TIPical Mary Ellen host Mary Ellen Pinkham shares some tips for preparing the family for a short road trip.

  • A road trip doesn't have to run across the entire country. Plan a short "road trip" through your hometown and visit area tourist attractions.

  • Choose a theme, such as an international road trip. Look through your local phonebook and find a museum offering an exhibit of a different nation or culture. Choose a restaurant that also reflects this particular culture for dinner. In addition, perhaps rent a movie that has to do with the culture or nationality, or visit a store that sells certain items of that culture. Yet another option is to mix it up and choose a different culture with each event.

  • Plan a treasure hunt of things you would like to see or do. Collect fun items from your tours, such as an acorn or jar of water from a creek if you take a nature trip. Pick up napkins from the restaurant or a postcard from a museum.

  • Pretend to be a tourist in your own town. Visit the local visitor's information bureau and pick up some pamphlets on local tourist attractions. Another option is to just go to a motel and pick up brochures on area attractions.

  • Search out the perfect picnic spot. Keep a picnic kit in the car that includes a grocery bag full of paper plates, napkins and plastic cutlery. When you find a nice spot, just grab some food from a local market or restaurant.

  • Take along skates or a bike--you never know where you might find the perfect trail. Keep a plastic sandwich bag filled with some emergency money for gas or phone calls.

  • Go to the library and check out a book on local history. Go on a treasure hunt to find sites of historical significance, take some pictures and create a scrapbook of the adventure.

  • Look through a local magazine or newspaper for listings of area events and exhibits. If you've got a lot to choose from, write the events on slips of paper and put them in a hat. Draw out just a couple and hit the road.

  • Plan a reading day. Grab a new book or magazine or even the newspaper, throw a lawn chair in the car and drive out into the country. Pick a comfy spot, kick back and relax and start reading.

  • Take the camera out on a photo shoot. Pick a theme, such as fountains, and just drive around snapping pictures of water attractions. Organize the pictures in an album to create a time capsule of your adventure.
Also in this Episode
TIPical Mary Ellen : Episode TIP-765
•Get Ready for School
•Short Family Trips
•Labor-Day Timesavers
•Tip of the Day
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