scarboroughmom

We are planning on going to Las Vegas in April 2011. We are going to stop in Chicago for a few days on the way out. I would like to find another city in the middle of the country to spend a few days on the way back. I want to be able to fly nonstop into this city from LAS or LAX, and to fly out nonstop to either BOS or Portland, Me. We are two adults, (sort of) and 3 teen/tween boys. Besides bickering with each other, my kids like theme parks, some historic sites and museums, zoos, music & shows. My husband and I like anything where the kids don't fight. We went to Dallas/Ft. Worth last year. Any ideas?

isabellasu

St. Louis comes to mind.

bp24cali

you should really consider branson,missouri. they have tons of great shows(more shows then broadway) and they have a great amusement park called silver dollar city. check it out google it

spirobulldog

I like both suggestions above. My daughter, who loves roller coasters, says that Cedar Point is the best amusement park she has ever been to. This is in Ohio. Another thought I had, was to visit Moab, UT. This would be a great place in April. Fantastic hiking. If your boys need adventure, check out www.deserthighlights.com. I have been with them twice and it is fantastic. If you decide on Branson, our favorite show there is The Haygoods. We were there just last week.

cd

Two days in Cedar Point is the answer to your question. Stay in a suite at the Hotel Breakers if your budget permits. This will give you Lake Erie in the front of your hotel for swimming and walking the boardwalk and two pools. The back of your hotel is the Park and you will be able to go an hour before it's opened to the public. If you need to stay someplace less expensive there are a lot of hotels in the area. http://www.cedarpoint.com/ However,I don't think the park opens until May if you could postpone your trip a few weeks. Once in the area, you could also go to Put-in-Bay for a day or two!

doug_stallings

If you want a nonstop flight to Portland Maine or Boston, I'm assuming you want to fly Southwest? See where Southwest flies to nonstop, but you aren't going to have many options. There are few cities with nonstop service to Portland, so I think you're painting yourself into a corner.

But if I were to recommend anything, I'd recommend a side trip to Zion National Park, which is a relatively short drive from Las Vegas. It's a beautiful place.

If you don't want to go to Zion, then I guess Phoenix is probably your best bet. It's a major hub for Southwest. You might also try Denver. But I don't know that either city has nonstop service to Boston or Portland.

dwooddon

When my kids were that age, and when we were in that part of the country, we enjoyed occasional visits to Cincinnatti. It has a great zoo, Kings Island amusement park in the suburbs, and the horse breeding farms of Kentucky are fairly close. April may be a little early for Kings Island - you'd need to check when it opens for the summer.

They also enjoyed watching the boat traffic on the river and Red's baseball games. If your family is interested in airplanes, the 2nd best military aviation museum in the country is just 60 miles up the freeway at Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton.

WhereAreWe

Kansas City or Memphis.