Hi everyone,
My family and I are planning a 10 day vacation for August 2011. We live in the NYC metro area and were planning on driving into New England or Canada.
Some of the ideas we have are Quebec City (we have already seen Montreal so we would be bypassing it) and then onto Maine (mainly Acadia National Park) OR
Cape Cod/Nantucket and then onto Maine. Problem is, I am just not able to put a good itinerary together. I have no idea which might be a better trip (or if there are better areas to see that I haven't thought about)
We have a four year old special needs child and an infant who will be 10 months at the time. We are not looking for crazy strenuous things to do. Sorry I am kind of being vague here. I am just not sure on where to go/what to do.
We had originally planned on Florida before realizing we would be going during hurricane season. So now we are thinking of drivable areas only (we would like to see Seattle/Vancouver but not interested in 6 hour flight at the moment.)
I would really appreciate any help anybody could offer.
Thanks!!!

Any chance you can go in September when crowds are cut in half? Once the kids are school age you may only have July and August for vacations for the next 15 years....so if possible make it a lot easier on yourselves and go just after labor day. You'll have more time to plan and pre-book too, July and August need to be booked by next month at many places.

One of my favorite vacations in August was a drive from Manhattan past Lake George to Montreal. Stopping at Ausable Chasm ( http://www.ausablechasm.com/ ) and then on to Montreal where we ate and shopped and visited the wonderful Museum of Art on Sherbrooke, spent a lot of time in Old Town, ate wonderful food and shopped pretty well too. You can rent bikes and ride around the Old Town area .. wonderful.
On the drive back, we stopped at Lake George and stayed at the Sagamore. There are a lot of nice B&Bs and small motels too ..
I loved taking those drives .. you travel at your own speed, stopping when you feel like it.
I have a friend who lives on Mt Desert Island in Maine and I think that is also one of the most beautiful places in New England in summer. But they get really busy and crowded.

Although Quebec City is fabulous, with young children it might not be the best destination. There are some great beach towns on the Cape that are very kid friendly, with warm, calm water and lots of ice cream, mini golf, etc. From there, you could easily skip up to the more rugged Maine coast. Realize that Acadia, although very beautiful, is a long haul from the Cape. There are literally hundreds of miles of winding Maine coastline to explore between Kittery and Bar harbor. The best 'beach' towns in Maine however are between York and Kennebunkport.

Clarkgriswold - actually, our 4 year old (will be 5 in the fall) will have to start kindergarten right after labor day, so that's why I was hoping to go on a vacation at the end of August. She has special-needs therapy till mid-august.

Scarlett - thanks for the ideas! But we were hoping to bypass Montreal this time around since we've already been there. But I will look into Mt. Desert Island.

Zootsi- why do you think Quebec city won't be good with children?

Actually, I should have mentioned this earlier, but in our case, the vacation is more for us than our kids. Our 10 month old would be too young to really do much on the trip, and our 4 year old is not mobile so we don't really need a destination where our kids need to be doing something, per se. I guess what we'd ideally like is to be able to strap the kids to the strollers and walk around (either in a city or nature hikes), take scenic drives, etc.

I'd caution against the notion that the water off Cape Cod is "warm," especially along the Atlantic Ocean. If your idea of "warm water" is off of Florida, for example, you'll feel like you're swimming in ice cubes off Cape Cod.

We might visit a beach but we are not looking to swim. Just hikes, scenic drives, etc.

'Zootsi- why do you think Quebec city won't be good with children? '

I was just going with the assumption that on a hot summer day kids would much prefer being on a beach than tramping thru a city.
That being said, if you have your heart set on Quebec City, it's truly a magical little city, with old stone walls, cobblestone streets, breathtaking views, and lots of French culture. There is no place else like it this side of the Atlantic. It is definitely a walking city, not a good place for cars, at least in the old city which is where you want to be. The surrounding countryside is quite beautiful - the Charlevoix area along the St. Lawrence is especially interesting, and a drive around Ile D'Orleans is like a trip back into the 1800's.

Thanks everyone! We are still undecided, but your responses definitely helped!
Zootsi - thanks for the info on Quebec City!!

I went to Quebec City and Acadia/Bar Harbor in August 2009 and had a great time.

Here is my trip report for Quebec. Looks like I never got around to writing one for Acadia.

http://www.fodors.com/community/cana...-surprises.cfm

One of my favorite vacations included Westminster, Vermont. We stopped at the Holton Family Farm and the kids had a blast.
www.holtonfarms.com

Just as a heads up, Quebec City is kind of exciting with a stroller, between cobbles, steps, and steep grades. It was manageable with my nephew since we could make him get out and walk and fold it up in places where it was really an issue, but it might be difficult with two children who are not mobile, especially if one is relatively heavy.

If you are planning to rent a car as many New Yorkers do, be aware that you will have to make special arrangements to take it into Canada. Not a problem unless you arrive at the border without the paper work.

Quebec City is more like being in Europe than many places in Europe are. Go for it.

The Connecticut River valley (I-91) north is really beautiful even from the interstate. It only gets better when you get onto some of the older routes.