Trip with College Age daughter
 

My daughter just started college and most of her good friends are at different colleges and will have different spring breaks. Since flights/hotels can be hard to come by in early March/April from Minnesota I thought I might surprise her with a Mom and daughter trip. My husband and other daughter can't come at that same time because of work/school committments. Any ideas that would be fun, safe for 2 women, warmer than Minnesota and in the U.S.? We'll probably be able to do 5-7 nights. Thanks for any help!

I don't know your daughter, but this is not a surprise I'd want to try, unless you do all cancellable reservations, or at least wait till after Christmas to book.

So many of the college kids I know, including my own daughters, made spring break plans with their new college friends.

Of course, if you tell her about it in advance, she'll probably choose to go with you. Just would be hard if she'd made other plans before you talked.

I have thought of that, too. She made reference to spring break in my last few conversations so that's why I'm checking it out. I think she's concerned she may not end up going anywhere. But you're right, things in college seem to change daily!

Last year she went to France with high school and had a great time. She may want to go somewhere with friends but I want to have a back up plan in the event that doesn't happen. I took my younger daughter to WDW last year with a friend and it was great!

She may also want to come home, sleep in her own bed, and get some of the comforts of home. Or she may want to go visit pre-college friends at their colleges. My son has done both on spring break.

Destination depends on what she likes to do - active or relaxing. And does she want to see anything or just be warm.

At that age( I hate to say it) but they would rather be with friends they don't see very often.

My daughter's friends had different spring breaks so they planned something that overlapped both the weeks with a Wed. instead of a Fri departure.

There wasn't much to miss academically at that time of year with everyone going places for break, and most profs just ask that papers be submitted early. They will likely know more about that closer to Christmas. Lots of great sales on then too.

The girls had a great time at Ft. Lauderdale one year and the Keys another year. Even if it's not hot, it's still warmer than Minnesota.

But it's so nice of you to be thinking of some way to make this holiday time memorable for her. Even Charleston SC or Savannah would be lovely for the two of you if her break works out that way. Not hot, but lots to see and perfectly safe.

I'm sorry, I have to agree that a surprise trip might not be a good idea. Although her high-school friends are at different colleges, by spring she'll have lots of friends at her new school and might want to make plans with them. My daughters have gotten a couple of invitations to spend spring break at the homes of friends who live in warmer climates. Mom gets left out, of course, but it's cheaper and safer than the typical college spring break vacation (which I'm sure you're tyring to help her avoid).

It really depends on the kid.
One of my sons always had plans with friends, the other was always happy to come home, sleep in his own bed, have his mom serve him dinner and hang with his old friends.
That leaves another question - although he always wants to come home (which I love) he may not be as happy to be on a trip with just me - he wants to see his friends.
Where does she go to school? My youngest son is at Minnesota!

I don't think the "surprise" aspect is a good one, either. If she just started college, things will be very different by spring - you'll probably have a social butterfly with too many plans for spring break to do them all. Even if you talk to her about it now, her plans could change drastically by spring.

Your daughter will have tons of new friends she will want to go on break with by then.

I don't think you need a backup plan or you need to surprise her; this is her deal.

Also, it is only the beginning of September, she hasn't been at school that long.

Talk to her and ask her if you can plan a mother/daughter trip for her spring break and see what she has to say.

A cruise from California would be fun.

Thanks everyone.... my daughter goes to school in Iowa.

You've given me things to think about. I think I will wait until Christmas break to see if she comes up with anything. She hasn't made many friends yet but I'm sure she will by then. And you're right, she may just want to chill at home or meet up with old or new friends. It sure would be cheaper! I'm just so used to planning far in advance for spring break.

MinnesotaMouse: Another option is for the 2 of you to go some place like Ft. Lauderdale where some of her friends may actually end up for Spring Break. You cld stay @ Pelican Beach Resort www.pelicanbeach.com or Marriott Harbour Beach or Lago Mar www.lagomar.com
Make sure you stay in "the new hotel" if you decide to stay @ Pelican. They have 2 hotels next to each other & you do not want to be in the "old" one. The new hotel has a beautiful pool, lazy river, great restaurant, gorgeous beach for walking/swimming. Wonderful restaurants & shopping w/in a short cab ride. If your daughter has friends who are in FLL @ the same time she can go out w/ them some of the time. They can come over to your plce, she can go to theirs. We have done this & it works.

I think a lovely trip for the two of you would be either Savannah, GA or Asheville, NC and go to the Biltmore. Not warm there yet by Tahitian standards, but compared to Minnesota and Iowa, could be a heat wave. You would be able to wear a sweater or maybe even less. Have you considered New Orleans? Could be a really meaningful trip for a college student, and a lot of the quintessentially New Orleans things are open or well on their way.

Thanks for the great ideas..... Fort Lauderdale might be our cup of tea - always wanted to go there and those resorts look really great! Also, New Orleans has appeal and I may look into that. She enjoys volunteering and she may also have opportunities through the college. As suggested, I'm going to take a wait and see attitude :)

MinnesotaMouse: This was a really caring thought of you. It looks like you are just sort of looking into a "backup plan" option for your DD and that's really thoughtful. Esp. if she's shy and it ends up that she doesn't plan a spring break with friends, I think it would be great to give her the "excuse" of saying, "Well, my mom went to the trouble of planning something special so I am spending the week with her." It's something that would have meant a lot to me if my mom did it. I think your wait and see approach is great--keep these suggestions for fun mom/daughter stuff (I'd vote for a NYC shopping trip or a relaxing beach place with maybe a day at the spa together) in the back of your mind and as SB approaches, if your "feelers" tell you your daughter is feeling like she'll be lonely over Spring Break then you can bust out your plan.

You sound like a very thoughtful Mom. I'd not suggest the surprise idea, but maybe make a hotel reservation you can cancel, just in case. Because, obviously, hotels and airfare get expensive during spring break times, so plan as early as possible.

When my daughter was in the same situation her freshman year on the east coast, she called me the week before spring break. She didn't want to do the Girls Gone Wild trip with new friends, had lots of homework to do over break, didn't want to come home, wanted a 'vacation' feeling for her much-needed spring break. She was wanting a low-key, restful, beach place, and was wondering if I'd like to meet her somewhere.

That sounded great to me. So I got on-line with just a few days in advance, checked this forum, checked prices, etc. We decided on Cocoa Beach, Florida, because it's more quiet than other beach areas and wasn't overrrun with students. (The last thing she wanted was to run into students partying, while with her Mom, and I didn't want that atmosphere either. Photos of drunken students and beach areas littered with beer cans and trash every morning were all over the news.)

We found a decent price at the Hilton Cocoa Beach (needed some refurbishing three years ago, but GREAT location on the beach with a nice pool and deck area). Airfare killed me because it was such short notice, but an Expedia package deal helped out.

It was a great get-away for us both. We stayed eight nights. She did homework, we walked the beach, dined out, drove to Orlando one day, drove to West Palm to see family another day. It was a restful and memorable girls' trip.

If you daughter is interested, I think you'd enjoy yourselves.

I wish my mother would have been so generous when I was in college.

All I got was, "if you want to go to FLL on Spring Break (this was in the 1980s when FLL was huge) than you can earn the money and pay for it yourself".

Of course my rampant partying and initial flunking out of college may have had something to do with it.

You had it a lot easier than I did, Go Travel. We were never given options to attend any "spring breaks" nor were we allowed to go away to school. We had to help in home business, work etc. Lots and lots of immigrants are on the same page today.

The lessons I learned were immense in other ways.

Maureen, my daughter sounds like yours. She is not the "girls gone wild type" and may need an exit and I'd be happy to be that exit if she needs it. Plus I would love to spend time with her. She's a great student and has worked very hard.

It's a great idea to make hotel reservations I can cancel. Last year when I took my other daughter, I found some inexpensive air travel but the accomodations were more difficult to find.

JJ5, that was a very small part of my college experience.

Because I did party and flunk out of school my first semester of my freshman year, I was then responsible for my college education.

I can proudly state that I paid for every single penny of my college education.

Same thing as my first two kids, GoT- and I bet you learned an immense amount from that as well. You have a real right to be proud of that accomplishment.

I've spent most of my working life in a university setting - do not (absolutely do not) plan any surprise trips with your daughter. Believe me, she will have a whole new set of friends from her school and by Spring Break she and them may very well be off with them. You sound like you mean well, but kids that age normally do not want to spend time with their parents during break.

You and your daughter sound close. From my experience of traveling with my mom a couple of times when I was in college just a few years ago, I can tell you it really doesn't matter a whole lot where you go or what you do. The last trip my mom and I took ended up with us on a whim driving accross Georgia (fort benning to Savahan) just to see the ocean and Savahan for about three hours and then driving back. I should also point out that our rental car didn't have cruise control. It was a great trip and we still joke about it.

JJ5, parents said they would pay for my college tuition and expenses as long as I maintained a 2.0 grade point average.

I called my parents bluff and my first grades spelled WIFFF.

Withdraw
Incomplete
Fail
Fail
Fail

GoT...my high school and parents managed to scare the beejeebies out of me as to how tough college was going to be. Consequently I studied, went to classes conscientiously and made good grades 1st semester freshman year. It was <b>2nd semester</b>, after realizing it wasn't as bad as they said it was going to be, and that I could do it, that I popped the corks and let the party roll. Consequently I got a phone call from my parents when my mid term grades went home. .8, time to find a happy medium and I clawed my way out of that hole. My roomie wasn't so fortunate. I didn't flunk out but I did have a darned good time after an ultra strict upbringing.

Anyone in Amherst? Is the Drake still there? LOL

MinnesotaMouse--so much depends on your child as to what she'll want, but she should be in on the planning. I was happy to come home and didn't go off on spring break until my junior year. Both our kids came home too, happy to see their friends from home and catch up on everyone's news. I feel really fortunate that that was the case with them! Our time together became real quality time when they got home...we'd been able to step back, finally, and see the forest despite all the trees. :) Nice times.

My daughter joined us on the beach her 1st spring break. Last year I took her younger sister out of high school for a long weekend and the 2 of them flew out to LA and stayed with my brother. This year she is studying abroad. She still enjoys family time and trips and manages to see friends and have other adventures too....this weekend she is meeting a college friend who is also studying abroad in Munich for Oktoberfest. We live in MN too; any warm weather is a treat!!!

Thanks everyone.... I talked to my daughter today and she actually mentioned me going with her on spring break! (I took her sister last year and told her someday we could go somewhere) She said she may want to go to Washington D.C. She's studying architecture and is very interested in the area.

I told her she should wait and see what her friends are doing - she said no, she's worried we wouldn't get flights (she gets the planning part from me). Anyway, I'm still going to take a wait and see attitude. I think you're right - many things could change between now and then. I'm always surprised how in just a few months there lives can be totally different!

I'm also not sure how safe I would feel in Washington D.C. with just the two of us. I've never been there but have always wanted to go... I would have to do some research.

MM, DC is fine by yourself during the day. Take one of the night light tours to see the monuments lit up after dark. If you choose a good location for your hotel, you will be find walking to restaurants, etc.

Any hotels you would recommend in the area?

No, not personally. I stay where my company puts me - but it's been a while since I've been to DC. Enter &quot;Washington DC hotels&quot; in the search box above and do a bit of reading. Hotel Washington seems to be recommended here a lot - but the reviews on tripadvisor.com don't seem that great. DuPont Circle or Georgetown are good places to stay.

The good news is you have lots of time to watch for specials. You may want to book something now that is reasonable (and cancellable) and watch for deals. Too early for travelzoo specials - but they should have something as your trip gets closer.

MinnesotaMouse, you and your daughter will have a wonderful time in Washington D.C. It is a fun city and you will be safe if you go to all the tourist places and be aware of your surroundings. We go there often for business and pleasure and have often stayed at The Mayflower Hotel and it is perfect for us as it is right by the subway. The hotel staff has always been very helpful too. I know there are tons of other hotels so maybe someone else has another recommendation but I strongly can recommend The Mayflower. Have fun - it is a great place to visit.