Things to do / Travel Guide
When it comes to thinking of vacation ideas that won't bore the littler ones, the eastern North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland region will make you look like a parenting pro. On the Delmarva Peninsula, eastern Virginia, North Carolina shore, and in the Outer Banks, you can bank on the kind of historical and wildlife intrigues that will have your children begging for more.
Amusement Parks in Eastern North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland
Watch your kids whip and whirl through the air on the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk, in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and the Ocean City Boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Delmarva Peninsula. The boardwalks feature a wide range of pier rides for kids (and their parents) of all ages. You will find an equally-appealing assortment of diversions clustered around 15th Street at the Virginia Beach Boardwalk in Virginia Beach, and at the Carolina Beach Boardwalk in Carolina Beach.
Adrenaline-pumping roller coasters, hair-raising rides, and water slides are just a few of the attractions at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia. Kids, as well as kids at heart, will also enjoy Busch Gardens' dance and music shows, and wide collection of exotic and endangered animals. The National Amusement Park Historical Association has voted Busch Gardens - Williamsburg the world's “Most Beautiful Theme Park” for more than 16 years consecutively; not something you and your family should miss.
Outdoor Activities and Attractions in Eastern North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland
For the budding botanists among you, Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond, Virginia has got it made in the shade; their Children's Garden has an imaginative Tree House, sand and water play areas, and an Adventure Pathway for fun plant exploration.
Kids bursting with energy will enjoy a good rough and tumble down the highest sand dunes on the East Coast located at Jockey Ridge State Park in Nags Head on North Carolina's Outer Banks. Shell collecting is often a popular seashore pastime, and the North Carolina shore is one of the best places in the region to do it. Shells cover North Carolina's beaches year-round, but early spring is the best shelling season. Your children are guaranteed to fill their pockets at any of the following shelling hot spots: Top Sail Island/Surf City, Wrightsville Beach, Hammocks Beach State Park, Ocean Isle Beach, and in the Outer Banks, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Ocracoke Island, Shackleford Banks, and Cape Lookout National Seashore.
Wildlife in Eastern North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland
Head to Chincoteague Island Wildlife Refuge, on Assateague Island, Virginia, on the Delmarva Peninsula for a good look at the Chincoteague ponies. If you can, schedule your trip around the annual Pony Penning Day held the last week of every July, where the kids will delight in watching the noble horses take a three-minute swim from their grazing grounds across the Assateague Channel to Chincoteague Island. This is the kind of rare and moving experience that even the youngest of children will never forget.
For further four-legged fun, take your children to hear the doleful wail of the endangered red howling wolves. On the 152,000-acre Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in Roanoke Island's Manteo, in North Carolina, you can take a unique “howling safari” to experience a thrilling call-and-response, wolf-human howling dialogue, available year-round.
If it is marine life you have come to track, dolphin and whale watching cruises are available in coastal communities from the Delmarva Peninsula all the way along the eastern Virginia coast and down to North Carolina's Cape Fear. Along the shores of North Carolina's Outer Banks you can creep quietly onto the beaches at night anytime from May 15-August 15 to see green sea turtles pull themselves onto the shore in search of the perfect nest. In late summer you can see the hatchlings taking their first lessons in land- and sand-survival.
Indoor Intrigues in Eastern North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland
Head to the NASA Visitor Center at Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia on the Delmarva Peninsula. Children will take part in space information scavenger hunt, earn their junior space ranger certification, and take in the various space exhibits the center offers. The Science Museum of Virginia, in Richmond, is home to Virginia's largest IMAX dome planetarium (five-stories high) as well as an astounding number of fun, hands-on science exhibits - there are no “Do not touch!” signs here!
Kid-Friendly History in Eastern North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland
Let your kids live through U.S. history at Colonial Williamsburg, in eastern Virginia. With hundreds of reconstructed, historic, restored buildings enlivened by hundreds of highly-trained, historically-well-versed costumed interpreters, children can see, meet, and interact with some of the nation's most important historical figures, including Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and George Washington, among others.
Pirate Pursuits in Eastern North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland
The eastern North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland region has not forgotten that many children love pirate drama. Ocean City, Maryland's Pirate Adventures, on the Delmarva Peninsula, offers children an amazing seafaring adventure. Dressed as pirates, little sea rogues pledge loyalty to a Captain Cholly who takes them on a pirating ship for an adventure at deciphering maps, searching for treasure, fighting ruffians, and firing canons. What could be more fun? The pirate ship is appropriate for children of all ages, and excursions leave from the Ocean City Fishing Center from May-Labor Day. For pirating fun on the North Carolina shore, be sure to stop into Teach's Hole on Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks. The pirate shop offers the full gamut of pirating paraphernalia and also has a historical exhibit about Blackbeard.
Family Vacation Ideas in Richmond, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, North Carolina's Outer Banks
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