Some consider them America’s best-kept travel secret, and the ultimate family getaway, all the more so now that $750 million in economic stimulus money has been set aside to spruce them up.

On “The Early Show Saturday Edition,” travel expert Peter Greenberg explained how it is that national parks are such a great vacation value — and named names!

For starters: Free entry on July 18-19 and Aug. 15-16.

Wonderful deal for seniors age 62 and up: a lifetime pass to the national parks is just $10.

For other travelers who are visiting multiple national parks, consider an America the Beautiful National Parks Pass: At $80 a year, it offers admission to any national park or monument for the pass holder and anyone else in his or her vehicle (for sites that charge per car) or for up to three other adults (for sites that charge per person). Good deal for families.

Camping is usually the cheapest accommodations option, but over the summer, check with your destination to reserve your campsite ahead of time, since the parks fill up quickly. You can do so online at Recreation.gov.

In a recent TripAdvisor survey, 73 percent of respondents said they planned to visit a national park in 2009, up from 62 percent last year.

I learned this simple formula partly from experience, but also from advice I got from Eileen Ogintz. Ogintz, a syndicated columnist and creator of the Web site TakingtheKids.com, has traveled widely with her kids, now 17, 22 and 24. Here are some of her tips for keeping big kids happy on vacation:

“Get teens on board with the idea of where you are going and what you are going to do when you get there,” Ogintz advised. “Let them have a say in the planning.” You might even have each teen plan the itinerary for a whole day.

Ogintz added that when trips include activities kids choose, whether it’s kite-boarding or shopping, “they will be much more cooperative when you want to stop at that historic house or gallery.”

Agreed: If I can get my boys to accompany me to a botanical garden without complaining, I am more than willing to take them paddle-boarding – as long as I don’t have to get wet.

“If possible, invite a friend along,” Ogintz said.

There’s nothing more painful to teenagers than being separated from their herd. Bringing a friend solves the problem. It’s almost like having a baby sitter who’s the same age as your kid.

In our family, we’ve also found that everyone behaves in a more civilized manner – kids and adults – when we have company, whether our guest is 13 or 30. Friends of my older son have also been extremely kind to my younger son – sometimes they are nicer to him than his own brother!

On the other hand, if you have a small car, tight accommodations or a tight budget, taking another child on vacation can be an imposition. Some families will offer to pay their child’s way; others may not be able to afford it. Ogintz suggests asking hotels for discounts on a second room and other extras necessitated by the additional person in your group.

Memories of my childhood family vacations consisted of trips to see relatives or camping — all within Wisconsin.

As an adult with kids of my own, I relish traveling outside the state and exposing not only my kids but myself to the wonders our country has to offer. Last summer I had a VISIONS conference in Washington, D.C. Since we had never been there we took our entire family to visit our nation’s capital for a vacation.

After my seminar I was eager to join the rest of the family on their sight-seeing adventures. Seeing the presidential monuments and war memorials left an impression on all of us as well as viewing the Declaration of Independence and the Emancipation Proclamation at the National Archives. By accident, we stumbled upon an art museum with a beautiful garden inside the building. We stared in awe at the planes, rockets and space capsule at the Air and Space Museum, and received secret identities at the spy museum.

One amusing moment happened while we were walking the long stretch to the Lincoln Memorial. My son asked his dad, “What is that building across the lawn?” My husband glanced quickly and answered, “That is just a building.”

My daughter said, “Ah, dad, isn’t that the White House?” He looked again saying, “Oh yeah, that is the White House!”

We still joke about it a year later.

As a visually impaired person who does not drive, what impressed me about the city is the underground transportation Metro system. We never had to wait more than a few minutes for the next train and could get just about anywhere to our next destination. I was ready to move there but was vetoed by the rest of the family. Another nice feature for a family of four on a budget is most of the attractions are free.

As we were packing to leave, we each mentioned our favorite part of the trip. My husband’s was the Air and Space Museum, my daughter (an Anne Frank buff) liked the Holocaust Muse-um, and for me it was the home of our first president, Mount Vernon.

When I asked my 7-year-old son his favorite moment he thought about it before answering, “Riding the glass elevator at the hotel!”

My exasperated response was, “We have been here for eight days and your favorite part was not the zoo, the spy museum or the airplanes but the elevator?” He thought about it some more and added, “I also liked riding the Metro!”

This year we are planning on a road trip to Mount Rushmore. I can’t imagine what our favorite memories will be there (for our son, probably playing with dirt or eating lunch) but I can’t wait to find out.

National parks and monuments—great places for the family, full of natural beauty and/or historic significance. By all means, put them on your must-see list. Plan on taking the kids—or grandkids—but you may do better to leave the dog at home.

National Parks and Public Lands generally permit dogs only if kept on a leash no longer than 6 feet in length at all times, unless they are caged or crated. Park management at each park may restrict pet (and possibly service dog) access to open areas such as trails, buildings or campgrounds in the interest of keeping visitors and the park environment protected.

Why would dogs be excluded? Let me suggest just a few reasons:

1. For no pets in buildings:Dogs track in more dirt, might become excited and damage a display, could frighten other guests. Your pet dog isn’t welcome in most non-park public buildings, either. National parks “belong” to all citizens—but they’re not your home.
2. Some locations may be closed to dogs (and people admonished to stay on the path or raided walkway) to protect fragile plant habitat (and rare plants), nesting birds … or (as in Yellowstone) to keep visitors from sinking into boiling-hot mudholes.
3. Off-limits regulations protect dogs from dangerous predators as well as protecting wildlife from dogs. We hadn’t stopped to consider this before bringing our dog with us to the Rockies, but bears and dogs show a fierce antipathy towards each other—they’d rather fight each other than run away, often as not. Do you want to have to rescue Fido from a fight with a grizzly? I thought not…

Mind you, plenty of trails in Rocky Mountain National Park, and even Yellowstone and the Tetons, allowed dogs on leash. But hiking in the back country, where people should talk loudly or otherwise make noise to warn off bears, you should leave the dog behind—though not in a closed car (see below). Those of us from around Chicago, an area notably impoverished in the bear/cougar/wolf categories of predators, don’t automatically consider this aspect of hiking in wilder areas.

If you decide to take your dog on the family vacation (as our family often does), you don’t need to avoid parks and monuments completely, but you should plan your park visits, not just show up and be surprised by a park’s pet policy. You can search National Park pet policies and other park information at www.nps.gov.

Pet policies vary from park to park as park administrators have the power to make decisions appropriate to their parks. Some kenneling exists near popular parks where dogs have restricted access—though you’ll want to check prices and make reservations to be sure your pet can stay when you plan to visit the park.

Dr. Chris Drake, a bioscientific investigator at the Henry Ford Sleep Research Center in Detroit and resident sleep expert for AmericInn Hotels’ “Sleep Better America” program, knows firsthand the benefits of connecting while on family vacation, yet he also knows how lost hours of sleep can be unhealthy for kids and cause big headaches for parents. To ease parents’ minds, Drake offers the following tips to help children achieve the best sleep possible while on the road:

- Plan activities around your children’s nap schedules while on vacation.

- Stick to healthy meals and regular mealtimes.

- Start your usual bedtime routines of putting on pajamas, brushing teeth and reading books one hour earlier.

Calaway Park is an amusement park just west of Calgary on Highway 1 (Tans Canada Highway) actually probably about 10 or 15 minutes west of town. If you want to see the way Calaway Park looks, I recorded the quick two minute video below.

The park has about 22 different rides and just like any theme park it seems that Calaway has it’s own theme which is something like the Flintstones without the characters. There is plenty of food to buy and it is of course a little pricey so we tend to pack a lunch to bring and then buy the kids a treat while we are there.

We have been to Calaway three times now over the last couple of years and it probably really takes all day for any family to get through the park and ride all the rides, I don’t think it is really as efficient as Disneyland but the creators of this park have really tried their best to make the park flow nicely. Lately we probably spend around four hours or so just because the kids now have all their favorite rides and don’t care about any others.

What kind of rides does Calaway Park have?

There is a real range of rides at Calaway Park. There is every age group and most of the smaller rides will allow adults as well as the kids which is great so the kids don’t get scared by themselves. There is also a more adult area with rides for the older kids and adults including a big roller coaster that you can see from the highway.

Cost of admission to Calaway Park

The park is a bit expensive at around $32 per person but there are plenty of half price or discount coupons around town and actually if you are a Calgarian your best bet would probably be to get a seasons pass. A seasons pass is also $32 per person so any more than one day is more than worth it.

Calaway Park Season

The season for Calway Park is the middle of May until the middle of October although the time after Labour Day is weekends only. Find out more at the Calaway Park Hours page.

So I think whether you live in Calgary or are just visiting Calaway Park is a great day out for the family.

A family vacation kicking back at the cabin is great – in theory.

In practice, the results can be less than ideal, especially when the little people get a serious case of cabin fever.

Fear not, because experts say finding a cure is easier than you think.

And it starts with reaching back into the past.

Pull out your own favourite childhood games and activities, says Dave Besson, at Calgary’s Discovery Hut.

“Think about the games you played as a kid – your kids will love [them] no matter how old school you think they are,” Besson says.

The key is to “do things you wouldn’t normally do at home,” adds John Tait, the store’s owner.

Tait suggests holding off bringing out all the activities the first day. Instead, he says, unveil different things over the entire vacation.

Here are a few ideas to make cabin time fun and memorable.

On the road

Parents and kids all agree: the hours spent driving to and from the cabin can be the most arduous and boring. These game suggestions courtesy of The Discovery Hut should help:

-Rush hour challenges players to slide game pieces (cars and trucks) around their square to replicate the rush hour depicted on picture cards.

-Blokus challenges gamers to play as many pieces as they can by only touching corners to corners. The player who places the most pieces wins.

-The Klutz Kids travel book, a.k.a. The back seat survival guide, is an all-in-one activity centre for car-contained kids age eight and up.

Memory makers

Here are some ideas to help remember the vacation long after it’s over.

-Start a scrapbook or family journal. Encourage family members to contribute, including pictures, poems, postcards, or a pressed flower, feather or other memento from an outing.

-Ask your budding artist to draw a picture from their favourite moment.

-Make homemade kites using twigs, string and paper or scraps of fabric; or make a “telephone” with a tin can and a string; frame and hang the family’s vacation art.

Weather days

Rainy days are perfect for making brownies or cookies for – and with – your little helpers.

-Pull out the cards for rummy and crib, crazy eights, go fish or memory.

-Build a fort with the couch, sofa cushions, pillows and blankets.

-Host a collage- or mask-making party based on themes such as nature, favourite colour or favourite animal. Pack some old magazines and your arts and craft kit.

-Peel your favourite fruit (think melons, cantaloupes and oranges); dip the peels in paint; and then stamp them on paper to show kids the different textures.

Games

Board games and cabin life go hand in hand. The Discovery Hut offers these suggestions.

-Bananagrams is a word game that challenges players to make their own crosswords using 24 tiles on their own boards. Suitable for kids ages seven and older.

-Farkle is a dice rolling game. Players must roll certain combinations and then decide if they will risk their points for the next roll or lose all their points if their dice don’t come up. For players eight and older.

-Table Topics is a conversation starter game. Players pull a topic card (from about 60) designed to get people chatting, laughing and challenging each other. The Family edition is kid-friendly.

Outside

Make the most of your time in the great outdoors.

-Organize a nature-inspired, team scavenger hunt that includes clues inside and outside the cabin. Pair a parent with a child or an older child with a younger sibling. Make sure the clues keep the kids on the property.

-Host a kids-only catch and release fishing derby on the dock. (Check for appropriate licence fees.) Offer a novelty trophy or winners’ crown (baseball cap).

-Go berry-picking together for a pancake feast, berry crumble or homemade pie.

-Make rainbow-hued ice cubes using food colouring. Take the ice cubes outside to make tabletop sculptures that melt.

-Make a batch of homemade bubble mixture and your own bubble blowers using twist ties, straws, pipe cleaners or anything around the cabin with holes. (For bubble mixture combine 1/2 cup (125 mL) dish detergent with 5 cups (1.25 L) water and 2 tbsp. (25 mL) glycerine, which is available at drug stores.)

The Witching Hour

The time between dinner and bedtime can be daunting, especially when kids are keyed up.

-Before bedtime, take a short walk together as a family. Let the kids man the flashlights and keep the walk short (15 minutes or less).

-Listen to night sounds of the birds and crickets.

-Back at the cabin, pull out one book you can read together. Depending on age, enlist a different family member to read a new chapter every night.

The 4th of July holiday weekend is typically the busiest time for auto travel. According to AAA, more than 37 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles over this holiday weekend (down a bit from 2008). While gas prices are a bit lower than last year’s $3+ per gallon, they have risen recently — possibly making this summer’s last-minute, carefree road trips unrealistic for some.

Before you give up on your dreams of a family vacation, take the time to sit down and develop a plan. Following are a few suggestions to make this summer’s vacations more enjoyable and less draining on family pocket books.

• Avoid paying with plastic. Planning to pay for gas by credit card is definitely not a wise financial move; gas cards typically have higher than average interest rates than other credit cards. If you must use credit, use a general purpose card with affordable terms and make a plan for a quick pay off.
• Create a budget. If you know you will be paying more for gas, seek other areas to cut expenses. For example, consider packing food for the drive rather than purchasing it along the way. Skip the costly premium gas unless your car actually needs it; it will not get you better mileage or more power.

Fuel-efficient driving tips

• Plan out your trip. Gas prices vary quite a bit from one city to another. Plan out your route so that you don’t get stuck paying extra for gas because you have no choice. Visit GasPriceWatch.com to compare gas prices.
• Drive sensibly. Excessive speed and a lot of accelerating and braking can waste gas. Driving sensibly can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent when driving at highway speeds and by 5 percent when cruising around town. Using your cruise control is one good way to regulate your speed.
• Look into alternatives. Research other methods of transportation including traveling by bus or train. Not only could you save some money, but the trip could be considered an adventure in and of itself.

Finally, if you can’t afford the rising cost of transportation, explore your own state. Visit the local Chamber of Commerce or Visitors Bureau to find out about free or low-cost entertainment and activities. You may be surprised to discover local parks, playgrounds, museums, community concerts, annual festivals, art exhibits, fairs and craft shows to enhance your summer without breaking your budget.

Delta Air Lines is now offering great deals to the Cayman Islands with plenty of freebies that families will love.

The fifth consecutive night is free at several different resorts, including the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort and the Westin Casuarina Resort & Spa.  Kids age 11 and under stay, play and eat for free, in addition to having free access to Cayman Island Sea School with Sir Turtle.

Finally, if you have older kids, diving is free on pre-purchased packages for kids age 12-17.  There is a 50% discount on night dives for everyone with the purchase of diving packages.

Be sure to book flights and hotels before the school year starts up again: this deal is good for travel through Sept. 7.

Tripadvisor.com voted Orlando as the number one “Best Family Vacation” destination for 2009; named Orlando number four on their list of Top 10 Places To Go in 2009, which is based on user votes; announced Orlando as the No. 1 destination travelers with children plan to visit this year, according to a family travel survey with more than 1,500 respondents; and announced Disney’s Pop Century Resort and All-Star Music Resort, Homewood Suites Orlando/International Drive and Fairfield Inn & Suites Orlando International Drive as part of the Top 10 Bargain Family-Friendly Hotels.