However, her suggestions often involve air travel for a 3/4 day trip.
So, please help me come up with some ideas for family trips she'll be excited about. Some parameters:
- Less than a 6 hour drive from West Michigan...we'll say from Grand Rapids, even though I don't live in GR.
- Multiple fun things to do for kids once there.
- Extra bonus points if there's something memorable there that is specific to that location. Could be a kick butt museum, or natural landmark, etc.
I'm curious what destinations your wife has in mind that require flying.
It shouldn't be hard at all for you and your wife to come up with dozens of cool trips that meet your parameters. Just start finding cities within a 6hr radius and use TripAdvisor to see what there is to do.
There's plenty of things to do in your own state of MI...
- As others have mentioned, the Upper Peninsula/Mackinac Island
- Beaches along Lake Michigan
- Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village in Dearborn (this is a must see)
Indiana
- Indianapolis (Indy Childrens Museum, Zoo, Conner Prairie, White River Trail, Monument Circle, Mass Ave, Indianapolis Speedway, several great historical museums)
- Santa Claus (Holiday World Amusement Park)
- French Lick
Ohio
- Lake Erie (Kelley's Island, Put-In-Bay, Sandusky, Cedar Point, Maumee Bay State Park)
- Dayton (National Air Force Museum)
- Cincinnati (Zoo, Parks, Sports Teams)
- Hocking Hills, The Wilds
You also have places like Niagara Falls, St. Louis, Chicago.