We’re going in alphabetical order but started with the end, so our first state for the series was Wyoming, then we investigated Wisconsin , West Virginia , Washington and now we’re moving on to….Virginia!

These guys are HOPPIN’ online  –  you can find their state tourism organization on Twitter at @VisitVirginia plus @VATourismPR, and here is the Virginia travel and tourism Facebook page.

Their state parks folks are on Twitter at @VAStateParks. There is also a Virginia tourism YouTube channel, the Virginia Flickr pool and a whole site for Virginia Green Travel.

When I asked for ideas, here’s what came in….

Twitter Travel Tips for Virginia

From Dwight Silverman via @dsilverman on Twitter  –  [Virginia Beach's] Capt. George’s Seafood Buffet is good for kids. Huge amounts of good food; my sister calls it “Capt. Gorge”. She lives in VA Beach.

From Nancy Schretter via @KidTravel on Twitter  — Virginia’s my home state. Two of my favorite VA parks for families are Lake Anna and Smith Mountain Lake. They’re fabulous!

From Jenna Schnuer via @JennaSchnuer on Twitter  — Here’s one of my favorites – and definitely a great family travel spot. Link is to my WorldHum piece about [the Clinch Mountain's Carter Family Fold dance hall, with old-time country and bluegrass music]  The Most Joyous Place in the World.

From @jayne52 on Twitter  — My favorite place: Arlington National Cemetery, so moving, & historical Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Kennedy gravesite esp. at holidays.

From Char Polanosky via @charpolanosky on Twitter  — Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, Great Wolf Lodge, Water Country USA make for a great family vacation in VA.

From @TheLocalAccent on Twitter  — Please visit our website for great travel ideas in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula of Virginia: TheLocalAccent.com

From Ronnie Crocker via @rcrocker on Twitter  — Colonial Williamsburg always has lots of neat stuff, but Busch Gardens is probably most kids’ fave. Not sure about new attractions [see MechTeach below, about Sesame St.]

From @MechTeach on Twitter  –  Williamsburg is #1: Colonial W’burg, Busch Gardens (has new Sesame Street Land) Water Country USA, Yorktown, lots o’ pancake restaurants.

(Speaking of pancakes, but in Virginia Beach….) From Carla Young via @redyelllow on Twitter  — For breakfast close to the beach Pocahontas Pancake and Waffle Shop. She also gives us a “beach tip: don’t forget sunblock, especially behind the knees, even if it looks like there is no sun.”

Facebook Travel Tips for Virginia

From John Bredehoft on Facebook  –  I heartily recommend Williamsburg. The historic district keeps cars outside of the perimeter and provides a living view of our country before it was a country.

I got one tip that came in from the LinkedIn professional networking site: From Debi on LinkedIn (she blogs at By-Lander-Sea Food Tales)  –  Has to be Colonial Williamsburg. I have the fondest memories of going there as a child as well as taking my children. Very authentic. Stay in true colonial homes if you can; check them out.

Of course, I have the Great Stuff for Kids: Virginia and Great Stuff for Kids: Washington, DC categories here on Family Travel Logue, and on the BootsnAll Travel Network you’ll find the Virginia Travel Guide.

(Update:  the state is running a 40 Off Travel promotion – $40 off, 40 % off, spend three nights & get a fourth night free, or buy three, get a fourth free. Discounts apply to attractions, lodging, etc. all over the state – see 40 Off Travel Deals for more details.)

Thanks so much for the contributions – the next state in the series is Vermont.

Send your Vermont highlights to @SheilaS on Twitter or my Facebook page (tell me you’re a 50 state-er if you want to friend me.)

Yes, I know how to search for family travel ideas on a destination or attraction Web site, but a tweet or Facebook recommendation is a much more engaging and public way to spread the word.

My purpose for this series is not only to highlight worthy kid-friendly vacation destinations in all 50 states, but by using Twitter and Facebook I want to also encourage tourism organizations to learn more about connecting with their visitors using social media and online networks.

Please add your own Virginia suggestions in the comments below, if we’ve missed anything. Thanks!

Imagine your kid’s face just inches away from a 14-foot tiger shark, with its massive razor-sharp teeth. Luckily, there’ll be a thin pane of glass between them, but that’s how close you can get to a swimming shark at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

Plus, what kid wouldn’t love the dolphin show? For the younger ones, there’s always “Nemo” and “Dori” in the Caribbean reef fish tanks.

The National Aquarium is about an hour from DC by car or train. It’s best to order your tickets online in advance; the Aquarium staggers visitor entry to manage the crowds, so the wait between purchasing your ticket at the window and actual admission can be a couple of hours on weekends and during busy periods.

National Aquarium in Baltimore
501 East Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21202

If you can’t get your kids to turn off their iPods for anything, check out the Hard Rock Café, just down the street from Ford’s Theatre (the infamous site where President Abraham Lincoln was shot.)

Hard Rock memorabilia includes (perhaps along with the over-priced cheeseburger) a black leather costume worn by Gene Simmons of KISS, a Lenny Kravitz Les Paul guitar, and even the saxophone that the newly elected President, Bill Clinton, played at his Inaugural Ball in 1993.

Hard Rock Café
999 E. Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20004

What kid doesn’t like cold, hard cash? The Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, DC offers a 45-minute tour of their money printing facility, where you can watch various denominations of U.S. currency being printed while you stand only feet away from millions and millions of dollars.

Bureau of Engraving and Printing
14th & C Streets, SW
Washington DC 20228

For some GREAT photo ops with smaller kids, just about a mile from the National Mall along the beautiful Potomac River is East Potomac Park. At the end of the park on the peninsula is Hains Point, and there you’ll find the giant sculpture “The Awakening.”

It’s a mostly buried 100-foot tall sculpture of a man who appears to be struggling to free himself, with only his face, a hand, arm, leg and foot exposed above ground. Kids love to play on it while parents take photos. It’s also a great place to let the children run around after a day inside countless museums.

Hains Point – The Awakening
East Potomac Park
About ¾ miles south of 1090 Ohio Dr. SW, at the end of Hains Point
Washington, DC 20001

Besides these fun activities, don’t forget there’s always:
- Riding (or climbing) to the top of the Washington Monument
- Seeing The Declaration of Independence at The National Archives
- Stopping by the Lincoln, Jefferson and FDR Memorials
- Spending time at the National Museum of Natural History
- Visiting the pandas at The National Zoo
- Seeing the falls at Great Falls National Park, our version of Niagara Falls
- Watching the Changing of the Guard at Arlington National Cemetery
- Catch a game, depending on the season. DC is home to the MLB Nationals, the NFL Redskins, the NHL Capitols, the Wizards of the NBA or the MLS DC United. Finding tickets, even the day of the game, can be easier than you think.

If your kids have never ridden on a subway, take the Metro around DC. Make sure to ride in the first car, and grab the front row seats as the train travels underground. Even getting to your destination can be fun!!

** Thanks very much to Jon for his guest posts, and check out The DC Traveler for more ideas if you plan to travel with kids to Washington, DC. **

Technorati tags: travel, family travel, Washington DC, DC, Washington, Washington DC travel, The DC Traveler, DC tourist information, DC sightseeing, Bureau of Engraving and PrintingNational Aquarium in Baltimore, Hard Rock Cafe, DC monuments

Please welcome fellow blogger and friend Jon Rochetti of The DC Traveler — he has so many good ideas, we’re going to give you Part One today and Part Two tomorrow. Take it away, Jon! ***

Kids love Washington, DC. There are so many things for them to see and do, and it’s not just being dragged around dusty old museums. Plus, with the summer wave of tourists over and the heat and humidity of summer gone, now is the perfect time for a visit to the nation’s capital.

Here are a few kid-friendly ideas, including a few not-so-common activities:

First, how about taking the kids on a 90-minute tour around DC on a DC DUCK – an original World War II DUKW (”Duck”) amphibious vehicle.

You drive around the National Mall, then cruise the Potomac River, entering the river near Reagan National Airport, just under the takeoff and landing pattern of the airport.

This, the kids will love.

DC Ducks at Union Station Main Entrance
50 Massachusetts Ave., NE, Washington, DC 20018

Next, the city has two great Air and Space museums, one at Independence Avenue on the National Mall and a second, newer and larger one near the Dulles airport. It’s the world’s most extensive collection of aviation history under two roofs; kids get to see everything from the original Wright Brother’s Flyer close up (it no longer hangs from the museum ceiling since it’s now part of a special Wright Brothers exhibit) to the Space Shuttle.

Between the two museums, there’s aviator Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis aircraft, the SR-71 Blackbird (the fastest plane ever built) and a full size Apollo moon landing craft, all guaranteed to get a few ”Way cools!!”

Parents will also love that admission to both museums is FREE.

The National Air and Space Museum on Independence Avenue also houses some of the Treasures of American History collection from the National Museum of American History, which is closed for renovations until the summer of 2008.

More than 150 objects are on view, including the original Kermit the Frog puppet, Alexander Graham Bell’s experimental telephone, R2-D2 and C-3PO from the Star Wars movie Return of the Jedi and Dorothy’s sequined ruby red shoes worn in the classic movie The Wizard of Oz.

There’s even a pair of not-so-fashionable (but definitely NOT oversized, baggy or droopy) Levi Strauss jeans from the 1870s.

National Air and Space Museum
Independence Avenue at 6th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20560 (map it)

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway
Chantilly, Virginia 20151 (map it)

What kid doesn’t love to play hide and seek?

At the International Spy Museum, kids can learn how adults play hide and seek. While this museum is probably not great for very young children, it is a fun, family-friendly place. The museum covers everything about spies… gadgets, bugs, hidden cameras, weapons and vehicles, including James Bond’s 1964 Aston Martin DB5 from the classic Bond film Goldfinger.

Kids (and adults too) can learn about invisible ink, microdots, buttonhole cameras and how Hollywood helped the CIA develop ingenious disguise techniques.

They occasionally offer kid’s programs and workshops, such as creating disguises, codes and ciphers and other themes, so check their website for programs and dates.

International Spy Museum
800 F. Street, NW
Washington, DC, 20004 (map it)

*** You may not particularly want to see the National Naval Medical Center, where my daughter actually arrived, but Jon has tips for good places to eat in Bethesda, the community where the hospital is located.

Stay tuned for Part Two of the DC Traveler’s suggestions. ***

Technorati tags: travel, family travel, Washington DC, DC, Washington, Washington DC travel, The DC Traveler, DC tourist information, DC sightseeing, National Air and Space Museum, DC Ducks, International Spy Museum, DC monuments

OK, the elections are over now and we can all quit bashing the nation’s capital as a cesspool of do-nothings.  Simply put, the Washington, D.C. area is chock-a-block with neat stuff to do if you travel there with kids.

To get started, there are a pile of good links put together on the Frommer’s guide to DC.

Recently, I have been impressed with a relatively new blog called The DC Traveler, written by Jon Rochetti.  There are many good ideas throughout his blog, but here are the specifically family-friendly posts. 

This is a marvelous place to visit, with plenty of efficient transportation options and many hotels with cheap rates, especially on weekends when they need to fill rooms and the government/business travelers are gone.  As long as you can hop a Metro subway or bus from your hotel, you can skip the car.

Thanks for your blog, Jon!

Update 22 December 2006:  Budget Travel Online has a list of great DC hotel deals tied to an upcoming 6-month festival celebrating Shakespeare.  There are also links for side trip ideas, like Virginia’s Northern Neck and the Shenandoah Valley.

Update 28 December 2006: A very nice New York Times overview of what Washington offers during the holiday season, including the National Christmas Tree (and fewer crowds.) 

Update 9 March 2007:  Looks like CNN Travel is predicting some amazing cherry blossom viewing this spring.

Update 5 April 2007:  Here are some great ideas from Smarter Travel about taking kids on their first visit to DC.

Technorati tags:  travel, family travel, Washington DC

If you’re planning on a trip there this summer, keep in mind that it gets pretty hot and muggy, so minimal transportation hassles = maximum fun with kids.

Don’t believe the quote attributed to JFK: “Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm.”  You and your family will have a terrific time.

A terrific choice for anyone but particularly for families, it houses Americana of every description, including the ruby slippers from the “Wizard of Oz,” the original Star-Spangled Banner, Cesar Chavez’s union jacket, Richard Petty’s 200th victory car, gowns worn by First Ladies at inaugurations, early personal computers, a jar of leeches (in the Medical section,) a pencil drawing of “Steamboat Willie” (later Mickey Mouse)….just a wonderful collection.

There will probably be mini-exhibits around the Mall while restoration is ongoing, but it can’t match the bulging contents of the original Museum.

See it while it’s open if you can.

One is a general overall view of Washington DC as a family travel destination, plus a list of favorite experiences at the bottom of the article, and the other is more of a “Best of Washington DC” for kids. 

A big plus for the entire DC metro area is that so many of the kid-friendly museums and places to visit are free.  Also, since it is a government and business hub there are lots of hotel options, including nice “business hotels” that try to fill their rooms on weekends by charging tempting low prices.  The Metro system makes it a snap to get around town as well.