On a recent trip to Vermont, we were able to spend time at Shelburne Farms. Somehow, I was not expecting much from this stop and planned it as a quick break on our way to Burlington. I was pleasantly surprised!

I knew there would be cute farm animals, but what I didn’t anticipate was the stunning grounds, impressive barn structure and eager staff ready to educate the kids on everything farm related.

Are you feeling like summer is coming to a fast close and you need more holiday time? I do! Fortunately, fall is a wonderful season to plan short getaways while the weather is still nice and in many cases, prices are lower than peak travel periods.

Here are 10 great fall travel ideas. I’ve included venues that are great for parents-only getaways as well as family breaks. Given all there is to do to prepare for back-to-school, we’re all exhausted and need some downtime.

Some news! We just launched a new partnership with LocalGetaways.com. We’re writing tips and advice for their Kid-Friendly Great Getaways section. The first edition covers the California wine country vacations with kids. Napa and Sonoma are right outside of Dana’s front door and she’s provided an array of fantastic suggestions of things to do with kids other than dragging them to wineries.

Local Getaways is a great resource to bookmark for boutique hotel stays in California.

My favorite trips are the ones that require a passport. When going somewhere I’ve never been, there’s the promise of the new and unknown. There’s excitement and a sense of adventure that starts when you make the first reservation and lasts until the plane touches down at home. But trips are not always vacations.

There’s a big difference, especially when kids are involved. My favorite vacations involve sandy beaches and warm water, and one of my favorite sandy stretches is the New Jersey Shore.

Lexus Magazine invited us to co-author a piece recommending kid-friendly luxury vacation venues. The format is compelling for everyone with adults-only and kid-friendly getaways featured side-by-side. The result? You can’t escape feeling inspired for whatever flavor of vacation you need right now.

Me? After a month of no school or camp paired with a move to Europe, the adults-only getaways are calling my name.

If your kids have already marched the Freedom Trail or you are simply looking for something a little different than the typical “Top 5 Family Activities in Boston”, this list was created for you.

Don’t get me wrong, Boston’s popular sights are excellent, but between school trips and family visits, we’re always looking for something fresh to draw us into town.

My husband and I are not the biggest Disney fans. When it comes to a vacation, there are a lot of other places we’d rather take the family. That said, we understand why it would rank high on our kids’ list of places to go.

Our story goes like this. We were headed to Southwest Florida to visit family. My girls had seen Disney’s “Give a day. Get a Disney Day.” advertisement. Basically, anyone who volunteered for a day, got a free ticket to Walt Disney World or Disneyland.

Growing up on the East Coast I had my pick of summer coastal getaways, and while memories from my pre-parenting days are hazy I can tell you that sun, surf, and seafood were important elements in all of those trips. Memories run together of one town’s attractions and another’s shops and restaurants and certainly all of these destinations teemed with parents and their loud children.

We were hiking in Lake Tahoe a few weeks ago on the Rubicon Train (DL Bliss State Park) and came across these teen-agers jumping off big rocks into the lake. The joy of being young and fearless!

I love how the deep blue color of the lake comes through in these photos. What you can’t tell, however, is how cold the water is (hint: very).

Hiking is a wonderful all-family activity. When kids are very young and can fit in a backpack, any hike is fair game as long as you pack food and don’t overestimate your endurance to carry the extra pounds. When kids start walking, selecting kid-friendly hikes is essential, although it’s amazing how far motivated school-age kids can go.

I’ll never forget the Dutch family we ran into in Banff National Park a few years ago with 5-year-old twin boys who were hiking the same 6-mile-loop we were with some serious vertical.