I love the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, but the roads are inacessible from November through April or May. It's 8800 ft. elevation, and gets snowed in during the winter. I believe the South Rim is open year-round, and although quite touristy, it's still the Grand Canyon...
The Southwest is wonderful - Grand Canyon, Sedona, Flagstaff, even Phoenix and southern Arizona with beautiful Saguaro cactus. I've never been to New Mexico, but I understand Santa Fe and Albuquerque has interesting Native American history and culture.
You mentioned flying to Washington DC. That may be an all-day affair, just getting from LA to DC. If you can't fly direct/nonstop, try to make connections in a southerly route (e.g. Dallas, Phoenix)instead of northerly route (e.g. Chicago). December weather in Chicago can mess up your connection.
There is plenty of stuff for kids in DC - the Smithsonian museums including Air and Space (the original Wright brothers airplane), Natural History and the monuments (Jefferson, Lincoln, WW II, Vietnam), Arlington, etc
New York, of course, has museums (Natural History with dinosaurs and lots of rocks/minerals), Hayden Planetarium, the Statue of Liberty, Broadway shows, and at Christmas, Rockefeller Center is decorated with a huge Christmas tree, and there is outside skating on the frozen rink.
Sounds like an ambitious itinerary!
Last edited by twomoose; 08/24/09 05:17 AM.
