Ok- any ideas for a vacation that my family can take. We do the San Diego thing all the time so not there. Here is some background info on us. There are four of us. We live in Orange County. We have two boys 6 and 13 years old. We can pretty much travel anytime between now and September. We have zero camping equipment although if there is an all inclusive type place we might do that. It should cost about $2000 maybe a bit more... Hopefully no port a potty type places. I'm not sure I could deal with that. I know it's not much to work with but there it is. I have considered driving, taking the train, and flying. I'm not sure we can afford to fly anywhere with my budget. I need a destinatin before I can figure out the cost of things.
How about the central coast? Pismo Beach (kids would love the dunes), San Luis Obispo... maybe a day at Hearst Castle? We used to do that a lot when I was little (grew up in Bakersfield). Another suggestion if you want to stay away from the beach would be the Sierra Nevadas. You could drive up HWY. 395 and stay in Bishop, Mammoth, Bass Lake, June Lake, etc. for a night or two. Don't necessarily have to camp. There are a lot of little lakes in the SNs and the boys should have fun up there. What about Lake Tahoe? Santa Cruz? Monterrey and Carmel? I love Big Sur and Point Lobos (the most beautiful spots in Cali IMO). You can get the National Park weekly pass and visit the Nor Cal parks during the day and go to a hotel at night. Soooo much to do in Cali. I miss it so much sometimes!