Bring the family on an overnight adventure

With so many kids, we usually "staycation" during the summer; this year, we actually packed our bags and went on a little road trip to the Glen, New Hampshire, area. Of course, I ended up writing about it for The Boston Globe...

November 15, 2008
A Wildly Imaginative Stay
Looking for adventure with the kids

WHO: Globe Magazine staff member Lylah M. Alphonse, her husband, and their five kids, ages 1 to 14
WHAT: A family adventure in New Hampshire
WHERE: Adventure Suites, 3440 White Mountain Highway, North Conway, N.H., 888-626-6929

We were planning a little road trip and needed a place to stay. A place that our older kids would enjoy and our younger kids couldn't wreck immediately. A place with plenty to do close by. Adventure Suites in North Conway, N.H., fit the bill; each of the 16 suites has a different theme - a love shack, a dragon's lair, a New York penthouse, nd hog heaven, where guests can park their motorcycles right in the room, to name ust a few. ... [More]

We stayed in the treehouse suite (pictured here), and all our kids were in awe when they saw it. The wood-paneled main room was decorated with cute forest critters and contained an actual working swing hanging from an actual tree branch. A large Jacuzzi stood on a fake front porch in a corner of the room; a one-person tent was set up for our oldest daughter in another corner, and a set of stairs led up to a well-appointed sleeping loft with a king-size bed and a separate, padded "Nut Hut" big enough to sleep three more kids (it also had a PlayStation unit in it, so "sleep" may be inaccurate).

While we were up there, we visited Storyland (which is closed for the season now, so you'll have to wait until the spring for my review) and slid down a snowless ski slope at Attitash. The kids were talking about going back before we had even left the place!