The 100 Best Affordable Vacations (46 page)

 
Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, California.
Literally sleeping with the fishes, you’ll have this usually crowded attraction almost to yourself, providing a chance to marvel at the sardines without worrying about the crowd behind you. For an otherworldly slumber, set up camp in front of the jellyfish exhibit. It’s like going to sleep in the middle of a giant lava lamp. The Family Seashore Sleepover runs $75 a person and includes a movie, breakfast, and a behind-the-scenes tour of one of the world’s top aquariums.
Monterey Bay Aquarium, 886 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA 93940, 831-648-4888,
www.montereybayaquarium.org
.

 
Toronto Zoo, Toronto, Canada.
A camp-in can really be a camp out. Here families sleep on cots in safari-style tents at the Serengeti Bush Camp, the zoo’s African-themed area in the suburbs of Toronto. You’ll check in on rhinos, elephants, and hippos before dinner, and then explore the savanna at night by flashlight. A campfire follows and then a comfy bed—with flush toilets nearby. The next morning, you’re awakened by African drums for breakfast and a morning hike that provides a chance to see zoo animals when they’re most active. It costs $70 Canadian for children 6 to 11, $90 over 12, and includes a buffet dinner and breakfast.
Toronto Zoo, 361A Old Finch Ave., Toronto, ON M1B 5K7, Canada, 416-392-5929,
www.torontozoo.com
.

 
Ship stays.
For a unique night’s sleep, climb into a sailor’s bunk during an encampment aboard the
Battleship
New Jersey
(62 Battleship Place, Camden, NJ 08103, 856-966-1652,
www.battleshipnewjersey.org
), permanently anchored in Camden, New Jersey, across from Philadelphia. The World War II vessel invites families to sleep over as long as one member is between 6 and 17. As a temporary crew member, you can explore the nooks and crannies of the country’s most decorated battleship, which stretches nearly 300 yards long and stands 11 stories tall. Kids love to climb up to the 16-inch guns turret, which could hit targets up to 23 miles away. Dinner in the ship’s mess hall is included. The cost is $51 per person.
     The Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc hosts several family overnights each year aboard the
U.S.S.
Cobia
submarine
(75 Maritime Dr., Manitowoc, WI 54220, 866-724-2356,
www.wisconsinmaritime.org
). The price is $39 per person. And the
U.S.S.
Hornet
aircraft carrier
(707 W. Hornet Ave., Alameda, CA 94501, 510-521-8448,
www.uss-hornet.org
) berthed in Alameda, California, near Oakland, also welcomes family sleepovers. The $60 per person price includes dinner and breakfast.

$PLURGE

san diego zoo

The San Diego Zoo offers several overnight options just for adults and women. They include a dinner buffet and drinks, and a wake-up mimosa delivered to your tent. Prices begin at $139 per person.
San Diego Zoo, 2920 Zoo Dr., San Diego, CA 92101, 800-407-9534,
www.sandiegozoo.org
.

learn to build a wooden boat

WASHINGTON STATE & MAINE

We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch—we are going back from whence we came.

—
PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY,
ADDRESS DURING THE AMERICA’S CUP RACES, NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND
(1962)

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From Homer to Hemingway, writers have reflected man’s fascination with the mystery, the mercurial nature, and the sheer vastness of the sea. Images of Phoenician sailors, the settlers of Easter Island, Christopher Columbus, and Captain Ahab lure us into the deep. Or, in the case of some modern mariners, into courses on building wooden boats.

Andrew Washburn, who runs the Center for Wooden Boats at Cama Beach State Park outside Seattle, Washington, explains the appeal: “There’s this kind of truth and beauty of wooden boats. A well-made wooden boat is a beautiful thing in the way a well-made fiberglass boat is not. The process of it is beautiful. You’re using hand tools. There’s the feel and smell of the wood.”

For Bob Welbon, a longtime Florida sailor and self-described “gadget guy” who grew up sailing wooden prams, a boatbuilding vacation combines love of the water with his love for woodworking. “It gets me into a different environment. I can hone up on skills I have and learn different skills. It gets me into some techniques that I’m afraid are being lost over time.”

And perhaps as importantly, it’s a return to youth. “As I boy, I spent my summers at summer camp. This is Big Boy Camp.” Doesn’t that just say it all?

Wooden boatbuilding courses are dotted around the country at various waterfront locations; some are for at-risk high school students, some for those interested in a career, and some for hobbyists like Welbon who want to spend a vacation honing an affection for seagoing traditions. Here are two schools that are perfect for the hobbyist:

Center for Wooden Boats, Cama Beach State Park, Washington.
About 90 minutes north of Seattle lies a 1930s-era family resort on Puget Sound that became Cama Beach State Park in the 1990s. Facilities include the original boathouse and some 40 wooden boats—providing a perfect tie-in with Seattle’s Center for Wooden Boats, which offers woodworking, boatbuilding, and maritime photography classes in the city and at Cama Beach. Some are specially designed for women and families.

One of the most popular courses at Cama Beach teaches participants to build a Norwegian pram. The course runs Saturday to Friday on select dates and costs $1,000. Participants typically stay in cozy 1950s-era cabins (from $65 per night during the summer/fall months) on the rocky shore, where they cook their own meals or grill with the neighbors. The 400-acre park offers hiking, wildlife-watching, fishing, and boat rentals—plenty to occupy family and friends who aren’t into working with their hands.

Center for Wooden Boats,
360-387-9361,
www.cwb.org
.

WoodenBoat School, Brooklin, Maine.
The most popular course of the many taught at this school overlooking Eggemoggin Reach south of Bar Harbor is “Fundamentals of Boatbuilding.” In this two-week class students work on three different boats in various stages of construction—beginning a boat, planking, and finishing—at both blackboard and bench, learning about techniques and tools. Classes typically run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with free time on Saturday afternoon and evenings for rowing, sailing, and visiting local boatyards.

The course costs $1,150 per person and is open to anyone, though it helps to have some familiarity with both woodworking and boating. Room and board in simple shared rooms with shared bath costs $450 per person per week; campsites cost $100 per week. Nonparticipating family members can also stay on the premises.

The WoodenBoat School offers a host of other classes, including boat repair and canoe construction. Some courses allow you to build your own kayak, dory, or dinghy—even carve a wooden duck decoy.

WoodenBoat School,
207-359-4651,
www.thewoodenboatschool.com
.

MORE BOATBUILDING SCHOOLS IN NORTH AMERICA

 
Arques School of Traditional Boatbuilding,
Sausalito, California, 415-331-7262,
www.arqueschl.org
.

 
Chesapeake Light Craft,
Annapolis, Maryland, 410-267-0137,
www.clcboats.com
.