Kids don't need an expensive vacation. Try these options instead.
Check out our list of 20 free summer activities on Long Island. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
The family getaway wasn't very planned out. It wasn't even a full day trip.
There was dinner on the boardwalk. We briefly put our feet in the ocean, grabbed ice cream and my kids both ran around laughing on the playground in the sand as my husband and I admired a cotton-candy sky at sunset. None of us wanted to leave ... but we did have a 90-minute drive home.
The site was Asbury Park, New Jersey, the latest random spot that my 10-year-old son's travel hockey "career" took us this past weekend.
But it could have easily been Coney Island or even Jones Beach.
We enjoyed a beautiful evening on the Asbury Park boardwalk Saturday, but we could have easily been doing the same activites at a beach closer to home. Credit: Tara Conry
Sometimes as parents, we get caught up in planning — or feeling guilty that we haven't planned — some epic trip for the summer at Disney World or on some exotic island.
Then, we take an impromptu day trip or even have a lazy day at home, and are reminded that sometimes simple can be great and memorable too.
Newsday has three NYC itineraries for families to try that won't break your budget and guides to free fun, including free concerts for kids at local parks.
Take the LIRR to New York City for a family-friendly adventure and visit The Statue of Liberty. Credit: Getty Images/Eugene Gologursky
Old tech is cool again
Our little beach outing didn't start out so sweet. As we sat down to eat, my son gestured to me with his iPad, requesting I grant him some screen time.
"Absolutely not," I said,
"But then what am I going to do?" he pleaded.
"Talk to your family. Look at the ocean, watch the seagulls flying overhead ... "
There was pouting, but it was worth it because for the rest of the evening he forgot the device existed and plugged back into the real world.
He tried seared tuna for the first time, played a trivia game that was on the back of the menu and happened to notice when some of his hockey teammates also surfaced on the boardwalk.
I love this new trend in which some kids and teens are embracing less-connected devices, opting instead to listen to music and play games on the tech their parents or even grandparents grew up on.
Gennaro Vigliotti, 11, sifts through his vinyl record collection at his home in East Northport . Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
I wonder if my Walkman and Tamagotchi are still at my parents' house?
Breaking down LI taxes
Complaining about our high property taxes is about as Long Island as ordering a BEC or belting out the words to "Piano Man" on your drive home from the beach.
But why are our taxes so high? Where does the money go?
Wayne and Joan Breimann were among the Long Islanders who shared their property tax bills with Newsday. Credit: Morgan Campbell
Newsday recently asked Long Islanders to share their tax bills with us. See what we learned about how those dollars are spent.
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