Staying Healthy and Young through Skip-Gen Outings

Skip-gen travel destinations for grandparents and kids: Moab, Boston, Mackinac Island.

Do you know what “skip-gen” means? I saw this article in USA Today and wondered just that. In recent literature, Skip-Gen refers to grandparents raising grandchildren without the presence of the parents. However, it can also refer to outings or travel with just grandparents and their grandchildren (or aunts/uncles to grandnieces and grandnephews, etc). Some of my favorite memories are days at the beach on Tybee Island, GA with just my grandfather and me. We would go to Chu’s (the local 10cent store) for a new raft, ride the waves, build a sandcastle and top the most wonderful day with a stop for ice cream…. Perfection!!

In honor of my grandparents and perfect summer days, I would like to give you a few ideas for a quick 3 day side trip or day of your own with a restless or inquisitive young one/teen in your life. Don’t forget to check TripAdvisor for kid friendly restaurants and locations in any area.

1- Tybee Island & Savannah, GA. Tybee is a southern kickback to the 1940’s and just 30 minutes outside of Savannah. A long weekend here would include one or two days on the beautiful hard packed beaches of the coast, riding waves, riding bikes, and eating ice cream. Then a day or two in downtown Savannah; ghost tours, pirate dinners, riverboat cruising, Fort Pulaski, the Riverwalk, eating pralines. MY FAVORITE- but pick your own beach, your young friends won’t care!

2- Mammouth Caves, KY. Caving… these massive caverns in central Kentucky are simply stunning. The beauty and majesty of this underground park will awe any generation! If you are going in an RV, there is also nice, calm canoeing on the Green River nearby as well as beautiful campgrounds (don’t miss Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park!).

3- Boston, Washington DC, or Williamsburg, VA. Do you like history? Augment your young one’s social studies with a trip to the Children’s Museum in each city and tell your grandchild about life pre-cell phones, color television, computers, and motorized scooters! Then go get on a scooter and tour old Boston, Historic Williamsburg, or The Mall and monuments. Unforgettable!

4- A staycation weekend project with your special person is also something they will always remember. (I baked a cream cheese braid with my grandmother one weekend). A few ideas to try: go berry/fruit picking, make bread and or jam/butter, create a birdhouse, sew an apron, hand churn ice cream (and yes the youngest churns!), form teams and create a scavenger hunt, buy 2 of the same puzzle and have a puzzle race over a weekend, and finally life skills -teach your teen to change a tire and/or the oil in the car and sew on a button- they will think of you fondly every time they complete this chore!

-Written by Kristin Dean, Vivo Care Team