Travel plan idea blog

Everything you are looking for is in and around
Eastern Tennessee. The only part I am not real sure of is the Starwood Hotel. Gatlinburg is near
3 rivers all handled by USA Raft and they do great river tubing or raft trips. Food is execellent and there is always Dollywood.

On the Left Coast, Tahoe is beautiful, no tubing that I know of. Vail and Breckenridge have great hiking and activities, great hotels, super food.
The tubing I have never seen. Good Luck. Gaylan

The other "half" of the Eastern TN mountains is in western North Carolina. There are a number of nice Sheraton/Starwood properties in Charlotte, and there is great tubing and rafting in the area, along with everything else you are interested in. Another area similar to Charlotte but smaller is Greenville, SC. It has a Westin downtown that is a historic hotel, and the mountains are also close from there. Asheville, NC (where the Biltmore house is) has a Sheraton 4Points and is right in the mountains. Have a great trip!

Have you considered the San Antonio/New Braunfels/Austin, Texas area? The hill country has all the wonderful trails you can hike or bike, the tubing is great on the Guadalupe in New Branfels and you have the Riverwalk, Alamo, Sea World, etc. etc. in San Antonio. Throw in a couple of cave adventures, awesome evening bat "shows" as they leave for a night of eating bugs, and fun but educational activities as a kicker. There several Starwood hotels in both San Antonio and Austin.

There is tubing in Tahoe on the truckee river. But look into bend oregon absoultely amazing ther is tubing and rafting on the deschutes river and tons of things for everyone to do. Great scenery and a wonderful museum called the High Desert Musuem plus cave explorations and much more.

Have you thought about Hawaii? The kids could learn to surf, wind surf or kayak, there are hikes and helicoptor rids with spectacular scenery and many different cultures and foods to explore.

Check out Glenwood Springs, CO 40 miles away from Aspen. The Colorado River is close by for tubing and there is a great Hot Springs for other activities. Hiking and other sports nearby.

Steamboat Springs, CO might fit the bill. It is probably about the same drive as Aspen (3-4 hours from DIA) or you can fly in there too. There is great tubing on the Yampa, lots of wonderful hiking nearby and a great little village w/restaurants. Looks like there is a Sheraton there too. Would probably be a bit cheaper for food in Steamboat then Aspen.

You might consider a stay at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort and plan to visit Carlsbad Caverns for hiking and tours. You can see the caves via the Nature Entrance Trail or the Big Room Trail. And May through October they have their nightly Bad Flight program, an evening talk coinciding with the flight of 400,000 Brazilian bats from Carlsbad Cavern. You could also visit the beach and try some sea kayaking (or just lounging). For food, you could eat at Vivace Four Seasons or Bellefleur Winery & Restaurant.

Hope you enjoy your travels.