Wherever I’ve been this summer, I’ve noticed more young kids chowing down in sophisticated environs while their parents, who’ve encouraged them to experiment with unfamiliar foods, paid for privilege. And chefs are welcoming them (as long as they don’t upset other diners) with healthier offerings, more interesting kids’ menus, smaller portions and even visits to the restaurant’s organic garden. 

 Imagine if you could only get into your office or house via toeholds carved into rock. Imagine cooking by tossing a hot rock into a waterproofed basket filled with stew fixings and grinding corn with a rock. Imagine living with your family in small stone rooms. Imagine no TV or video games to entertain the kids — just stories passed down from generation to generation.

 Nantucket — the only place in America that has the same name for the island, the county and the town — does have a well-deserved reputation for being preppy. “It is the only place you can wear pink pants and get away with it,”says one local....

 Finally, we’re off! The 32-foot Winnebago RV is stocked with every variety of food from Costco as well as toys, games, movies, pillows, sheets, towels, special “blankies,” and stuffed animals, along with two kids, 5 and 7, two parents and me.

 The kids are climbing up a 32 foot ladder, squeezing through a tunnel, walking in toe holds carved into the sandstone, learning all about archeology, Native American culture and ancient history as they go....

 Certainly tent camping was cheaper and many suggest that RVing is cheaper than other vacations but the Muellers aren’t so sure. That wasn’t why they did it anyway—it was a lifestyle thing, to get outdoors with the kids....

 Travel back to the 18th century and you can even ask a British Regular, famous for their red coats, what it was like to serve so far from home where everyone seemed to hate them. (Not so much different from today, is it?) Watch the Regulars’ Changing of the Guard at the site of their original garrison at Faneuil Hall Marketplace.... 

 The Garlands were dedicated RVers long before they bought the park. They still meet up at campgrounds with California friends they met when Mary was in a Mom’s group. Many of today’s campgrounds, she adds, give you the option to tent camp, bring an RV or stay in a cabin....

 We’re OFF!  A 32-foot RV stocked with food from Costco, toys, movies, two kids aged five and eight, two  parents and me. The family is my cousins the SItzmans, who live in Denver.  We’re off on a weeklong RV trip across Southwestern Colorado in a home away from home from Winnebago (www.winnebagoind.com)....

 Big Apple Greeters -- it seems such a simple idea - to connect locals enthusiastic about their city to first-time visitors or those simply visiting from elsewhere.  Now, because of the economic crisis, the nonprofit organization has found itself in a financial crunch of its own and must come up with $300,000 in new funding by the fall if they are to continue. (Are you listening major travel companies?)...