Teddy Bear Vacation Destinations!
I’m sure many of us are planning vacations that are less expensive, maybe some day trips or driving vacations to less expensive venues. When you are planning those trips – think about some teddy bear destinations that you can add to the schedule! There are a number of vacation places and retail establishments that offer a fun filled time for the family – and you can always send Dad to a local golf course if bears bore him!
In Michigan, check out the new Chelsea Teddy Bear and Toy Museum – http://www.chelseateddybear.com/toy_museum
Ken Yenke, Teddy Bear Review’s resident expert on old bears, has personally selected most of the items on display from his own collection, and acts as curator. Admission is FREE! The Chelsea Teddy Bear Co. has fun events planned for the summer, and offer a store and factory tours. Definitely a great way to spend the day! In July, a Steiff representative and Ken Yenke will be on hand for a presentation – details available on the web site so be sure to read all about it!
In Pennslyvania, of course the place to go is Gettysburg and Boyds Bear Country. The Boyds Bear Country store now carries more than just Boyds, featuring Yankee Candles, Hansa plush, Gund, Demdaco, Our Name is Mud, Jim Shore, Gooseberry Patch and more!
They have events planned nearly every weekend this summer, so read about it here – http://www.boydsbearcountry.com/events/
Just the historical features of the immediate area alone make this a great inexpensive vacation, and the Lancaster/Amish country landscape is a wonderful low tech shopping mecca!
In the New England area, plan to visit the remarkable Hugging Bear Inn – in Chester Vermont – http://www.huggingbear.com/
The area is so beautiful any time of year, and how fun to stay in a 19th century home that has been made into a Bed & Breakfast that features a teddy bear in every bed! They also have an online teddy bear store, with some offerings that include long retired Douglas plush and bears from the defunct Oz Lone Star teddy bears.
Don’t forget the wonderful Vermont Teddy Bear factory in Burlington Vermont – they are open nearly year round for tours and shopping, and the tours cost an amazing 2.00!! Such a deal! This is the place to go if you want a truly personalized bear – you can send them a photo of a dress for example, a wedding dress, and they will recreate the dress for one of their bears. Military uniform? They can do it – what a keepsake for a child who has a parent in the military, a bear dressed JUST like mom or dad! You can read about all of the amazing options here – http://www.vermontteddybear.com/Static/Tour-Essentials.aspx
Coming to Disney in Florida? Downtown Disney has a T-Rex dinosaur themed restaurant with life sized, animated dinosaurs in realistic habitats that create a truly unique dining experience – and Downtown Disney is FREE! This wonderful restaurant contains a surprise too – a special version of the Build A Bear Factory featuring dinosaurs! They are too cute to be believed – read about it here – http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/destinations/downtown-disney/dining/t-rex/ Both in California and Florida, Downtown Disney’s Rainforest Cafe features a wide assortment of unusual plush animals featuring the wild side of life in their shopping areas.
These are just a few of the destinations you can add to your summer plans – so get out those maps and find some fun teddy bear trips to take!