We've been having a wonderful NYC staycation. That photo may look like it was taken in the country, but it's actually the Arthur Ross Pinetum, one of many hidden treasures in Central Park. This week we also spent some time exploring our neighborhood of the month, Long Island City in Queens, and we shared our favorite places to see incredible views of New York City.

On our Travel site, we featured some great family destinations in Southern Vermont including 40 Things to Do in Brattleboro with Kids, Brattleboro's Retreat Farm where kids can get up close and personal with the animals, and Bromley Adventure Park, which recently opened a brand-new Aerial Adventure section.

Closer to home, our Long Island site has a fantastic profile of Shelter Island, while our New Jersey site's got the scoop on Shark Fest at Camden's Adventure Aquarium. You can also head to the Delaware Water Gap for fishing, boating, swimming, hiking and camping. Or you can plan your own local adventure with our NYC Summer Fun Guide.

Here's what else we shared this week on our NYC site.

Long Island is celebrating its diversity this weekend, with the India Day Parade on Saturday and IndiaFest on Sunday, and BACCA's Paumanauke Pow Wow. There's also critters, critters everywhere: Reptiles Rule at the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center, Butterflies Abound! a Bug Safari at the Old Westbury Gardens, and a Bat Safari at the Connetquot River State Park Preserve. Oh my! Round out your weekend with the Sag Harbor Firemen's Carnival. Take a look at our events calendar for more fun activities this weekend and all week long.

So the summer’s about halfway through now and, wait, what? Back to school already? You’ve got to be kidding me! We were just getting started. We’ve only scratched the surface of all those free summer kids movies; we were just setting up our picnics for the many free outdoor concerts, and we're still brushing up our Shakespeare for the different renditions of the Bard in the Park. You can’t send us back now!

Pretty much the only saving grace of back to school is the chance to buy new clothes. (If you’re a kid. If you’re a mom the best thing is everything.) We’ve got some pointers on where to go in LA to for the best combination of style and value. (There’s a fashion show at the Grove this weekend that can give you a few ideas, too).

And if school starts for you and yours next week, I say go out with a bang. Party like it’s the first day of summer. Build a sandcastle, play in the park, ride a choo choo or  hunt for faeries, dance like nobody’s watching, and take your Shakespeare with a dose of Wookie. It ain’t over til it’s over, and this summer has just begun!

Keep reading for our favorite picks for this weekend...

Families can savor this mid-August weekend in and around Boston with festivals like the Ben & Jerry’s Fair Trade Music Festival at the Prudential Center. And animals take center stage during weekend activities, from a screening of The Zookeeper at the Hatch Shell and the August Moon Festival at the Stone Zoo to a visit with Jef Czekai (“Oddanimalogist”) at the Harvard Museum of Natural History and creatures of the sea at the New England Aquarium. Read on for our weekend highlights, and remember you can find additional options in our Event Calendar.

Try as we might to forget that September and the start of school is just around the corner, this tax-free holiday weekend might just be the motivation we need. We’d love to know your favorite places to buy kids’ clothes and fun school stuff to include in an upcoming post.

And if you’re looking for ideas for that last final summer memory, we have more than 15 summer day trips to consider. Lastly, Tara blogs about her experience as “Camp Mommy” director this summer - sound familiar?

Enjoy!

We’re sure that you were busy this summer with trips to water parks, pirate adventures and hopefully even some free fun activities. But as summer draws to a close, maybe you’re hankering for a last minute trip and where better than the New Jersey shore?? As long as you are flexible, even as August is winding down, there are deals to be had at various Jersey shore towns. Here are some of our favorite realtors and sites to connect to last-minute spots!

Welcome to another New York City weekend full of fantastic and mostly free things to do for families. SummerStage ends its series of free Family Days in Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park, and there are no-cost kids' concerts by The Itty Biddies in Long Island City and Astrograss in Bryant Park.

The New York International Fringe Festival kicks off this weekend in downtown Manhattan, and while most of the offerings are aimed at adults, there are four FringeJr shows for families. If you're looking to get outside and enjoy the dog days of summer, Saturday brings the second installment of Manhattan's car-free Summer Streets.

And that's just a bit of what's going on. All of our best bets for the weekend are below. You can find additional options in our Event Calendar and our Summer Fun Guide, which is jam-packed with info on the best NYC beaches, pools, water playgrounds and other ways to cool off.

Tucked away between the North and South Forks of Long Island, is a shady retreat with glorious beaches, abundant wildlife, and a friendly laid-back atmosphere. My family has been heading to Shelter Island since 1963, and the island has changed surprisingly little over the years. It’s still OK to stop and say “hi” to a passing driver. It is never so noisy that you can’t hear the birds chirp or the crickets sing. One third of the island belongs to the Nature Conservancy’s Mashomack Preserve.

A vacation in southern Vermont can be bucolic and serene, filled with lazy days swimming in a lake, hiking, and visiting farm animals. But, when travelling with kids, sometimes adding a day of raucous fun can be a great addition to your Vermont family vacation. Luckily, there’s one spot in the midst of the farms, lakes and woods that provides amusement park style fun with Vermont style adventure.

The Bromley Adventure Park is the only place in Southern Vermont where families will find rides that fling you in the air and swoosh you down the mountain, wet or dry, fast or slow.  In addition to a water slide, an alpine slide, bumper boats, a bungee jumper, a climbing wall, a ziprider and other fun attractions, Bromley Mountain Adventure Park has recently added a Aerial Adventure Park where you can take to the trees on a challenge course in the treetops.