FAMILY FUN IN NEW ENGLAND.

• Author: BARRETT, WAYNE M.

For kids, a great vacation means having a blast at amusement and theme parks, digging in the sand on the beach, and testing the waters at the hotel swimming pools.

TRADITIONALLY, dating back to the late 1980s, we enjoyed taking our annual trip to New England starting on Columbus Day--the "official" last day of the foliage season. That way, many of the tourist attractions were closed; the restaurants were empty; the motels charged off-season rates; and the hiking trails were mostly free of other leaf-peepers. But our three kids changed all that. Our daughter, four, and two sons, two and eight months, respectively, are not ready to hit even the simplest trails. Besides, to them, vacation means having fun at amusement and theme parks, digging in the sand on the beach, and testing the waters at the hotel swimming pools. Fine, we thought, it was inevitable anyway--we'll take a summer vacation. We will even forgo our old habit of not booking ahead, traveling from motel to motel depending on where our whimsy took us. Besides, it would be a new look for us, seeing all those trees sporting lush green foliage instead of shedding their yellow, red, orange, and brown leaves as winter approached.

Since we have a lot of family in the Boston area and visit there somewhat regularly, the long drive from Long Island is a breeze for the kids, so there's very little of the "Are we them, yet?" cries that can make a 300-plus-mile car trip a torture. As she does with each car venture, our four-year-old asked as we first started out, "Will we be there in a few minutes or in a very long time?" With Old Orchard Beach, Me., our first destination, the answer was, "A very long time." This was fine with her and her brothers, just so long as "you let me know when we're only a few minutes away." A reasonable request and a superb attitude.

Seven hours later, after just a couple of rest stops, we were pulling in to the Sea View motel. And yes, we remembered to inform our daughter when we were "just a few minutes away."

We did this as the Palace Playland came into view. After so many years of passing this amusement park when it had been closed up for the season, it was exciting finally to see it open, bustling with people, and filled with the delighted screams of kids enjoying the rides. Our offspring, quite naturally, wanted to stop the car immediately and join in the fun. That was the agenda for tomorrow, they were told. Besides, they were reminded; the motel pool was just up the road. That did the trick.

The Sea View is a three-building, 49-room motel which was recently remodeled. Our second-floor, two-bedroom suite appeared brand-new and had a wonderful view from the front porch of the Atlantic Ocean, just beyond the pool in back of the main building. Lots of closet space; big roomy dressers; a TV set in each room, including the kitchen; a breakfast bar; full fridge and freezer; microwave; comfy couch and loveseat; welcoming basket with champagne, crackers, and delicious chocolate candy; a crib for the baby; perfect firmness in the mattresses; and an air conditioning system that can frost your eyebrows (just the way we winter-loving folks like it) were all much appreciated. I also appreciated the fact that, unlike our nomadic days of yore, we'd actually stay put for a couple of nights. While loving the flexibility to move from place to place as we pleased, loading and unloading our luggage and myriad bags of stuff (all essential, of course) can be quite a chore. I was so delighted at the prospect of living in our new quarters for more than 24 hours that I didn't even mind the task ahead: lugging a minivan full of clothes, toys, games, and food up a large flight of stairs--10 trips at least--to our room. The job became much easier when the motel handyman, sensing my plight, happily negotiated the stairs with our luggage while I unloaded the endless cargo.

It was late afternoon by now; the wife wanted to shower and relax before dinner; and the kids were clamoring to go swimming. So Mom stayed in the deliciously cool room while I headed to the pool with our three children and a like number of floats. Perhaps because of their youthful ignorance, my trio of amphibians have not yet developed a fear of the water and its consequences. My oldest is always venturing out to the deep end--she's only three-and-a-half feet tall, so that pretty much means the entire pool--while the two-year-old enjoys leaping unannounced from the ledge into my arms. The youngest, meanwhile, splashes constantly, using both his arms and legs, with all the energy of a motorboat propeller. Luckily, my wife appeared about 20 minutes later to rescue me, scooping up the youngest and quickly setting the ground rules for the other two. (Funny how they always listen to her.) Our aquatic appetites sated, it was time to work on our real appetites and head out to dinner.

Parental pride forces us to say that our three behave like gold in restaurants. In fact, they rather enjoy dining out and act it. Still, any time you put three kids younger than five years old in a formal setting, an unexpected outburst is a distinct possibility, albeit remote in our case. Consequently, those leisurely dinners from our days of dating and the early years of our marriage are a thing of the past. The idea now isn't so much to rush as it is not to waste any time. As soon as we're seated, we ask that a waiter or waitress be dispatched to our table. There are no more...