When my daughter was in the 6th grade, she was the recipient of the Daughters of the American Revolution Award for History.In her acceptance speech, she stated: "Of course I know history; my Dad has dragged me to every battlefield that he could think of since I was born."Sound familiar?What military kid doesn’t have a long list of military battlefields he or she has visited during every PCS they have been through up to age 18?It’s a rite of passage and a pretty normal military family experience.Most military families that I know "vacationed" during PCS moves.Memories for millennials that grew up as military children consist of summers spent in minivans packed to the gill with suitcases, boxes, and a backpack for each child full of travel must haves – coloring books, Gameboys, comic books and the Bernstein Bears stories.And, when you weren’t PCSing, you visited grandma and grandpa – or most often they came to visit you, because, after all, you lived in exciting places.But today’s millennial military family sees the traditional definition of a vacation as essential to their well-being.This is not surprising when you consider that for the past thirteen years military families have taken family vacations after lengthy separations due to deployments. And it was fun!Today, vacationing for vacation’s sake is the norm, not the anomaly.Luckily, many opportunities exist now to help keep the cost down.The National Parks offer free annual passes to military service members and their families to all National Parks and federal recreation areas in the United States.The pass, called America the Beautiful, is available to all U.S. military members and their dependents in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard – and also reserve and national guard members.The pass must be obtained in person at a federal recreation site by showing a Common Access Card (CAC) or Military ID (Form 1173).It covers entrance to Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service sites that charge entrance fees, and standard amenity fees at Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation sites.It admits the pass owners and any accompanying passengers in a private non-commercial vehicle at per-vehicle fee areas, or the pass owner and up to an additional three adults at sites that charge per person. The pass is non-transferable.The pass does not cover or provide a discount on extra amenity fees such as camping, boat launch or interpretive fees.Pass holders have access to some of the most beautiful national treasures in our country such as Little Big Horn Battlefield, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Great Smokey Mountains, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and so many more.For a complete listing of all the sites available with this pass please go to the following website: http://store.usgs.gov/pass/military.htmlIn addition to National Parks, active duty military personnel and their families, including the guard and reserve, can now spend time in museums across the country free of charge by participating in the Blue Star Museum Program.This is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums across America from Memorial Day, May 25, 2015, through Labor Day, Sept. 7, 2015.See more at: http://arts.gov/national/blue-star-museums#sthash.5PAu1eAb.dpuf.The Armed Forces Recreation Centers (AFRC) offer first class accommodations at affordable prices.AFRC resorts provide an array of affordable, wholesome vacation opportunities exclusively to military service members, their families and other authorized patrons of the Total Defense Force.Resorts can be found in Hawaii, Germany, Korea, and the always the Shades of Green Resort located on Walt Disney World Resort in central Florida. See: http://www.armymwr.com/travel/recreationcenters/So what are you waiting for?Pack up those suitcases, grab the kids and hit the road. Happy trails!