Granite Falls vacations... what I am missing?

I love it ... although I don't usually send a family there. I normally send my single sims. I have sent smaller families though, once a sent a mother and child and once a father and teenage son. Either way I send them and they usually work on multiple aspirations switching between them while enjoying their time there. Sometimes they do the camping thing and sometimes I set up the National Forest as a luxury place to stay.. It will have anything they are interested in. Spa stuff, music stuff, painting stuff ect... I've even stayed so long there once (on a single sim) that some of the plants in the garden had reached the perfect stage before I sent them home. I usually get the insect collection completed at this point even if the vacation only lasts a week... because I know where all of the insects spawn. They usually spend at least 3 days in the hermit's place (if not more).
It's my favorite game pack.
You can redo your rental lots prior to taking the vacation or use the national park for free and redo that on the spot. I'm not sure why you couldn't read to your kids there I was able too when I went with a child.