AnchorMommy

Vacation location: where should we go?

July 23, 2009 by Shannon

So you know how I’ve recently resolved to make the most of the summer that’s left? At this point, it looks like I’ll be doing so from the comfort of my own home, right up until the leaves start to fall. 

1. We have no vacation plans.
2. We can’t narrow down where to go.
3. We want to travel on a budget.

So what do we do? My husband has vacation time, and my schedule is obviously pretty flexible. But we gotta settle this question soon or we’re not going anywhere but our backyard.

We’ve been lucky enough to take some pretty fantastic vacations that have set the bar pretty high. For example…

Kauai

Okay, this wasn’t cheap. And it wasn’t family-friendly, seeing as it was our honeymoon and all. But it was awesome. And it set the standard for all future beach vacations. It was lush, relaxing, romantic, adventurous and all around amazing. The vacation to come a year later (see below) didn’t quite hit it out of the park the way Kauai did, at least when it came to sheer beachy heaven. Michael had never been to the Hawaiian islands before, so he loved it. I had already been to Maui with my family when I was 20, so I had one island to compare Kauai to. And I would take Kauai any day.

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

If we were world travelers (which someday, I hope we will be) we would do it just the way we lived in Puerto Vallarta. We lived in Old Town, the area where regular people live — not the tourists. We had a lovely little apartment with a terrace overlooking the old church tower, we walked the cobblestone streets, and we met a bunch of locals that we still remember and talk about with fondness to this day. One of those locals was a young guy who showed us the nightlife in PV, and gave us one of the worst hangovers of our lives. (Thanks a lot, Ramsees.) I was in absolute heaven because of the incredible vegetarian buffet just two blocks from our apartment. Without this place, I would have subsisted solely on margaritas. Yikes.

Cannon Beach, Oregon

This wasn’t meant to be a vacation. Kellan was just three months old, and I really, really, really did not feel like taking a three-month-old on a trip. But our dear friends were planning to tie the knot in Cannon Beach, and there was no way we could miss their wedding. So off we went. Instead of making what we figured would be a nine hour drive, we took a one hour flight to Portland, rented a car and drove another couple hours to our destination. It was really pretty painless, considering we had a newborn baby in tow. I just wish we could have spent a little more than a weekend there. Cannon Beach is a post card come to life.

So those are our very favorite vacations together. We have a lot to live up to. Of course, this summer’s getaway largely depends on one thing — price. We’ve been hunting for good deals regarding airfares and packages, but there’s not a lot that stands out. We’re thinking about driving to Yellowstone National Park, but I wonder if Kellan will be bored. I wonder if I will be bored. (Michael is adamant that Kellan and I see Yellowstone at some point. I think he thinks it is our duty as Americans.) 

So, where should we go on vacation??? Time is running out!!!