This probably started out as us visiting my dad who, at the time Nick was little, lived in California. We'd usually fly out for a visit in the summer and I think these trips morphed into our current vacation model. When Nick was little, it was easier and much less stressful to visit family since I was assured of help and additional hands when dealing with an active toddler. As Nick's grown though, our vacations have become more independent in nature, not that family doesn't still play a role in them.
In addition to the traditional week-long trips, Nick and I have often taken last-minute long weekend trips to locations near to home that we've never gone to before. A couple of years ago, since we've lived in Arkansas, we hopped in the car and drove 4 hours to Branson, MO. Branson has become a hotbed of tourism and isn't the kind of place we'd normally go, but they have a family-themed amusement park and I got a fantastic deal on a hotel. We saw a concert, went to the park, had a couple of nice dinners and it probably cost less than $300 for the whole thing.
We visited my cousin and her family on Nick's 8th birthday. I wanted to take Nick to Disneyland and since they live so close, it was a no-brainer. We had a wonder time and the best part is that although her son is 4 years older than Nick, his birthday is the day after so the boys celebrated together. All my life I have wanted to eat at the Blue Bayou restaurant attached to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. I made reservations (4 months in advance) and we had a wonderful birthday dinner for the boys. I am honestly not sure if they enjoyed the restaurant and atmosphere as much as I did, but a good time was had by all.
The year Nick turned 9 I had to travel to Maryland on business. I wanted to take Nick with me and since by this time my dad and step-mother had moved to Virginia, Nick was able to spend the first couple of days that I was working, with my dad. They had a wonderful time visiting the Air and Space Museum and going to the National Zoo. When I completed my business, I rented a car and drove to their home in VA. We spent the next 4-5 days visiting and seeing the sights including Monticello, Montpelier, and we even went hiking one afternoon in the mountains near their home. Nick and I spent a couple of days alone exploring Washington, D.C. which was a blast. We saw every single inch of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural history, walked down the mall and saw the World War II Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial. Nick rode in the subway for the first time ever (he LOVED that) and for our final day we stayed in a hotel near the airport, swam, and enjoyed a room service dinner. Nick LOVES room service, so this was a huge treat for him!
The 10th birthday trip was a little different: I invited my mom to go with us to Hilton Head, South Carolina. I rented a condo on the beach and to make things more fun for Nick, we invited his best friend to come along. We drove a day and a half to get there which wasn't too bad since both boys had their video games and were oblivious to everything else. The condo looked like it had been dipped in beach tourist chic...it was cute, but every surface, wall and material had beach-themed decorations. The best part of the trip was the ocean...it had been many years since I'd been able to swim in the ocean and it was fantastic!!! We took a couple of day trips while we were there: one to see a lighthouse that ended up being a tourist trap, but we did go to Savannah for a day and were able to take a tour of the city which was fun. I'd like to take another trip to Savannah some day, but that is a story for another time...
We ended up staying home for Nick's 11th birthday. We unexpectedly had to move in the spring and all my vacation money was used paying for the move. Nick had his very first birthday party/slumber party, so I don't think he minded very much.
This year, when Nick turned 12 we were in Florida. We decided to go to Disney World and my best friend, Suzanne, came with us. We drove from Arkansas which ended up being almost a two-day drive each way (yuck). We left a day early so we could spend a day at the beach. We found out that Cocoa Beach was only about an hour away from Orlando, so we found a fantastic deal on a hotel and spent the night and part of two days at the beach. As much fun as the Orlando parks were, the beach was pretty hard to beat!! We rented a three-bedroom condo (again, a great price...research, research, research) which was about 20 minutes from the Disney parks. There was supposed to be a shuttle, but we discovered that was not the case. The lack of the shuttle and the fact that there was no cell reception in the condo were the only bad things about the trip. My good friend, Angela, who had recently moved to Florida met us and spent two days at the parks with us. What a fun time!!! She and Suzanne became instant friends, so we all had a blast.
http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=e540c587a66cc0dded8692&skin_id=701&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url
I am already debating where to go next year and it is only July. I am thinking maybe a trip to Maine might be in the cards. I've never been there, but Nick is pushing for New York. We'll see...
