<p>Summer vacation (doubles as honeymoon) in Fiji.</p>
<p>my family doesn’t go for vacations. i usually try to get away every now and then by myself. (habitat trips during spring break… and i usually head up to new york city for a few weeks a year)… but i don’t think i’m getting anywhere this summer.</p>
<p>I might go to Cincinnati for a weekend to visit some cousins. I haven’t been on vacation since 2000…been too busy paying for college and not willing to spend money on vacation. Plus, my internships don’t give any vacation time and I tend to work right up until school starts. And my parents are too broke to go anywhere these days.</p>
<p>We spent two months backpacking and sailing all over Italy and France last summer - it was heaven. But now we are broke, broke, broke! So we’re relying on the kindness of old friends…in other words, we’re mooching at the Jersey and LI shores! Plus chaperoning a weeklong NE college trip to Ithaca, Hanover, Cambridge and NYC with 22 hopefully well-behaved 9th graders…</p>
<p>Had a nice trip to Cape Cod earlier this month. We’re heading to Stratford, Ont. for our annual theatre trip there in July to see several friends perform. In August, we plan to visit London which I’m really looking forward to!</p>
<p>Sigh…everyone has such wonderful plans
So far we’ve been to D’s college graduation in Az (mothers day!) which was wonderful and nephews wedding in Minnesota (Memorial Day) which was awful.Only other plan is helping D move into new grad school digs in St Louis first few days of August.
Devious plans for next year (2006-7) after S is safely ensconced in his freshman college year and we do the freshman move in…Key West and then the Jazz Fest in New Orleans in the spring.Looking forward to being able to travel not according to kids schedules!
I’ve always wanted to see Seaside in Florida …sounds wonderful…looks wonderful on the website.
I’ll put it on the wishlist.</p>
<p>We just returned from LA for S’s graduation from UCLA’s School of the Arts and Architecture that had to be one of the most entertaining graduation ceremonies I’ve ever attended–the two graduate student speakers danced for part of their speech and the commencement speaker sang portions of four songs (including one sing-along) strumming on the banjo and accompanied by the dean on string bass. There definitely were no snooze moments, and being outdoors was icing on the cake.</p>
<p>Spent the beginning of the week in Santa Barbara (including a one-day visit to the wineries) and took the grandparents to Pomona to tour it with D where they got to experience the 4.9 earthquake. Met Frankie Valli (of Four Seasons fame) while waiting for the outbound flight (got his autograph and chatted a bit); saw four pods of dolphins, some seals, and brown pelicans; and met members of the Colorado Rapids MLS team in LAX. Quite a vacation!</p>
<p>Next one won’t be until we take D to Pomona in August. After we get her settled and do parent orientation, we’ll continue on to visit my mom in the Philippines.</p>
<p>I knew I shouldn’t have clicked on this thread - now I’m going to have vacation envy all day 
! </p>
<p>Vacations have always been a volatile issue in our house, largely because a few weeks of golfing in the AM and sitting out on the deck in the PM suits hubby just fine but suits me just not. Even if we managed to get everyone to agree on a destination and budget, there would be endless debate about when to go and how to get there (I live with a contentious bunch).</p>
<p>Youngest d and I are going out of town in late August, though, to move middle d into college. I doubt there will be much of a vacation in that.</p>
<p>frazzled1</p>
<p>I hear you! We are going to Philly for DD’s wedding in about a week, but that will be it for “vacations.” There is no chance that we would be able to take the family to a place that would satisfy all of us (computer needs in one child among other things would preclude that), and college visits will take up the time we have available. I think a vacation means “sleep in late” at this point in my life. We will vacate when we are old and gray and full of sleep.</p>
<p>Kirkmum, </p>
<p>Congratulations!!!</p>
<p>momofthree -</p>
<p>congrats to you as well on your daughter’s upcoming wedding! As we just barely limped through last weekend’s high school graduation and all the attendant hoopla, I have no idea how we’ll ever weather a wedding. Many blessings on your daughter and her fiance - enjoy!</p>
<p>A week on the Jersey Shore–annual family reunion in Cape May–my favorite place in the world.</p>
<p>We are the worst parents in the world cuz we never took our kids to Disney World (or been there ourselves.) Couldn’t afford it when they were younger, talked them out of it when they got older (and into a trip down the Mississippi instead), now they’re not interested, yay!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Contradiction in terms.</p>
<p>tsdad - yeah, I know but the coordinator is a very LARGE woman who even I am scared to mess with so I am hoping fore the best and bringing ear plugs and st. john’s wort!</p>
<p>My mooching abilities are excelling - just got an offer for a week in Nantucket. How about that? The only rub is its in August when the hoards of wanna-bes and already beens are there…</p>
<p>We actually scored on a “free” vacation in Savannah, GA back in June.</p>
<p>Since we have religiously used a certain hotel chain’s credit card for several years, we had amassed enough points to cash in on free accommodations this summer! Not only did we stay in an exclusive waterfront hotel, we were also put on the concierge level, which came with free gifts, daily breakfast, afternoon snacks, late afternoon appetizers, and nightly desserts!!! My husband totaled up what we spent out of pocket for the entire trip and it was less than $500! The
free food we received daily prevented us from having to dine out much. Everything to do for tourists was either within walking distance, or we could take the free (for everyone in Savannah) shuttle trolley that runs daily throughout the historic district. </p>
<p>I highly recommend Savannah to all who are looking for a vacation. I have visited Charleston recently, too, but Savannah is probably more of a “walking city” and actually more beautiful to me than Charleston.</p>
<p>And, of course, we are now starting to re-accumulate hotel stay points for future “free” trips.</p>
<p>I also highly recommend the credit cards issued by automobile companies. They can save you mega bucks when it’s time to buy a new car. We have been very pleased in that area, also. (and my father and brother are in the business, so I do know what I’m talking about) We use two major credit cards and pay our bills in full monthly. That’s the only way to come out with using credit cards.</p>