Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

Dave and I like to take vacations. Before Eddie came along, we used to decide a few weeks in advance that we were going to go somewhere, and we would do it. Of course, at that point, we had a lot more money and a lot more freedom. Since we got married, we've been to New York, San Francisco, Orlando, and Long Beach. Since Eddie was born, we've been to St. George, Logan, Cedar City, Oakley... you get the idea.

So by this year, we were aching for a vacation. We thought of all sorts of great ideas—none of which came to fruition. So here they are, the 2009 vacations we planned and didn't take:

Grand Canyon

Dave has never been to the Grand Canyon, and I have only been when I was really little, so I don't remember it. We thought it would be fun to take a road trip to see all the sites between here and there that we have never seen. I mapped out our route and everything... but then we realized that a long road trip with Eddie might be a recipe for disaster—not to mention the ridiculous gas prices of earlier this year and our lack of funds.

"Believe it or not, I'm walking on air..."

Florida

My family used to take a big vacation every year, but we haven't gone on one since Dave joined the family. This last spring, we planned to go to Orlando, Florida with the whole clan. After convincing my mom that the kids would enjoy it more when they are older, and realizing that none of us could really afford the trip, we scrapped the whole idea. It was supposed to be postponed until next spring, but now it will probably be postponed even longer because my sister-in-law is having a baby in March.

Southern California

We have both been to Southern California many times, but as it is the most convenient place to visit the beach from here, we considered a short road trip sans Ed. Plus, the Yankees were playing the Angels in Anaheim, so we thought it could be fun to see a game. I planned out all sorts of activities for us to do, including visiting Balboa Island (the site of one of our favorite TV shows, Arrested Development). But it wasn't to be. We reconsidered this trip later on when I found out that I could get into Disneyland for free on my birthday. Then we decided to re-do our kitchen floor instead. Ah, the joys of adulthood.

"There's always money in the banana stand."

Mexico Cruise

When the Andrews family Florida trip didn't pan out, we realized that we might not get a vacation at all this year. This sent me into panic mode and I started looking for bargain trips. I found out that it is reasonably cheap to take a Carnival cruise to Mexico and we considered that for a while. Needless to say, it never happened.

Northern California

We have been to San Francisco, but haven't seen much of the rest of Northern California. So we planned a road trip to visit such great places as the redwood forest, more popularly known as the Forest Moon of Endor, and Bodega Bay, where Alfred Hitchcock filmed The Birds.

Doesn't this look relaxing?

Pacific Coast Highway

The last trip I planned was sort of a combination of the other California trips. We thought once again about ditching Eddie for a week, then driving I-80 to Northern California. After visiting Bodega Bay (which we still want to see), we would drive south along the Pacific Coast Highway, all the way to Los Angeles. I researched all the interesting things to see along the way and still think this could be a really cool trip to do. The only problem is that you need at least 5 days, but probably more, to really be able to enjoy the trip and do more than just drive and sleep.

It is now the end of November and the longest trip we have taken this year was to St. George for one night. Of course, if someone would like to sponsor a trip, my birthday is next Tuesday and I can still get into Disneyland for free that day. Anyone? Anyone?