School had just ended but they already posted the schedule for 2015-2016. I got my calendar and planned my year from now until mid next year. When do you usually go vacation and how many days? Well, it actually depends on how much time off you can take. For me, I usually plan a big vacation in the summer, usually the last weekend of July because me and my daughter, Abby, celebrate our birthdays. We also plan a small trip in the Fall because my hubby and other daughter, Bella, celebrate their birthdays in October. Isn't that something? Then comes winter and spring break. Oh yeah, we basically try to find excuses to have a vacation in every season.
So what kind of trips do you have in mind? I've come up with my top 10 reasons for a vacation:
1. VISIT FRIENDS AND FAMILIES
Yes, this is #1 in my priority! It's always a good reason to go out of town to visit friends and families. Pros include getting free accommodations, eating good home cook foods, and having the best tour guides. Luckily, we have relatives and friends in California, New York and Vegas. It's awesome because hotels in these places are super expensive. They always take us to a lot of good local spots. That means, less homework for me to plan our itinerary. And the most important thing is that we really enjoy just spending time with them to catch up on our own current events.
2. NATIONAL PARKS
No need to go out of the country. America is beautiful! There are so many places to see especially when you drive. To find out where to go, visit www.nps.gov. Most of them have entrance fees to the park, so if you plan to see a lot of them in a year, I recommend purchasing the annual pass for $80. You can buy them online or at the visitors center. Get a national park passport too so you can get a stamp every time you visit. It's a great souvenir. Among my favorites are Grand Canyon in Arizona, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion in Southern Utah, Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota, and Acadia National Park in Maine. The views are breathtaking!
If you have kids, there's always a Junior Ranger program in every parks. Just stop by the visitors center and they will give you the booklet. The kids have to answer the activities while exploring the park then if you turn it in, they will earn a badge. They love it!
3. THEME PARKS
Another good reason to have a vacation is to visit theme parks in different places. This year, we planned to go to Six Flags a lot. Visit www.sixflags.com to check out locations. We purchased our Membership and Dining Plan (includes lunch, snack, and dinner) and it also comes with free parking. There are also days when you can bring a friend for free or at a discounted rate. Believe me, we got our money's worth already because we've been to Great America 3 times in 2 weeks. We might stop by the one in Atlanta or Missouri sometime this year.
There's also Disney Parks (disneyparks.com), Universal Studios (universalstudios.com), Seaworld (seaworld.com), and Hershey Park (hersheypark.com). The more days you go, the cheaper the entrance fees per day. And take advantage of the resident rates too. If we live in Florida or California, for sure we'll go to these parks A LOT!
4. MUSEUMS, BOTANICAL GARDENS, AQUARIUM AND ZOO
My kids loved the Children's Museum when they were little. There's so many fun stuffs for them to do the whole day. I used to have membership at the Chicago Children's Museum (chicagochildrensmuseum.com) and we went to the other Children's Museum in other states for free. I would also recommend checking out memberships for Museum of Science and Industry (msichicago.org), Shedd Aquariums (sheddaquarium.org), Botanical Gardens and Zoo. Some of them will let you go to their other locations for free or with discounted price. Don't forget to check out the museums free days too.
5. ALL INCLUSIVE VACATION
These are really good deals. You pay one price for accommodations, foods and entertainment. I've never been to any "all inclusive vacation" in Jamaica, Dominican Republic, or Mexico. I'm not sure if I'll last being just in one place for so many days but I sure would love to give it a try. Last year, we tried our first cruise and its the BEST vacation ever! We said we'll have to do it every year. You can do this for as short as 3 days and for as long as 1 week. And if you're retired, there's even a cruise that will take you almost around the world for months! That will be great! My favorite cruise line is Carnival (carnival.com) because its very kid friendly. Actually it's the only cruise I've been so I guess we have to try the others too to compare. But I've heard that others such as Disney Cruise (super expensive), Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines are good too.
6. BUCKET LIST
Whats in your bucket list? I have a few in mine and I just keep on adding the list as I get older. One of them is to travel 50 states in the US, if not at least close to it, and I must say that I'm almost there! I want to do an Alaskan Cruise and go to Paris or Italy someday. I also want to try ziplining and swimming with the dolphins. Skydiving, not in my list!
7. RACECATION
Have I told you that I'm not a runner? I'm really not, but I was inspired to do it for 3 reasons: to lose weight, to have fun, and to travel. Last month, I did my first half marathon. I want it to be memorable so I signed up for the Marine Corps Half Marathon in Fredericksburg, VA. Well, the reason why I chose that too is that I've never been in that state and I want to make a trip to Washington DC on the way. So next time if you see me again doing a race outside of Chicago, that means its vacation time!
8. HOTELS, CABINS, CAMPING
Do you have a favorite hotel? Mine is the Drury Hotel because they offer free breakfast and good selections of afternoon snack, or in our case, it's our dinner already. They have different locations in US. So far, we've been to the ones in St. Louis and New Orleans.
Cabin, I just love the smell and feel of it because it's so relaxing for me. We've been to the one in Tennessee when we went to Smoky Mountains. Check out greatoutdoorrentals.com for different kinds of cabins. I like this company because they dont charge for cleaning fee as long as you keep it the way it was when you got there (others charge $50-70 cleaning fee). It has a grill, fireplace, pool table, swing and jacuzzi. I'd like to try some cabins in Wisconsin or Indiana so its closer to us.
Camping, we're pro campers! Did you know that we camped half of our trip to Northeast Coast? It was awesome and so much cheaper than hotels. I'm a member of KOA campgrounds (koa.com) because I know what to expect when I camp with them. They have activities for kids, swimming pools, as well as clean bathrooms and showers. You also have a choice of camping in your tent, RV or even renting a cabin.
9. FOODIES
I'm not a good cook but I love to watch cooking shows a lot. I'm a big fan of celebrity chefs. One time we went to Atlanta just to try Top Chef Richard Blais' restaurant (flipburgerboutique.com). Best burger I've ever tried! Or whenever we're in a different state, I check Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive Inn and Dives. Check out flavortownusa.com for locations of the restaurants he visited.
10. HOLIDAYS
Last but not the least, I just want to have a vacation because it's a holiday. Whether its Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Birthdays, Anniversary, or just to get out of Chicago.
Whatever excuse you choose to have a vacation, always remember that spending time with your family is always PRICELESS! Enjoy life and relax!
Whatever excuse you choose to have a vacation, always remember that spending time with your family is always PRICELESS! Enjoy life and relax!
"WE TRAVEL NOT TO ESCAPE LIFE, BUT FOR LIFE NOT TO ESCAPE US"
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