Vacation Planning

I left this one off my list, but sometime in this busy summer, there has to be a vacation, but with things so busy, I’ve decided that it might be a little costlier, but I think we are all going to have our own vacations. (Nope, no Orlando vacations this year as we are planning on TWO Disney cruises next year). I will be going to Chicago for BlogHer. Cameron’s class went to Moody Gardens for a few hours for their field trip this year and she loved it and wants to go back, so I think when she and I both have 2 to 3 consecutive days off, I’ll load up her and we’ll do a quick Galveston trip, and Becka wants to go to A & M Corpus so I want to take her to Corpus to vacation and see the campus (and visit with them to know deadlines and tips).  With her work schedule, this one may not happen until school starts.  But add planning vacations around our schedules and making them work to our busy summer schedule.

How Do You Travel?

When you travel by air how do you get around your destination city? For our last few vacations, they’ve been to Disney who has a great system for picking you up at the airport, taking you all over Disney property, and bringing you back to the airport. I’ve been thinking though that our next vacation may not be to Disney and then what will we do?  I decided to start researching besides the obvious taxis and city buses, how to get around some of the places on my list to take the girls as it’s time to start thinking of summer and if we’ll be able to vacation.

My brother thinks he may be stationed in the New England area next so I started looking at transportation there and found that like Disney there is a Newark Airport transportation service available called Go Airlink. The New York area would be the one place that I’d like to really go but that I would be the most afraid of not having everything lined out safely.  And not only will will GoAirlink do the airport transportation for what I thought was a reasonable fee, they also do New York City tours that can even include meals and helicopter tours.  Some of these were pretty pricey (remember I’m used to Disney providing it for free), but it is nice to know that we can make those arrangements and with planning and saving, turn the New York area into a really awesome trip without having to worry about taxis or city transportation.

Party Time!!

I am not sure exactly when but a good friend of mine just called and asked me to look at Dallas Texas hotels and pick us out one to spend a weekend as she had won some tickets to some different attractions in Dallas and wanted me to go along.  She lives out of state and we only get to see each other once or twice a year at best so I’m SOOO excited!  This will be a no child all about us weekend.  We’ll do ADULT things and no one will be saying “Momma.”  Is that wrong to be so excited about time away?  Maybe, but being that it’s just me and no Dad in the picture, I spend all my time with my girls.  And I wouldn’t trade that for the world.  I know that we miss out on a lot without a male in the household, but I also think that we have a type of bond that isn’t possible because it’s been just us for so long.  We depend on each other.  But back on track..I have to find a hotel and a weekend, and I CAN’T WAIT!  I’m sure you’ll hear more when the time actually comes, but I had to go ahead and share this initial news now.

Family Retreats

I’m not sure if you noticed, but not too long ago, I wrote about how neat the town of Branson looked for a family vacation, and now I have the chance to share with you the types of vacation packages offered by Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing and Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel this holiday. Maybe it’s too late to plan a trip this holiday season, but they run these types of deals for various holidays so it’s still useful knowledge.  I am thinking that I may look into 4th of July packages come summer.

As a point of reference, the New Years Eve Package. This includes deluxe accommodations, party favors, a four course dinner for two, $50 gift card and Bloody Mary breakfast buffet for two. For a couple who wanted to get away, wouldn’t this be a special way to spend New Years Eve.

Maybe you are planning a getaway for an anniversary or birthday?  There’s also a Romance package that includes wine in your room upon checkin, access to hotel health club, pool and whirlpool spa, full American breakfast for two in your room, and if you stay beyond one night, you’ll get a buy one entrée and get a second one of equal or lesser value at no additional cost in the hotel restaurants. And finally, you can get a late checkout upon request.

Currently, they are also offering a Family Package (available through March 2009) that as long as you book at least 14 days in advance, you receive 20% off your stay. That could easily add up to some great savings.

If you are looking for a vacation destination that would be laid back and a place where you could spend quality family time together (or maybe just a getaway for Mom and Dad), check out Branson and the Hilton hotels. You might just find a winner for your  family.

Dreaming

of a vacation.  With my car troubles pending, I just dream of getting away (and this lottery ticket being a winning lottery ticket here in about an hour and a half when the numbers are pulled).  One place I’ve never been is Branson.  I’ve never even considered Branson as a vacation destination for my family really, but after looking over the information today when asked to review it, I have to admit that I might just have to give it a second glance. In particular, I was asked to look at the  Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing and the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel. I’m actually already a Hilton fan as we stay at Hilton’s on school trips when I get to choose the hotel.  After going to the Hilton site and looking at the images of the suites and condos, I honestly think we could (and would happily) live in them – forget vacation!   They are so nice! They include a fully equipped kitchen, workstations with granite counter tops and ergonomic desk chairs, 32-inch LCD flat panel TV, two dual-line phones, and wired and wireless high-speed Internet access.

But maybe even more than the awesome hotels, I was amazed at how much there is to do in Branson. I had no idea. Just to name a few of the BIGGEST attractions, there are 49 theatres, outlet malls, golf courses, Table Rock Lake, Silver Dollar City, AND Celebration City.  That’s much more than we could ever accomplish on a vacation – I think Branson could be somewhat like Disney and require a trip or two back to even begin to do everything.

If you are like me and have never considered Branson as a vacation destination, I suggest you take a look. I’ve actually already emailed a friend who talked about us going on a trip to see what she thinks.