Most people like summer travel, and I admit that I do as well, but I really like to plan a winter vacation. It seems like there are less tourists and better deals if you travel during the winter. Being from the South we like to travel north and see snow during the winter (if we see snow at all, we see an inch…maybe).

For our last few vacations, I’ve avoided a hotel and found a rental house or something like Park City condos to rent for the week or so that we are on vacation. It’s so nice to come back to somewhere that we can stretch out, separate, and even have a home cooked meal if we like.

This year I’m thinking we might hit up Colorado again. We haven’t done that in many years (about 7).  There are some great off the wall places in Colorado where you can find peace, snow, and avoid the crowds especially if we wait and do a long weekend in January instead of the Christmas break.

We finished our first day of school today, and I’m booking our next vacation.  Coincidence? Maybe, but our last few vacations have all been far enough way that we’ve flown, but I’m thinking that our next one will be a fall/winter road trip so I’ve been looking for places that are within a day drive and thinking that when we take our Thanksgiving break, we’ll go on a road trip.  I’m thinking of going “2 days” away.  I recently bought a new hd gps so we should be able to get anywhere I can dream up. The plan – drive a day and stay the night. Get up and do some touristy stuff that day. Drive another day away and then stay the night again and repeat. After that, head back home on a different route and visit two more towns.  I’ve been looking to see when communities have small fairs/celebrations as that would be a neat thing to experience instead of the traditional tourist attractions. Yes. One day down and already dreaming of our first long break.  Isn’t that about right?

I just returned home tonight from a great vacation in Panama – trip report to come. with lots of details.  Great trip though.  I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.  It was AMAZING.  It was my also my first girls’ trip.  I love my girls and my family, but it was so nice to just get away.

In fact so nice that we are thinking we’ll do a girls’ vacation every summer.  Of course, we can’t choose a trip as great as Panama every year, but thought maybe alternating each summer with a small vacation and then a big one.  So maybe next summer we’ll rent an RV to go on on vacation together.  I’ve looked and if we all join together, we could do this pretty feasibly.  Renting is a good option for someone who doesn’t want to do many trips (like one every few years) as the original purchase is expensive, and then there’s the maintenance, and rv repairs are not always so cheap.

Although it was a great vacation, I can’t wait to go curl up in my bed and sleep in my own bed tonight.

I leave in just a few hours (ok, about 12) to head to Houston.  And then….Panama baby!  I’ll post if I have time about my journeys!  I can’t wait !!!!  This is an adult’s only vacation and I need it!  I love being a mommy but sometimes some Kimberly time can be good as well.  Be watching for updates and pictures next week!

I came to Florida and it is C-O-L-D! Ok, so maybe it’s not really that cold compared to other parts of the country, but it’s so much colder than I had hoped for. I froze all day long, and it’s supposed to be even colder tomorrow – I’m talking siberian husky cold. LOL We are doing the boat tour tomorrow morning and then Gatorland. Today was amazing. I L-O-V-E-D ziplining (lots of details to come after I get home). I know tomorrow will be awesome too – just cold on that water.