My mind is on Yellowstone!!

It seems vacations are always planned just when you need them the most.  I actually think this one is probably a little delayed past the "I need it" point! It also seems that once vacation time arrives it suddenly vanishes. As the days left until departure are dwindling, I still have a few things that I need to finalize before our departure.

So who is an obsessive planner when it comes to vacations? Not me! Friends would probably say that I do have everything planned, but I don't plan everything. Vacations are supposed to be relaxing right?? Is it really relaxing to have every minute of the day planned?  I would have to say no. We go into our vacations knowing what we would like to do but without a rigid schedule. 

For example, I have to nail down flights, lodging, and rental car. I just need ideas for other aspects of the vacation. I want to spend time in Yellowstone. I would like to visit Virginia City and Quake Lake. For the life of me I cannot commit to whitewater rafting.

ADD Moment - I forgot to call the cabin rental company again!!!!! I said almost every day this week that I need to call them. Maybe next week...

Ok - back to whitewater rafting. 

I need to make a decision.  To be honest, I am a little nervous about it.  I have never been, and I know the water will be cold. What if I fall out of the raft?  I am not the most athletic. Am I going to have to paddle the raft? What if...what if...what if... I could be over analyzing everything. (I would never do that, right??) My cheapness, errr...budget minded thought process has me questioning how much is an acceptable price to pay for a 2-3 hour trip. (For the record, the cost is not that high about $40 per person.)

I am also extremely excited about the cooler temperatures and low humidity! It has been a miserable summer in Upstate South Carolina.  We had many days of 100 degree temperatures.  I think the temperatures should be in the 70s when we visit Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.

We are not flying from our home airport on this trip because of the drastic difference in airfare. Wow!! I cannot believe how expensive it is to park at the Atlanta airport now!!!! Luckily, I found out one of the offsite parking lots is selling spaces for $5.99 per day.  I think that will be our best bet since our trip is 8 days.  The cost will be about half of what we would pay at the airport.

Sorry for all the rambling, but I am just a wee bit excited about the upcoming vacation.  Hope that everyone has a fantastic weekend!

It's true, we finally made a decision. We're headed back to Yellowstone for our next vacation. 

Our last vacation was in March.  We took an amazing Southern Caribbean cruise with Royal Caribbean out of San Juan. Now typically, it's not unusual for me to have my vacations planned out a year or so in advance. (Planned out can be read destination picked with a pretty good idea of exactly what I would like to do.)  This year was different.  January had arrived.  My friends and co-workers knew that I was headed to the Caribbean in March, but then what? I was clueless.  I had ideas...my top three at the beginning of the year were Australia, Moorea, and Eduador.  My husband shot down Ecuador right off the bat. (Though I would still LOVE to go at some point.)  Ecuador got replaced with a Mediterranean cruise out of Venice with our friends from London.  Moorea fell off the radar. My husband suggested the Grand Canyon.  He was a small child the last time he visited, and I've only seen it from 30,000 feet several times. What about coastal Oregon? I checked airfare to Venice. Wow, what happened to airfare to Europe since we went to Rome last summer?  The cost for one ticket was what we paid for two last year.  Ok, that's out. 

I decided in April to take a step towards something people have been saying I should do for years.  I selected a host agency and became a travel agent.  While looking through the thousands upon thousands of pictures we have taken over the past seven years, it hit me.  Yellowstone would be perfect! 

I asked my husband for his thoughts, and we locked in on pricing the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone.  We knew we wanted to stay in a vacation rental for the week instead of a hotel.  The general area around Yellowstone had much more to choose from though getting there was going to be a little more expensive. We started thinking of how rushed our three days in the park last year were. A whole week? SOLD!

We found a great rental on Henry's Lake in Idaho (about 15 minutes from Yellowstone's West Entrance).  It's also not very far from sites like Quake Lake or Virginia City in Montana.  Earthquake Lake was formed by a landslide that occured from the 1959 Hegben Lake Earthquake. Virginia City was a gold mining town in the 1860s.

Now the wait begins...(and yes, we are counting the days...)

Looking for a good deal for a last minute 4th of July vacation?  My mom just booked the Hilton Daytona Beach Resort/Ocean Walk Village for around $100 a night on Priceline.  If you're looking for a cruise, check out our Last Minute Cruises website.