It’s winter here, so naturally my mind is already thinking about a vacation.

Actually part of me is still mad that this year’s vacation never happened.

December 2008, we started to form plans to do a family trip to DisneyWorld in January of 2010. We were going to have my brother’s family & my mom join us, Geoff & I were going to run the marathon & half marathon, and it was going to be wonderful.

But it never happened.

We registered for the race (with non-refundable race entries), I ordered Disney information, bought books & products to ready us for a family trip to DisneyWorld and spent HOURS on Disney websites.

Despite my brother’s family dropping out of the plans mid-January, I held hope that we’d still go with my mom.

Then hail trashed our roof and the roof needed to be replaced. Taxes needed to be paid. The car needed new tires.

The dream officially died by September. I pouted for a very long time.

There is a part of me, my cynical part, that thinks I should stop making plans, and dreaming dreams. Because money always seems to be a factor.

But the optimist in me, says without dreams, life would suck.

So I’m dreaming, of going somewhere this summer. Now I need to find a way to make my dream come true.

I’m hard pressed to pick the best vacation I ever took. I can think of three trips, one solo, one with Hubby, and one with the family. Rather than cop out and list them as three separate posts, I’ll post them all here.

Best Solo Trip: Washington, D.C.

me at the Lincoln Memorial

Hands down, this was the most successful trip I took alone. Geoff graciously let me leave him with two small children for a weekend so I could finally visit Kelly in D.C. Wow, what a city. 3 days there wasn’t enough time to see everything I wanted to see, and spend enough time with my favorite cousin. Aside from all the fun I had with her, my favorite moment was walking alongside the empty reflecting pond (it was January), just me and a cold winter wind. It was peaceful, and a wonderful experience.

Best Trip As A Couple: Glasgow, Scotland

Botanical Gardens

I still can’t believe that I went to Scotland! Even with the misfortunes we had: missing the first day of our trip due to bad Colorado weather and being ill most of the trip (morning sickness unbeknownst to me), Glasgow was everything I wanted it to be. Man it was green! I loved the old buildings, seeing the Clyde river out of our hotel room, the funny restaurant that had pancakes displayed in their front window, and lunching at The Willow Tea Room. If it weren’t so pricey, I’d be back in a heartbeat. Sigh, someday.

Best Family Trip: Laguna Beach, California

Group shot on the beach

Renting a cottage 6 blocks from the beach, with a deck that could see the ocean, and 3 rooms that held 4 adults & 4 kids was well worth the price we paid! It was also worth the price to be able to have my boys meet and play with their cousins. Living in Orange County for 4 years, we never took the chance to explore the neat places Laguna Beach offered. This trip we found it wonderful to be able to walk down to the main street and see the unique shops, and dine in new places. It was a wonderful time for all of us.

I hope that in a few years, I’ll be able to revisit this list and hopefully have some new competition for best vacation.