Thanks once again to Ginger at Ramble Ramble for providing today’s prompt: What are your top 5 vacation locations?
Can I just list Kauai five times?
1) Kauai. Well, clearly this was going to be on the list. Mr. Sandwich and I went here on our honeymoon and have gone back twice since. The only thing keeping us from going now is the third plane ticket–and our reluctance to inflict plane travel on Baguette and Baguette on plane travel. (Fellow passengers: you’re welcome!). We’ll get there when she’s a little older. And I will drink more of this.
2) Santa Barbara. Much more accessible than Kauai, and a wonderful place to vacation with small children. We’ve been there three times–a week each in the summers of 2011 and 2012, plus a long weekend earlier this year–and enjoy speculating about where we’d buy a home there if we won the lottery. So I guess it’s not that much more accessible than Kauai.
3) The Grand Canyon. Mr. Sandwich and I spent a long Labor Day weekend there in 2003. We splurged and stayed in the tiny Bright Angel Cabins. When I called to book them, the reservation agent must have said five times, “Now, you understand that the cabins do not have a view of the canyon.” I finally said, “Am I allowed to go outside of the cabin?” She laughed and said, “Yes,” so I replied, “Then we should be fine.” They must get a lot of complaints. Which is ridiculous because the cabins are maybe 30 yards from the rim of the canyon. Seriously, people, calm down and open the door. It’ll be fine.
4) North Fork Campground. It looks like this is now members-only, but we camped here (okay, maybe somewhere near here) at least twice when I was a kid, and we didn’t belong to squat (except a summer swimming pool, because joining was the only way to get into a swimming pool). But I have fond memories of floating down the river on inner tubes, and a less fond memory of spotting a snake. Actually, I should broaden this to 1970s-era family campgrounds in general, because that’s mostly how my family vacationed back then, visiting historical locations like Harpers Ferry while participating in miniature golf by day and square dancing by night. With that in mind, here is a photo of a totally different location.
5) The British Isles. My first big international trip was to England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. My parents and brother and I toured England (my mother saved up for years for this trip), and my dad’s parents joined us once we reached Scotland. After a week, I branched off with my grandparents to tour more of Scotland and Northern Ireland while my parents and brother returned home. Now, if you’re thinking, “Northern Ireland–that sounds dangerous,” then let me point out that while we were there, Lord Mountbatten was assassinated. So, yeah, I guess maybe it was. But we were fine, so that’s worth keeping in mind in a week of State Department travel alerts.
I love Santa Barbara too. We went last year and visited the botanical garden and of course the beach.
We haven’t gotten to the botanical garden yet, but we do love the zoo there. And there’s a great fish and chips shop on State, which I think may be the only reason to go to Lower State.
Ooh, good to know about Santa Barbara. We’ve been looking for places that are within driving distance for some quick vacations, this’ll go on the list now!
I highly recommend it. I’ve got a few posts back in there somewhere, but as a starting point, there are loads of parks with nice playgrounds (including one that looks like something out of Lord of the Rings), and in the summer there are two (free!) wading pools for small children, plus the zoo and the beach.