Vacationing

I used to go on many family vacations. It was fun and my Mom was adventurous. I experienced a lot of cool things. As I got older I began dating a person who had hardly left NY. We traveled a bit domestically and it was an eye opener for him. The lack of both time and money ... and maybe spirit hindered travel beyond our coveted east coast.

Now I'm married to a seasoned traveler. HA - Just kidding. But he's far from being a noob. We have both traveled more than most, but less than a lot of others. We both love to travel but have been way too caught up in traveling for the sole purpose to snowboard. Don't get me wrong, I love snowboarding. It's beyond a passion... bordering on obsession for the both of us. But my desires go beyond the white-caped mountains of our world.

I was thinking of trips I'd love to take... domestically. Something with a short flight, nothing too expensive, and nothing that would take too much time to plan and my brain instantly thought of 3 things I'd love to do. So here they are....

#1 - Backpacking in the local State Park (Any)

I'd love to take my 1st real backpacking trip. With nothing on my but the essentials. I big overnight pack on my back, the correct gear and good company. Unfortunately, backpacking is a dangerous thing. You may think that it's easy... but it takes a little bit of knowledge. You are essentially going into the wilderness where you can easily get lost... and with only a few essentials with you - can potentially get hurt, injured, starve, etc... before you find your way. So if I were to do this - a class or experienced company is definitely a must. Anyway the equipment is expensive and I'd definitely buy it if I knew I was going to be on a trip, but if not, I'll save it till it happens. source

#2 - Mammoth Cave, KY
I've been... twice actually but I was just a kid. I want to go back and I want to camp out while I'm there. I want to camp in a more remote setting such as: http://www.mammothcave-adventures.com/camping.htm or here http://www.nps.gov/maca/planyourvisit/camping.htm

and I want to do the wild cave tour that I was never quite old enough for in the past: http://www.nps.gov/maca/planyourvisit/gocavetours.htm

source

I want to go on the hiking trails and kayak or canoe on the river. I want to spend a week there... or at least 5 days!

#3 - I want to go to Alaska but I want to do more than just snowboard. I want to go in the summer and do one of these tours:
http://www.getupandgotours.com/documents/tdsAlaskaExplorer.pdf
http://www.getupandgotours.com/documents/tdsMountainsGlaciers.pdf
or
http://www.getupandgotours.com/documents/tdsKenaiExplorer.pdf
or at least something similar!


I want to do at least 1 or 2 of these things in the next two years. These are the types of trips you don't really do easily with small children. I can go on a snowboard trip to Breckenridge, Mt Hood, Park City, Whistler or the like with small children. I can stay in a condo and take care of the babies while my husband takes a few runs... then maybe trade for the afternoon. I could even bring a babysitter to help take on the load so that we can both ride at least a couple of days together. I can bring them to a soccer game or leave them with family for the 3 hours. I can bring them to a hotel near the beach... all I'd need was some shade, sunscreen and a swimmie diaper. What I can't do is carry them on my side with a day pack on my back... or bring them into a dirty cave, hook them to a rope and climb up a rock face with them... or slip them into a carrier while I try and trek a glacier. So yeah... I want to be a little selfish and do these things... before kids, before my bones are brittle... like now!