More Upbeat Speculation

[ladysprite]

Okay. So way back at the beginning of the year, I promised myself that umbran and I would go on a vacation sometime this year. I never actually expected to be able to follow through on that - we haven't gone on an actual vacation since 2006, I think, and didn't expect that to change - but... I've had it brought home to me that I do need to take better care of myself, and that that doesn't mean fasting, working out until I collapse, or working six-day weeks, and calling it practicality and tough love.

And now that SuperHusband has something resembling a job, we can start to think on this again. The problem is, I have no idea of where to go or what to do.

We never went on vacation when I was a kid. We didn't have any money, and my father didn't like.... well, as far as I can tell, he didn't like anything. I haven't traveled anywhere; when I was a kid my folks couldn't afford to send me for Study Abroad programs, and since then my money went to planning for vet school, going to vet school, and recovering from vet school. Other than one week in London, I have no real travel experience at all.

So I have no idea of how to plan a vacation, or where to go. There's a whole huge world out there, and I don't know where to start. In my fantasy world I'd love to go on a Mediterranean cruise, but while funds are improving, that's still a little bit out of reach.

I want to go *somewhere.* I'll be honest, as nice as Vermont and D.C. are, they still feel a little bit too much like home. I want something I can't drive to in a day. I want to wait until it's cold, and go somewhere warm. I'm slightly enamored of cruises, mostly because they'll let me go to a handful of places without unpacking and repacking and spending time in cars, but I'm not married to that idea. I'd rather avoid Hawaii and Disney, since the two vacations I've had as an adult have been to those places - I want someplace new.

So.... any suggestions? I know there are people reading this from all over the world, and who've been all over the world. Where's your favorite place to go on vacation? Any suggestions on how to choose, or how to plan it, or what to do when I'm there? Travel brochures are nice, but they actually tell you much that's practical....

Comments

[leanne-opaskar.livejournal.com]

This is the single-best vacation spot I've been to in ages:
The Gila Cliff Dwellings

They're off the beaten path in New Mexico, up in Silver City. You will probably want to stay the night in Silver City either before you go to the Cliff Dwellings or after you leave them. I recommend dinner at Shevek and Mi, which was absolutely phenomenal.

You could then drive to other places in New Mexico. We stayed at a fantastic B&B in Las Cruces, the Dreamcatcher Inn that I can't recommend highly enough.

While you are there, you can also visit the Carlsbad Caverns, which is the *other* single-best vacation visit I've ever had. (: New Mexico is a *great* place to go for vacation and I totally want to go back there. (:

[bess.livejournal.com]

I second New Mexico -- Chris and I and the kids went to Santa Fe in April... absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. Carlsbad Caverns is magical. I haven't been to Silver City or the Gila Cliff Dwellings. It's not a warm in the winter place though.

[leanne-opaskar.livejournal.com]

I suspect that depends on how you define warm? We went over Christmas both times, en route to the relatives in Texas. It wasn't, y'know, balmy, but it was certainly warmer than winter in New England.

[surakofb5.livejournal.com]

If you go to New Mexico, I enjoyed visiting White Sands national monument. I also timed my visit for one of the days the Trinity site (location of the first nuclear bomb test in WWII) is open. They open it to the public only twice a year, first Saturdays of April and October.

Of course, I'm a space geek, so I also visited the space museum in Alamogordo and the Very Large Array near Socorro.