Thursday Thirteen

Dave and I are still trying to plan a vacation for sometime next year. We were originally thinking about Hawaii...but I don't think that's going to happen. We've decided to take another cruise and are just trying to hammer out a date. I'm getting pretty anxious because, well, I wanna be on vacation. Because vacations are pretty cool. Especially when there are no diapers to change and the only food I'll be cutting is my own.

I've already shared 13 places I would travel to if I had unlimited resources...here are 13 vacations I've actually been on...

Stratford, Canada - This was in my senior year of high school. They play host to the annual Stratford Shakespeare Festival and our drama club took a "field trip" up there. Talk about some good theatre... We saw The Mikado, A Midsummer Night's Dream (in the round... extraordinary), and The Importance of Being Earnest. Those last two shows became and have stayed 2 of my favorite stage shows.

Southern Caribbean Cruise - Our first cruise ever, and we loved it. We took the Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Seas. We sailed from San Juan, Puerto Rico and our ports of call were Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas...Philipsburg, St. Maarten...St. John's, Antigua...Castries, St. Lucia...and Bridgetown, Barbados. Despite the tropical storm that passed us off the coast of St. Maarten (it was a tad windy that day), we had a great time.

Western Caribbean Cruise - Cruise #2, once again with Royal Caribbean, this time on Explorer of the Seas...which made us realize we could become quite accustomed to this whole cruising thing. This time, we left from Miami, Florida and sailed to Labadee, Haiti...Ocho Rios, Jamaica...George Town, Grand Cayman(we'd go back here in a heartbeat)...and Cozumel, Mexico.

Tokyo & Hiroshima, Japan - Dave was doing so much work over there that when he got word that he might not be going back for a while, we booked me a ticket to go with him. It was unbelievable. I experienced my first earthquake, ate Sweet & Sour Squid, navigated the Tokyo subway system by myself without getting very lost, and saw sights like this in Miyajima.

San Diego, California - This would mark Jake's first...and to date, only...plane trip. Those two facts are not a coincidence. He was 18 months old and...let's just say that neither Dave or I deal well with strssed out, cranky kids. My brother was able to fly down from San Francisco for a few days while we were there, so that definitely made it worthwhile.

Cancun, Mexico - We took an all-inclusive Apple Vacation and have been forever spoiled. There's nothing like swimming in a pool with a drink in your hand. We couldn't get over how blue the water was. It was beautiful.

San Francisco, California - I consider this to be my first "adult" trip. I went out there with a friend from high school and it was just the two of us. We stayed with my brother for a few days and then went on to stay with her aunt for a few days. There's nothing more exhausting than walking across The Golden Gate Bridge only to find out that the only way back across...is to walk. That was fun.

New York City, NY - A weekend full of shows with Dave and 3 of our best "couple friends". Good times were had by all. We saw The Music Man (and I had my picture taken with Robert Sean Leonard), Les Miserables, and Our Sinatra.

Washington, DC - We had an exchange student my senior year of high school, and we wanted her to see the nation's capital so away we went. I remember nothing from this trip, except for a sign by the exit of a Smithsonian cafeteria that read "Do you have: your keys, your wallet, your purse, your kids". I always thought it was kind of funny that they listed kids last.

Mt. Washington, New Hampshire - I went, I climbed, I cried, I ate. Good trip.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - I remember nothing about this trip except for the tacky tourist gift shops and the huge miniature golf courses that seemed to exist on every single corner.

Orlando, Florida - I've never been a huge Mickey Mouse fan, but I have enjoyed my trips to Disney World. But did you know that there are other theme parks, there? I thoroughly enjoyed getting my hair singed off on the Jaws ride at Universal Studios.

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic - This was our honeymoon. Another all-inclusive. It was a new resort just recently cut out of the jungle. Which might explain why I ended up with over 80 mosquito bites the first night and why we both ended up in the doctor's office to get antibiotics just in case the mosquito bites got infected. Not to mention the unbearable humidity. And the bug that Dave got just before we left from getting some of the the local water in his mouth. Fun, fun, fun. It was a wonderful way to start a marriage!!

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