Not surprisingly, as our lives have changed so has the way that we take our vacations.  When we were younger, our vacations were all about the kids.  We refer to those days as the time when we took “education vacations”.  It was all about museums, national parks, and an occasional amusement park.  Now, as we’ve gotten a little older and the kids are off on their own adventures, our vacations are more like the honeymoon we never had.  Sometimes we might spend all of our time sitting on a beach or by the pool, not moving much except to grab a drink or head to a restaurant for lunch or dinner.  Other times we like to wander the streets of an unknown city, stopping randomly to grab a bite or have a drink at a local watering hole while we’re on our way to some special attraction.

We really enjoyed the vacations we spent with the kids, although budgets were tighter in those days, so many of our vacations were dictated by places that were within driving distance for us.  It didn’t matter how much we may have had to tighten our belts, we always felt that it was important for the kids to see different sights and learn interesting facts about the world and the country we live in.  We would drive to Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, Roswell New Mexico, or just travel around the beautiful state we live in, Colorado.  Some trips were more elaborate, like driving to Vegas and then onto Disneyland and California, or visiting Washington DC, Williamsburg, or Philadelphia.  One of the things that we always tried to do to make the trips more memorable as well as educational was to get the kids involved in activities when we traveled.  We have wonderful memories of the kids digging for fossils, going on ranger led hikes, or enjoying guided tours in the museums.  Another tradition of ours was that we would always go out for at least one special dinner while we were on vacation and we would let the kids try whatever they liked, the only rule was that they had to be willing to try new and different things.

Nowadays we basically have two types of vacations.  We are either heading to a place of complete relaxation such as the beaches of Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, and Punta Cana, and to the mountains to relax in Beaver Creek, Aspen, and Breckenridge.  The second type of vacation, which is our favorite, is to travel to locations that are more exotic such as India, Morocco, Spain, France, and England.  Wherever we go, our goal is to live like a local the entire time that we’re there.  Even in locations such as India and Morocco, our goal is to try different local dishes every day.  One of the best ways to enjoy as much food as a destination can offer is to stop at several restaurants, grabbing small bites at each one, instead of sitting down to a large meal at a single location.  We want to understand the culture of the people who surround us and attempt to learn at least enough basic phrases to meet, greet, and ask questions of those we meet.  It only takes a little effort on our part to make some new friends and feel like we truly immersed ourselves into a new world.

We look forward to sharing some of those past adventures with you over the coming weeks and months as well as sharing some of the restaurants and locations that we’ll be experiencing in the very near future.