The Yearly Vacation

It's that time again - the yearly vacation. Time to pack, plan the route, service the car..... We never sleep well the night before we leave so we usually get up in the wee morning hours and take off on another big adventure.

This year we're headed to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We've been to western South Dakota to Mt. Rushmore and the Badlands (in the days before GPS and we got lost) but we've never been to eastern South Dakota. JC's sister, LaVerna and husband Howard, recently relocated there so I figured we should go check out this area.

This was my year to pick where we vacation. This is the situation; I love the cold climates and JC loves the hot, sunny areas. To make things fair we alternate years. Last year we went to Amelia Island, Florida. The Gulf Oil spill had messed up his favorite Alabama beach so we headed to the Atlantic side of Florida. JC, the beach bum, was in heaven while I however was not. I like the beach but I don't like the sand that accumulates in everything, carting the big beach umbrella (with UV protection), the chairs, towels, cooler, etc. to the beach, watching for jelly fish and SHARKS! But, I can't complain - it was his year to pick.

Our first real vacation was to Wyoming to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. It was the first week of June and when we got there it had snowed heavily, some places got 3 feet. JC shivered and shook and was miserable for much of that trip. He loved the gorgeous scenery and the wildlife, but not the cold temps. But that trip was nothing compared to the summer we went to Alaska. This was a self guided tour that took us to the Bering Sea, the Arctic Ocean then back down to Denali. It sleeted and snowed (in mid July) while we were at the Arctic and a cold rain fell for much of the trip to Denali and Anchorage. Then another summer I dragged him to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where the temps dropped to the 40s and we had to buy sweatshirts and the mosquitoes had just hatched out so we had to buy insect repellent. There was a big fireplace in the lodge and JC huddled next to the fire while I happily checked out the scenery and took pictures.

So here we are again heading north but luckily for JC the heat wave has hit South Dakota so I doubt we will be buying sweatshirts. The thrill of the pre-Sturgis rally and has him all excited and he hasn't complained much about trip.

Next year I'm sure we will be headed south - I've already seen him on the internet checking out beach cottages on Dauphin Island. He is visualizing long, sunny days and I can feel the sand in the sheets already.