Top Ten Tuesday Tag: Vacations

I am thinking of starting some new themes on the blog. That way I can post all kinds of things and journal some of the things I failed to journal in the past. The first thing I had in mind was a Top Ten tag on Tuesdays.

This one is pretty self explanatory. I will list my top 10 of something...whatever I feel like listing that week and then if you read it you may play along on your blog if you so desire. I do not promise to do this every Tuesday because I do not ever want to make my blog feel like work.

Well, let's try it and see how it goes.

Today I will list my top 10 favorite vacations of all time. Most of my vacations are spent in California, Utah and Wyoming visiting family, and while those are the BEST...they do not count. I have to stay somewhere other than with a family member for it to count. And the mission doesn't count either.

So here they are...

10-All Girl's weekend adventures
(photo: Vegas 2001 getting ready for our Girls Just Wanna Have Fun video shoot)


Every year or so Seth's mom puts together an all girls trip. We have done Vegas...twice. Draper, Utah. Heber City, Utah. Park City, Utah also twice. Where else have we been ladies? Anyhow, we rent a big house and all stay together and it is too much fun. We dressed up and sang karaoke in Vegas with purple hair...even Grandma Grandma. I even SANG people...I have video evidence but you'll never see it. We have done lots of Alpine sliding. We always craft and dress up silly. We swim. We chat. We all bask in the love of Ann (my mother-in law) and Grandma Grandma, two of the most generous women this world has ever produced. Ann was even kind enough to teach us all the semi-perverse tricks to being a great hula-hooper. I LOVE Girls' Weekend!!!!

9-Bear Lake-Take Two
(photo: me and Alyssa August 2003)


Okay, the first time I went to Bear Lake, Idaho it was a nightmare. Alyssa was 6 weeks old and she cried the WHOLE time. I was bouncing and rocking and feeding her and nothing was working. I was so happy to get out of there. The second time we went Alyssa was just barely one and she had just barely stopped crying. We went with my family and had a blast. The water was warm and the wave runners were out. Alyssa slept on the beach and the whole trip was just awesome, until we lost a wetsuit and raft that we borrowed from my mother in law. Luckily her and Tony are super generous and they were just happy that we had a good time.

8-Florida/Bahamas (no pic of this one)
We went on a cruise to the Bahamas and then to Disney World with my dad when I was 15. I love cruises...so much food and entertainment. There were 10 of us all stuffed into 2 cabins. To be honest, Disneyland is way cooler than Disneyworld but the cruise was awesome. We ate and danced and ordered lots of drinks (non-alcoholic obviously). We had a little room card to charge drinks to and we thought we were so cool. The Bahamas was my first experience out of the country and it was crazy. The houses were bright blue and orange and purple and we spent our time shopping in the streets and getting braids. I loved it!

7-Mexico/Catalina (no picture...how lame is that?)
For our honeymoon we went on a cruise to Mexico/Catalina. I know my honeymoon should be number one and obviously it was the happiest trip of my life but I am trying to be objective and I have been to cooler places. We did have a great time though. I love a place where you can eat all day long and believe me I did. Even after 8 meals a day I would still order room service. I did get sick for part of the trip but at least I got to snuggle up next to Seth and feel better.

6-New York City
(photo: really crappy scan of the group I went with. I am front and center.)


During my Senior year of high school I spent Christmas break, including New Year's Eve, in NYC with my Drama teacher. She took a group of students each year. We had a pretty small group that year but I LOVED NYC. I love a big city and New York has it all. I just walked around all hours of the day and night soaking it in. Did you know I am scared of small towns at night. I feel so much safer in a big city. Weird, I know. I love lights and people (as long as they don't talk to me and in NY they don't) and signs of life. By day we toured, and ate in deli's and by night we dressed up and hit Broadway. That was my first time seeing Miss Saigon...my FAVORITE! I have been itching to get back to NYC ever since.

5-London
(photo: Me and Kelly at Big Ben which we called baby Ben because honestly it is not nearly as big as we expected it to be)


When my sister, Kelly was a senior in high school she went on her Drama trip to London. Same drama teacher that I went to New York with. My mom called to tell me about it and mentioned that I could go with her for the student price. I got off the phone and was giddy. I knew I had to go.. I was a newlywed but I knew I had to scrounge up the money and go. Every minute of that trip was awesome and memorable. We toured old theatres (including The Globe), the London tower, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Warwick castle, St. Paul's Cathedral...you name it, we saw it. We even spent two days in Stratford upon Avon showing our Shakespeare appreciation. We saw 5 more plays. My Fair Lady and Shakespeare Reduced were the faves this time. We rode double decker buses, pretended we belonged on the underground and hung around Piccadilly Circus just trying to look British. Everything in London was cool. We even spent hours in Barnes And Noble bookstore. All the books have different covers than they do here. And I spent a fair amount of time in the Doc Marten shoe store. It was 5 stories tall...just docs. You know I love some Doc Martens even if they went out of style in 1993. And I hung out with Kelly. I wish I could go on a one on one trip with each of my siblings. It was AMAZING!

4-Yellowstone/Grand Tetons
(photo: my family 2008)


Okay, this one may shock you all because we were camping the WHOLE time. Last summer we drove up to Grand Teton National Park and camped for a week with Ann and Tony (Seth's mom and step dad) and two of his sisters. It was so beautiful. Everyone makes fun of Wyoming but holy crap they are hiding quite a little treasure. We were right by Jackson and that is such a cute little touristy town. They have a cute little shoot out in the middle of town and all kinds of fun shops and restaurants. We drove around the area and saw some of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. We spent one day driving up to Yellowstone and taking in as much as we could. I had never been to Yellowstone and while my heart still belongs first and foremost to Yosemite, I have to admit this place was insane. It really was like being on another planet. They all laughed at me as I oohed and ahhed over all the bizarre colors and interesting landscape. It smells like a "bagel sandwich" if you ask Alex but it really is gorgeous and unique.

3-Wisconsin Dells
(photo: old time photo of alex and Alyssa during our first Dells trip, April 2007. If Alex's gangster face doesn't make you smile then I don't even want to know you)


This is a more recent discovery but it ranks high because it is my little family's place. We heard all about it when we moved here and we weren't too impressed. All there is to do is water slide? That can't be fun for long...but IT IS! The first time we went was so perfect. I just drank in the joy that my family brings to me. I have posted about it before so I won't go on too long but we love the Dells.

2-Yosemite
(photo: I wish I had taken this picture...I didn't but I have seen it in person as a child and in my mind ever since)


Now I just told you that my heart belongs to Yosemite. I love Yosemite. I grew up spending summer vacation there with my grandparents, Nonnie and Papa. It is mysterious and beautiful. El Capitan and Half Dome just take my breath away and leave me wondering how they came to be and where the rest of them went. I remember spending time with my grandparents and even hearing about my grandma going there with her family as a child. We played cards and ate jujubes. We yelled out for the legendary lost boy, Elmer around the campfire at night. We hiked the falls. We biked to Mirror Lake, which was shrinking every year. One summer we were even blessed to have earthquakes join us on our trip, lots and lots of earthquakes. The last time I was in Yosemite was when I was 13, the summer before my grandpa died. I have never been back but I hold it's beauty and mystery very close to me and consider it sacred even. I miss Yosemite and I miss Papa.

1-Balboa Beach.
(photo: Although we hit Balboa a lot, the last time we rented a beach house and stayed was during the week of Alyssa's 1st b-day)


Anytime, with anyone! We have done this trip SO many times. I have gone with my dad and step mom, my mom and step dad and with my grandparents. We were at Balboa every summer, sometimes more than once. I love the smell, the taste, the houses, all of it. It is still our number one must see place when we are in California. Aside from being the best vacation spot, it just hold so many memories.

Since I am talking about vacations I must give honorable mention to any place that I ever went with my grandparents (some were already mentioned above). They introduced me to the joy of vacationing. They took us so many places. We went on 4 vacations in one summmer...we lost Papa a month later. I don't know if he knew our time was short but I appreciate every moment that he shared with me before we parted.

Alright, that was WAY longer than I expected it to be but if you are not bored, overwhelmed or sleeping by now, you are welcome to jump in and play along.