Recently in Planning Your Trip Category

Planning a summer family vacation can be exciting and a little stressful. The good news is the planning process can be less stress and more fun by getting the entire family involved. Each of my children had the task to research a cool place they would love to visit and present at our weekly family meeting why we as a family should travel to their place of choice. The decision to travel to Houston, Texas was mutually agreed as a family.

Using our Wyndham Reward to reserve our hotel online is easy as 1, 2, 3. Travel on Southwest Airlines is affordable when we booked in advance. We enjoyed our stay at the Wingate by Wyndham. The hotel is in a great location, the staff are warm and friendly and Fun in the Sun by the poolside added to the many amenities. Each morning the kids were able to make homemade waffles in the shape of the state of Texas.

Sometimes Iyou just need to get away.  After a back injury ruined some summer plans, I decided to stay close after I had surgery to correct the problem.  I am fortunate to not only live close to many beautiful nature scapes, but also to some very significant historical sites.

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania is one of those significant historical sites.  It is home to one of the bloodiest battles in the Civil War, but also to the famous "Gettysburg Address" in which President Abraham Lincoln declared a "new birth of freedom" in the United States.  2011 marks the Gettysburg 150 events which strive to encourage the legacy that the Gettysburg battle provided in changing the direction of the Civil War. 

Our third day in San Jose we dedicated to relaxation in the hotel.  It was the first sunny day we had experienced, so I was anxious to put on my swimsuit and head to the pool.  Due to the rain, and start of the rainy season, the water was cool, so I spent most of my time soaking up the sun and reading some books.  The poolside service is excellent, and drinks and towels are available.  In the evening we enjoyed playing a few rounds of poker at the casino, which also features a jazz bar on the weekends.

Tip #11: The sun is quite powerful in Costa Rica - put on plenty of sunscreen, even when you do not expect to get burnt.

Tip #12: Due to the ecological sustainability practices, the hot tubs are not kept at high temperatures, so prepare for cool waters.

As soon as I read that I was a winner of the Wyndham Women on Their Way Local Nation travel writing contest, I began planning.  Typically planning a vacation means AAA road maps, exploring campgrounds online, and taking an inventory of my gear.  Just knowing that my head would be resting on a comfy clean pillow, and not on a leaky air mattress, got me excited to plan my travels!

I searched through Wyndham's extensive list of resorts and hotels and dreamed of luxurious vacations in exotic places.  I decided to tone things down with the rising cost of airfare and chose an exotic place with a reasonable airfare budget.  I chose the Ramada Herradura in San Jose, Costa Rica due to the great online reviews, their eco-tourism and anti sex-trafficking policies and the reasonable airfare price from D.C.

I can't do the splits anymore, can you? My dancing days are long gone.  I can get about half of the way down (okay, a quarter) before I start feeling that familiar pull that lets me know I better back off...quick, fast and in a hurry...before I get stuck or something. It hurts my inner thighs just thinking about it. Ouch.