Travel Bug

Does anyone else get the urge to travel every summer?

The kids are out of school and we are free! (mostly)

Every summer I get antsy and want to go somewhere.

The problem is, when you have lots of little kids, and not a lot of money, it makes it hard to pick places that are realistic.  For us, it seems to work out best if we choose somewhere within driving distance (as in 12 hours or less).  That way the gas money is still less than flying, and  the time in the car isn't too impossible with little ones.

Here are some of my favorite places to go:

Camping on the beach.

Distance from Utah - about 11 hours.

When Bridger was a baby, I drove down to CA to go camping on the beach with my brothers and sister.  We played in the sand, played in the waves, hiked, rode our bikes, and found some beach caves.

I had to pay for the gas to get there and the food that we brought.  But while we were there, I didn't spend any money :)

Another favorite summer vacation is camping in the mountains.

Camping is pretty affordable and kids love it.

My kids love riding on my mom's boat, but they also love playing at the lake, hiking, rock climbing, etc.  My Jenna (my grandpa's wife) is amazing and used to be in charge of the boy scouts.  She takes kids hunting for frogs, gathering wildflowers, and on all kinds of hikes.  This place is one of my boys' favorite spots in the world!

Driving distance from Utah - about 15 hours...yeah a little far...but I've been going there since I was a kid and it's worth the miserable drive to get there.

Twice now we've gone to St. George Utah for Memorial Day and loved every minute of it!  There is so much to do outside that you don't have to spend very much money.  Plus, the weather is usually so gorgeous in St. George in the spring that we could play in the pool the whole weekend.  Distance from my house - 4 hours :)

When we were kids, my Dad rented a motorhome and took us to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore.  He planned the trip out so that we were never in the car very long before we stopped to do something cool.  That way, it didn't feel like a "road trip."  We went to a rodeo, went white water rafting, panning for gold, watched "Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind" at Devil's Tower, saw the continental divide, and much more.  And of course, we saw Mt. Rushmore.  That is a trip that I definitely want to do with my kids!

On my realistic wish-list:

The Treehouse Resort in Oregon.

 My cousin just took her family and posted pictures on facebook.  I started looking into it and it looks sooo cool!  You stay in actual treehouses and they have a river-pool, a zip line, and a tarzan swing.  My kids would be in heaven!  One thing they don't have in most of the treehouses...a bathroom.  You would have to think of this one as a camping trip, but still...very cool!

I keep daydreaming about other places that I want to go each time I get the Groupon Getaways Email :)  Montana...Wyoming...Colorado...Arizona...there are so many places to see all within driving distance.

One my not-so-realistic-wish-list:

Harry Potter World in Florida.

My kids LOVE Harry Potter, but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to afford to fly our entire family there and then pay for the parks.  Because if we go...I want to go to all of the parks :)

Next on my in-my-dreams-wish-list:

Go to Hawaii to see Brooke.  Since she lives there, she can take us to only the best places and find all of the best deals.  Sometimes I really do dream about it LOL.

What's on your summer wish list?