This year I have to use at least 5 weeks of Vacation Time and currently Mark only has 2 (Sigh). That was my main reason for taking advantage of the Southwest Companion Pass Offer for this year.
Not only will it let Mark and I take several long weekends over the fall following the Texas A&M Football team, it also opens the door for me to travel with other people. Like my daughter Maggie. She is in the same vacation boat as I am with having more time off than her fella, Austin, so it works for both of us to plan a trip together this year.
Planning our Magical Mystery Trip
Maggie and I love to take little trips together. We share many common interests and always have a ton of fun on our adventures. So wherever we pick, we will have a great time. We just have to make a plan.
Last year we took a long weekend to Texas together to visit her brother, attend a football game and do a little sightseeing. It turned out to be a really nice trip.
When she was younger we took a lot of long weekends to Traverse City and one to Mackinaw City. Those were great because you could be there in about a 4 hour or less car ride. But we are looking for a little bigger adventure this year. But where?
For this trip, I decided the best place to start planning is WHEN we will travel by using the process of elimination.
- Not September through December because Mark and I have some plans and it gets messy around the holidays
- Not January through mid April because I have a heavier work schedule and some long weekends planned with Mark for his birthday and our Anniversary.
- Not July because Maggie & Austin are planning an adventure in the UP (which is where they went on their first trip together, awwwww).
- My son usually comes home for a week toward the end of June
That leaves all of May, the beginning of June or August.
Where To?
In order to take advantage of my Companion Pass, we want the destination to be somewhere that Southwest flies.
The trip should be a nice balance of Adventure with some time for Chillin’ Out and not to stressful to navigate so we can focus on having fun.
Not New Orleans or Mexico because Maggie just went in December.
Here are some ideas we have thrown into the pool so far:
- Las Vegas (Maggie has never been)
- Disney World/Florida
- Seattle
- Phoenix
- International Options: Belize, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and the Bahamas
We have to settle on somewhere pretty soon so that we can watch for deals and make our reservations.
Got any Great ideas we should consider? I’d love to hear them, you can just leave a comment at the end of the post.
The World According to Dev 