I woke up in a cabin in the woods.  There was silence and chirping birds and the hum of a stream.  I went right back to sleep only to be actually woken up this time by a hungry toddler yelling – ‘I wake up’, ‘I wake up’… and no, I wasn’t in a cabin, I was in a tiny hotel room on the Waikiki beach, and my son was trying hard to climb out of his crib.

We all dream of going on great adventures.  We have all read about voracious travelers who shun the touristy locations in exotic destinations and do as the locals would.  We consider ourselves savvy travelers who are a notch above the rest.  And we love ‘being there’, but ‘getting there’ is a task.  We dream that one day we will rent an apartment in Paris for 6 months and live like Parisians, or spend a month in Alaska and hike in the wilderness and cross paths with blonde bears, or maybe that we’ll camp out in winter under a blanket of illuminated Northern skies.  Reality of course, is different.

My reality – is that a cabin in the woods reminds me of a creepy horror movie, open Alaskan winter skies are not exactly toddler friendly, a whole month of vacation is hard to score, let alone 6 months, unless we quit out jobs and move to Paris with a new job and a visa.

So for now, we’re happy with our 4 day to 2 week long vacations, and we choose how exotic we make it.  And let’s face it, we’re urban vacationers.  That one night in Hana spooked the heck out of me… I still went back, but that’s the most I am willing to stretch myself.  My husband would love to do more, but between his more and my less we create workable ‘touristy’ vacations.

If you’ve come for itineraries of concise vacations, you’ve come to the right place! Enjoy!