Family Vacations

It's funny how something as simple as planning a summer vacation can turn into a major headache. For years we've been wanting to travel to France where my wife's best friend own's a home in Provence, the South of France. Last Fall we set up some tentative dates. But when we realized the trip for the four of us would cost about $10-12,000 we decided to put it on hold. OK then why not a cruise to Alaska? So I booked a couple of cabins on a cruise which cost about $4000. That was OK but once we realized with airfare, excursions and hotel for a few nights in Seattle all of a sudden that jumped to about $7000... too much. OK then why not an all inclusive resort? I checked Jamaica, Mexico, & Florida. We found a Club Med in Port St. Lucie, Florida that seemed pretty good. A week for the four of us for about $2800 and with airfare about $4400. Jordan was way excited about this one. But then Kristine said why don't we just plan something on our own that's not inclusive? With a son in college, money is always tight and since we do want to save for the Europe trip for when Matthew and Jordan graduate in two years, we decided to plan a less expensive trip. Now the plan is to fly up to Seattle spend a few days there and a few days in Vancouver. Believe it or not this trip on our own will be a lot less expensive than a cruise or all-inclusive beach resort. So we won't be going to Europe or cruising to Alaska. We won't be going to an all-inclusive resort or dude ranch (yep we checked those out too.) What matters most is that the four of us will be together and that is what's important!