Aaaahhh, vacations! Some of us have been planning since the end of last summer, every possible detail of this year’s vacation and some of us don’t even know what day of the week it is. So, we want to know, how do you feel about planning, or the lack thereof, of your summer vacations? Regardless of if you are a planner or not, how do you go about tackling this task?

Well, if you ask me, I’ll easily tell you that I plan, research, ask around, then plan and research some more rinse and repeat. Eventually, I will plan the “perfect” itinerary, at least in my head because when the actual time comes, there’s a lot more arguing, whining, and meltdowns before the actual excursion even takes place. I don’t go as far as breaking down our days with time slots of “to-do’s,” however I do like to have an overall plan. I can by no means go into unchartered territory completely blindsided. My anxiety wouldn’t allow me to! I do not know what it feels like to go into something all willy nilly, I just cannot fathom the idea of this concept. I mean what if the sights I want to see are closed or sold out? What if they are renovating? How long does it take? How do you know what to pack? Should I bring snacks and waters (I feel like the answer here is always yes, but you get the idea). Doesn’t it feel so much more relaxed when you get to your destination and all the leg work has been done? I mean is it really more fun to show up and just wing it??? Stephanie swears by the joy of spontaneity but all I feel is panic and chaos. Our summer plans include a much-anticipated trip through Greece, Italy and Spain. I’ve had some time to research this voyage especially since covid held us back a couple of years! I’ve researched it all, the hotels, the city, the landmarks, EVERYTHING! I booked flights, excursions, ferries car rentals and hotels well in advance. I have a breakdown of where we will adventure to on what day and what we will see or do! Yes folks, I’ve even made a few lunch and dinner reservations, duh!

Before any of this can happen however, there is so much more that also goes into preparing for the trip itself. Check lists with items to purchase that are needed for the trip (this can include things such as sunscreen or luggage tags). There is also the task of making sure all the laundry is done and the packing cubes are in full force! But wait, this isn’t all folks, because before the doors are locked and we set off to our destination, I must deep clean the house, wash all the sheets, clean out the fridge and make sure all the house plants are cared for! And in case you think I’m the only anal one here, my husband has planned out the landscaping duties so he can mow before we go. So there’s that…

And how do I go about planning you may ask; well, I start by asking people I know that have traveled to these destinations and I pick their brains. I follow this up with my own extensive research on Pinterest. Finally, I use booking.com and getyourguide.com as my top “got-to’s” for reserving tickets and booking everything! I like these options because I have what I need on my phone and l can also “share” with my husband, so that he is in the loop as well. With everything in place and ready to go, our adventures await us! You can actually find more details on our journey on our Places to see and things to do page, so check it out! With Love, Coffee

First of all, what the f*** is a packing cube.? Coffee is a complete psychopath. Clean my house before I leave? Who does that? Can I just say that I have all intentions of planning, however time always seems to get away from me. I am the biggest procrastinator of any person I know. Somehow though, I always manage to get some amount of time off to travel. I am that spur of the moment person, who really has no plan. I just wing it and hope for the best. “C,” my daughter and I have a deal that we are trying to hit all 50 states before she graduates high school in 9 years. So far, we have done pretty well on knocking out the east coast. Being on a one parent income, lavish vacations are out of the question for us, yet there’s so much you can see and do on a budget. I always have an idea of where we are going, but we never have a real plan per say. I don’t map out our road trips; instead, I just follow the map on the phone. We eat when we are hungry, and we stop when we are tired. Where do I stay? Well, I get to a good stopping point, (mostly when I can’t take another mom, are we there yet?) in a city with some fun attractions and I look at hotels.com, or booking.com to find a last-minute deal. It normally works in our favor. We may not stay at the best places all the time and as long as it’s not a roach infested crack house; we deal with what is in our budget. That’s the glory of spontaneous actions.

This year we are heading out southwest. We are hitting the road and heading west to Tennessee, turning south to Alabama, heading west to Mississippi, trucking through Louisiana, and ending up in God bless Texas (please let the rumors be true that EVERYTHING is bigger and better)!!! I try to find something cool in every state we encounter, and naturally some are better than others. We never really know what’s going to happen, but we make the best of it. We are seeing the United States firsthand and making memories that she will never forget. Thats the beauty of a vacation. Please don’t get me wrong, we over pack, forget things and always stress out the morning of the trip. We used to argue about my music choices but since air pods have appeared in our life, we now only argue about how loud I have it playing. She’s learned to love my old school hip hop and 80’s ballads (thank you Sirius, Spotify and Pandora). We both are food snobs and when it comes to finding good eats, I am a pretty good judge of picking a place. I do a quick google search to find what’s close by and look at reviews. Sometimes we are lucky and walk right in, others we have to wait for a bit. Either way works for us. If we wait, we explore local shops that appeal to our taste. Either way, we stay occupied. The key is to go with the flow and learn to roll with the punches.

“C” and I both like haunted stories and look up local history and tours of places that are taboo. We both enjoy the fun of a little fright with a good dose of history. I find that having an itinerary hinders us from things that we may not ever find otherwise. Talking to locals and scoping out places is part of the fun to us. Sometimes we follow their advice and other times we don’t. The point is once again, that there isn’t a right way or a wrong way as long as you have fun doing it. Although I get adult lonely on these trips, the fact that I am doing it with her makes it all worthwhile. If you have a suggestion about something really cool in a state, please by all means, send a comment or a suggestion. You never know when we may find ourselves in your neck of the woods.

Being that budget mom, we don’t always get to have really cool trips. I have to work lots of hours and sometimes a second or third job to make ends meet. There are really cool things to do locally as well and there is no shame in having a staycation. Look at local guides, local parks, state magazines and also the good ol AAA magazine to get a suggestion. Summer is made to be fun. So, what are you waiting for? Get out of the house and explore your surroundings. Sometimes a little spontaneity and ingenuity makes the best times. With Love, Wine

***This is NOT a paid promotion or sponsorship and there is no affiliation with any of the above aforementioned sites in this post. These are simply products that fit our personal preferences and what we found has worked for us while on the swimsuit hunt this season.***