I have the travel bug. The itch. Again. Spring Break is kicking into gear, and although we don't usually travel on Spring Break, I always regret it. This year, we actually have a good reason for staying home and working through Spring Break. Because this summer...WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY! Those four words, which can bring so much joy to children, actually fill me with a little bit of dread. Or maybe it's fear. Fear of waiting in long lines while my children complain endlessly and act like heathens. Fear that little R #2, my red head, will get sunburned on the first day despite my tirelessly reapplying sunscreen. Fear that we won't get to see Ariel or Aurora, or whatever princess they are into that day. Fear that it won't measure up, or that I won't measure up. No pressure, right? Breathe. It's just Disney. So my compromise and stress-reducing savior will be that after spending 3 1/2 days at Disney's Magic Kingdom, we'll then spend 3 1/2 days at beautiful Clearwater beach. And I'm going to lay on the beach and drink fruity cocktails all day. A milestone vacation like Disney can be impactful on the schedule and the pocketbook, but the memories will last a lifetime (at least we hope). The significance of this trip has me thinking about our five year travel plan. If we do Disney this year, where will we go next year? When, if ever, will we do Disney again? I've read the best years to take your kids to Disney is between the ages of 8-12. Five summers from now, my girls will be 9 and 12. (How can that be?!) Time flies, but travel memories linger. So, I've decided to put my travel plans on paper or well, blog, because if you can't take a trip right now, planning is the next best thing. (And it never hurts to be prepared!) Ratcliff Tenative Five Year Travel Plan May/June 2014 - Disney World Orlando, Florida / Clearwater Beach, Florida Fall 2014 - Possible long weekend trip / Football game trip(s) March 2015 - Spring Break / Actually go somewhere? Summer 2015 - Meet up with Belgian friend in California / West Coast / Grand Canyon December 2015 - St. John, USVI / 15th Anniversary Trip Summer 2016 - Beach bound, TBD October 2016 -New York with my then TEN year old (I can't believe it!) Summer 2017 - Hawaii Summer 2018 - Europe? Summer 2017/2018 - Daddy/Daughter mission trip, location TBD 2019 - Disney again (assuming of course the kids want to) Of course all of these trips are tentative and subject to budget and life changes. Life often gets in the way, but hopefully we'll also be able to squeeze in a few mommy/daddy escapes and girls' weekends in there as well. Now that I have it in writing, I feel like I have goals to work toward. And, I have just roughly 11 weeks until I'm sitting on a white sand beach with a mai tai in my hand. I think I'll start the countdown now. So what's in your five year travel plan?
