Why Every Parent Needs A Grown Up Vacation

I’m pretty sure you’re wondering where this post will be going…maybe you’re not.  However, if you know me, you’ll know that I am a big fan of travel. The running joke among our friends is that the Houseful will drive anywhere. For the most part that is true. However, after a certain trip to the lower parts of the United States earlier this year, we’ve revamped our travel times. If it’s over 13 hours, we’re not doing it by car!

Anyway, the Mr. and I have come to the conclusion that we will probably be taking three large trips each year. Two where we can drive – and one with just us. I know most of you may think that’s a lot, but trust me when I say that when you are parents, you need as much time to just enjoy doing nothing as possible. And with us, that time of doing nothing is usually OUTSIDE of our own house.

Currently, the cellists’ school schedule kind of dictates when we take our family trips. Usually we do it during winter break, and then flip-flop between his spring breaks and fall breaks. That way, we’re not always clashing with all of the other children in the United States. However, after our cruise this year, we realized that vacations alone are NECESSARY. Before you get to rolling your eyes, I need you to realize that I know how hard it is for some people to leave their children in the care of others for any length of time. I still have the issue sometimes, however, I got over it. Mostly because the rest and time to myself was priceless. I even now understand why a lot of folk wait for a bit without having children. It makes sense, however, circumstances did not allow Mr. Nicholes and I to do it that way, and we had to kind of shift our paradigm. Hee hee.

 So, with that being said, our cruise vacation has kicked of the annual Mr. & Mrs. Trip each year, and we have already set our sights on our next big trip. We’ll do a lot of traveling via cruises or places in the states that we’ve been dying to get to, and then go abroad. Mostly, we’ll travel internationally when the kids are a little bit older.

One of the places that I really want to take the husband to is Salt Lake City, UT. Don’t blink, I typed it. But it’s ONLY to stay in a very specific hotel. The Grand America Hotel. I stayed in this hotel a couple of years ago for a National Head Start Association trip and I’ve been in love ever since.

Do you all take vacations without the children? Where have you gone? How do you like the grown up vacations? Sound off in the comments!

~Make It A Fantastic Day