Summertime Blues

This is about the time of year when I start seriously planning our family's summer vacation. I must admit that for the last three years we've haven't been very creative. Each year we spent several days in Las Vegas.

Now why would a good Christian boy like me take my family to Sin City? Well, to be honest with you, I really like that town. There's lots of things to do - even for kids - and there's certainly no lack of stuff to see. There's lots of shopping for my wife and daughter, and given the 24 hour nature of the town, you're never at a loss for something to do.

This year we're going to do something different. With the kids being 16 & 14 (by the summer), and thanks to four free tickets on American Airlines, I thought this would be the perfect year for a little U.S. history vacation and a trip to the nation's capital. I'm learning one very important fact as I plan this trip...Las Vegas vacations are really, really cheap.

We've been used to paying $80-$90 per night for hotel rooms (we always got two rooms so you can double that) in Vegas, and it looks like this summer we'll be renting one bedroom suites that cost two or three times as much. I don't want to travel clear across the country to stay in a Motel 6, so in order to get accomodations that meet our quality standard, you have to pay a lot of money. We're used to staying in very nice hotels with lots of amenities, and you can't find those for $80 a night in D.C. or Williamsburg, VA.

Another issue in D.C. is parking. I've already been warned that D.C. is a tough town to drive in, and what I'm finding is that if you want to park, even at your hotel, you're going to pay through the nose. Our hotel in D.C. charges $22.40 a day to park - even if you're a guest! I just can't face a vacation without a car, so I guess we'll just have to grin and bear it.

One nice thing I discovered by accident is the vacation planning service provided by my congressman. Gary Miller represents my area, and his office has a staffer that takes care of booking special congressional tours to various government buildings, including the White House. You have to request White House tours six months in advance, though there's no guarantee you'll actually get one. We'll find out later.

It's a great service and they've already got us set up for a tour of the Capital and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (where all the money is made). It's nice to have someone in D.C. handling that stuff for us.

I'm really looking forward to this trip. We'll be spending 5 nights in D.C. and 3 nights in Williamsburg. In order to put up with all the history stuff that Dad wants to do, I had to promise the wife and kids that we'd spend some time at Busch Gardens, supposedly the most beautiful theme park in America. I've got us booked for three nights at the Kingsmill Resort. I hope I don't have to take out a second on the house to pay for it.

I may also try something on this trip that I've never done before - vacation blogging. Unless I change my mind, I'm going to take the old laptop with me and blog the trip each night when we return to the hotel. Kind of give you a tourists eye view of the place.

Stay tuned - we don't leave until July 8. Just in time for the malarial heat and humidity of Washington in the summertime.