This summer we had the opportunity to take a family vacation to Canada. If you’ve been readin me since then, you already know that we flew into Detroit and rented a car. From there we drove to Toronto, then Montreal, and then to Niagara. The drive through Ontario on the first day was just fabulous - driving is absolutely the best way to see a new place. We navigated down the 401 through small towns, and once we hit Brampton, we knew we were getting close to Toronto. I’ve seen the town of Brampton on TV before, so I was funny for me to see it “in person”, too! The area, and Brampton real estate has been featured quite a bit on a show I watch on HGTV, due to the city’s proximity to Toronto. BramptonHouse.com is attempting to capitalize on Toronto being one of the largest cities in the world by offering great deals on real estate to those wishing to save money by moving to the suburbs. The site even offers real estate discounts for seniors, students & new immigrants, making it possible for anyone to buy a home and live the American Canadian dream.

In just two weeks, I’ll be in Las Vegas!

Originally, we planned to swing in a side trip to the Grand Canyon. Our plans have changed however, and the new plans require me to leave Vegas a bit earlier on Monday and head to California. That means no trip to Arizona for me! I’m a little bummed, since it would have been a great time to see the Canyon, but I guess this means we’ll need to plan another trip and take the kids, eh?

And trust me - the thing in California is JUST as exciting as the Grand Canyon, if not more so. The Grand Canyon will be there for years to come, but I’ve got a once in a lifetime opportunity to do something, and I’m taking my chance!

*Yes, I’m being extremely vague, but I don’t have a green light to talk about what I’ll be up to in Los Angeles!

As you all know, I’ve got this thing about visiting ALL 50 states at some point in my life. I’ve gone to quite a few so far, and added Massachusetts to my list last month. Next month, I’ll be adding Nevada. I haven’t been to Oregon though, and it’s someplace I’ve wanted to visit and see ever since I was 6 or 7 years old.

You may be wondering why a little girl would want to go to Oregon, when she doesn’t know a soul there. One word - Ramona. Did you ever read the Ramona Quimby series by Beverly Cleary? I did, and Ramon lived in Oregon, not far from Mt. Hood, on Klickitat Street. I just googled that street name to be sure I spelled it correctly, and learned that it’s a real street in Northeast Portland, Oregon. Not only did Ramona Quimby, and her sister Beatrice (aka Beezus) live on Klickitat Street, but it was home to Henry Huggins as well. There are statues of the characters in Grant Park. When I make it to Oregon, I will make it a point to visit the street and the park. Of course, I’m sure there’s much more to see in Oregon, so I’ll need to check into Oregon vacation rentals so I can take my sweet time exploring the area that I read about so often in Beverly Cleary’s books. With a family of 5, it’s so much nicer to stay in a rental home than a hotel, since it means we have a bed for everyone, privacy for mom and dad, and a kitchen to save on meals.

Hey, is Whopper Burger a real chain? That was Ramona’s favorite place to eat out with her family.

Now that my 3 day, 60 mile charity walk is behind me, I can begin looking forward to my next trip. In just a few weeks (two, in fact!) I’ll be heading off to Las Vegas, followed by a quick one night stop in Los Angeles. My injuries from the walk this weekend should be healed by then, so I’m looking forward to walking up and down the strip and seeing the sights. We’ll be meeting friends for dinner one night, and possibly doing breakfast with bloggers on another day, so there will be plenty of sitting down and socializing as well, in case my feet get tired.

Most importantly, I don’t have to sleep in a tent, like I did this weekend!

If you were to go off to Hawaii for a week, and needed to rent a car, wouldn’t you want to snag a snazzy convertible? Or a rugged Jeep Wrangler? Of course you would! You can’t fully enjoy a vacation in the islands without letting the top down so that the sun can hit your face, or going off roading in your 4 x 4. If you’re looking for a car rental, Hawaii has lots of choices, one of which is a company called HawaiiDrive-O.com…cute name, huh? They can hook you up with Maui car rentals, or transportation in Molokai, and you can select from a standard car, like a minivan or compact, or one of these Hawaii fun drives! Use the instant rate checker on their site to find the best deals from all of the top car rental companies in Hawaii.

(Hmm…I wonder if they have a car like the one Tom Selleck drove on Magnum, P.I.?)

I’m heading off for the 3-Day walk tonight. I just got done printing out the locations of all the cheering stations, complete with directions and maps to give to my husband. A lot of the places I’ll be walking by this weekend are familiar to me, and I know there are several stretches on the beach without shade. I hope we have decent weather for the journey! I don’t think walking 60 miles in this area will be quite as interesting as it was in Philadelphia. It’s hard to beat walking through downtown Philadelphia and seeing the old homes, churches, and historical sites.

I’m going to be making my 2nd trip to Arizona in just a month. I went to Phoenix in 1997, and when my husband and I go to Las Vegas next month, we’re planning a side trip to Arizona so that we can visit the Grand Canyon. Did you know that the Grand Canyon is 227 miles long, 1 mile deep, and has an average width of 10 miles? I can’t wait to see it in person. (I guess I need to look at Grand Canyon hotels!) I only wish the kids were going to be with us, but that means we’ll just have to plan another trip someday. The sun shines in southern Arizona 85% of the time, so no matter when you plan a trip there, you’re practically guaranteed a sunny day!

Speaking of interesting facts about Arizona, did you know that the state never adopted Daylight Savings Time. I hope that doesn’t mess with my head when we’re traveling. Nevada is in the pacific time zone, and Arizona is in mountain time - add in that one state follows Daylight Savings Time and the other doesn’t - sounds like a recipe for disaster, doesn’t it? LOL! I can just see us being late getting back to the airport in Las Vegas due to the time change!

A few years ago, my niece went on an educational trip through an organization called People To People. The group offers international travel opportunities to students, in order to “promote peace through understanding,” in the words of Dwight D. Eisenhower, who founded the program in 1956. She’s planning her 2nd trip with the group now. Her mother invited me to a parent meeting this month so that we could learn about it for our oldest daughter. I don’t think I’m quite ready to let her go off to Europe without me, but the group does give kids a great experience. Often, they get access to people and places that regular tourists can’t access, and of course, it’s educational!

My niece did her first trip with People To People the summer before she entered the 8th grade. Do you think you could send your child on a trip like this when they were still in middle school? That’s my biggest concern!

A few years ago, my teen aged niece had the opportunity to travel abroad with a student group. When I talked to my sister last week, she said my niece was looking into another trip to do the same thing. I so wish I had been able to do something like that when I was in high school or college. For example, when I took humanities in college, I had to settle for listening to my instructor tell us about her trips to Greece and Rome. It would have been a heck of a lot more interesting to see those sites for myself, while learning about the culture and people of ancient civilizations. CE Tours is a company doing business with a lot of colleges and universities, in order to provide a unique learning experience for students. They realize that it will make more of an impact on a student to see the Colosseum in Rome, or to sit at the base of the Lincoln Memorial, than it ever would to read about those same places in a textbook.

The great thing about the tours offered is that they can be customized to fit the needs of your group. Putting together a trip for Western Humanities students? You’ll probably want a package that consists of the highlights of Europe, with a focus on religious sites. American History? How about Washington, D.C., and Boston? Trips can be customized based on a specific curriculum or theme. Students get to see the sites that they’ve only read about until now, and they’ll learn so much more than they would from just picking up a text book.

A few months ago, before our vacation to Canada, I sent my husband to the store to snag luggage tags. He came home from Target with some cute, and cheap luggage tags. They’ve got bright colors and drawings on them. For example, one says, “I just flew in, and boy are my arms tired!”

I’ve flown several times since, and I can always pick out my suitcase now. I typically travel with a small, dark green rolling suitcase, and there are usually 15 other suitcases that look exactly like it at baggage claim. I have no problem finding mine now though! The tags were $7 for a 2 pack (two different designs) at Target. Well worth the money, since it saves me a few minutes at baggage claim each time!