Yosemite: Fun While It Lasted

When presenting the idea of a trip to Yosemite to my dad for his birthday, I told him that the whole point was for us to go somewhere big that he's always wanted to go, preferably somewhere he has never been. If there was somewhere else that he would prefer to go, that was fine, just let me know. After pondering the proposed Yosemite trip for a week and doing vast amounts of research, my father emailed me on Sunday asking if I was open to a change in plan.

The tours of Yosemite we were considering all had people commenting about motion sickness when traveling from site to site. You may recall how I feel about twisty hilly roads. What about the altitude? Would we be able to comfortably do all of the walking/hiking required at those elevations? We also weren't sure if there was enough to do for a week there (I think so, but it's hard to say), if Luke would get bored after a few days, and accommodations were difficult to come by without a fairly lengthy drive every day. And then there is the time difference, something I had not thought of until just a day or two before we told him about the trip. Luke routinely wakes up at 6:30-7 AM when left to his own devices. Now subtract 3 hours. Who wants to get up at 4 AM on vacation?! Or be in bed by 5-6 PM? Hmm, this is starting to sound less and less fun. Dad genuinely appreciated the thought, and I intend to make him swear to me that he *will* go to Yosemite, with or without us, in the next few years. He had been researching eastern or central time zone alternatives, and had a proposal to make.

Boston! I am ashamed to admit that Boston is not a possible destination I had considered, though I should have remembered he has never been. Plus we talked it up quite well after our own trip back in July 2003 (just a few months before I started this blog; wishing I had chronicled that trip is one of the things that lead me to actually starting blogging). I was both surprised and pleased by the suggestion. To be completely honest, the thought of traipsing around outdoors every day for a week really did not appeal to me. A few days, sure, but I'm a city girl. I know it would be very beautiful and worthwhile, but there's only so much nature I can take! But I love my dad, and I knew he would love it, and I knew I would enjoy it once we were there, so I was willing to go. But Boston? DH and I had a *blast* when we went, and there were plenty of things, even obvious things (like the Old North Church and Paul Revere's House), that we hadn't gotten to do. I was very excited for my dad to finally be going Yosemite. But *I* am excited to go back to Boston!

Look out, Beantown! The W-G Clan invades Summer 2011!

Currently feeling: ready to go!