I just thought I should let all of my blogosphere friends know that while I did not take a vacation this summer (unless you count a weekend camping trip and a long weekend in a hospital), I am taking a vacation this fall. I'm headed to Vegas.
Here's the story. My mother and father have a timeshare they used every year to go on vacation. As a matter of fact, the week after he died, they were supposed to go on a trip together. The time share is with Marriott and they loved to get out of town for a week, mostly in the winter.
My mom offered me the time share for this year since she is not up for traveling. I have to use it before the end of the year and due to the nature of my job, I can't take a lot of time off around major holidays.
Right around this same time this offer came up, Sean's mother offered for me to go to Japan with her and Sean (they go every year). His grandmother had changed her mind about Sean and I having to be married for me to visit. Dilemma.
The catch with Japan was I had to pay my own plane ticket ($1500+) and all my expenses when I was there. In short, I would have been paying $2000 or more to tag along on someone else's trip. It just didn't feel right for a few reasons and after talking with Sean, I graciously thanked his mother and turned down the offer. I really wanted to honor this gift my mom had given me by using it and, since I only get a couple weeks off a year, I'd like to spend my vacation on my own terms.
So why Vegas? Well, it's the opposite of where I live, a quality I look for in a vacation destination. It's on the other side of the country meaning a higher probability I will see some of my far flung friends. I've also never been to Vegas before though I loved the west when Sean and I went out to Moab Utah last year. Plus it's Vegas, a place I'm told everyone should see once in their lives. And it's a fairly cheap place to fly to (gee, I wonder why).
Since this trip was free to me and involves a suite on the Strip, I invited a few friends to come along. It is a lot of logistics (and time and money) but I'm hoping some of them can come. I think my mom is worried that I am vacationing alone but have recently confirmed that my friend Sarah is definitely going to be around for a long weekend, which will be great. And I've vacationed alone before and it's fine (another thing I think everyone should do once in their lives).
I have my hotel confirmation and I just bought my ticket moments ago so it's official. Vegas, here I come! I hope my mom knows how happy I am to be given an opportunity like this.
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