The Travel Bug

From time to time, I get the travel bug. I'm not sure how the love of travel got into my blood. I think most people enjoy traveling, but I get to these points when I almost crave a trip of some sort!

This summer we did a bit of traveling. We took a quick little trip down to Oregon for Kevin's graduation and we also got to experience a wonderful cruise to Alaska courtesy of Kevin's parents. It was a great summer, and I think that the cruise reignited the travel bug that had been lying dormant.

Perhaps it hadn't really been lying dormant. Just the summer before I had gone on an 18 day trip through Europe with my school. I think this vacation gave my little bug a good dose of whatever it needed to be satisfied for awhile. It also, however, reminded me of how much I love to travel! We visted Munich, Heidelberg, Rothenburg, and other areas of Germany. In the summer of 1999, I spent six weeks in Germany, so I found that it was not really my highlight. I enjoyed Paris and Nice was my absolute favorite part of France! Spain, of course, was a dream for me, as it gave me an opportunity to test out my Spanish.

I'm finding lately, however, that I'm dreaming of yet another trip. It seems to have significance to me. I long to go on a vacation with just my hubby and I. See, we are in a transitional stage of life. We are hoping to have kids soon. This, I know, is not a foregone conclusion! If you have read this blog for any amount of time, you know that I have been through two pregnancies in the last 9 months and both of them ended at some point within the first 13 weeks or less. While this has been a process, I think I have come out on the other side of it. I have grown a lot in my faith and our relationship with one another has gone to a new level. I feel ready to start trying again, and maybe I'm being naive, but I honestly believe that our next pregnancy is going to go full term! I also believe it is going to be sometime within the next six months or so that we will find out we are pregnant again.

While I'm thrilled at the thought of this, I'm also a little bit scared. See, I love my relationship with my husband. We didn't decide to try to have children because we were bored with each other, rather, because we love the idea of seeing each other as a parent. We look forward to going through that process together. I know Kevin is going to be an amazing dad, and I can't wait to see him in that role! However, I also love how we live life together now!

Kevin is my best friend! We always have fun together, no matter what we are doing. We love to talk to each other. We try to always be affirming of one another. I hate being away from him. Whenever I am gone from him, even for one night, I feel like I'm not quite right until we are together again. Some of the best times we have had together have been on trips together.

The first trip that Kevin and I ever took together was to China! We did not expect to be together on that trip, in fact, we didn't even know each other! China is where Kevin and I met! We taught English in a rural area of China, and with both of us being alone on the trip, we sort of just joined together! It was the start of this amazing relationship that has become our life together.

The year that we were dating long distance we did a few mini day trips. I was living in California, and we enjoyed places such as Venice Beach, Disneyland, Six Flags, and California Adventure. Everywhere we went, we had a great time.

For our honeymoon, we were blessed to experience a 14 day trip to Maui, Hawaii. This was a dream come true for me. I had always dreamed of going to Hawaii, and I can't think of anyone I would rather experience it with than my husband. We had a blissful, amazing time. That is still and probably always will be my favorite trip with my husband.

The most recent trip we have enjoyed together was to Alaska in August with Kevin's parents. We didn't know what to expect...I had never been on a cruise and wasn't sure what I would think. We loved it! We loved being so pampered! We loved the food! We loved the activities! We had an absolutely amazing time.

Now, I'm back at square one again. See, with the changes that I see coming in our lives, I find myself hoping to have one last hurrah with my hubby. I know that we may take trips again together in the future, but I don't know that it will happen for many years after we have kids. Not just the two of us, anyway.

I know, from talking to friends, that life completely changes once that little person enters your lives. I'm looking forward to that change, but I find myself longing for one last little getaway with my husband. We have been talking about it, and both of us can see the value in it. The question is...where?

Where do we go? There are several factors that affect this decision. When can we go? Probably Christmas break, after the actual holiday. What can we spend? Not that much! We're trying to save up for a house! What do we want to do? We don't really know...we just want to go somewhere, and have fun!

Here's to hoping. Maybe it will happen, maybe it won't. I have honestly been praying about it! I don't want my wants to overshadow what should actually be happening. I don't want us to make a foolish decision, yet I also know that doing something like this is important. It's important for us to make those fun memories together. We will see what the future brings! In the meantime...if you hear of any great deals, let us know!