The Perfect Vacation by Chris Keniston and Kathy Ivan

The Perfect Vacation – Chris Keniston and the Beach

My bucket list of interesting places grows longer every year. I'd love to walk the Great Wall of China.  I'd like to stand in the center of Timbuktu.  But I'd especially like to have lunch in an ocean restaurant in Bali.  Yes. I mean one of those places where the table and chairs are in the water. The crystal clear aqua blue warm water.

And if you can't tell, I am most definitely a beach person.  I love the ocean, the sand, the sound of the waves rushing ashore.  And have you noticed how the food always tastes better by the sea?  

My mother and I had the best ever Macaroni and Cheese in Bermuda. 

Now I know a lot of people love the mountains. Some of the views are mind boggling. A friend of mine recently sent me a photo from the Grand Canyon – also on my bucket list - that left me breathless.

Of course my biggest problems with mountains is they tend to come with other interesting and often frightening sights, like bears.

The Perfect Vacation – Kathy Ivan and the Mountains 

As a girl born and raised in Florida (Miami and Key West) before moving to Texas, I can attest to the wonders of living by the beach.  Lots of sun, sand, and beautiful water.  But, after a while, it all becomes kind of ho hum.  Plus there are things in the water that can eat me just as fast as the above-mentioned bear.  LOL

So what's the opposite of the beach?  Switching my latitude brings a change in my attitude.  Why not head up into the mountains?  You can get solitude away from the day-to-day rat race, away from the maddening crowd.  Depending on the time of year, you can spend your summer in a cabin in the woods by a lake.  Maybe sit on the docks and watch the deer feeding along the shoreline.  Watch the ducks flying south, while you dangle your feet in the cool waters.

In the wintertime, imagine curling up by the fire at a resort in the mountains, with the snow falling outside, a cup of hot cocoa in your hand.  The ski slopes of Switzerland.  A chalet in the Italian Alps.  Visiting the fjords in Sweden and Denmark.  Or I can even stay closer to home, because Colorado is just a day's drive away and they have some of the best winter sports around. 

Of course, sitting beside a roaring fire, with a glass of wine, and the handsome ski instructor by my side – I may never go home. 

So that begs the question – if you had your druthers, where would you want to go on vacation this summer?  Chris votes for that restaurant in Bali.  Kathy is already halfway to the Swiss Alps!