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.

.@VickiBatman - Is the party over? After Christmas blues #MFRWorg #RLFblog #plottingprincesses

Last week, I returned from a vacation after Christmas. We'd left Christmas afternoon and drove six-seven hours to see Handsome's mom and other family members. The next day, we drove to our vacation destination.

Where we stayed was snow-covered and quite beautiful. In fact, we had mostly gray days with flurries and a snow during our stay. All I wanted to do was stay in bed and read.

Then we drove home with tiny-tiny sleet pelting the windshield. The roads were clear--thankfully. We drove over a pass and into sunshine spreading into a valley. That didn't last long. A thick fog blanketed everything. Normally, we see hills and antelopes. I could see the cars in front of me and considered it lucky we could accelerate to 60. We did make it home, tacking an extra hour on our return.

Summer Sweat or Winter Chill?

Yeah, I know it’s winter, and we’ve just survived ice apocalypse 2013 where I live and now we’re experiencing the Polar Express. But we don’t have it as bad as many parts of the country. I thought the picture of the Dallas Arboretum in summer would maybe warm everyone up today.  I’ve always considered myself more of a winter person than a summer girl just because the temperature in Texas gets so freaking hot. When the temperature climbs, higher than 98 I’m indoors. The heat makes me cranky, irritable and I hate to sweat. The feel of sweat trickling down your back and your hair sticking to your head makes me want to shower again. In the summer, I’ve been known to take more than one shower a day, just to get the sweat off.

Being an outdoor person, when the temperature climbs so high it’s miserable, I have to stay indoors, and that’s when I stop liking summer. In the winter, I’ve always felt like you can add more clothes. Yes, it can be bundle some, but still you can get comfortable once you have enough layers. Before I hurt my ankle, I loved to ski. There is something about being outdoors, in the pines, gliding through the snow. My husband and I like to hike in the winter, even when there’s snow. It’s fun to walk the back country and spend time outdoors.