Planning: Mexico

Guess what. It turns out when you go somewhere every week or week and a half, it is very difficult to keep up with a travel blog! So I'm sorry for the lack of intended posts about planning, packing, etc....but that's just the way it is. 

I'm super swamped this week with work, school, and getting ready for Mexico. The best part of this trip has been going with seven other girls who have been reminding me of stuff to pack and things to get ready all week. We have a string of over 60 emails that we've had going for the last few weeks and it has been SUPER helpful in getting ready! AND I'm not too worried about forgetting anything - if I do forget something, I'm pretty sure one of them will have me covered. 

It has been an INCREDIBLY cold winter so far, and I'm more than ready to soak up some sun! The high in Mpls on Monday is -9 (not counting windchill) and the high in Mazatlan is 80.....wonderful!

I'll try to get back around to posting some of little "extras" I'm packing, but for now I have to get going on the actual packing! Adios!

Going: Tomahawk, WI

I have a new favorite word. It is "cabining". I can't believe I haven't used it more in my life, considering all the cabining I've done over the years. 

When it comes right down to it, cabining is simply the act of going to a cabin and having a great time. It really means whatever you want it to mean. In the summer it means boating, swimming, playing yard games, reading, grilling, etc. And in the winter it means snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, cozy fires, games, etc. 

Last weekend my small group went cabining. I haven't done a ton of winter cabining, but it is great fun to make the most of the cold temperatures. We had a great group make the trip to Tomahawk, and we had the greatest hosts EVER. What a great weekend of relaxing, playing in the snow, enjoying outside and inside fires, games, food, great conversations and fellowship....the list goes on.

I used to drive through Tomahawk every month for work, so I knew it would be a little bit of a drive, and once again, the winter weather made the trip out a bit longer than expected. But everyone arrived safely and we enjoyed a great time together. 

I literally brought a bigger bag for games than I did for clothes - going to a cabin in the winter only requires sweats and pajamas! It also requires that you pack a good amount of snow gear, so the SUV I was in was packed to the brim, even though it was just two of us and a dog!

I can't put my finger on any particular highlight from the weekend because it was all so good - the people, the conversations, the food, the games, watching football, winter walks, streaming church by the fire, and playing with babies....just the best!

Throwback Thursday: Caribbean Cruise, March 2011

I wish I could remember which island this is. It's either St. John or St. Maarten. Either way, this was a great cruise with family and friends. Makes me wish I was somewhere warm right now.....Mexico in 9 days!!

Going: Michigan

Once again, I don't have any "planning" post for this trip because not a whole lot of planning went into it!

Friends of mine moved to Michigan about a year ago. I was able to visit them in May, but I hadn't spent any time with them since, so I was anxious to have a reason to visit them. Their middle daughter was having her 5th birthday party, so that seemed like as good a reason as any to make a trip out there!

Here's the thing about traveling in Minnesota/Wisconsin/Illinois/Indiana/Michigan in the winter - WEATHER. I was holding my plans very loosely since I would be going on the first weekend of January - with potential of snow or bad weather. It is about an 8-9 hour drive on perfect roads, so I decided that if there looked like any chance of inclement weather, I would just cancel my trip. 

I checked the weather a lot on Wednesday and Thursday, and other than Chicago getting a few inches on Thursday, everything seemed fine along my route, so I decided to go. I drove on Friday and got there late Friday night. The girls had stayed up to say hi to me, and I had a great late-night chat with my friends after the littles went to bed. 

Saturday consisted of a great breakfast in PJs, a super fun birthday party, and a night out with the adults. Such a great day. I really love and miss that family, so I was just trying to soak it all in.

On Saturday night it started to snow and there were reports of about 20 inches coming. YIKES! Then on Monday the temperature was supposed to PLUMET. So my choice was to drive on Sunday in some snow (and try to beat most of it) or wait for it to pass and drive in extreme cold (and risk anything happening to my car and being stuck on the side of the road). Originally, my plan was to hang out on Sunday some, but with that report I decided to see what it looked like on Sunday morning and adjust my plans according to the weather. They got about 5 inches overnight, but it wasn't supposed to snow more until the afternoon, so I decided to go to church with them and leave from there. 

I'm glad I drove on Sunday - the reports on the roads out of Chicago on Monday were TERRIBLE. It was slow-going on Sunday, too, but at least everyone seemed to be taking their time and not going into the ditch! The only portion of the road that was treacherous on Sunday was through Indiana - they actually had closed the Toll Road, but there was a detour that was totally fine, so it all worked out. 

So, the summary of this post is that I had a WONDERFUL time and that it is important to be flexible when traveling in the winter. AND to always have a car full of winter clothes. I honestly wouldn't have felt as good about leaving on Sunday if I hadn't packed my full snow suit and boots and extra warm hats and gloves. Even though I wasn't expecting the storm when I left, it's always important to have those things in your car during Minnesota winters! I also was giving myself plenty of time to not feel rushed, and I decided ahead of time that I would pull off and get a hotel room if I needed to. There's no reason to push something beyond what is safe. In the end, the travel wasn't that bad, but it never hurts to be prepared and have those plans in the back of your mind so that you don't worry. 

I'm already excited for another trip out to Michigan - once the winter goes away!