Comments on: It’s Vacation Time - Yes or No?

By: Ron Carter

Ron Carter — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:53:59 +0000

Hi Dee,

Writing to you from Catacamas, Honduras. Remember the Gulf South Center for Applied Ethics? Well, we dedicated Mission Point Resource Center here last Monday, on the one year anniversary of Susans death. Our mission is, in part, to serve the people of Honduras by providing them the resources necessary for the Spiritual enrichment of individuals, families, their children and their communities. Our main focus is on the children.

I?l write you more about that later, but I wanted to respond to your thoughts about soaring cost. We are seeing it everywhere here. The cost of fuel is really causing hardships, and food cost has skyrocketed. I do not see how these folks get by, and I am not at all sure of the impact of all of this on mission efforts, but I am sure it will hurt. The cost of plane fare to come here continues to rise - its up about 20% over a year ago. My vacation this year will be limited to visits to kids in Crestview, Dallas, and to a Sister in Bogalusa. God Bless, Ron

By: Corry

Corry — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:58:54 +0000

We usually don’t go on vacations but take lots of exploring trips. That was fun, until these gas prices! I imagine we will think twice before taking a long trip.

Yeah, I empathize!!!

God’s Grace.

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:43:37 +0000

We usually go to Michigan to visit John’s parents-once in the summer and then again around Christmas. We’re going there either this month or next, and they have graciously agreed to keep the kids for a couple of days while John and I go up to the Traverse City area, just the two of us. It’s so pretty there, and there are lots of fun things to do-we like hiking the dunes around Lake Michigan. *Aside: They’re moving to Arkansas sometime this year, so they’ll be much closer. We’re looking forward to that!
We just got back from a weekend in Branson. We bought season tickets to Silver Dollar City, so we’ll probably do that again before school starts and again around Christmas.
Our 15th anniversary is in August, so I’m hoping to do a neat trip then, but we’ll have to see how schedules work out. We usually just go out to eat on an anniversary. I’d like to try a cruise-we’ve never done that. Of course we need some new furniture, too, so that might be what we do instead!

By: cwinwc

cwinwc — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:27:29 +0000

“Our” vacation will consist of Steven and I going to Colorado (seems to be a popular theme)on a “Wilderness (http://www.wildernesstrek.org/) Trek” with our Youth Group. Will be in the Colorado back-country for 5 days. I will apologize ahead of time for the smell.

Barb is anticipating buying a new kitchen table for her vacation.

Our outlook is bleak for the economy and like all of you, we’re worried about the future of the “middle class.”

By: Frank

Frank — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:24:36 +0000

Just back from a trip to Connecticut, I’m in Amarillo now.

I may go down to San Antonio in July. Michele’s got a teacher’s conference there, so my kids and I might tag along for fun. Never been to SA. Recommendations? Seems like there’s an important old building.

Other than that, we’ll just be hanging out here in the panhandle, doing VBS, going to Dillas baseball games, getting ready for the fall semester, staying under the a/c.

By: Peggy n Texas

Peggy n Texas — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:36:24 +0000

Lynn is right about the debt part. We are about two months away from completely debt free other than a house payment! No car payments, no credit cards to pay off. Debt free. What a relief. We are working on our bathroom to remodel it, but we are taking it slow and doing the work ourselves. We will work until we run out of money and then save up again to do another part. Fortunately, we have another bathroom when this one gets to where we cannot use it. Right now, we can still use it, we just walk around the tools and step where the floor is free of the old linoleum.

We do no plan a vacation this summer. If we do decide to go any where, it will be to Missouri to see our baby daughter. We will probably make a few trips to the beach with our grand kids and their parents. When you live this close, it is easy to make a day of it without too much cost, especially if we take along fried chicken and potato salad and dessert to eat at the beach! Ymmmm!

We are in pretty good shape in Southeast Texas. We have about three refineries in the area that making expansions, three new LNG plants coming in and another big company about to build. They say we could have about 20,000 new comers to the area in the next 5-10 years. So they are building like crazy to prepare for the influx of workers. This area is pretty optimistic about the future….at this point!

Just remember, it is always scary and seems bleak in an election year! Things will get better after the election. Just watch and see! …and hang in there!

By: Lynn

Lynn — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:26:36 +0000

Vacation for Mark and I means He takes the week off and I take the week off from keeping children which we are going to do the week after July 4th. As far as money is concerned, we just lock down tight most of the time and live cautiously…now is the time you wish you did not have any debt as that money could be put to good use but life moves forward…we are doing better than lots of people I know!

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:22:04 +0000

We left out on our vacation yesterday morning. I am writing you now from an RV park in Elko, NV. We plan to make it to Rock Springs, WY, this evening. Destination for this leg of the journey: St. Charles, MO. We’ll be there through the weekend and drive down to Cape Girardeau next Monday. From there we will head to Huntsville, AL on the 19th and stay until the 23rd, at which point we have a 6-day trek across AR, OK, TX, NM, AZ, and north through CA to make it back home. Prayers are coveted!

By: jel

jel — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:16:01 +0000

havn’t been on a vacation in 6 year,
but my sis and her DH, are starting out in the morning, from Nev. to come out to see her cute sis,

they are coming out for a visit, if ya don’t mind too , please say a pray for a safe trip . thanks

one good thing about living on a farm, we got chickens for eggs, and a graden, and pigs for meat, now all we need is a Cow to milk.

hope ya are feeling ok Dee!

hugggs

By: Judy

Judy — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:08:42 +0000

Note to Greg: Be sure and take lots of pictures to share with us.

Dee:

We had wanted to go to Colorado this summer. Our friend and fellow blogger John moved there last year, and we wanted to end the trip with a visit with him and his family. We’d hoped to make a road trip out of it and tie it in with a visit to California to Stockton (Randy and family) and Fresno (meet Steve) and to Temecula to visit Greg and family and the ghost in the embalming room. That’s what we WANTED to do.

Obviously, that’s not going to happen, with the economy as it is. We have a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt, and it costs $41 right now to fill it up. By the end of summer, I’m sure it’ll be more.

One of our favorite places to go is Gulf Shores, Alabama, but we will not be going anywhere this summer except for the occasional necessary trips involving family in north Mississippi or NE Arkansas.

Every time I get worried about making ends meet (which is every month), I try not to stress out, but sometimes I do. At those times, I feel guilty for being retired and only cleaning a couple of houses for extra money. After all, I’m 59 and taking naps in the mornings, and our friend, fellow church-member and neighbor down the street is in bad health and in her early 70s, and she’s still going to work every day! God always works it out, and then I lay my head down and think, “Why did I ever worry? You always take care of it!”

When we eat out, it’s at a place with coupons or where we know we can both eat and tip for under $15! We keep flip-flopping on whether it’s cheaper to eat out or cook at home, you know, by the time you factor in the cost of electricity, getting the house heated up, running the dishwasher more often, etc., etc. I still don’t know the answer……….but we’re still eating.

I always try to remain optimistic that it’s going to get better……………