The calendar says it's still summer and upon reflecting on the past few months, I've come to the conclusion that my first year of retirement has landed me exactly where I want to be! AND I am so excited to see where the next years take me.
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The Big Cities
Our summer fun started before summer even officially began with Katie's college graduation trip to the Big Cities! She chose Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Disney World and Carleigh's school year had ended, so she was able to join us.
Summer also included a trip to the Kennedy Center to see Funny Girl. Another memory made with my adult daughters!!
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As summer closes and everyone returns to work and school, I am looking forward to our next adventures as a family and what new adventures and projects retirement will present to me!
Seldom A Dull Moment
We started in Vegas and spent 3 nights at the Bellagio. It was HOT, BUSY and exactly what we expected. We had a great time exploring Vegas, and found lots of opportunities for fun.
Katie played the slots and actually won a little bit. Enough for a couple of those fancy drinks that she wanted.
Carleigh enjoyed the Conservatory at the Bellagio. It was beautiful! Quick tip: visit in early morning when it's not as crowded...it's much prettier and vibrant in daylight as opposed to walking through after dark.
We enjoyed a gondola ride at the Venetian. Yes, we got serenaded and the whole "ride" was inside, so we were able to avoid the 110 degrees outside.
We got dressed up one night and went to the Cosmopolitan for dinner and drinks. It was a highlight having this experience with my adult daughters.
We also found the oldest bar beyond the strip, Atomic Liquors. I can't say that I enjoyed it and I can say that I've been there. :)
Our next stop was a quick, early flight to Burbank Airport in California.
From the airport, we made our way to The Walt Disney Studios. A bucket list item for me, there was a lot of logistical planning to make this happen and not miss our guided tour.
Disney Legends plaza at Walt Disney Studios was amazing and beautiful!!
Up next was to make our way to Anaheim, California for 2 nights. We were going to continue to Disney so hard!
We had a great two days at Disneyland and the resort area. We also had a great two nights at the Anaheim Westin. I honestly think this was my favorite hotel of our trip. It was beautiful and we also enjoyed the rooftop bar and the cafe while we were there.
After Disney and Anaheim, it was time for the last leg of our girls' trip! We were headed to LA for 3 nights.
Our first full day in LA included a full day at Universal Studios, Hollywood. We purchased the VIP Experience and it did not disappoint! Included was a 5 hour private tour including front of the line for EVERY ride, a special studios tour and a catered, sit-down lunch at the Moulin Rouge.
We spent the next day exploring tourist Hollywood! This included the Walk of Stars, a tour of the Dolby Theater, the Chinese Theater and a visit to the El Capitan Theater to see Inside Out 2.
Our 3 nights at the Sheraton Universal hotel were wonderful. We used rideshare to get everywhere and never had any problems.
We rode the Hop On, Hop Off bus and visited Beverly Hills. We also made it to the Santa Monica Pier for funnel cake! :)
On the morning we were flying home to Virginia, I was able to squeeze in one more highlight of the trip for me. I reconnected with a former student from about 30 years ago. He currently lives in LA and reached out. It was so fun and amazing to see what an incredible adult Justin has become.
My last visit there had been with Don before marriage and children. We had visited Alligator Adventure and that was all he wanted to do on this return trip. :)
Another goal of this return trip to Myrtle Beach was to recreate the Lifeguard Chair picture from around 1998 or so. We haven't changed at all!
Our four days at Myrtle Beach were exactly what I wanted them to be. A trip down memory lane, quality time with the whole family and new memories being made!
The Beach
As is the norm with Rahn summers...the girls and I were home for 3 days and we turned around and headed to Myrtle Beach for 4 nights.
I was excited about this trip and hoped the family would enjoy it. We were heading back to the same spot that I spent my childhood visiting. The actual condo that we stayed in, Arcadian Shores - North Myrtle Beach, was where my family went every year until Don and I started dating. I couldn't wait to return for nostalgia and also to share this spot with the girls.
It wasn't our normal beach house in NC vacation and it was just a quick family beach trip before Katie entered the "full time" professional world.
Birthdays
After returning from Myrtle Beach we rolled right into 2 birthday celebrations.
If you know us, you know that our dogs are family members. So Sonny got his summer birthday celebration with his favorite summer snack, corn on the cob.
Up next was Katie's 22nd birthday. We had a small family celebration at home and then friends and family at a local winery.
A Book
My passion for family travel turned into a Passion Project that I began in January and culminated in July. I became a certified Family Travel Coach in November and began my business in January. Seldom A Dull Moment has been our Rahn mantra since 1998. It only made sense that we would continue that mantra into retirement.
I love our family vacations and have learned so much over the years about how to make them even better. Very rarely do we argue on vacation or regret our time together. Many people have asked how we do it. How do we vacation with our kids and build so much into our time together? How are we always smiling? How do we all have fun?
Upon going through the Travel Coach training, I realized what my answers were to those questions. I involved the kids in the travel planning. My daughters were helping me plan our vacations all the way back in 2006 when we first went to Disney World! I have always included them in the decision making. As they got older, they became more involved in the planning process, starting with "Dreaming" about where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do.
I created this book to share what worked with my family. How we dreamed about our vacations. How we collectively designed our vacations, and how we anticipated departing on them.
The 90 pages are full of interactive opportunities for families to sit around the table and TALK about their vacation ideas even before making reservations and booking hotels. If you can get the whole family involved in dreaming about the vacation and sharing what they want from the vacation, the rest comes easily.
I hope from sharing this book with the world, I can help other families with "big kids" come together during their family vacations and create those meaningful memories.
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I even shared my book with my family, (my dad below) and dedicated it to my mom and dad because they were the ones who introduced me to what a meaningful and FUN family vacation can look like all those years ago. I got my passion for travel from them!
