Making More Travel Plans for this Year

Just before we left for our cruise, Tim and I got together with my friends Noreen and Mike when they were traveling through Colorado. Tim had asked Noreen “to go with my wife on a trip somewhere this summer.” She and I agreed to think about options and talk when I returned from the cruise.

Noreen's only request had been for somewhere cool and not too crowded. She asked if there might be a place I’d like to return to, or a place I’ve wanted to visit but haven’t. Yesterday, I made several suggestions to Noreen – the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta (it’s on my bucket list), Santa Fe and Georgia O’Keeffe country (a place I’ve only partially visited), or a Maine national parks road trip (I still have a goal of visiting as many National Park Service units as possible). She immediately nixed the balloon fiesta but said she would think about the others.

In the end, the desire to go somewhere cool led us to pick Maine. Our friend Steve lives in Portland, and we could start the trip there. Noreen and Mike would drive up from Baltimore, so we would have a car to visit Acadia National Park and the other park units in Maine.

These Are the National Park Units that We Will Be Visiting (Map Courtesy of NPS)

I was put in charge of making the arrangements, deciding the route to take, and selecting the hotels. Since I love travel planning, that was a job I looked forward to. The plan was to leave in late-August for a one-week visit.

In the meantime, once Noreen decided against the balloon fiesta, I looked into the best way for me to attend. I had wanted to go last year, but it didn’t work out, so I was determined to make it happen this year. Since Tim had no interest in going, I decided a group tour would be the best option for me. The though of trying to deal with the hassle of driving and parking at such a huge event was not appealing, and most hotel rooms had been booked months ago.

I decided to try a Road Scholar program, and luckily a space was available. The program consisted of five days and four nights and included hotel, transportation, tickets, and most meals. I made a deposit and secured a spot in the program. Success!

My Road Scholar Program