Vacation Planning On the Mind

As school ends and summer begins, one of the things at the front of my mind is our family vacation.  We are still trying to figure out where we are going to go.  Chatting with my sister-in-law, Julie, she also is unsure of where they family will be traveling this summer.  The planner in me wants to know and have it all figured out NOW, but we just can't decide for sure.  I am not the kind of person who can just jump in the van and say...turn here, turn right...and drive until we decide to stop.  I need to know WHERE we are going and WHAT we are going to do.  

This quote inspired me today: 

"After all, a vacation is not a matter of place or time. We can take a wonderful vacation in spirit, even though we are obliged to stay at home, if we will only drop our burdens from our minds for a while. But no amount of travel will give us rest and recreation if we carry our work and worries with us."

- Laura Ingalls Wilder, essay September 1919

This quote led me to remember a line from one of our favorite family movies:

It really isn't about where we go, it is about all of us being together and having fun. So, I'm going to relax and know that the vacation will fall into place, as it always does.  Having family discussions and getting the kids involved in the planning now that they are older will give them more ownership in the vacation and take some of the pressure off of me.  Maybe this will be the summer that I just "go with the flow".  Boy, that will shock my family! :)

Do you have any great ideas for us?  We live in Iowa, can only be gone a week and need to be able to drive there.  Share your favorite vacation destinations with me!