Trip pre-planning

I'm starting to do some thinking about what trips I'd like to take during my year off. I'm ending 2011 with a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. It's been my tradition for the last 4 years to take a tropical vacation for Christmas and New Year's. I've had some great trips--Hawaii (2007), Bora Bora (2008), a Caribbean cruise (2009), and Barbados (2010). Unfortunately, Yukon can't make the trip to Hawaii because of pet quarantine issues.

Two trips that have been on my agenda for a really long time are the Grand Canyon and Washington, D.C. I can't believe I've been on the earth for 45+ years and have not been to either of these places! What the hell? I'm thinking late Q1 for Grand Canyon, and probably April for the D.C. trip. I want to see some cherry blossoms! I'm starting to look into dog-friendly hotels. Surprisingly there are quite a few in the U.S. now.

First post

I'm starting a new adventure. I just got a new puppy and am taking a year off of work. Not sure where this year will take me, but I want to capture it via this blog.