Vacation Planning

Vacation planning started in earnest this week. We never have enough time off to pursue all of the vacation ideas we come up with during the year, so we try to plan it out as best we can and as early as we can. 2005 is shaping up to be a pretty busy year.

In April we’ll be heading to Indianapolis for Star Wars Celebration III, the fan event that Lucasfilm puts on before the release of the Star Wars Prequels. This will be the third Celebration we’ve attended, and I expect this one should be the biggest and best of them all. On the way to Indy, we’ll stop in Fort Wayne for a couple days to visit relatives and check out the Fred J. Reynolds Historical Genealogy Department at the Allen County Public Library, one of the best genealogy collections in the country.

In June, I’ll be heading to TechEd 2005, Microsoft’s annual conference for developers and infrastructure & systems professionals. I’m in the latter group. This year TechEd is in Orlando, so I’m going to take some time and stop by Disney World for a day or two. It’d be great if Kristin could make it down for a few days as well, but things are still up in the air.

In July, we’ll be off to the annual Dingler Family Reunion. This year it will be returning to Madison, Georgia. We’re going to start the trip by heading to Pigeon Forge, TN, to see the Great Smoky Mountains and visit Dollywood. Then we’ll head down to Georgia for the reunion. On the way back we’ll swing through Alabama, spend the night in Memphis, and then head home.

Our big vacation will be in October. We’re planning to head out to California for several days, starting in San Diego and making our way up the coast to the San Francisco Bay Area. Of course we’ll spend a couple days at Disneyland. We’re also planning on visiting the Reagan Library, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Napa Valley among other places.

Lastly, one of our friends from the MBA program, John H., is getting married this fall, so we’ll be heading out to Washington, D.C., for that. We’re waiting to find out the final date before we make any plans, however.