Vacations for 2008!

I think Shweetie and I have finally figured out where our next vacation is going to be and when! We're planning to go to New England, including Maine and Boston, this August. Shweetie's been doing some preliminary research, and has already found a few cool bed-and-breakfast places for us to stay at up and down the Maine coast. I'm especially excited about the Camden Bed and Breakfast Inn, which describes itself as a "fine dining B&B." Reviewers have said that this is the place for foodies. We just haven't finalized the exact dates yet because I'm not sure when exactly my summer break weeks are. I should know when I meet with my bosses in March.

I've also been trying to figure out where we should go during my spring break. My elementary school gives me the last full week of March off, but my early intervention site doesn't have a spring break. Luckily my early intervention site was kind enough to let me rearrange my work days that week, so at least I'll get five consecutive days off (Wednesday through Sunday). So Shweetie and I have been talking about taking a roadtrip for a few days. I've been researching Yosemite, though I haven't yet picked a place to stay. There's a beautiful place in Oakhurst (about 20 minutes away from the main entrance to Yosemite) called Chateau du Sureau, that I've been dying to stay at ever since I first discovered it several years ago, but it's way more than we want to spend per night. The rooms look luxurious and their service is supposed to be phenomenal. In fact, their service had the highest ranking overall in Zagat's 2005 Top U.S. Hotels, Resorts, and Spas book. However, I think I'll have to wait quite a few years before this place will be within our budget. So, with our current price range in mind, I've found a bunch of little bed-and-breakfasts in the Yosemite area, but I can't find any reviews on them, and there's nothing to distinguish between the places, so picking one is sort of like picking it out of a hat. If you've stayed at a bed-and-breakfast or hotel in the Yosemite area that you've liked (or disliked, for that matter), let me know!

Actually, the main reason we've been considering Yosemite, besides the fact that it's one of the few places in California we haven't visited together, is because there's a highly rated restaurant at Chateau du Sureau that I really want to try. Yes, I know most people go to Yosemite for the nature, but really, Shweetie and I enjoy eating much more than hiking, though I know we'd have a great time walking around and taking pictures of the beautiful scenery. Anyway, the place is called Erna's Elderberry House, and it's the highest ranked restaurant overall in Zagat's 2008 SF book for service, and the highest ranked restaurant for food in the East of SF area, so I really want to try it and see how it is.

The only other thing that's keeping me from being fully convinced about going to Yosemite next month is that I'm afraid it's going to still be too cold for me to handle. But I need to decide soon since March is almost upon us!