This is a backdated post — we’ve already returned from the entire trip. Several other backdated posts will follow. At this point I plan on doing one post for each day of the trip, but that may not be the way it ends up.

This trip was my wife Kathy’s idea. On February 21st (President’s Day) 2005 while I was home for the holiday, she told me about her dream the night before. In the usual manner of dreams, it was convoluted and odd. It left her wanting to get out of town and away from normal life. The last real vacation we took was our seven day honeymoon to Disney World in January 2001. At that time, we promised the kids a big family vacation, and until now we have not yet delivered on that promise.

Kathy initially wanted to pack up and leave that day, but in the interests of staying employed, we delayed departure until Friday February 25th so that I could notify my boss and get permission. We were also able to get some better room rates by giving ourselves a few extra days of lead time. Those four days were spent preparing everything for the trip. This was managed almost completely by a very exhausted Kathy.