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One Step at a Time
For spring break this year, we were supposed to take a family trip to Hawaii. As the control freak in the group, trip planning is my domain, so I rolled up my sleeves, got out my highlighters, and dove into putting together a big, bold adventure that would take me, my husband, and our 10-year-old daughter from New York to Maui.
I started by educating myself on the island, then spent hours on travel sites reading reviews of hotels, restaurants, and beaches. I even went to Barnes & Noble and bought an actual book. After about two months, I’d nailed down an itinerary we were pretty psyched about.
Since it’s a long haul from the Upper West Side of Manhattan to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, I thought it might be a good idea to break up the trip, at least on the way back. If we stopped in, say, Los Angeles for a couple of days we’d be less jetlagged when we got home and my daughter’s reentry to school would be easier. But more important, we could go to Dodgers opening day.
We are a baseball-loving family. My husband is a Mets fan; I love the Yankees. Then our daughter came along and broke the tie. (She picked the correct team.) Last year, we began traveling to out-of-town games. We started with the two oldest Major League parks in the country and saw the Yanks at Fenway and the Mets at Wrigley. Since Dodger Stadium is third on the list, and their opener fit perfectly into our travel timing, I bought three tickets. And then we were really psyched.