August or up to mid September is going to be your safest bet for good weather. But if you come early, come to Port Townsend which is in a rain shadow and gets a lot less rain than Seattle. Port Townsend can be a day trip from seattle, but if I were you I'd stay overnight or for a couple of nights and enjoy the olympic peninsula. Port Townsend is one of only three true victorian seaports in the US. From here you can drive an hour to Port Angeles and visit the parks or take the ferry to victoria (walk over on the ferry) and do a day trip there or two (everythign is in walking distance from the ferry dock or there is a tour available like buchart gardens (which are beyond fabulous in May and June). In Seattle do the Pike one day, the underground and the old town another, the zoo is great, and walking on the waterfront is a treat. Eat at...gad it's a letter...Z or Y? up about 5th street if you're a wine drinker (lovely selection of wines and cheeses). Dinner at the Brooklyn is a fancy night of fun, wonderul food and a really educational oyster bar as well as a great wine list. It's old fashioned seattle glamour at it's best. Bainbridge island is a fun visit. You can walk on the ferry and then up a block into town to enjoy the day, but I'd drive over (on the ferry) and enjoy a bit more of the island. If you love nordic vikings and all of their blonde buxom wonder, drive from bainbridge to poulsbo (about 30 mins) and park downtown on the water. Sly's bakery is worth the wait, but there are several that are wonderful. I get all of my "home made" pies at another bakery there (they sell them in glass dishes so you can lie and say you made them....oh geeze now if you have pie at my house you know my secret LOL). Lots of antique stores, stuff from norway (even a king or queen on occasion visits) and historic housing. Not as good as Port Townsend, but still worth the visit. PT is another 40 mins across the floating bridge on the hood canal. It's full of wonderful eclectic artists, druids from the 16th century, (I swear that's what those burlap wearing people are) and odd balls like me :) Antique shopping in Seattle is something you can do all day if you have an inkling. If you like modern shopping, hit bellevue mall. Or just wander around downtown seattle. What else can I tell you? :)

Nashville - I'd love to rent a houseboat in the future, but I don't think I'd ever relax considering the ages of my kids (especially the little one). The Dells might be a good option. We used to live in WI; my older boys may get a kick out of going back, especially since we always talk about how our middle one was born there. I've always heard of the Outerbanks, but I know nothing about it. Joanie - Our older boys do pretty well in the car, although I know this would be a longer drive than before. Again, it's the little one who worries me a bit. I'm liking the suggestions that are coming in for places closer to home, so maybe the ocean will have to wait. dlm - I love the west side of the state too. We went to South Haven in August a few years ago and the water was still cold! Maybe I'm just a sissy! I have a feeling that if we can't decide on someplace new, then the west side may be our destination. Thanks for the feedback so far!

Thanks J, I will pick up a copy of that book. In the meantimeâ¦I got into a slight panic when trying to book rooms for the whole trip. It seems nearly everything in Scotland, Wales and the Cornwall areas I wanted to go are almost 80% booked all ready. I had to make a decision on the Scotland stay so picked Kirkcudbright. Although everything but a small B&B showed sold out I decided to email the Selkirk Arms directly and was lucky to get a small suite room. We will be there for three nights so your book recommendation will help with the day trips from there. My husband is happy because his breakfast is included and there is a bar lol. It should be fun getting info on his surname that could possibly be a link to his linage in the areas between and around Drummore, Kircudbright and later mirgration⦠Dumfries. I will spend some time on Ancestry dot com before for more clues.

While the flooding caused severe devistation in particular areas, the shops in the downtown area of Wimberly remain open. It's a great destination for shopping, and keep in mind many of the shops are the livelihood for the people living there, and summer is high season. I was there about 2 weeks after the initial flooding, and only 2 of the shops were closed because of water damage, but they had huge fans running to dry things up. It wasn't from the river, but because of the amount of rain in the area and the ground being saturated, there was no place for excess water to run. This caused excessive water to puddle, and eventually flooded into a few of the shops. It's a cute little rustic village.