And the Honeymoon Destination Is.......

I was never a girl who dreamed about her wedding.  I never thought about dresses or flower arrangements or first dance songs.  But a honeymoon?  Now that, I can get on board with!  The world traveler in me was quite excited to do a little research and plan something awesome.

We sort of narrowed the world down to four finalists.

1.  Ireland

We have talked about going on a honeymoon trip to Ireland since about 2 months into this relationship.  It is at the top of both of our dream travel destinations list.  I love sheep.  He loves beer.  We want to drive on the wrong side of the road.  It sounds amazing.

Downside....we only have a week.  By the time you take a day out to get there and a day to come back, you don't have much time in country.  Everyone I talked to tells me you want to have at least 10-14 days there.  Plus, if we flew clear to Ireland, I'd want to be sure we ran and ran and saw as much as we could to get our money's worth, and that might not be the ideal pace for a honeymoon.

So after a lot of thought, we ruled this one out but you best believe that there is a 5 year anniversary fund already in the works so that we can make it happen in 2019!

2.  Vermont/New Hampshire/Maine

Once Ireland was kinda out the window, I tried to think of something else fun.  We really aren't beachy people, so ideas like Florida or the Bahamas were just not our speed.  I came up with the idea of doing the Northeast, kind of fall foliage, maple farms, light houses, bed and breakfasts type tour.  I've never been and thought it might be sort of romantic and relaxing.

The Boy from Texas wasn't a huge fan.  He thought it sounded kinda boring and he's spent some time working  up in the Northeast and wasn't a huge fan.  So, another one bit the dust.

3.  Napa Valley, California

My next idea was Napa.  After my summer in San Francisco and subsequent girls weekend there, I just love the Valley.  It's so beautiful and peaceful and we could go wine tasting and ride in a hot air balloon!  Well, when I asked The Boy from Texas about doing a hot air balloon, he responded with, "The only positive thing I can say about that is that at least we would die together."  Not as positive as one might hope.

So my sweet friend Mrs. Arizona helped me check out hotel options and flights and all sorts of activities.  It was definitely the cheapest option (thanks to Southwest flights being cheap into Oakland), but in the end we just weren't sure it was for us.  I don't drink and I had already been there.  The Boy from Texas apparently hates hot air balloons.  And while I thought he might like Napa, I also thought he might think it was kinda snooty and pretentious.  So, another option down.

4.  Banff, Canada

As I was on Google and Pinerest looking up "honeymoon destinations," I came across a photo of Lake Louise, Canada and immediately thought, "This is where we have to go!"  Once I showed said p photo to The Boy from Texas and mentioned we could drive to the place where Lonesome Dove was shot, he was ready to book immediately!

The Banff area is located in the Canadian Rockies in the province of Alberta.  I've had several friends go there (and a couple from not far from the area) who have raved about it being fun and beautiful and a great trip.  Flights are much easier and shorter than other international destinations, prices are not wholly outrageous, and there looks to be a ton of things to do.  Hiking, kayaking (if it's not too cold?), sleigh rides (if it's cold enough), a glacier tour, cute shops, beautiful drives.....Oh, and I'll be able to accomplish my goal of being to 10 countries before I'm 31 (used to be 30 but that ship sailed!)

Ladies and gents, we have a winner!

Photo via Pinterest

Oh, and because we are awesome and only doing this honeymoon thing once....we'll be staying three nights at the gorgeous hotel you see in the picture.  Yep.  Chateau Lake Louise, here we come!  (The rest of the nights you may find us at Motel 6 or a box under a bridge because we'll be out of money....)

So....if you have been or know anything about the area....give us some must-do ideas!!