My best vacation was to Hawaii... and it wasn't even a real vacation! My husband had to attend a conference on Maui and his company flew the wives out as well. Never would we have been able to afford to just fly off to Hawaii and stay for 10 days otherwise.

My favorite "close to home" vacation? The Florida Keys. I live in Tampa, so it's only a 6 hour drive. We go whenever the whim hits us. It's like going to another country. Once we cross that final bridge and hit the islands, there's a new attitude in the air. You never want to turn back.

As for states? Hmm.. I've been to 26 I think. The only part of the country I haven't seen is the Northeast New England area.

Since I live in the vacation state, people tend to think we're always on vacation and want to visit all the time. Relatives call from all over wanting to "stay" at our place while they visit Disney, Busch Gardens, and more. Where do we hide? The keys.