my summer vacation

Two years ago I went to Europe. Last year it was S.E. Asia and two Caribbean cruises. This year my big vacation was to... Texas. That's right. This world-traveler went to her favorite place in the world- the family lakehouse on Lake LBJ. As much as I loved seeing Westminster Abbey in London, the Acropolis in Greece, the Parthenon in Rome or Angkor Wat in Cambodia, none of these places can match my favorite place. I've been going to this particular Texas lake since before I was born. At 6 months of age, my too-young and not-so-wise parents had me strapped in a car seat in a boat. When I was 6 years old, I learned to water-ski on this lake. I've fished, sailed, and canoed at this lake. I've watched it change over the years due to nature's many storms and flooding as well as the construction of some of the biggest mansions I've seen.
So this year, faced with the fact that I'm a poor student I decided to head back to Texas for my summer vacation. For a week, I did nothing except read fluffy, no-thinking novels, work on my tan, enjoy boating around my favorite lake, riding the wave-runner looking for hot, single guys (only to realize that I'm too old to be looking for hot, single guys), drinking beer on the boat, margaritas for happy hour, and wine with dinner, eating lots of Texas BBQ, and hanging out with my family.
Now I love spending time with my friends. It's usually the first thing I do when I get back from New York. But more often than not, I end up giving my family just a fraction of my time. And that's really not fair. After all, they've had to put up with me for 27 years. So I flew to the lake, merely stopping in my hometown for a 1 hour layover. While I didn't get to go anywhere exotic and I didn't see my friends, it was still a great vacation. I was at my favorite place in the world. I got to spend the week with my family. And that is always a good thing.