Virtual Vacation

It’s hot.  Over-a-hundred-degrees-every-day hot.  And while we’re used to summer heat in these parts, this year, it started getting hot in April.  It’s only mid-June now, but already, it’s been a long summer of cabin fever interrupted only by quick respites in our pool or lake.  And it has me dreaming of cooler places. 

Last summer, we escaped to beautiful Cannon Beach, Oregon where we rented a house and reveled in the 50-degree temps and cloudy skies. We woke early in the mornings to walk the beach and spy starfish of all colors in the tide pools. In the afternoons, the girls wore hoodies as they built sandcastles, and my husband and I wrapped ourselves in wool blankets as we read novels on the deck. It was divine.

via my talented step-dad

This summer, work and family obligations preclude our travel to a cool climate destination, so my getaway from the heat must be virtual.  Where to go on this daydreamy vacation?

Perhaps Bar Harbor, Maine, which we loved visiting on weekends when we lived in Boston:

via 

via

Or Mackinac Island, Michigan, where I spent many happy childhood vacations:

via

Or maybe the San Juan Islands, where we vacationed three years ago:

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And I always love the Northern Californian coast:

(my own photos)

Or maybe back to Cannon Beach, one of the most charming and lovely beach towns I’ve visited:

(my own)

For those of you in hot climates, where would you like to go to cool down this summer?

(shared with Censational Girl and Memories by the Mile)