With a rather nice, spring weekend finally upon us, my mind has become increasingly preoccupied with thoughts of summer vacations. As luck would have it, we are planning three getaways in the next three months. That’s a pretty good ratio.

In a few weeks, we will make our triumphant return to Atlantic City, a hoppin’ town we previously visited two and a half years ago. During that trip, we saw Bruce Springsteen perform from the second row, strolled the boardwalk and donated a few dollars to some of the nation’s finest gaming corporations. Unfortunately, it was a rather short trip, and Michele missed an entire day of fun after coming down with the bottle flu. This is her chance for a “do over.” 

Next up is a quick road trip to Oklahoma to visit Michele’s parents. The last time we visited was 1996, so I guess we’re a tad overdue. Our plan calls for a full day of driving followed by a day of visiting and enjoying all that Salisaw, Okla., has to offer (which shouldn’t take more than about 15 minutes). Then we’re turning around and heading back, dividing the drive home over two days. We’re planning to spend one night in Council Bluffs, Iowa, because it would be a waste to skip our chance to put in a few quality hours playing video poker at the Harrah’s location closest to our home. I also anticipate several stops at Sonic during our journey.

Finally, in August we’re going back to Las Vegas. With the Podcast Expo Portable Media Expo New Media Expo finally moving from Ontario, Calif., to the promised land, it has suddenly become a must-attend event. We’re hoping to finally get to meet some of the podcasting friends we’ve only known through e-mail, Twitter and, of course, their shows. There’s been a little talk of some sort of live Las Vegas podcast super event. Sounds fun as long as I don’t have to plan it. 

So that’s the summer. My only worry is that it will be over far too quickly.