I'm getting married in December, and one main reason I wanted this surgery is so I can walk again without hurting. Flashback to 3 years ago, before I got back injections, I was literally crippled.. I couldn't walk for more than 5 minutes without being in blinding pain. Me and my fiance met in Las Vegas.. We would go back every year around the same time (My birthday), stay at the same hotel (which is crappy, but it was memorable for us-) Sahara, and that was kind of our 'thing'. In 2005 we went, and I hurt so bad from walking, I made the trip miserable for us. Walking from our room down to the casino was unbearable, much less walking the strip to go anywhere (and we didn't include cab fair in our 'money to take', because it's Vegas and you're suppose to walk!!), at some point we had to walk through the Forum to get to the monorail or something, and that walk, I don't know how far it was, but I literally was sobbing and having to stop every few steps to lay down on the floor (yes, in the mall).. that was my first breaking point, when I found a doctor to give me injections to numb my back. The injections seem to work about 8 months for me, till I have to get new ones. The last one wore off in January 07, I had gained even MORE weight, so I was getting this surgery come hell or high water. I was already getting info on getting the surgery, but planned back injections for March.. I got the injections and this time they didn't work. I'm not at the full blown pain as I was pre-back injections, but it's bad enough pain that I can't walk for long periods of time without hurting. I have a crooked spine, tilted hips, one leg shorter than the other due to this, all this excess weight, and 2 bulging disks. Everyone keeps saying most of this will correct itself when I lose weight and quit holding myself odd (I always shift my weight to my left side from the pain). So that was the long story. We're not 'go out and do things' people, we're happy hanging out at home, playing computer, watching tv. Playing in the yard with our dog, things like that. But we've started thinking about our honeymoon. My goal by then, is to have lost enough weight to walk for periods of time without dying of the pain. Since I haven't thought about doing a vacation that involves walking, I don't even know where to begin. He wants to do Vegas since I made him skip this year, it's where we met, yadda yadda. We could do shows and walk the strip, watch the night show in downtown.. and if my back isn't hurting, this sounds great! But I want some other ideas to think about to. Anyone got any fun ideas? My parents did an amusement park hop for their honeymoon (they were 18 when married), hit Six Flags, Disney World, and all the little places in between. I don't particularly love rides, so I don't really want to do that. It will be in Winter, so that has to come into consideration too. Any ideas? :nervous

December is a long time out and you will be so freaking HAWT.. I think a romantic all inclusive resort would be great or a cruise... but that is me.

If you are into wildlife or anything like that, the Everglades are great around that time of year. It's not as hot or as buggy as it is in the wet season. There are lots of trails and little things to do. Of course, Yellowstone would be good, too, but cold. If you are more the "be lazy on a beach" type, a trip to the Bahamas or Mexico would be good.

I was thinking about the Bahamas too. My parents are there right now! They go to Jimmy Buffet concert in Atlanta then fly off to Atlantis every summer. From what I hear that is terribly expensive though. I think they said 5k a person, which doesn't include anything, just flying and hotel.

I got married in Vegas in August. It was great! I'm still waiting on an official honeymoon though (no funding for what we have planned yet). We (well ok I and DH has agreed) want to go to Britain. I studied abroad there my sophomore year and he has never been so I need to show it to him. Wales is especially beautiful- thats where I lived. At some point we would also like to go to NYC-- there is a lot of stuff to do there. I hear they have good hot dogs for one thing, and shows and museums. He has spoken of DC before. We live in the midwest. I want to go to St. Louis for a weekend sometime-- their zoo is wonderful. I'd also like to check out the Pacific Northwest. I've never been to the Grand Canyon-- the previous times we've been to Vegas we never had time, but the mountains and stuff nearby are nice. Vegas is also pretty affordable compared to some other places. Sometime I want to go down to Mexico and visit the Mayan Riviera. Europe in general. I really like Europe. If only I could afford Europe. One of my dream vacations is to take the QE2 from new york to Britain and then do an extended european tour. I'd also like to take a mediterranean cruise. I love greek food.

I know what you mean about not being able to walk. I hurt my hip in June in a car accident (well two car accidents). SI joint injury. I could barely walk at all afterward. It took a long time to get better. And I walk funny too because I have really high arches and stuff so I walk on the edges of my feet cause if I walk completely on the bottoms it hurts. But if I use the arch supports the podiatrist gave me it causes that old hip injury to act up again (plus an old knee injury). I also used to get regular injections to an entrapped nerve ending in my abdominal wall. And the injections would get closer and closer and closer together with darvocet (and then oxycodone) in between. Pain is a horrible thing. Then I started using the lidoderm patch it actually works on my abdominal pain and no more opiates for me! Though I am supposed to try a series of nerve blocks (more tedious than anything else). Its nice to be able to hope to be young again. Now I think that maybe, just maybe, I might have a young women's body by the time I am 30. Before I used to think that maybe I would I have the body of a 90 year old by the time I was 50.

How about a cruise. You can do one to the Bahamas or where ever. There's always good deals on Carnival but I'm sure you can find deals on any of the cruiselines.

There's entertainment, gym, sauna, massages, food included, and you can get a chance to go to multiple places.

How about a trip to somewhere in Europe? There are packages you can get, where you can travel through several countries and see the sights. It might be a little expensive, but it would be worth it, IMO.

I recommend the caribbean! I LOVE it there. If you can get past the whole swimsuit thing, you can have a great time. A friend and I went to St. Thomas one year. You can do as much or as little as you want. You could spend an entire week laying under an umbrella on the beach, just soaking it all in. When I was there, we did a driving tour of the island, we did an all-day snorkeling tour, which was awesome (and swimming shouldn't be too bad for your back, I think). We also did a little bit of shopping. We stayed at one of the smaller hotels but they have those big all-inclusive places too, where there's even more stuff to do.