As summer approaches, Columbia’s fiscal year winds down. The combination can lead to many vacation days being used to take advantage of the climate and avoid forfeiting the time altogether. How do you plan to use your vacation days? Mary Garris, executive secretary for Alumni Relations. My husband and I plan on going to Europe this summer. But most of my vacation time will be spent in the South with family and friends. My family has a reunion every other year, and my husband will be having a high school reunion. We will travel to the Washington D.C. area to go to those two events. I hope to visit my sister in Maryland and my Godmother in Florida. I have children living in Denver, and I’d like to go there and see them. I also take off Mondays and Fridays during the summer. My husband and I use the long weekends for short trips to different places. We like to take many day trips during the summer. Stephen Getz, director, finance and operations for the Department of Medicine. I’m going to the Sonoma Valley, north of San Francisco, which is wine country. It parallels the better known Napa Valley. They are both places that are very rural and full of beautiful vineyards. There are a lot of hot springs in the area and a lot of state parks. You can go there and hike, you can drink wine—at the vineyards they have samplings—you can sit in a hot spring, and they have lots of good restaurants. Because people go there to try the wine, they also like to eat. Within one small area, you have a lot of spa-like things you can do. It’s close to San Francisco. And it’s not as expensive as, say, going to Europe to do the same thing. Margaret Lane, contract coordinator for the Office of Clinical Trials. I spend my vacation days going to Ireland as frequently as I can. My family is from there; I enjoy going there. In the five and one half years I’ve been employed at Columbia I’ve gone at least once or twice a year for over a week or more. It’s a beautiful country, and I love going there. I’m a first-generation American. Even among my brothers and sisters in my immediate family I’m the first. Pat Tobiasen, Admissions Office coordinator. I’ll be using my vacation days to go to Florida to improve my golf game. And to catch up with some old friends, some good food, and the sun… and not to think about work! I just started playing golf. We play in Fort Meyers on a public course called Landscape. Sometimes we’re invited to Fiddlesticks, which is really nice. Angela Muniz, administrative aide for External Relations. I am going to Disney with my son Erik, my sister Lauren and her four children, my younger sister Alexis, Lauren's and my "better" halves, and the one who started it all, my mom. My family and I have decided to wait until the week after Labor Day to meet Mickey. Ours is a rather large family and we thought we would wait until the summer rush has left Orlando. Hopefully, Mickey still has some energy left to entertain the kids. We have planned a day at each of the major theme parks, then it’s relaxation, barbecues, and lots of sun.