Big whoo-hoos to your sister & bro-in-law, and the rest of your family! Good luck tomorrow (getting up, not with school where I'm sure you'll do fantastic
). Start saving your pennies (those you don't invest in, say, mineral rights or something more substantial than paper), and bon voyage, both to Maui and around the country. Never been to DC myself (for that matter I've only been east of the Colorado-Kansas-Nebraska border twice in my life), so all I can do is suggest you visit Yosemite, but book early, and Tahoe, oh and go to San Francisco and get yourself some sourdough right from Fisherman's Wharf--miss that city! And you've got to check out the bison in Golden Gate Park (I'm assuming they're still there). Oh, and if you make it to Colorado, you've got to go to Estes Park and visit the Stanley Hotel (or stay there for a night!) and then drive up to the Continental Divide (be very careful though with the turns). Maybe even take in a winery or two in Sonoma or Napa, or visit Calistoga and see the geyser (not quite the same as its namesake, Old Faithful, in Yellowstone, but you work with what ya got). Anyway, have a great day tomorrow and every day, Ms D!