Sorry to hear that breast cancer took your mother. I was lucky to have a very wonderful mother-in-law. My wife and I were with her at the hospital every day until she passed.
Our last vacation was a trip to Wales in April 1999. The airline lost our luggage. We had rain, high winds and snow. Our suitcases arrived at 5:30 PM Tuesday...we left San Diego at 9:00 AM the prior Friday. The trip home was the following Friday. It was still a great vacation.
My son is in San Diego right now. There is a strong possibility of another "sun and sand" vacation with the USMC later this year.