I'm dreaming of crystal clear lakes and majestic mountains this summer

With a new baby and two big kids, I'm counting the days until summer. No more late nights cajoling cranky tweens to type up history reports. No more rising at the crack of dawn to get children to school before their teachers mark them tardy.

Summer is a time when we take a break from the harried madness and escape to faraway places where we can relax, reconnect and unwind.

On past vacations, we've zip lined through the steamy rain forests of Hawaii, hiked around volcano craters in Bali and one summer we packed the family in the car and followed the length of the Mississippi River, visiting Mark Twain hangouts and Civil War battlefields.

This year, with a 10-month-old baby in tow, we'll be sticking close to our home in San Francisco and exploring the West Coast and its majestic mountain ranges, clear blue lakes, sugary sand beaches and sparkling cities. Although even one night away outside my foggy city at a hotel with a swimming pool would be a huge treat.

To help us plan our travels, we'll be looking to Best Western. With more than 2,200 hotels in North America, the world's largest hotel chain has places to stay in all the destinations we want to visit along the West Coast, from Santa Monica, Calif., to Victoria, British Columbia. Also, Best Western has launched the "I Dream of Summer" contest, encouraging travels to dream about their summers and start making plans— and they're also helping wishes come true.

You can throw your hat in the ring by using the #IDreamOfSummer hashtag on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest and sharing your summer travel plans, posting pics and posing questions. Lucky winners will receive advice from travel experts and gift certificates to help turn tips into trips.

You can also create and share your summer travel “Wishlist” on the Best Western Facebook page. The special app will produce a personalized image of your dream vacation that you can save and share with friends on Facebook (example left). And you will be entered in a random drawing for the chance to win that dream summer vacation via a sweepstakes that includes free hotel nights, gift cards and Best Western Rewards loyalty points.

And now here's a look at my summer wish list:

Crater Lake: My two quarrelsome tweens fight over everything from which movie to watch on Sunday night to who gets to sit on the left-hand side of the car. But when these kids get out into nature, they miraculously get along. Our family needs an outdoor adventure, a few days of hiking under the trees, to bring us back together. We're launching our summer with a long weekend in Southern Oregon, where we'll hike around Crater Lake and raft down rapids on the Rogue River.

Santa Monica: My 11-year-old daughter is facing a lot of change. Last year she welcomed her new baby sister into our family and this year she's headed for middle school. Some days she seems happy and grounded, and others she's bursting into tears. As she approaches the next stage in her life, I'd like to take her and her new baby sister to Los Angeles for a weekend where we'll visit my best friend from high school and her daughter. We're planning a couple days of going to the beach, getting nails done, sipping ice teas, snuggling with the baby and hopefully doing a lot of laughing.

British Columbia: Every summer our family hits the road and explores a portion of North America. I figure it's the best way to give our kids a history and geography lesson. One summer we drove Route 66, visiting red rock canyons and eating at old-school diners. Another was spent on the Ohio River where we visited Abraham Lincoln's boyhood home.  This year we're planning a tour of British Columbia and hope to spend time among the bright lights of Vancouver, the manicured gardens of Victoria and the snow-capped mountains of Whistler.

What's on your #IDreamofSummer wish list?