Definitey, GO! Make it fun for the family back home.
For years my mom never missed an event, but never thought twice about it when she had the opportunity to spend the entire winter in Hawaii with her sister. She would mail back tropical gifts for Christmas and always made a special call to the birthday boy or girl. The younger ones were thrilled to get seashells in the mail. She would trace messages in the sand on the beach, take a picture and fashion the pic into a greeting card. The cutest photos are of the grandchildren with his/her arms around the computer monitor with Skyped "e-grandma"! It was fun for everyone.