Snow Days

I'm home on vacation this week. For three days. At the same as the "Storm of 2010." And, at the same time both babies are sick. Ughhhhh.

When I was younger, vacation time meant travel. Starting at ten years old, I would travel with my parents to Florida for a two-week vacation. I would come home suntanned, relaxed and happy, with blonde streaks in my light brown hair and a generally carefree attitude. As I got older, those vacation locations varied to include the Bahamas, Aruba, and Jamaica. Yes, they were expensive. But, isn't getting away from it all and forming fond memories worth it?

Now that I'm married with children, I have to say that I hardly go anywhere. In fact even before kids, it was hard to sell my husband on the virtues of spending two grand on something as fleeting as an all-inclusive vacation on a secluded island. Now, though, fuggedaboudit. We can't even share one room together anymore, there are so many of us. No, we would have to book at least two rooms, and possibly three. This makes an annual vacation cost as much as a (very) small car. Heck, we're still paying for our trip to the Nickelodeon Hotel three years ago, which, by the way, was NOT all-inclusive.

Oh sure, you say - what about a lovely overnight or weekend trip to Pennsylvania? What about a place like Great Wolf Lodge, where kids can play in an indoor water park? What about a weekend upstate in the mountains? Listen, I'm not knocking these vacations - for what it's worth, I'm sure we'd have a lovely time in one of these spots. However, four hours in each direction in the car, with a-la-carte, fully kid-centric menus and a cold-weather destination as the end target, does NOT a relaxing vacation make. Not even close.

Here's what I'm thinking of: Warm, sandy shores. Beach vollyball. Fresh pinapple for breakfast, eaten outdoors, on a deck facing the ocean. Swimming and snorkeling in water where you can actually SEE what's in there. (Hey, I'm from New York.) Corny evening entertainment provided by local reggae bands. Long baths and cool showers. Ahhhhh. Now THAT's what I'm talking about.

No, we can't afford such a vacation right now. But someday, maybe we will. And when that time comes, I'll be ready.