Travel

Todd and I have been talking about taking a cruise in December of 2011.  Yes, we plan THAT far in advance.  We have been talking about this for months now.  However, the more I think about it, the more I don’t want to go. 

After flying to Florida, I feel like flying is a waste of time and money.  They pretty much take up a whole day, especially if you can’t get a flight straight-through.  Even though we won our trip for free, the flights were $305/person!  Yikes!

So, back to that cruise from Miami to Belize, Cozumel, Roatan, etc.  The price for the cruise was $550/person for a room with a balcony.  That includes meals, water/tea, some entertainment on the ship and NO excursions on the island.  When we were originally talking about it, we were so excited…”What a great deal!”  No…it’s really not if you think about it.

  $1200 for room and board

+$600 in flights

+$400 in excursions

          One very expensive week!

I may be becoming a tight-wad.  In the past, I wouldn’t have thought twice.  I would have chalked it up to “a once in a lifetime experience!”  But now…I see it as my take-home income for a month!

I am so glad that we didn’t book the trip a few months ago.

Todd read somewhere that the best places to visit for couples are places they’ve never been.  But Todd speaks quite fondly of the places he lived and visited while in the Navy, and I’d love to experience them with him.  There are some places I’ve been in the past that I’d love to take Todd to experience with me (Macinac Island, MI & Put-In-Bay, OH which would be a day-trip for us.)  Do you know how many mini-vacations we can take next year for the price of that one week cruise?!? At least 2-3! Maybe even more if we go camping with my dad in 2011!     

So, I think we will trade in our passports this year and do several fun trips throughout the Spring and Summer as we did this year.  I love doing “mini vacations” of 3-4 days because I don’t burn through my 3 weeks all at once as I do with 7-8 day vacations.  Some of the best trips with Todd have been those mini vacations and the “fly by the seat of your pants” excursions we did.  One was a buffalo reserve in either Michigan or Indiana where we got into the back of a truck and rode with the buffalos.  One came right up to us in the back of the truck, it was amazing.  And the smell of the concord grapes in Erie, PA this October is unforgettable.  We had such a great time…and that could easily be a day trip for us again next year.

Great experiences together…that’s what life is all about (in my opinion.)