Adventure awaits

You’re going to think I’m either a spoiled brat or a reborn gypsy after this post. Fair warning.

In two weeks, I’m heading to Cancun with my sister, my best friend and her younger sister for five days of sun, sand and Tecate. While that’s all good and well, my brain is itching for more travel. It seems I developed a nasty habit while I was a college student with a generous credit limit - I got used to scheduling solo vacation adventures each year.

Nowadays, with the cost of two airline tickets and actual jobs that don't take kindly to three week sabaticals, the opportunities for finding a good deal to Madrid and just going aren't as easy. nevertheless, hubs and I are plotting an anniversary trip that will put us somewhere new. Our feet itch to climb over new rocks, our ears to be completely confused by new languages and our mouths are hungry for something other than what we find on our plates here at home. But where will we land? That’s a harder question to answer.

Hawaii: We’re seeing some amazing deals on flights and condos (words can’t describe how much I adore browsing HomeAway.com), plus we like the idea of going somewhere warm where we can wander through forests, nap on sand and eat Spam. The only negative is that we agree (illogically) that domestic vacations don't "count" as much as international ones.

Belgium: The original idea of renting a camper van and touring abbey breweries died when I saw that camper van rentals start at around $2,000. A little studio in Brugge and a cheap rental car could easily fix that, though. I even found an awesome 17th century turret in the city center we could hole up in with our brews and a fireplace.

Costa Rica: Just like Hawaii, Costa Rica offers two awesome landscapes and really affordable options. Also: monkeys and toucans.

Ireland: Hubs has never been and I’m jumping at the chance to get back to Cork and get my hands on some garlic mayo and a fresh Murphy’s. We’d probably drive the Ring of Kerry and see southern Ireland. I'm not eager to see my favorite places over-run with summer tourists, so I like the idea of making this a fall trip.

Macchuu Pichu: Our first idea, but sadly, far too expensive and deserving of more than the five-six days we can afford PTO-wise. Unless of course, some benevolent readers decided to fund us. I promise to repay you in witty blog posts.

Currently in the lead: Bocas del Toro, Panama. A chain of teeny tiny islands, populated by jungle hippies, expats, native folks and rainforest creatures. With hotels on piers and $.50 beer and swings over the ocean. We like this place because we could get crazy and kayak through bat caves (this activity will totally involve me wearing some seriously protective headgear. Remember the Great Bat Incident of Aught Nine?), or we could just nap in a hammock over the ocean all day.

Meanwhile, we've also noticed our (only) toilet is misbehaving, which is terrifying. It's orginal to our 1955 home, so we've known for a while that its time could come at any moment. However, I'm determined not to let one cranky potty ruin my dreams of international adventure in 2010. Come hell or high (sewage) water, we're going on vacay.