Dream Vacation

I'd like to see the world. Lots of it. And if I had the money, in style would be nice too.

I haven't been that many places and most of the time it's definitely on a budget. We went on a cruise once, that was nice because it was all expenses paid. But most of the time I've had to worry about not spending too much money. The vacations were still nice and I would still travel on the cheap anytime I could.

A friend is on vacation in Hawaii and it looks like a dream trip. Exclusive hotel, fine food, incredible excursions. It looks fabulous and I am very happy for them, it looks like the trip of a lifetime. My boss went on an Alaskan cruise last year that looked so wonderful, the year before that to Boston and this year on a cruise to see the fall foliage in New England. How wonderful. These are trips that I can only dream about at this point, but I plan them in my head all the time. When my book is published I'm going to take a trip to England and Ireland. Hey, it's a Regency novel, I should visit where I'm writing about, right? (Okay, without a time machine it's not exactly possible to visit where I'm writing about but it's close.) I'd love to attend the writer's conference in Austin, Texas this fall but a financial windfall probably needs to come my way for that to be truly possible. (I really need to increase my lottery budget.)

Mostly my travel plans this year were to take my mother somewhere for her birthday in September. It's a big birthday (she would kill me for telling you which one) plus it will be the fifth anniversary of her remission from cancer so I really want to celebrate these important milestones. I was thinking (based on my budget) that if I could get a grandma-sitter that I would like to take her on a cruise, even if it just had to be one of those short ones to Mexico. Then, the other night, I was telling her about my friends Hawaiian vacation and how wonderful it sounded. She didn't seem impressed. In fact, she was downright negative. She said that didn't appeal to her at all. I tried different scenarios and she rejected all of them. Finally, in exasperation, I asked her what she DID like. She told me, "I like things like tonight, like the dinner you made."

Now I know my mom is a practical person. I love her. I understand her quirks and oddities and I accept them (I make fun of them, but I accept them.) And she is a saint, letting her thirty-something daughter move back home to save money and then being supportive when instead of continuing to save money I wanted to use my savings to write for a year. She is awesome and I wanted to reward that awesome with an awesome experience. But if the thing she wants is a dinner like the one I made on money, I'm not sure 'awesome' is the adjective I would use. Now I'm a good cook. And dinner that night was good. But it was burritos and salad. Good burritos, with a homemade enchilada sauce on top and a salad of pea sprouts. oranges and avocados (for Cinco De Mayo) and it was very tasty and about as gourmet as a burrito can get. But it was a burrito. C'mon. I'm trying to think up a memorable experience and she wants me to make dinner? I do that every night!

Everyone has their dreams but my mom does not dream big. She dreams practically, which is the opposite of me. My dream vacation involves a Greek Island, a Greek God and Greek Food. Hers is a burrito and salad at home. I love her and I would do anything to make her happy. But a burrito doesn't seem to say "I love you and I'm so happy that you are in my life and let's celebrate these important moments in your life." So it's back to the drawing board. I'll have to put my thinking cap on again.

What is your dream vacation? Where would you go, what wold you see, what would you eat? Whatever it is, loyal readers, I wish it for you. And if it's as simple as a great burrito, call me!