Bodyboarding in Antigua

I should quit my hospital administrator gig and become a travel agent.

Last weekend, during our wine tasting and miscellaneous relaxation time, Jack and I gazed out the window, stared into the Arctic Wasteland that is currently Chicagoland, and came to the same conclusion: it's time to start planning our next vacation.

So here's the trick, how does one plan a vacation when one has no idea of the timeline of her next job assignment? Do I plan a trip and tell the powers-that-be that, forget work, I'm going to the Caribbean? What if I have to relocate across the state? What if we have one week in which to move and I'm busy beaching bumming it? Do I fore go packing and moving time to visit my favorite white sand beach in Antigua? Okay, I've never been to Antigua, but the cruise ship's itinerary I'm researching stops there for a whole ten hours.

Cruises are great. They're quickly becoming our favorite way to travel. You only unpack once and while your stateroom is the size of a walk-in closet, you're not there very often. You wake up, exercise, get a healthy breakfast in the cafe (that has wall-to-wall windows overlooking the gorgeous azure sea), get dressed, and walk off the ship to that day's port of call. After 8-10 hours of adventure and sun, you re-board the ship, get showers, don a cute sundress, and go to formal dinner in the dining room. After dinner, you see a Broadway show, a comedian, or even take dance lessons. It's wonderful. Then the waves rock you to sleep and you sleep like a baby.

The alternative is to fly down to Florida or the Caribbean, rent a condo, and veg out for a week on the beach. It's a lot less exciting, but it *is* relaxing. Jack was bitin' at the bit to book SOMETHING, for half the fun of a tropical vacation (or any vacation, really) is the anticipation of the trip. But I held him back and promised that AS SOON as we find out what's going on with my job, we'll book a trip. Hopefully, it's that cruise to Antigua!