If you've been reading for a few weeks, you've probably picked up on my hints that we truly need a vacation...and I mean soon. Problem is...short of using some of this homeowners insurance loss money, I can't really afford it right now. And, even if I could afford it, I'd feel guilty. After all, the country is plunging headfirst into a depression, we're all struggling to survive, and I've already made it clear to friends and family that we can't afford to come home for the holidays this year. Taking a vacation any time soon would discredit most of those excuses. But I do need something...

Fortunately, I'm a planner. I'm one of those people that actually enjoys working out the exact details behind a vacation months (years?) in advance. From the airfare to the hotel, attractions and dining, I generally have most of it pre-determined by the time we leave the house. I know what it is going to cost, and how long it is going to take. Granted, there's an 8 out of 10 chance that those plans are going to change at some point or another, but it makes me feel good to at least pretend like I'm in control. And I do enjoy the planning phase. I'm funny like that.

For our next vacation, we want to go somewhere new. Overseas would be awesome, but that's a pipedream at this point. So we're looking to either the East Coast or the West Coast. With the East Coast, we would get to see lots of historical sites older than any place I've ever visited, and some wonderful sandy beaches on the South-Eastern coast. We could start with an outer banks vacation in North Carolina and simply drive up the coast over the course of a few weeks. Seeing as I'm still disgusted with our recent insurance-sponsored cockroach-enhanced hotel stay, I think we'd be leaning towards a vacation home rental this time. The site I linked to above, Carolina Designs, even has a feature to sort by properties that allow pets, so we could bring the dog. If we wanted. That's a lot of baggage. Speaking of baggage, the real question is if we'd bring the kids or not...

Many of the beachfront properties listed are huge and feature the typical pastels and whiter-than-white trim, and carry silly names like "Deja Blue" and "After Dune Delight". But let's face it - I don't care about the name. It's all about the sun, the surf, the nothing. Yes, that's right - the nothing. No, that's not an obscure Neverending Story reference, but a state of mind. For me, a true vacation at this point would be one in which we do absolutely nothing but lie around all day on the beach or in a pool. While I'm lounging and working on my burn, some beachside food service would be nice. I still need to try lobster. I love crawfish, shrimp and crab so I think I'd dig it.

Once I'm properly fried by the sun, we could hit the coast in a rented convertible (that hopefully gets very good gas mileage). Or we might be tempted to skip the historical sites altogether and just treat our newly acquired sunburns with some lengthy pool therapy. History can wait. After all, it's been there for 200+ years. What's another two or three?