Having decided (finally) on Key West for my vacation this year, I am now planning how to spend my days (of course, I only have 2 full days, so that shouldn't really be too hard). Word on the Internet is that the beach that my hotel is on isn't very good. Of course, there are always voices of dissent, so there is really no way to know until I get there. The Internet people are unanimous, however in their praise of the beaches in the Dry Tortugas. Located about 70 miles west of Key West, they are accessible only by boat or seaplane. After much debate, I decided to spend one of my two days on the island trekking out to check them out. I have booked passage on the Fast Cat II for my second day in paradise and I will hope and pray that I don't get seasick. Thank heavens for Dramamine.

I have only been out on the ocean once before and I got extremely sick. Shane and I were on South Padre Island a few years ago and decided to go parasailing. He got up early and went across the island to get us some yummy McDonald's breakfast (mmmm... a Big Breakfast). After eating, we headed to the docks. We failed to consider the fact that it was fairly windy and the only company that was operating that morning was ours. We got on the boat with several other people and headed out onto the ocean. The extremely rough ocean. The captain seemed to be amused at the immediate nausea experienced by the people from the land-locked state. The parasailing itself was amazing (I highly recommend it and I am terrified of heights). However, after he reeled us back in, the seasickness returned. We made it back to shore feeling extremely worse-for-wear and looking decidedly green. We got into the rental car (Shane driving) and just sat there for a few minutes, waiting for the world to stop bobbing up and down. Eventually, Shane put the car in gear and backed out of the parking lot - that was all she wrote. My scrambled eggs reappeared in a heartbeat. We drove straight to a gas station and cleaned out the car (I just threw away my towel and t-shirt - it wasn't worth the effort to clean them up). Thus ended a vomit-free streak of nearly 20 years. It's worth noting that I haven't puked since. Aren't you glad I shared?

Fortunately, the catamaran that I'll be sailing on in Florida is (supposedly) motion-sickness free. Keep your fingers crossed!

Well, I have FINALLY decided what to do for my vacation this year. Generally, I tie my vacation into work-related travel or whatever the family decides to do. This year, I have no work travel plans, no family travel plans and about 60 hours of use-or-lose leave to take by the end of December. After spending the summer not being able to take more than an hour or two off at a time, I'm ready for a few days of doing nothing! Originally, inspired by Shane's recent roadtrip to Denver, I was planning to take a roadtrip of my own. My first plan was Dallas - it's only a 6 hour drive and I've never been there. Then, I decided that Colorado might be nice and almost booked into a couple of place - the finalists being The Lodge and Spa at Breckenridge and Christie Lodge in Avon. Last week, I found out that Dad would be in Chicago during the 1st weekend of my planned time off, and I thought about going with him - I've never been there either. Shortly after that, I got the song "Walking in Memphis" stuck in my head and discovered that Memphis is only an 8 hour drive from Wichita, so I decided, once-and-for-all that I was going to put on my blue suede shoes and head for Memphis - I even spent money on a guide book (that shows serious intent). I was only a few clicks away from booking a room at a hotel on Beale Street when I decided to hold off for a day or two.

In the mean time, Mom thought that the drive wouldn't be much fun and would probably be just as expensive as flying, so I ran the numbers. She was right. That led me back to my old friend Expedia to browse other options. Still rather uninspired, I began brainstorming places that I could travel to alone within the continental US (no passport) and still have a good time and get some rest. Finally, last night, I booked a trip to Key West, Florida. I will fly out on Sept. 10, landing in Miami around 2:00 pm. I will then drive from Miami to Key West. It is approximately 160 miles, which is a little further than I thought, but it will be an awesome drive that skirts the edge of the Everglades and then wanders through all of the keys, finally ending up in Key West. I'll be at the Sheraton Suites Key West Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and plan to get up early Thursday and head back to Miami at my own pace in time for my 4:30ish flight home.

The only issue may be my layover on the flight home. I thought that I picked the Airtran flights with approximately 2 hours each in Atlanta. Apparently, I didn't - I have reservations on Delta, instead (I had only looked at about 125 combinations of flights cars and hotels by then). On the way there, I have 1 1/2 hours, which should be ok. On the way home, however, my layover in Atlanta is only 50 minutes, so there is a very good chance that I won't make it out on time. Of course, according to a website I saw AFTER I booked last night says that , the subcontract carrier for the flight that I have out of Atlanta back to Wichita is only on-time 20% of the time, so I may be ok :-). There are a few other flights to Wichita from Atlanta that evening, so, worst case scenario, I spend the night in Atlanta (I always wanted to visit!).

This will be an interesting trip!