Keeping Up With My Jonesin’

For 14 consecutive months I, at least one time within in that month, boarded a plane, cruise ship or car that took me outside of the state of Florida. And while I enjoyed getting away and seeing the world, trotting off to France, Spain, the Bahamas, Malta, Africa, Italy, Monaco and more – not to mention places on my own continent like New Orleans, New York, Savannah, Kentucky, etc. – my ongoing streak ended on May 31 when I returned home from Vegas. While I was glad to spend my June – all 30 days of it – firmly planted in the Central Florida area (for the first time since March 2010), now that the month of July is upon me I am starting to feel … well … restless. Like any addict I’m jonesing (for a getaway that is).

Now I know how ridiculous this sounds. In all of 2010 I only stayed in my own bed for an entire month twice (and less than that really, if you count in-state weekend trips, which clearly I do not). The year before that was no different, and with several trips planned this upcoming fall, I think it’s safe to say that 2011 is going to be a chart-topper as well. And yet, the fact that I am also not taking flight in July – or in August – has me in quite a quandary. What am I to do with all these months of sleeping on fluffy, familiar pillows, quiet comfort and serenity (you know, other than all that last-minute wedding planning I keep saying I don’t have time to do)? Can I possibly get by 3 whole months without packing a single suitcase or making a day-by-day travel itinerary?

As it turns out, no, I can’t.

My Groom-A-Saurus Rex (GAR) had the excellent idea that we should book a guided trip for our honeymoon to Germany, reasoning (quite logically at the time) that we would be so wiped out from wedding planning that it would be too overwhelming to plan our honeymoon as well. And while I applaud his thinking on this I do believe he may have underestimated my ability to plan vacations despite all obstacles. And now that our honeymoon is booked and all the planning is already done for us by the tour company I have been left with far too much pent up vacation planning energy just waiting to come out.

Of course, it doesn’t help that my job is to write (what soon will be a blog) about vacation destinations spanning the globe. Today I’m writing about tours to Egypt and yesterday it was Hawai’i, and with every word I write about other people and the vacations they are planning and taking the more I yearn to do it all myself. My spirit of adventure, it seems, is limitless, and nothing is ever enough to quench this thirst inside of me.

They need a meeting for people like me. I will stand up and state my name and admit that yes, I am a vacationholic. Admitting that you have a problem is the first step, right?

Since I haven’t found another suitable outlet for all this energy I am doing the only thing I can – planning future vacations. These include real trips that we know we will be taking – heading to Atlanta this fall for a wedding (wouldn’t it be great if we went up into the Carolinas as well for a little white water rafting?), as well as trip to Northern California all the way in March for another one of GAR’s conferences (I’ve already mapped out several trip agenda options for this adventure … which is still nearly 9 months away) – but it doesn’t stop there. Oh no. I also create fantasy trips – you know, potential vacation options that are based on places I’d like to visit and the times I think I might actually be free to take these imaginary trips.

But I need to stop all this nonsense and focus on more immediate needs – the “to do” list for the wedding – and leave all the fantasizing out of it … unless I’m dreaming of all the wonderful experiences we’ll have in Rothenburg, Heidelberg, Munich and all the other amazing places we’ll be seeing on our honeymoon.

Oh, but I couldn’t help myself from planning just one itsy, bitsy, teeny little getaway between now and then. But I’m not even leaving Florida – promise! GAR and I are just making a quick little drive down to South Florida for a long weekend to get away from all the stress that comes with putting off planning key details of your wedding. That doesn’t count, does it?

Wait, are those the Travelocity gnomes by my pool? Maybe they have vacation advice for me ...