I NEED A VACATION SO BADLY I CAN TASTE IT

Yes, Nate and I took a vacation in February. It was marvelous. With that in mind, I"m not sure eight months has ever felt so distant. And by "distant" I mean, did it ever really happen in the first place? I need a vacation. Time off. A few days to relax, write, think of something other than work, and get my life back.

And now, in an effort to take a mind-vacation without requiring my body to go with it, I'll dream up a few perfect get-a-ways. This is where I'd spend free time if it truly existed.

GET-A-WAY #1: African Safari
I love the romance of a safari. And when I say romance I'm not talking about long walks at sunset. I'm talking about watching a giraffe run across your path, it's neck swaying so strange it will stay with you forever. I'm talking about dozing off in a wall tent and hearing a lion's roar echo over the valley. 

I dream of doing this again. Of smelling smoke from the fire, seeing a warm glow of light inside a tent, hearing and seeing animals so beautiful and dangerous the only thing to do is panic and smile all at once. 
Of course, when I imagine this trip, I always smell like Aveda products and carry leather luggage and look like Keira Knightley.

GET-A-WAY #2: The Beach...any beach
I'd go anywhere for good beach. I have always wanted to go to the Outer Banks. Something about that region, that beach, is so fundamentally simple and beautiful. It's not complicated by all the coconut shell bikini tops and steel drum bands. I love a beach that is warm enough to wear a bathing suit but cool enough that you can wear a gauzy scarf to keep the chill out. And there is all that old-timey sailing going on with wooden boats and topsiders. 

Be it a safari or a beach, one things is constant. Nate.

QUICK UPDATE

It's getting late {10:30 which translates into Tonia's bedtime} so I'll be brief out of necessity.

Nate and I were supposed to be in London right now. We were supposed to see Blur play in Hyde Park. We were supposed to take an entire week of vacation. But we didn't. It's sad but true. We canceled our London trip and alternately filled up three days in Denver. We stayed at the Courtyard on 16th Street, worked out in their great gym, shopped at Park Meadows Mall, and saw an epic Wilco concert at Red Rocks.

It's time to go back to work. And travel. I'll be in four different states this week {Minnesota, Iowa, Arizona, and Washington}. In the midst of it all, my plans are to become a blogger again; I'm sure anyone who did read this blog has given up on the drab, old content. But I'm going to blog again and often.

In the meantime, here is a photo I took at the concert {with my new Nikon Coolpix S630 camera. Yay!}. This photo is my new screensaver and a photo I will see every day. It will remind me what it felt like to be at Red Rocks, sitting next to Nate, smelling the fresh air, seeing the Colorado sky and listening to "I am trying to break your heart."

HOME SWEET HOME!

We got back from Mexico on Saturday night. Our house still looks like a tornado touched down with sand and snorkels and flip flops scattered everywhere. I need a maid.
We had a great time on vacation. We ate good food; stayed in beautiful resorts; went spelunking in an underground cave; kayaked and snorkeled; concurred scuba diving; rode bikes; played in the ocean; and crashed a Pat Benatar concert.
In response to Kym's request for photos, here are a few.

FORGIVE ME, I'M FEELING BEACHY

When you are headed to Mexico in eight days and twelve hours, something happens. It's unconscious like blinking or falling asleep after you've sipped half a bottle of Nyquil. You start thinking about the beach. Daydreaming about the sand and palms. About walking in that foamy intersection of water with sand. You imagine warmth at your back as you lay at the pool and read a magazine. And you can almost taste the authentic salsa. Right?
About a week out, EVERYTHING starts to remind me of the beach. My coconut shampoo and conditioner, sun shining through my windshield as I drive on the freeway, and music. Reggae is the easiest connection - but I was singing along to Danny's Song (even thought we ain't got money, I'm so in love with you honey), and all I could think about was the beach. Why? because forgive me, I'm feeling beachy.

DREAMING OF FEBRUARY

Last year it was Kauai. This year we are hitting the Mayan Riviera as part of Nate's pat on the back for doing a good job at work. We are staying at the Fairmont and I expect it will be entirely too decadent. If you have any suggestions for places to visit and things to see, let me know.

BOSTON FEELS LIKE A SMART CITY

I spent a few days in Boston this week attending The New Marketing summit. I learned a lot and have a ton of work to do according to what they discussed. In between the conference and whilst waiting for my flight back home, I was able to do a little site seeing. And, like I always do when I'm in an urban environment...daydream that I live there.
New England is one of those places that just looks like it was created for the fall. Pumpkins are at home there. Leaves of all colors fit right in. Cobblestone, colonial details, faded red bricks, and college students wouldn't belong any place else. At least that's what it feels like when you are wandering around Boston Commons or Harvard or Old Granary Cemetery.
Here are some photos.
1. Me and my co-worker with tour guide {highly recommended}
2. Old Granary Cemetery {I became obsessed with the headstones}
3. Another headstone
4. Ye Old Union Oyster House {oldest restaurant in N. America}
5. The Old State House {from that balcony, the Declaration of Independence was read first}
6. Harvard campus {smart people look just like I do...but yet, they are so different}
7. All Saints Way {this little alley was in North End. It was so unusual and unexpected to see}
8. Boston skyline {taken from the USS Constitution harbor}