In which I booked a trip

Last week, the darling husband found some money--enough for a vacation. Well, not so much "found" as "calculated our tax refund". Anyway, we were appalled to realize we had not taken a proper vacation together in 19 years. We've tagged along on each other's business trips; we've taken family trips, and we've done quick overnight stays, but we haven't just gone away together for days on end. Lamentable, no?

So, with a tidy little sum burning a hole in our pockets, we started to ponder destinations. We had originally planned a trip to Greece this April until orthodontia intervened and gobbled up our trip funds. (You'd think by the time your child is fifteen, you'd be off the hook for expensive dental work. You'd be wrong.) Anyway, we were perfectly happy to hand the Greece fund to the orthodontist, but when this money turned up, neither of us seemed quite as enthused about traveling overseas. To begin with, my pragmatic husband pointed out that the money was enough to give us a luxurious trip in the US or a more frugal vacation if we opted for Europe given the cost of overseas airline tickets.

There was another important consideration as well: travel abroad is glamorous and exciting and exhausting. Getting by in a foreign language, calculating prices in a different economy, counting out strange coins--all of it is deeply satisfying and extremely tiring. I just don't have the stamina for a trip of that sort just now. I want nothing more than escape and relaxation.

So that got us focused on finding a relaxing destination. Part of the reason I love taking our daughter to Disney World is that I find it to be the most stress-free place on earth. (No, really.) Because in Disney World, I simply don't care what we do. I know there will be shopping and shows and rides and if we miss something, I don't mind, whereas if I were in London and missed Buckingham Palace or Kensington Palace or the British Museum or Sir John Soane's House or tea at Kensington Gardens or Westminster Abbey or any one of a hundred other places I've been MANY times before, I would sob into my little floral handkerchiefs for days. In a glorious, historic city, there are things you MUST do or you return home feeling a sad failure. So the husband and I agreed, we wanted a grown-up version of Disney World where we could escape, just the two of us, and leave work behind for a few days and do as little or as much as we liked without worrying about what we might be missing. We wanted shows, shopping, superb restaurants, and opportunities for general lounging in luxurious surroundings.

The consensus? Vegas, baby! Yes, I know, it's frenetic and crazy, but we decided on a lovely hotel with a great spa, beautiful pools, spectacular artwork, and more restaurants and stores than we can possibly sample while we're there. And since I happen to be uncommonly lucky at the blackjack table, we may do a wee bit of gambling...

Also, many thanks for the kind suggestions and good wishes for my mom. She's opted for a chic black cast and is learning to pootle around quite well on her crutches!