Trips

In the past, I've written about restaurants I'd like to try, and yeah Dave, I'll update that restaurant wish list one of these days, but I'm just not feeling it right now. As much as I love to eat at good spots in this city full of good spots, I just haven't been feeling in a 'foodie' mood lately. But my little Escape from LV last week just whetted my appetite for even more getaways.

I don't get my full two weeks of official vacation until next May, but I've got a few days here and there where I can schedule some time away from the casino.

Some friends are hitting town in early November, so I may take some time then, but that's not really a getaway. I also need to get back to Phoenix again before the holidays, but that'll only cost me one day.

So I guess I need to actually write down what I want to do and where I want to go over the course of the next year or so.

Normally, about this time of year I'm on a cruise, and I'm especially bummed right now because two of my sisters are going on cruises next week, and it seems like my sister Nancy is on a cruise every other month, too. I can't rave enough about what a fun experience a cruise vacation is, even a cheapie on Carnival is a good time. Maybe it's just because of the quality of travel companions (nobody makes it more fun than my sisters), but my best vacations have always been the week-long trips aboard a floating resort down in the Caribbean.

I haven't been on one since late 2004, so there is absolutely no way that I'll miss out next year. So I guess that's my first priority for next year's vacations.

That'll leave me with eight more days to blow, and I know I'm going to use two of them during March Madness next spring, bringing the account down to six days.

I'd really like to get down to St. Croix for a few days to hang with Cyndi before her job assignment ends, and of course I'll need to get back out to Nashville to hang with the family for a couple days, too.

And next April I turn the big 4-0. Certainly some sort of celebration is in order. I keep thinking about a few days down in Cozumel at an all-inclusive resort might be a good way to go. That would be a lot of fun. I love all of the little beach clubs on the island, the good food, and my favorite Cuban cigar shop in the world is down there, too. Yep, Cozumel is a must-do.

I can't forget about our guys fishing trip to San Diego that we've planned for next May, plus Ed and I were talking about a refresher sailing course out in Marina Del Rey for a few days, as neither of us has been at the helm in over three years. After that, we'd like 'get our pillage on' and take a few days to sail out to Catalina and celebrate Buccaneer Days next October.

With the random trips back to Phoenix, that'll probably kill all of my paid time off for next year. Sometimes it makes me miss working at Schwab back in the day when I had damn near five weeks off a year.

Oh well. I can't complain--I live in Vegas!

Not a bad trade.

But looking forward to spring of 2008, Mike and I were also talking about heading up to Idaho for Boomershoot. Basically, a bunch of dudes get together for a few days of camping and shooting. But even better than just plain old shooting, the targets are packed with explosives, so when you hit 'em, they go BOOM. It sure beats roasting my nuts off out in the desert and watching grapefruit vaporize when hit from 80 yards away with a .270 round.

I figure that by the time Boomershoot 2008 rolls around, I'll have acquired a beautiful rifle like the CZ 550, or if I really feel like splurging, maybe an M-1A or even a Garand.

In the meantime, I'll just be vacationing in my backyard, hanging by the pool and sipping on the occasional rum drink.

Mikey