Now that the holidays are over, the preparations can start in earnest for our February trip. I think the preparations in January are what help us get through this weather. MINUS 20 F over the last 2 nights and below 0F for the last 80 hours or so. There are the early preparations, like making our room reservations before we leave the previous year and airfare once the tickets become available 330 days prior. There are the mid-term preparations, like purchasing books that we will be reading and sun tan lotion to bring down with us when it's widley available in the summer (being fair skinned form Minnesota, we need lots of it).
And then... there are the January preparations. Booking our airport transfers with Rocky (check). Requesting a dinner reservation for Valentine's Day (check). Buying those last couple of books that have finally gone into paperback, scheduling a couple of "fake n' bake" sessions to lay a base, deciding which old favorites and which new experiences we will try for dinners, finding the "right" combination of granola bars, pretzels and licorice to bring with, and something new this year... coordinating meetings with friends that are staying on the beach.
I don't know what it is about these meanial tasks, but they really do bring happiness and add to the vacation experience. Plus, like I said, just the thought of the warm island sun during what is usually a very cold January makes it easier to take.
Only 37 days left...
Anything that I'm missing???
