Weekly Inspiration: Girls Trip!

The most recent girls trip I took was a brief one-night escape to Annapolis for my birthday with Sarah and Kim.  Before that, I can't remember the last time I got away with my girlfriends (it was before Jack was born, I know that!).  Sarah mentioned a month ago that she wanted a vacation (a non-work trip, to be specific), and I realized that I wanted (heck, NEEDED) a little getaway too, particularly one sans Jack.  Tahoe was great, but we were there for John's race, not to really relax, and I haven't taken a beach-y vacation since high school.  When LNRB and Kim jumped on board, I knew we had to plan a girls trip ASAP.  But where to?  And when?

We decided the best time to go would be when John could watch Jack, and when all of the other girls could take as few vacation days as possible.  Hence, Thanksgiving.  Next we had to pick a destination.  After researching affordable options (Puerto Rico, Mexico, the Caribbean, Costa Rica) we chose Cancun because of its location.  Since we're only going for four nights, we didn't want to spend two entire days traveling.  Cancun is also relatively equidistant between the coasts, and since Kim is coming from San Francisco and the rest of us are coming from D.C., it made sense to pick somewhere in the middle.

Our hotel!  I'll be under that thatched thing, reading.

Even after we agreed on the where and when, I still couldn't quite believe we were going to make this happen.  I have tried to plan these kinds of trips in the past, and everyone seems so excited at first, but then something else comes up, or people drag their feet and no one really wants to commit.  But my girls seemed serious.  And god knows I was serious.  So I went to Orbitz and started researching packages.  I found several that seemed good, but they changed constantly, literally every five minutes, and I was starting to get discouraged.  I was afraid to take the plunge on everyone else's behalf.  But I also knew that if I didn't just pick a package and go for it, we could procrastinate forever.  So last night, Sarah and I sat down and picked one.  And guess what?  We booked it!

Sure, I feel guilty and self-indulgent already.  But come Thanksgiving, I will be foregoing yams and stuffing for a margarita and guacamole.  Make that two margaritas.  Poolside.  If I'm going to be self-indulgent, I might as well enjoy it!

Ole!