Where in the World?

Many times the question comes up regarding vacations or trips to far away places. When it comes to deciding the one place on Earth that I'd like to visit, I have a hard time coming up with an answer.

To me, a vacation involves some pretty serious relaxing. And, if one is determined to get some relaxation worked in, that can be done from pretty much anywhere.

I've been to a number of different beaches. That's not the vacation destination I most often pick, but it's a good one. And again, it doesn't really matter to me what beach it is. Sure, some have more tourist traps than others, but your basic formula is sand and ocean. And though I do like going to the beach, it's not my favorite trip. I tend to burn. And I'm a pretty awful swimmer.

I grew up in mountains. Those of you living in the Rockies would disagree with me. But to us on the east coast, the Appalachian mountains are indeed mountains. So I'm perfectly at home hanging out in a cabin in the woods somewhere.

Of course there are far off places that I'd love to see someday. These are the kinds of vacations that require lots of money. I'd like to see Australia or Hawaii or Rome or Cleveland.

But the most important thing to me isn't the where. It's the who. Or is it the whom? I don't care where I am, as long as I'm with the people I love. And before my readers throw down the gauntlet claiming that I'm far too cynical to love anyone, just know that there are a few people out there who do, in fact, hold a special place in my heart.

If I can't spend that time at the beach or in the mountains or in Cleveland with any of those loved ones, then I'll at least settle for people I can have fun with. Sometimes, this is hard to come by. It means I have to be able to spend more than ten minutes at a time with them and not want to throw myself off a balcony. But, if I'm very lucky, the people I spend that time with would fall into both categories.

There are a few of them too.