Fleeing the Freeze

Yikes all! How did so much time go by since my last post!? I think I can partly attribute it to having succumb to the winter doldrums. Life has been a little less hectic but yet I feel like this winter has drained the energy out of me, leaving me with only the motivation to sit my butt down on my couch with a blanket and watch mindless tv.  Does anyone else feel like they wish someone could just wake them when it's spring?! Ugh.

I think the fact that I haven't been jetting off anywhere for work or pleasure lately has also contributed to my absence.  Not to worry though, things won't stay quiet on the travel front for long! I have been using this down time on my couch to start planning for a bunch of upcoming travels!

First up, is a visit to sunny Florida (again).  Not expecting to be heading down so soon after my last visit, I was tempted by the 81 degree weather (thank you for getting me all excited weather.com) and the welcoming invites from my family.  In fact, I'm using Logan's nifty free WiFi to type this post as I eagerly await my now delayed flight to Fort Lauderdale.  After a few days there visiting with my Uncle Ed on the East Coast, the two of us are heading off to one of my favorite vacation destinations, none other than Sanibel Island.  I'll be staying there until Tuesday night, giving me a much-needed 4 days off from this terrible winter weather.  I cannot wait to see the gorgeous shores of this island again.

More to come on my adventures during these four days for sure!

The following weekend brings our overdue trip to the Charlotte, NC area to visit Dave's parents.  As you may recall, this happened the last time we tried to go:

I've never been to the Charlotte area and will be excited to share my thoughts!

Coming up in September is our much anticipated trip to Italy!  We've been wanting to go for a few years now, but buying the condo pushed it out another year.  I'm happy to report though that the plane tickets to Rome have been purchased and our itinerary is largely set.  We'll be spending a week in Rome and then headed over to spend another week on the Amalfi Coast!  I'm sooooo excited about this trip that I'm sure I'll be reporting on all of my planning milestones!

Source: BarrettWells

For work, it's looking like it will be another big Asia-Pacific year for me, perhaps with a sprinkle or two of some Western European trips.  There's a chance I may be headed to France soon, which is a bit thrilling since I haven't been there since I was 12.

I'd also like to try to get out to Denver to visit my friend Laura this spring too.  I need to get my butt in gear and start figuring out when to see if that will work for her!

Before I log out and head over to my gate, I was reading this article on the Daily Mail about how major international carriers such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Emirates are being urged to segregate families with small children from certain cabins of the plane or certain flights in general.  As you might imagine, this controversial topic has caused a bit of an uproar, with some people claiming that it is unethical to make such bans.  However, since I do find myself traveling on red-eyes quite a bit for work, I have to admit that I may be leaning towards the segregation side (at least on high frequency routes).  Insert gasp here. It quite like the idea of knowing that I would be guaranteed the peace and quiet needed to sleep and/or work on an overnight flight.  Does this make me an awful person!?  What are your thoughts on this campaign?