Source: CTutor.com

Like clockwork, nearly every March I am hit with this faux-nostalgia for Arizona.  The same image always comes to mind -- a convertible, pink sunset, open road, desert, and tumbleweeds. I think I've mentioned this briefly before, when I talked about Jewel's song "Standing Still". I'm not sure where this image came from or how I came to associate it with March and spring, but it's here and it's here to stay.  (I did spend one spring break driving through Arizona, Utah and Nevada, though, so maybe that's where it all started.)

I've always been a very practical traveler, dabbling in as much cultural sightseeing as play, if not more.  In fact, I took my first real R&R vacation this past summer -- to a cabin in the woods of New York state, to get away from it all and just power down and read books for a week.  It was nice, but definitely a little too quiet for me.

Source: New York Times

I'm thinking something tropical. Miami would do ... I've been to Miami a lot of times already.  The last time was actually my last spring break before going off to college, and it was a comical disaster.  The trip to and from Miami involved black cats, drug addicts in Tampa, a pizza delivery guy from Queens, a failed trip to Nick Carter's hometown, bugs, an outdoor shower, no sleep, bad MapQuest directions, a hidden cemetery, hostile dogs, a cobra man, being stranded in Marathon Key, a shady man named Shawn Gaylord (hey there!), a Publix tiramisu cake, the Weather Channel and, oh, Aaron Carter.

But Miami was lovely.

It's been a long time, and I think I am due for another visit.  This time with no Greyhound buses or quirky bed and breakfasts.  Just a fruity cocktail, a pool and some good dancing.

Or maybe something a little more exotic and laidback in the Caribbean or Central America? Kristin Cavallari made Costa Rica look really good on The Hills.

Source: How2Vacation.com [ha!]

I am embarrassed I just made that statement.

Let's move on.

'Course none of this is going to happen, because it's practically mid-March and I have made no plans and my friends have shown no indication that they would want to partake in any such debauchery. Too bad ... at least I still have my dreams.  In the meantime, I need to get my workout on.  And to listen to this sexy song to pretend I'm getting down in a club in Miami ...