I get antsy if I don’t leave the country once a year or so.  That’s why I am particularly pained right now, because it has been nearly 1.25 years since I have used my passport, and that last time was just to Canada.  At least it was Montréal, where they have the good sense to talk funny, which makes it feel more like a true adventure.

To that end, I told Denny all I wanted for Christmas was a trip to somewhere exciting.  I’d like to fly one more time while we can still have Miles as a free lap-child (though something tells me we’re going to be doing a lot of aisle-walking, since he is not very pleased to sit on a lap for very long).

There were no plane tickets in my stocking, nor were there any glossy brochures or Lonely Planet guides, but to be fair, Denny knows that for me, half the fun of a trip is the planning process.  He has mostly just gotten out of my way and let me sort it out.

So, here’s what I think we’re going to do.  I think we’re going to rent a condo in the Lucaya area of Grand Bahama Island for a week.

You might say, “That’s less foreign than Montréal, even.”  You might be right.  But you know what?  I’m going to have a 17-month-old with me, and simpler sounds better.  We can make there in two relatively short flights (Delta flies to Freeport with just one stop in Atlanta).  I picked Grand Bahama Island as opposed to New Providence (where Nassau lies) for these reasons:

• It is known more for its natural attractions (an underwater cave system, for example) than the glitzy casinos of Nassau.  Glitzy casinos do not interest me, as I do not share my brother’s talent for poker, and I am too Midwestern for much glitz. Plus, you know, the baby.
• Especially in the off-season, which is when we’ll be going, it apparently is still possible to find unspoiled, uncrowded little beaches.  I like that better than the miles-of-bodies model.
• Despite these things, it’s still developed enough that it shouldn’t be too inconvenient to manage with the kiddo.  It has a relatively major airport with car rental agencies I’ve heard of.

Why the condo?  It just seems like a better deal than a hotel.  We don’t drink all that much, and an all-inclusive model doesn’t seem like a very good value unless you were going to drink your way through the rate.  I get kind of tired of eating in restaurants all the time on vacation, so having a kitchen will let us save some effort and money (maybe; I’ve heard groceries are expensive) by eating in.  Plus, this is intended to be more of a relaxing vacation than an adventure vacation, so it will be nice to have the extra space that a condo provides.

Here are a couple of condos I’m thinking about:

Option 1

Option 2 (I certainly hope that the image captured on the TV in the living room shot is representative and that Anna Nicole Smith is a 24/7 fixture there)

For the sake of full disclosure, I should also say that one thing I’m really excited about is getting Miles his first passport.  My friend Ken’s son has a passport with a photo from when he was a baby, and it’s about the cutest thing in the whole world.