Tomorrow my family embarks on a much needed 7-day retreat to an all-inclusive resort in the Riviera Maya.  Thanks to the Swine Flu, Mexican resorts were handing out deep discounts to keep business coming in, so we lucked out big time and were able to book a dream vacation for less than the cost of driving up to the Wisconsin Dells.  Score.

As penny-pinching as we are, I’m the type of person who needs vacations and getaways to function.  If I go too long without going somewhere, I start to feel depressed and suffocated.  It’s the gypsy in me.  We nomadic types have to stay on the move.  So instead, we sacrificed lots of other little summer activities in an effort to scrimp and save for this one week in Paradise.

Of course as excited as I am about our trip, there is a part of me that will always remain agoraphobic in a sense too.  One half of me thirsts for adventure, and if there’s a way to drag my family half way across the world for a few moments of fun, by gawd I will find it.  But there’s another part of me that fears all the risks involved in travel too, and might just rather vacation in the comfort of my own bedroom.  So what is keeping me awake tonight?  Here are some concerns:

• Flying in a metal bird that could fall out of the sky at a moment’s notice.
• Driving the rental car in Mexico where some sketchy Policia might use any excuse to pull over a gringa and extort the wedding rings off her finger*
• Staying in a resort 15 yards from the Caribbean Sea smack dab in the middle of Hurricane season
• Reliving the movie “Born in East L.A.” when my Latino husband and his mother get detained by Mexican customs agents for looking a little too native
• One word: Sharks.

Notice that I’m not worried about how to wrangle the two small children on the plane, one of which we did not purchase a ticket for because he’s Under Two, and we’re cheap.  I’m not worried about getting Montezuma’s revenge, or about losing my luggage.  Though the potential for disaster exists there, I feel confident in my ability to address and handle those situations.  I’m pretty good at wrangling these two children all by myself, and on this trip I’ll have both the husband and his mom there to help me. 3 against 2; I like those odds.  I’ve done all the necessary research on how to avoid getting sick down there, and we’re staying at a 4 star resort where the food gets incredible reviews, so that doesn’t frighten me.  And I’ve lost my luggage internationally before – on a trip to England where my bandmate and I were doing live interviews on British television, so obviously clothes were of a high priority – and I survived all that.  Heck, all I need in Mexico is a swimsuit and a few covers and I can last the week.  No Big Deal.

But the planes crashing, hurricanes twisting, and Policia extorting are the things that keep me just on the edge of anxiety.  So I’m trying to let all that go tonight, breathe deep, and tell myself that the universe is going to cooperate with me on this trip.  Please everyone, throw all your good travel energy in my direction, and I’ll see ya’ll in a week.  I’ll have little access to voice/data services while I’m there, but I will be live Tweeting our travels as Wi-Fi coverage allows.

Mexico, here we come!

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*before you go thinking that's even the tiniest bit racist (because I just know someone is bound to take that out of context) is has been very well documented that those activities do go on, and every travel board or car rental agency has information on how to protect oneself from it.  So please don't clutter up my comments with ridiculous rants while I'm gone – I married a Mexican.  The rest of it is just supposed to be funny.  Enough said.