When Travelers Need a ‘No-Brainer’ Vacation ~

Sometimes even die-hard travelers like us - who find the months of research prior to a trip as much fun as the trip -- need a no-brainer vacation. That’s what we decided a few weeks ago.
You’ve probably sought the same kind of get-away at one time or another.
The kind of vacation that requires little planning.
A kick-back, “I don’t care about anything” kind of trip.

Beach - Lanai, Hawaii

Those of you who follow our travels know we traveled to Greece this summer to buy a home. It was a high octane trip. We didn’t go with the intention of having a restful, relaxing time and our expectations were on target. (Of course, we did plan to buy a house and we didn’t – but that’s an old story now. . .)

So back in the Pacific Northwest, The Scout and I decided to wrap up the summer’s chores, put Greece on the backburner for a bit and head out in the early fall on an R and R vacation. . .

Celebrity Solstice - South Pacific 2013

Step One:  The Scout embarked on what he does best ~ conducted a quick search for deals and destinations.

He found a cruise which sailed from Seattle. The plus: no flight and 30 minutes to the ship. And there is certainly a no more carefree way to travel than walking aboard, unpacking, being entertained, fed regularly and traveling to some exotic ports of call. The minus: a lengthy flight back . . .a maybe a bit too much travel?

Istanbul Scenes - 2010

He found good airfare to Istanbul – a delightful city, to our way of thinking. The fare wasn’t quite as great as the $608 round-trip one I told you about last spring, but good.  That would mean another series of long flights as it takes nearly a 24-hour day to fly that far from Seattle when one considers connections and wait times.  We nixed that idea as well – far too much ‘seat time’.

Scenes from Central Washington State

We considered close to home road trips, but that required us to think up a route we wanted to take and figure out where we wanted to stay along the way. . .too much thought required for that one.



Maui, Hawaii

Long-time readers know of our love affair with Hawaii, so you’ve probably already guessed the destination we’ve chosen. . .

. . . a place that in terms of flight time from Seattle is less than six hours. . .

. . .where sitting on a beach requires little effort. . .

. . .sipping Mai Tai’s at sunset requires even less effort. . .

. . .and packing a few tee-shirts and shorts – a snap. . .

. . .eating poke and plate lunches a bit of fresh fruit ~ heavenly. . .

The Scout found us a steal of a deal on accommodations. We are using an Alaska Airlines companion fare ($99 ticket anywhere Alaska flies, issued once a year to Alaska Airline credit card holders) which bring the airfare to a ‘reasonable’ one. 

Lana'i Island and island scenes

What’s even better is that we are returning to a place that we’ve not been to for 25 years.  A trip down memory lane is on the itinerary. Where are we headed? Well, stay tuned. . .I’ll let you know when we get there! And I’ve still have plenty of Greek places to tell you about in coming weeks as well.

A big welcome – and Aloha -- to our new followers and subscribers – how nice it is to have you join us on our travels! And thanks to all of you who've traveled with us for some time now! 

If you have the time to add a comment tell us where you would go for a  ‘kick-back’ R and R destination?

Linking up this week:
Travel Photo Thursday – Budget Travelers Sandbox
Weekend Travel Inspirations – Reflections En Route
Mosaic Monday – Lavender Cottage Gardening