Two Tickets to Paradise

I've got two tickets to paradise,
Won't you pack your bags, we'll leave tonight,
I've got two tickets to paradise,
I've got two tickets to paradise.

- Eddie Money



Every one of you reading this has a “bucket list”. You might call it a “wish list” or a “maybe someday list” or a “when I retire” list, but you’ve got one; that list of things and places you want to see or do before you...well, you know...

A trip to the South Pacific has long been at the top of Mark’s bucket list (“BL” – not to be confused with Mark’s BS, which is something entirely different). It’s not hard to understand why he’d feel that way. If you’ve ever oogled one of those “tropical beaches” calendars, you were probably looking at a beach in the South Pacific – more specifically, in French Polynesia. I mean, really – who wouldn’t want to go to a place that looks like that?!

I must admit, there were things ahead of French Polynesia on my BL. Since it seems I’ve got a few years to wait before my children will indulge me with the #1 spot (spoiling grandbabies) I was quite willing to follow Mark’s lead when he suggested we start looking into this next big adventure one cold, dark, and rainy day last winter. Obviously, the man knows a thing or two about timing.

You’d think it would be so simple. Just hit up a travel agent or two, tell them what you’d like to do, and voila – pay the bill and you’re good to go. Ya...not so much. Travel agents can know too little about a destination (as in, almost nothing at all). And the internet? Well, let’s just say too much information is almost as bad as no information. Luckily, fate eventually led us to Rob the Tahiti Travel Guru. We told him all the places we wanted to go, what we wanted to do, where we wanted to stay, how long we had, and how much we wanted to spend. Once he stopped laughing, he told us what we could do, and then he arranged everything.

Apparently, it’s really bad karma to talk about the cost of Bucket List items so we’re not going to go there. Where we are going to go are the French Polynesian islands and tuamotus of Tahiti, Moorea, Huahine, Bora Bora, and Tikehau.

What seemed like an impossible dream 6 months ago somehow became the final destination on our luggage tags today. After 4 months of non-stop renovating, packing, renovating, moving, renovating, unpacking, and renovating we are so ready for a break and for this trip. We had hoped the renovations of our new home would be pretty much finished before we left. They aren’t quite, but it’s probably just as well. Over the next 3 weeks, the renovation fairy will be finishing off the kitchen and wood floors that have had us living out of boxes these last 2-1/2 months. Or so we’ve been told.

And so, we’re off on our next big adventure. We hope you’ll join us. Please leave a note on the blog if you do!

A bientot amis!